Ames’ and Campustown’s Dinky Day celebration held on Friday drew crowds of hundreds over the course of the night.

At 5 pm the event began with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Ames Historical Society’s new educational trailer. Alex Fejfar is Project Coordinator for the Ames Historical Society. Fejfar said that the Dinky was the train that shuttled students the two mile distance from campus to town over the course of 16 years, from 1891 to 1907.

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

“It made sense,” Fejfar said, “Dinky 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 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 is a Senior Lecturer of French at Iowa State University, and lives in the Campustown area. He was present to watch the live music.

“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.

The free commemorative “Ames 150” neon green cups were seen being carried in Campustown by anyone who took a free root beer from the soda fountain.

The crowds were beneficial for any of the student organizations that were present. Jessica Taylor 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 here with access to a new market. “There’s a lot of families here,” Taylor said, “and there’s 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 is the Director of the Ames Campustown Action Association, and felt that many of the events goals were met.

Even early in the night, Hanna felt that there was potential for a great turnout. “We love seeing all the families and students,” Hanna said, “It’s really just a beautiful day for and outdoor evening.”