NORTHERN MINNESOTA
The city of Hibbing will hold their annual MINES & PINES JUBILEE, through Sunday, July 16. The Jubilee features a large parade and street dance, a Miner’s fly-in and drive-in breakfast, helicoptor rides, an ice cream social, Sidewalk Days sales, a flea market, and the Mines & Pines Art Festival. For more information, dial 1-800-444-2246, or check out www.hibbing.org/minespines.html
The 71ST ANNUAL NORTHWEST WATER CARNIVAL will be held at the pavilion and city beach in Detroit Lakes, through Sunday, July 16. Highlights include a large parade, a tractor pull, bingo, demolition derby, a Bash on the Beach, waterski show, a brat feed, and water fights. For further information, dial 1-800-542-3992, or visit www.dlwatercarnival.com
The city of Sauk Centre will be the site of SINCLAIR LEWIS DAYS, through July 16, with a treasure hunt, turtle races, a kiddie parade, concerts in the park, a pageant, tours of the Little Red School, a battle of the bands, Crazy Days sales, a craft show and flea market, grand parade, street dance, and fireworks display. For additional information, dial 320/352-5201, or check out www.saukcentrechamber.com
The 15TH ANNUAL MOONDANCE JAM will be held Wednesday through Saturday, July 12-15, at Moondance Jam Fairgrounds, in the city of Walker. Featured will be 16 national bands performing on three stages, including the Steve Miller Band, The New Cars, Styx, Guess Who, The Little River Band, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, The Bangles, and the Doobie Brothers. To learn more, dial 1-877-666-6526, or visit www.moondancejam.com
The city of Moose Lake will hold their 37TH ANNUAL AGATE DAYS celebration, Saturday and Sunday, July 15 & 16. Highlights include a Gem and Mineral Show, door prizes, a steak fry, the Agate Stampede, and Art in the Park. To find out more, dial 1-800-635-3680, or check out www.mooselake-mn.com/AgateDays
The KAXE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FESTIVAL will be held in downtown Grand Rapids, July 15 & 16. This celebration of the Mississippi River features live music, fine arts and crafts, family activities, storytelling, glass blowing demonstrations, Mississippi River history, a riverbank phenology walk, and lots of food! For more information, dial 1-800-662-5799, or visit www.kaxe.org/festival
The city of Aitkin will host RIVERBOAT HERITAGE DAYS, Wednesday through Sunday, July 19-23. Highlights include an art show, human-pedaled riverboat races on the Mississippi River, a community picnic, two parades, two pageants, two street dances, four bands, a rummage sale, and much more! For further information, dial 1-800-526-8342, or check out www.aitkin.com
The HOYT LAKES WATER CARNIVAL will be held Friday through Sunday, July 21-23, throughout the city of Hoyt Lakes. This three-day celebration features Funland Carnival rides and games, waterski shows, open air dances, turtle races, an art show, Dockdogs dock jumping, mechanical bull rides at the midway, fireworks, a pancake feed, a parade, and a karaoke contest at the beer garden stage. To learn more, dial 1-888-450-2617, or visit www.hoytlakescarnival.com
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TWIN CITIES GREATER METROPOLITAN VICINITY
BODY WORLDS: THE ANATOMICAL EXHIBITION OF REAL HUMAN BODIES will be offered at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul through September 4, and gives visitors a glimpse into what lies beneath their skin. This is the first exhibition of its kind in the world, and features more than 200 individual specimens, that have been preserved in flexible plastic and fixed into lifelike poses. And, while at the Science Museum, check out the HUMAN BODY OMNITHEATER FILM for a larger-than-life look at the daily biological processes. For tickets and times, and to learn more, check out www.smm.org/bodyworlds, or dial 651/221-9444
The Maple Grove Community Center in the city of Maple Grove will be the site of MAPLE GROVE DAYS from Thursday, July 13 through Sunday, July 16. This community festival features parades, a farmers market, live entertainment, a car and truck show, business expo, games and rides, an art fair, boat races, the Battle of Bands, garden tours, duct tape contests, pony rides, and spectacular fireworks. For more information, visit www.maplegrovedays.com, or dial 1-800-541-4364
RIVERTOWN DAYS will be held throughout the city of Hastings, Friday through Sunday, July 14-16. Highlights include live music, games, a parade, inflatable family fun, a carnival, water ski shows, sidewalk sales, a flea market, arts and crafts fair, a youth fishing clinic, and fireworks display. To find out more, dial 1-888-612-6122, or check out www.hastingsmn.org
The city of Taylors Falls will present WANNIGAN DAYS, July 14-16, with a parade running from Wisconsin to Minnesota, a kiddie carnival and kiddie parade, a street dance, 1855 Folsom House Museum tours, boat cruises, and more. For further information, dial 651/465-6315, or visit www.taylorsfallschamber.org
The 67TH ANNUAL AQUATENNIAL will be held Friday through Sunday, July 14-23, throughout the city of Minneapolis. This celebration features roughly 50 events, including Minnesota’s largest parade and free outdoor concert, the fourth largest annual fireworks show in the U.S., the amazing milk carton boat races and sandcastle building competition, an art fair at the beach, the world’s largest purse triathlon, neighborhood park BBQ’s, and so much more. For further information, check out www.aquatennial.org, or dial 612/338-3807
