By Dee Camp
Chronicle staff

     OKANOGAN – Food, a parade and music will be on tap June 6 during the annual Okanogan Days celebration.
     Activities start with a Key Club-sponsored fun run and the Okanogan Kiwanis Club’s pancake breakfast at 7 a.m. on Queen Street beside the Bike Shop.
     The all-you-can-eat meal costs $5 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger, with proceeds going toward the club’s community projects, Secretary Bob Chiles said.
     The fun run begins with registration at 7 a.m. in the high school parking lot. Both 5K and 10K courses will be available.
     The race starts at 7:30 a.m., with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in memory of Okanogan junior Jose Rodriguez, who died of cancer May 11.
     Entry costs $10 per person. T-shirts will be available for purchase, said President Kaylee Ray and President-elect Laura Shacklett.
     The Okanogan Valley Farmers’ Market will move to Second Avenue for the day, with vendors opening at 9 a.m. The market goes until 1 p.m.
     It returns to Legion Park the following Saturday.
     A street fair also begins at 9 a.m., Okanogan Days Chairwoman Judy Kawahara said.
     The parade starts at 11 a.m. on Second Avenue, with staging at 10 a.m. near Valley Care Center, 520 S. Second Ave. Awards will be given in the George Fuller Kids Parade, vintage car, commercial, float, marching and mayor’s choice categories.
     The theme is “Grow it in Okanogan.”
     The Army recruiter’s Humvee may participate.
     Entertainment is planned on Second Avenue at Queen Street before and after the parade. Entertainers include Rusty Bonser, Okanogan, Okanogan Valley Nashville Star participants, Bud Gardner and the Vegetables, and the Okanogan Hispanic dancers.
     An open mike session also is planned.
     The fire department will dress up its trucks for the parade and host a post-parade open house to mark its centennial year.
     The Okanogan Volunteer Fire Department was incorporated Dec. 9, 1909.
     The department plans to honor retired firefighters by having them ride in the parade. Among them will be retired chiefs Art Lucas and Louie Wood.
     The old Buffalo truck, housed at the Okanogan Fire Hall Museum, will appear in the parade, Second Assistant Chief Scott Duncan said.
     Firefighters are taking a low-key approach to the centennial, but are working on historical information for the Okanogan Days celebration, Duncan said. A list of former firefighters is being compiled.
     The open house begins after the Okanogan Days parade. Punch and cake will be served at the fire hall, and goodies will be available for kids, Duncan said.
     Commemorative T-shirts should be available, Duncan said.
     “We hope for a good turnout,” he added.
     The Okanogan pool will be open for free swimming from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It opens for the season June 11, the last day of school.
     Okanogan Friends of the Library will hold its annual used book sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the library on Pine Street between Second and Third avenues.
     Donations of books will be accepted at the library until June 5, according to Okanogan Friends of the Library.
     A PowerPoint presentation, "Early Day Ranching in Okanogan County" will be at 1 p.m. at the Wilson Research Library, located at the Okanogan County Historical Museum across Second Avenue from the Okanogan County PJD.
     Admission is free, though donations will be accepted, organizers said.
     From 2-4 p.m. spinners will demonstrate their art. Also featured will be quilts by Nora Rappe, Malott, and Linda Foster, Omak, and a presentation on the evolution of quilting.
     Okanogan High School graduation will cap the day’s activities at 5 p.m. in Dawson Gym.