About Hay Day
Hometown Family Fun and Tradition
Inola, OK is known to have the best hay in the world due to the protein, quality, and quantity, of hay produced, in and around town. Our Hay Day celebration was once held to commemorate the first cutting of the season with a town fair. We have kept that tradition alive for over 60 years of family-oriented fun. That we enjoy sharing with all those that want to join in all the fun and celebrate with us. The festivities generally include the crowning of our Hay Day Court, Parades, Rodeo, Livestock and Pet Shows, Craft Fair by local crafters, Carnival Rides and Games for all ages, Live Entertainment, Raffles, Outdoor Games like sack race, three-legged race, frog jump, and corn hole. There is always a variety of Food Trucks and Vendors for all to fill up on, and even more fun for the entire family.
Our small town is filled with people that work hard and care very much for one another and their community. As the old saying goes
"Small Town, Big Hearts"
Hay Day History
The first Hay Day celebration was in 1960 when;
“A bunch of guys were sitting around drinking coffee one day,” Mayor Tommy Dyer explained, “and they got to talking about Rooster Day over at Broken Arrow.
“They said, “If Broken Arrow can have a rooster day, why can't we have a hay day?’ So we started calling ourselves the hay capital of the world. So far, nobody has contested it” 1975 NY Times article, quoting former mayor Tommy Dyer who served as mayor in Inola from 1965-79.
Over the years the dates have changed but many of the events have stayed true to tradition. Some of the events from the first few Hay Day had all-day free barbeques, horseshoe pitching, hay bale throwing, hog calling, fiddle playing, and skillet throwing contests. For the kids, you would find events like turtle races, frog jumping races, shetland pony races, and sack races as well as fireworks displays, street dance, carnival rides and games, a Hay Day Queen contest, and a parade.
The following articles and pages are from The History of Hay Day by Charlene Harrell and the History of Rogers County by Bob Burke & Eric Dabney
Hay Day Association
The Inola Hay Day Association was established in 1981 over 20 years after the first Hay Day celebration. It is a non-profit group of community members that donate their time and efforts to continue and maintain our Hay Day.
The first members of the Hay Day Assn. were...
