The 43rd annual Forest City Stockade Rendezvous will be this Saturday and Sunday from 10-to-5 each day. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under.
Mike McGhee says they are observing the 50th anniversary of the Stockade this year as it was reconstructed in 1976. He says it will be different this year as long-time Stockade promoter Bob Hermann passed away earlier this year, but a lot of volunteers have stepped up.
McGhee says they will have the same foods that they’ve had for years, along with numerous pioneer crafts and demonstrations. He says the fur trade encampment will be set up along the east side of the Stockade, and a birch bark canoe builder will be there on Sunday.
Dick Kelly says the Forest City Stockade Rendezvous is a great way to get away from electronics for a while and see what life was like in the 1800s. He says there is a tepee set up right in front of the Stockade and it was a popular attraction during school tours this spring.
Kelly says the tepee is designed with just a few poles and canvas and a fire in the middle to create updraft which is an amazing feat of engineering. He says he and his family work at the hot dog stand and usually don’t get to see much else or see the other volunteers so sometimes the only time the volunteers see each other is at their annual meeting. For more details about the Rendezvous, go to www.forestcitystockade.org.
Litchfield Community Education is winding down summer activities and getting ready for back to school. Fall sports for youth such as tackle football, volleyball and football camp are already getting started.
Litchfield Community Education Director Grant Solem says Kindergarten and 1st grade readiness classes have been taking place and there is open swimming and some private swimming lessons taking place at the pool at Litchfield High School. He says adults have been enjoying pickle ball – mostly outdoors – this summer and they are looking at various options for winter pickle ball.
Solem says Litchfield Community Theatre had a successful production of “Mary Poppins” at the end of July and they will be producing “A Christmas Carol” in December to cap off their 50th season. He says Litchfield Community Education has a couple of theater trip coming up including “Les Miserables” at the Paramount in St. Cloud on October 29th and “Annie” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre on November 9th. For more information on any classes or activities, call Litchfield Community Education at 693-2354.
The 38th annual Forest City Threshers Show is this weekend – Saturday and Sunday – from 8-to-5 each day. Admission is just $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under to the show which is located about 5 miles northeast of Litchfield on Highway 24.
Dave Jutz says Oliver is the featured equipment this year so many members of the Northland Power Club will be displaying their equipment. He says the new Carlson Building will be open this year and it will contain memorabilia of the featured equipment, which will be parked nearby.
Jutz says there’s a tractor parade each day, a tractor pull following Saturday’s parade and then garden and antique tractor pulls after Sunday’s parade, and a kid’s pedal pull Sunday at 10:30 a.m. He says the Ladies Activity Building will have more items this year, and there’s a breakfast each day from 7:30-to-9:30, a roast beef dinner each day from 11-to-2, along with taco, malt and hamburger stands and a beer garden.
Butch Schulte says the show will, of course, include threshing demonstrations and corn shelling. He says there’s a tobacco grower’s exhibit, an old crank telephone display, and much more. He says more items were added to the old train depot, including a desk that came from Corvuso.
Schulte says Craig Kimmerle will be playing the piano during the roast beef dinner and there will be other musical acts around the show grounds, and if anyone else is interested in performing, they are welcome. He says, as he’s done research, the only place that he knows of that sold Oliver equipment was Kvam Implement in Litchfield. You can find a complete schedule of events on the Forest City Threshers Facebook page.