MILTON-FREEWATER — A sudden shower and a rush of volunteers trying to cover auction items from the rain was just another bead in the deluge of adversity for this year’s Guns & Hoses fundraiser for the YMCA Milton-Freewater Children’s Summer Program.

On Saturday, June 20, at the Milton-Freewater Jr. Show Grounds — on Highway 11 near Bordertown Feed & Supply — horses, cowboys and cowgirls were in their usual places nearby at the Pioneer Posse Grounds. But around the dusty arena, another posse could be seen gathered in the barns to the south.

Volunteers from the Milton-Freewater Rural Fire District and Milton-Freewater Police Department were gathered in a truly impromptu setting because of — you guessed it — the coronavirus.

But the volunteers said it may have been the right place to be all along, despite this year’s smaller crowd.

“This might be a blessing, actually,” the fire district’s operations chief, Mark Gomes, said as rain fell on a live performance from Steven K and the Bounty Hunters, a country/blues band from La Grande.

Gomes said the event, planned a year ago, was supposed to have taken place in Milton-Freewater’s Yantis Park.

Organizers have adopted the name “Party in the Park” to describe the event, which used to be a friendly softball game between the fire and police departments.

After some successful playoff runs by the girls’ softball team at McLoughlin High School, they stopped trying to fit the game in the narrow window between the playoffs and the start of summer, Gomes said.

In 2018, the event moved to Yantis Park with live music, food trucks and vendors, along with a separate silent auction at Stateline Community Church — an event Gomes said “packed out” the church’s sanctuary.

This year, organizers were optimistic the event could go on. After all, the YMCA is still planning on getting the program going again in the next couple of weeks, volunteers said.

The hope was that Phase 2 of Oregon’s economic reopening plan would be enough of a progression for the event to happen. But city officials last week told organizers Yantis Park would no longer be available in light of the coronavirus.

A search for a new spot got underway immediately, Gomes said. Volunteer fire Cpt. Dave Fesler serves on the board for the Milton-Freewater Jr. Show. Despite the nearby rodeo grounds being used Saturday, the board approved the event at the park-like barn area.

The space, Gomes said, was actually much better for their needs, despite the last-minute switch. It also provided for easier social distancing and will have ample room for live music and vendors if they can get the spot again next year.

Unfortunately, Saturday turned out to be rainy to start, and the venue transfer didn’t allow for food trucks to come out. Organizers also had to send home their beer and wine vendors because the venue change would’ve required new temporary liquor licenses in too short a time for processing, Gomes said.

A few people browsed through the vendors before the rain hit. The silent auction was also moved to the show grounds because Stateline Church was not able to accommodate it this year with COVID-19-related precautions.

“It makes me sad,” Gomes said. “We raised almost $11,000 last year for the kids.”

This year, he said, they’re hoping to get even $3,000.

Gomes said the program is vital for many reasons — it provides food in the summer for underprivileged children, it provides some education and safety lessons and it gives kids a safe place to play with close adult supervision.

“One thing is people say kids get into trouble without school around,” Gomes said. “Well, this kind of thing is what can prevent that.”

Families only have to pay what they want, per the program’s policies, which is why the fundraiser is vital. It costs about $100 per week for each child, for a total of about $800 per participant for the summer.

Last year, the event was able to sponsor more than 40 kids.

Eventually, the sun came to join the “Party in the Park” as well, as the rain clouds parted in what can only be hoped as a good omen for the fundraiser.