Find Simple Pleasures in Minnesota's Countryside
Enjoy Festivals, Ethnic Dinners, Community Yard Sales, Parades
Aug 9, 2009
Life in Minnesota’s “Slow Lanes,” where speed limits never exceed 55 miles pre hour, offers pleasurable and inexpensive rewards to travelers who take the time to seek them out. Each small town and rural area has its own annual events. They’re held primarily for residents, who welcome visitors with genuine hospitality.
Midsummer Night Festivals and Norwegian Smorgasbords
In west central Minnesota on the Sunday that’s closest to June 21, Eksjo Lutheran Church (founded in 1871) celebrates the Summer Solstice. A midday dinner, flower-bedecked Maypole (Midsommarmarstanis), wildflower crowns, music and dancing are the annual event’s main attractions. Dinners include the traditional Swedish meatballs and rice pudding. The Sons of Norway and Norwegian Lutheran churches throughout the area celebrate the signing of Norway’s Constitution on the seventeenth of May, 1816 with smorgasbords which are open to the public. (Syttende Mai). Each year, hundreds of other festivals -- both religious and secular -- are held in small towns and rural areas throughout the state.
City-wide Yard Sales are Bargain Shoppers’ Specials in towns like Frazee
Another form of entertainment, community yard sales, have become annual events in many of the state’s smaller towns. Maps of the various sale sites are printed and available from each of the participants. Neighborhood groups and even businesses get together to offer larger selections than they would have individually, so even if there are only 20 sales scattered at sites around town, there’s plenty of merchandise for even the most ardent garage-sale shoppers.
Crazy Daze Offer a Wide Array including LakeShirts at Detroit Lakes
More shopping options are offered on one or two days each year, when main streets in towns throughout Minnesota are cordoned off so that they can be filled with tables and racks of deeply discounted items from adjacent stores. These shopping marathons – most of them are held at end of summer and start at dawn – provide opportunities to buy everything from craft supplies to sporting goods. Prices generally range from 70 to 90 percent off the original prices. Among the most popular vendors in Detroit Lakes is LakeShirts, with four t-shirts traditionally selling for a total of $20.
Minnesota Garden Produce Sold at Roadside Stands
Slow lane- driving makes it easy to stop at the roadside stands and to turn up gravel roads that lead to farmhouses advertising the likes of fresh strawberries, wrought-iron weathervanes or woven baskets. Houses in small towns frequently have signs on their lawns advertising homemade/grown products such as soap, herbs and preserves.
Land of the Loon Festival is among Outstanding Arts and Crafts Show
Among the very best of the state’s smaller art shows are the Land of the Loon Festival in Virginia, Minnesota, where some 400 vendors booths feature arts, crafts and ethnic foods. Another winner is the Phelps Mill Art Show, held in a gorgeous setting near Fergus Falls. Both of these festivals offer non-stop entertainment and picnic facilities as well.
Minnesota Summer Events Provide Low-Cost and Free Minnesota Fun
On Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and in conjunction with community celebrations,parades are always free. Bake sales, usually sponsored by organizations, are often held outside of supermarkets. Street dances, band concerts at the city park and baseball games are usually publicized in area newspapers. The information is also available at area chambers of commerce or visitors bureaus..
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