‘Newlywed Game’ declared a hit as Ionia Fun Days hosts another successful year
Betty Stewart, who runs Crafts by Betty out of her home in Marble Rock, sets up at the Ionia Fun Days celebration on Saturday following the parade. Her son, Jesse Allen, and his band, which recently released an album titled “I’m Steppin’ In," played Friday night’s concert, and her daughter, Heather Hackman, serves on the committee which helped organize the event. New Hampton Tribune photo by Mira Schmitt-Cash
Couples compete to eat cupcakes without their hands during the bonus round of the “Newlywed Game” Saturday at Ionia Fun Days and each pair had to kiss to clean the frosting off each other at the end. Pictured in the bonus round (from left) are Lisa and Mike Taylor, Lora and Paul Lokenvitz. New Hampton Tribune photo by Mira Schmitt-Cash
Jamie Griffin, Charles City, connects with the softball for a hit, which was the third out for the Killa Bees in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Ionia Days 2018 softball tournament on Saturday. The Killa Bees went on to defeat The A Team 20-5 in five innings partly because of the 15-run mercy rule. New Hampton Tribune photo by Mira Schmitt-Cash
By Mira Schmitt-Cash, New Hampton Tribune
Saturday was good fun, but whether it was “clean” was debatable.
That evening a crowd of about a hundred watched the “Newlywed Game,” the newest event at Ionia Fun Days. Contestants didn’t all have to be freshly married, though; length of marriage ranged from three years to more than three decades.
Couples answered sometimes invasive questions such as “In what areas did your wife say you improved the most? A) Family obligations, B) Household Chores or C) Bedroom responsibilities”; and one question about bra size. Answers had to match those of their spouse to earn points.
In the tiebreaker round, each spouse had to scarf down a cupcake without use of their hands and kiss their partner allegedly to clean off the frosting.
Lisa and Mike Taylor took first in the competition with 55 points, followed by Lora and Paul Lokenvitz with 50 points for second place. First place earned the Taylors a gift card to Texas Road House.
Festival committee members Erin Phillips and Heather Hackman agreed the game show was a hit, but it will be up to the committee whether to bring it back next year.
In other changes, the 5K moved to Friday night and became a “glow run” complete with glow-in-the-dark body paint, glow stick accessories and a route lined with lighted recycled milk jugs.
The roads were not closed, and organizers heard concerns from runners afterward about safety from passing drivers who did not always seem to see them.
The event iraised money for a walking trail to go by the ballpark, which will make for a safer course in the future.
Jesse Allen, the brother of Ionia Fun Days organizing committee member Heather Hackman and son of Betty Stewart of Marble Rock, performed Friday to a similar-sized crowd as the game show. Allen recently recorded a CD called “I’m Steppin’ In.”
Other Ionia Fun Days activities included Little Mr. and Miss Ionia, the drawing for which went to Easton Brown and Aubrey Paxton; the parade; a pancake breakfast, which helped raise funds for an expanded fire station; and the annual slow-pitch softball tournament in the park.
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