Sorry folks, I just can’t seem to write this up in a way that truly gives the event justice. I’ve tried and tried, but it hasn’t worked out. But I don’t want to keep you waiting. Its been a week, dag naabbit! So here’s my haphazard attempt to culminate the events of the 74th Annual Kolacky Days.
Now typically, Kolacky Days starts for us (C and I) on Friday night, volunteering down at the beer garden. There’s normally a fantastic band and lots of beer. Always a great time. But this year, we opted not to. Instead, we went up to the cities.
Saturday
The day started out down at Memorial Park for the annual Kiddie Parade. Surprisingly, its a parade of kids. Since we now have one, she asked if she could go. We, of course, obliged. So dd and jj were in their very first parade as official princesses! I heard that dd was the youngest entrant ever.
Not wanting to feel left out, dad needed to be crowned as well. We’re all about accommodation round here.
After the parade, we made a pit stop at the house, then uptown to check out the car show. Between dad and I drooling, I was able to snap a few pics to try to capture the mood. This is the pic that I put up this year on Wikipedia.
Everything from Model T’s to a Ford GT40 were there. The car show is one of the favorite events of Kolacky Days. It typically runs Saturday, from 8am until about 3pm.
Some good lookin family posed for a pic for us, after lunch at Brad’s Home Plate, complete with
Arm wrestling and
Dancing.
After the car show and lunch, we cruised through Big Honza’s Museum of Unnatural History to see what new contraptions Dr. Monty Gomery, PHD, unearthed. JJ loved this place. I understand that later, the good doctor’s cousin John gave her a behind the scenes tour.
Spent some time at home, recuperating, and allowing Dr. D to get his obligatory dd time. DD saw the inflatable park down at Memorial Park, and begged to go. So dad and I took her down there to watch. She had a fantastic time, making new bff’s, finding new uses for inflatable playgrounds, and just being a kid.
At some point during the playground, she saw the Domaci Dancers getting ready to begin their show. So, as dad and I grabbed something to eat, she found her way to the seating area to watch the show.
After quite a bit of time down at the park, we headed back to the house to rest up a bit. The Angel came up to spend some time babysitting dd and jj so the adults could head down to the beer garden. A few beers and some good fair food. Very cool.
Sunday
Now, if you can only make it one day for Kolacky Days, then this is the day. Our parade is, by far, the best in the state.
Knowing Franke’s Bakery tends to bake up a fresh batch of Kolacky’s on Sunday, I tried a few times to make it up there when they opened. On my first round up at 630am, folks already had their chairs out and ready to go. On my 830 trip, I had the camera with to show you.
Franke’s still wasn’t open. They ended up opening about 10am, and I made it in time to pick up a dozen for the family.
Brought everyone uptown about 11am to get settled in for the parade. Took another pic as the crowds grew.
Even Abe Lincoln decided to grace us with his presence.
Getting closer to the noon whistle, the streets started really filling up.
And like clockwork, the noon whistle blows, and the parade begins. As always, a fantastic parade. A couple of decent pics in the gallery at the bottom of the page here.
As the parade progressed, we saw it. The giant chinese dragon. JJ saw it too…
Little did she know what it was intending to do.
After the parade, we headed back up to the park for some food, and to watch the Kolacky Eating contest. We joked a few times that dad should enter. Little did we know he would.
Not only did he enter the Kolacky Eating contest in our small town, but he competed against a couple of important guys: our mayor, Mick McGuire (right, black shirt); and the Mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak (right, blue shirt).
After the Kolacky eating contest, we walked around and checked out the vendor booths and the Log Cabin History center, then headed home for some rest and relaxation from a fantastic weekend.
Conclusion
Once again, Kolacky Days was a success. With Mobilize Montgomery running it, I don’t foresee it being able to fail. Oz, GB and the whole city really pull this off perfectly. They really know how to celebrate a town’s heritage. Its a blast. For those that have yet to experience Kolacky Days, what’s your excuse? Get up/down/over here next year.
I’m sure Mobilize has thanked their sponsors and such. I would just like to thank them for yet another fantabulous Kolacky Days! We look forward to it again next year, and the year after, and the year after….