The Dakota County Fairgrounds in Farmington will be the site of the MINNESOTA SCOTTISH FAIR & HIGHLAND GAMES on Saturday, July 15. Enjoy Celtic music including bagpipes, fiddlers and singers, as well as Highland & Country Dancing, living history presentations, free children’s activities, and Scottish vendors and clans. To learn more, dial 1-866-342-6300, or visit www.mnscottishfair.org
RONDO DAYS will be held July 15 at Martin Luther King Center in St. Paul, with a parade, drill teams, live entertainment, and variety of vendors. To find out more, dial 651/646-6597, or check out www.rondodays.org
Lake Minnetonka Regional Park and Mound Bay Park will be the site of the SPIRIT OF THE LAKES FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS on Saturday and Sunday, July 15 & 16. Featured will be quality artwork along the shore of Lake Minnetonka, as well as a showcase of businesses, a waterski show, an antique boat show, boat tours, live entertainment, free fishing derby, and fireworks. For more information, dial 952/472-5622, or visit www.lakeminnetonkachamber.com or www.cityofmound.com
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SOUTHERN MINNESOTA
GIANT DAYS will be held throughout the city of Blue Earth and at the Faribault County Fairgrounds, through Sunday, July 16. Visitors will enjoy musical entertainment by national acts such as Herman’s Hermits, as well as sidewalk sales, a car show, parade, street dance, fireworks, historical and cemetary tours, a demolition derby, tours of area gardens, children’s activities, and a fly-in waffle breakfast. For more information, dial 507/526-2916, or visit www.blueearthchamber.com
The town of Eyota will be the site of EYOTA DAYS through Sunday, July 16. Featured will be a parade, Ag and Family Fun nights, an antique tractor pull, a street dance, Belgian Waffle Breakfast, classic car show, and much more! For further information, dial 507/545-2135
The SONSHINE MUSIC FESTIVAL will be held in the city of Willmar, Thursday through Saturday, July 13-15, with three days of national and regional Christian music bands. Camping is also available. To learn more, dial 320/235-6723, or check out www.sonshinefestival.com
The 20TH ANNUAL GARDEN CITY FAMILY BLUEGRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL will be held July 13-16 at Shady Oaks Campground and Fairgrounds in Garden City, with nine bluegrass acts and camping at a beautiful fairgrounds. Garden City is located ten miles south of Mankato on Hwy 169. For more information, and for rates and times, dial 660/665-7172, or visit www.spbgma.com/updates/index.html
The city of Jackson will be the site of the 2006 JACKSON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION and RACE DAYS-RALLY IN THE VALLEY, Friday through Sunday, July 14-16. Highlights of this 150th Birthday celebration include arts and crafts, live music, an MPR Morning Show in the park, historic Jackson bus tours, a medallion hunt, Crazy Days on Main Street, a soap box derby, go-cart races, an antique tractor pull, moto-cross races, a parade, free hog roast, and games and prizes for the kids. To find out more, dial 507/847-3867, or check out www.jacksonmn.com
The annual WILDER PAGEANT will be held along the banks of Plum Creek in Walnut Grove, Friday through Sunday, July 14-16, at 9 p.m. This outdoor drama is based on the life of author Laura Ingalls Wilder in Walnut Grove during the 1870′s, and features extensive lighting, sound and special effects at an outdoor, hillside amphitheater. The Pageant will be repeated July 21-23. And, each Saturday, through July 22, a WALNUT GROVE FAMILY PARK EVENT will be offered at the city park, with a variety of craft and food vendors, live music, and a Laura and Nellie Look-Alike contest. For rates and times, dial 1-888-859-3102, or visit www.walnutgrove.org
The city of Benson will be the site of a KIDS’ DAY CELEBRATION, July 14-16, with a medallion hunt, teen dance, a kiddie parade, model train show, free fire truck rides, a carnival, ranch rodeo, a BBQ in the park, fireman’s water fight, a car cruise and car show, fireworks, a fly-in breakfast, and the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus. For more information, dial 320/843-3618, or check out www.bensonareachamber.com
HUCK FINN DAYS CELEBRATION & SALES will be held throughout the city of Winona from Thursday, July 20 through Saturday, July 22. In addition to three days of sidewalk sales, there will be food and craft vendors, Great River Shakespeare Festival performances, and children’s activities, such as a fish pond, photo spot, inflatables, concerts in the park, and horse-drawn wagon rides. For further information, dial 1-800-657-4972, or visit www.visitwinona.com
Downtown New Ulm will be the site of a BAVARIAN BLAST, Friday through Sunday, July 21-23. Highlights include three large tents with a variety of music, including bands from Germany in a “German beer hall.” In addition, there will be craft sales, food and drink vendors, an art show, and a parade. To learn more, dial 1-888-4-NEW-ULM, or check out www.bavarianblast.org
The SONG OF HIAWATHA PAGEANT will be held at the Hiawatha Pageant Grounds in the city of Pipestone, July 21-23. Based on Longfellow’s poem, this beautiful pageant is held in a large outdoor amphitheater, with elaborate lighting and costumes. In addition, there will be a mini pow wow. The Pageant will be repeated July 28-30, and August 4-6. For rates and times, dial 1-800-430-4126, or visit www.pipestoneminnesota.com
The information in this report is provided courtesy of Explore Minnesota Tourism. Visit http://www.exploreminnesota.com for more info!