Activities abound for Luverne’s Buffalo Days

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LUVERNE — As one of the region’s first celebrations to kick off the summer festival season, organizers of the 28th annual Buffalo Days have a full slate of offerings for the three-day event in Luverne this Friday through Sunday.

Activities get underway with the annual Cruise-In for all collectibles, whether they run on two wheels or four, at 6 p.m. Friday. The cruise-in is a big draw, not only for car and motorcycle enthusiasts, but for people coming back to town for weekend class reunions. Larry Goebel, Luverne High School Class of 1967, will “spin records” for the crowd, which will likely include many of his classmates in town to celebrate their 45th year reunion, according to Jane Wildung-Lanphere, executive director of the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce.

As the adults mingle through the cruise-in, at the beer garden and near the food vendors, the younger generation will be able to watch the Buffalo Days Duck Race on Main Street or take in an aerial view of the downtown by taking a fire truck ladder ride. Both the duck race and ladder rides are sponsored by the Luverne Fire Department.

Highlights for Saturday include the Arts in the Park event which will feature more than 100 booths and lots of new vendors this year. The day also includes the annual Buffalo Days Parade at 10 a.m. down Main Street. There are more than 55 entries in the parade, and Lanphere said more are expected to register this week.

As part of the Scribe of Siouxland celebration honoring what would have been Luverne author Fred Manfred’s 100th birthday year, the first of two Blue Mounds Writers Series will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Interpretive Center in Blue Mounds State Park. The event will feature authors Freya Manfred and Thomas R. Smith, and will include music by Ron and Jane Cote.

“We’re going to focus on the prairie,” Lanphere said, adding the Cote’s will sing music from the 1800s. “It’s really kind of fun to hear them sing.”

More music is on tap Sunday, during an old-fashioned hoe-down at the Rock County Fairgrounds in Luverne. There will be performances by a fiddler and square dancing demonstrations, and people can take a trip down memory lane by visiting the Fitzer barn, the summer kitchen, Ordung building and one-room school. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Dakota Dutchers will serve up a Dutch oven dinner as a fundraiser for the Rock County Historical Society (RCHS).

The money will be used to help renovate the floral hall on the fairgrounds to eventually house the RCHS museum.

The complete Buffalo Days schedule follows:

Friday:

6 to 10 p.m.: Cruise-In, downtown Luverne. Beer garden and food vendors open. Fire truck ladder rides and Buffalo Days duck races on Main Street for the kids.

Saturday:

7:30 a.m.: Fitness Walk. Register at Luverne Area Aquatic and Fitness starting at 7 a.m. for the walk and run. Registration forms available at www.sanfordluverne.org.

7:45 a.m.: Fitness half-mile run for kids ages 12 and younger

8:15 a.m.: 5K and 10K Fitness run.

7:30 to 10 a.m.: Dad’s Belgian Waffles, American Legion, sponsored by the Southwest Chapter of the American Red Cross.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Arts in the Park, Luverne City Park.

9 a.m.: Bike gathering at Luverne Kawasaki for free coffee and donuts for bikers, followed by parade ride.

10 a.m.: Buffalo Days Parade, Main Street.

10 a.m.: Luverne Baseball Association Tournament for grades 3-8, Redbird Field.

Noon: Buffalo Chip Throwing Contest, Luverne City Park.

Noon: Tae-Kwon-Do and Karate Club demonstrations, Luverne City Park.

1 to 2 p.m.: Spotlight Dancers, Luverne City Park.

7 p.m. Blue Mounds Writers Series, featuring Freya Manfred and Thomas R. Smith, at the Blue Mounds Interpretive Center.

Sunday:

10 a.m.: Luverne Baseball Association Tournament for grades 3-8, Redbird Field.

10 a.m.: Buffalo Days worship service, Historic Palace Theatre.

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Old-fashioned Hoe-Down with music and the opening of the Fitzer barn, summer kitchen, Ordung building and the one-room school.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Dutch oven dinner, prepared by the Dakota Dutchers, serving pork loin, potatoes, vegetable, corn bread, beverage and dessert.

Daily Globe Reporter Julie Buntjer may be reached at 376-7330.

Tags: buffalo days, news, luverne