By Fawn Porter/Staff

Hundreds of people packed the downtown streets of El Reno Saturday as the smell of sizzling beef and onions filled the air.

But that’s to be expected for the 19th annual Burger Day festivities, the city’s largest festival.

A cloudy sky held off its rain, creating a cool windy morning for those beating the pavement along Rock Island and Bickford Avenues.

Classic cars lined up for blocks, with admirers looking under the hoods of such vehicles as a 1932 DeSoto and a 1981 Chevrolet Corvette as the owners lovingly polished their already-shiny automobiles.
Along Bickford Avenue, the state’s Centennial anthem — "Oklahoma Rising" — a collaboration between native sons Jimmy Webb and Vince Gill boomed from a sound system. Shortly thereafter, veteran El Reno performer Gene Stroman entertained a crowd singing country tunes on the main stage, while another crowd filled the chairs in front of the children’s stage.

Other entertainers on the main stage included Aria, Extreme Community Church band, Christina Bender and Joe Slawson, Edgar Cruz, Ancient Radio Players and Roe Sham Beau. Performers on the children’s stage included the El Reno High School Show Choir Individuals and Ensembles, Roblyer Honor Choir, Sponji the Clown, Carson and Barnes Circus Performers, Oklahoma Youth Theater Productions, Dance 2 B Seen dancers, Hillcrest Honor Choir, Rose Witcher Honor Choir and Central District Square Dancing Group.

By mid-morning, the line in front of the fried-onion burger tent was growing longer festival-goers waited for their chance to eat the namesake burger. If the burgers weren’t enough, hungry revelers had a wide variety of other food to choose from — funnel cakes, baked potatoes, nachos, cheese fries and “cotton candy, don’t forget yer cotton candy”.

But many of people were at the festival awaiting the star of the show — the 750-pound, 8.5-foot around Big Burger.

A large crowd gathered to watch the grilling of the impressive burger, which began about noon.

Main Street Director Codie Lee-Finnigan said the grilling was an hour-long spectator sport.

Firefighters fired up the over-sized grill, patted the hamburger meat out, threw on the onions, tested for doneness, added gallons of pickles and onions and deposited the monster between the bottom and top of a giant bun.

Merchant tents were also full of curious browsers and shoppers, who had their choice of wares from jewelry to candles to Oklahoma-shaped soaps, dishtowels and potato bags.

And, for the children, Burger Day offered huge excitement. Dozens of children danced, jumped and slid down large inflatables or had their faces painted. Gleeful shouts of “Daddy, over here. Let’s go over here” could be heard as children pulled their parents by the hand to ride the ponies or one of the mechanical rides.

Other screams could also be heard, but these came from volunteers at the dunk tank, teasingly heckling those who paid $1 for three shots at knocking them off their perch.

One volunteer was eventually bested by 14-year-old David Huser of Blanchard who was in town for Burger Day, as one right-on-target shot landed the volunteer in the water and gave cause for a round of cheers for David.

Paul Roach, Faith Family Church pastor, said the dunk tank is a fund-raiser for his church, which raises money for its youth to attend summer church camps. Burger Day is a big success for the church and brings in about $800 to $900 during the effort, he said.

And riding shotgun for this year’s festivities was Fire Chief Kent Lagaly, who wore the crown as the 2007 King of the Big Burger.

Lagaly said he was surprised when he was told he was to be king.

“I appreciate it, and it’s a huge honor,” he said. “I’m going to wear the crown for all of the fire department because there is no way I could do it all by myself. There are a lot of people behind the scenes that do just as much and are just as deserving.”