Big doin's in Virginia City today -- weather permitting

As long as Sunday's rain doesn't return, there will be plenty to do to celebration Labor Day in Virginia City this afternoon.

Event organizer Julie McGuire had to deflate her bounce castles Sunday as drizzle rain turned to a downpour.

"The kids were in there, and the water was flying -- they didn't want to come out," she said.

Today's events start with a parade at noon.

There will be floats from the Cabin in the Sky, the Station Men rock band sponsored by the Red Dog Saloon, and a karaoke set-up. Margo Murphy of Happy Hoofers will drive a horse-drawn carriage, and Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller may drive his Jeep in the parade, McGuire said.

"There will be several other entrants as well," said Lubin Garcia. "They usually just show up the day of the parade -- that's pretty typical for Virginia City."

After the parade, a beard, moustache and goatee competition will be held in front of the Union Brewery. That event is a build-up to the world championship facial hair competition in Carson City around Nevada Day, said a bearded Comstock local who gave his name only as "Red Dawg."

"(The European competitors) are well-groomed," said Red Dawg, who won the award for scruffiest at last year's Nevada Day competition. "We look kinda scroungy, compared to them. I'm anxious to meet some of those well-groomed Europeans."

After the beard competition is a watermelon-eating contest in the parking lot of the Virginia City Jerky Co. at 204 South C St., next to the Presbyterian Church.

But the contest happens only "if the weather holds up," said McGuire.

The melons were donated by Grandma's Fudge, she said.

McGuire said she will also organize two events sponsored by the Nevada Carpenter's Union -- a hammer-and-nail contest and a single-jack rock-drilling contest. The granite blocks for the single jack contest are in place in the E Street lot next to the train depot.

Garcia and McGuire are selling raffle tickets to raise money to support both the Silver City Volunteer and Storey County Fire departments and help 14 Virginia City High School students go to Washington, D.C., in January. The raffle winner will get a new, yellow, Extreme Keywest scooter donated by Freedom Cycles in Reno.

If You Go

What: "Labor Day Celebration" with parade and single-jack drilling, nailing, watermelon-eating, and moustache, goatee and beard competitions

When: Today, starting with a parade at noon

Where: Along C and E streets

Call: 241-0915.