MELBOURNE — With a theme of “The Wild West,” this year’s Melbourne Mousehole Days celebrates Americana and hometown pride. It will run August 1-3 with activities for everyone.

Friday, Aug. 1 will kick things off with the firemen pork burgers from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with root beer floats at the bank at 6 p.m.

“They used to do a fish fry, but they’ve been doing pork burgers that they buy locally at our butcher shop here in Melbourne called Sedlacek Wholesale Meat Co,” said Dee Pickard, who serves on the Mousehole Days planning committee. “We try to shop local as much as possible. If we can’t source it from Melbourne, State Center, or Rhodes, we will source it from Marshalltown.”

The softball tournament this year will see 100 percent of profits from entry fees go to the local Little League.

“We have about 13 teams for that softball tournament, so that’s pretty big, and a lot of the people in the softball tournament are just local adults that are just wanting to kind of dust off the bats and have a good whack at it and have fun with it, not too terribly competitive,” she noted.

She added that the first game will start around 7 p.m. Friday with games spanning all day Saturday.

The Masons’ kid pedal pull on Main Street will start at 6:30 p.m. Also at that time will be sign up for the Miss and Mr. Mousehole contest. It’s open to youth entering kindergarten through entering third grade.

“That can be kids from anywhere from the Melbourne local area and surrounding farm area,” Pickard said.

Winners will be crowned at 8 p.m. Also at 8 p.m. the popular Monkey Shine Parade will get started at the fire station.

“And just like last year, the kids just dress up their bikes and ride them down Main Street and back,” she said. “And then we have the people that are playing cornhole in front of the Melbourne Pub get to judge what their favorite one was. I think last year we did most decorative, most at theme (The Wild West), and crowd favorite.”

All ages are welcome.

Music at the Rec Center will feature Exit 185 from 8 p.m. to midnight, while the Melbourne Pub Bag Tournament by Motown baggers goes on.

Saturday, Aug. 2 will start with a breakfast at 7 a.m. hosted by the Masons. There will be a Bloody Mary bar at the Melbourne Pub at 9 a.m., followed by the parade at 10:30 a.m., with line up starting at 10 a.m. at the Rec Center.

Head up town for the third annual car show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $15 per vehicle. There will be judging by participants with awards going to the top three.

The foam party in the park will go from noon to 1 p.m. The New Horizon United Methodist Church lunch will go from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Kid Zone in Smoke Meier Memorial Park will run from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

“It’s going to have cowboy-themed games including stick horse races, hay bale stacking and some cute western-themed things like that,” Pickard added.

Slip and slide will be set up at the library from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. At 5:30 p.m. will be Mousehole Mayhem Rugged Pro Wrestling behind the Rec Center, returning from last year.

A splash dance for youth will span 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for those in fourth grade and up. The pool will open at 2 p.m.

“Teenagers and adults know it’s not really for them,” she said.

A street dance with American Music DJ will occur in front of the Melbourne Pub from 8 p.m. to midnight. Fireworks will begin approximately at 9:45 p.m. after the last softball game.

Food vendors will be situated around town, Saturday only, and include: Sugar Box Treats by the concession stands at the softball diamonds, starting at 10 a.m.; Clare’s Tenderloins by the car show from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; The Eggroll Ladies, located by MidWestOne Bank from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Lucky Wife Wine Slushies, located by Smoke Meier Park, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 3 will feature only one event: Church in the Park at 10 a.m. with treats to follow.

Volunteers are always needed. For more information or to sign up to be in the parade, contact Pickard at: mhdmelbourne@gmail.com. For more info on the car show reach out to: Melbournecarshow@gmail.com.