Campustown’s Dinkey Day celebration drew hundreds of ISU students and Ames residents Sept. 26.

The event began at 5 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Ames Historical Society’s new educational trailer.

Alex Fejfar, project coordinator for the Ames Historical Society, said that the Dinkey used to be the train that shuttled students the two mile distance between campus and the town of Ames from 1891 to 1907.

Fejfar and the Ames Historical Society were excited to debut the trailer at this event.

“It made sense,” Fejfar said. “Dinkey was the first mode of mass transit in Ames, so we’ll use this event to showcase the first mass transit of Ames’ history.”

At 5:15 p.m. the first band began to play. Spectators stood at the front of the stage or sat in several groups of four or five chairs that had been placed out by the Campustown Action Association. The live music attracted more than 200 people to watch the three-band set.

Jean-Pierre Taoutel, senior lecturer of French and resident of the Campustown area, said he attended the event specifically to see the community turnout. 

“You see a different kind of crowd, not just students. It brings people of all ages,” Taoutel said. “It doesn’t happen so often in Campustown. They should do more of this.”

The face painting station drew some of the most attention from the families with children. The inflatables and the mechanical bull were also popular throughout the night.

Anyone who took a free root beer from the soda fountain also got a free commemorative “Ames 150” neon-green cups. 

The crowds were beneficial for any of the student organizations that were present, students said.

Jessica Taylor, junior in political science, is the fundraising chair for Hopeful Africa, an organization that raises money for seven different schools in Kenya.

Taylor said that she was happy to be representing her organization at the Dinkey Day celebration because of access to a new market.

“There’s a lot of families here,” Taylor said, “and there are no families on campus.”

The Campustown Action Association had goals of hosting an event that would bring students into Campustown while also gaining attention from the large Ames community as a whole.

Kim Hanna, director of the Ames Campustown Action Association, said she felt that many of the event goals were met.

Even early in the night, Hanna felt that there was potential for a great turnout, she said.

“We love seeing all the families and students,” Hanna said. “It’s really just a beautiful day for an outdoor event.”