Bonanza Valley Days 2021 is here! (VIDEO)

The 2021 Bonanza Valley Days celebration in Brooten is here! And the town of Brooten could not be happier. The highway project is done, highway stripes are going down, and soon the crosswalks will be painted on Highway 55. We received a very timely rain earlier this week, and the town is ready for the big "circus" to arrive!

UPDATE on Friday morning:The BVD 2021 Medallion was found! It was found by Emma Bast and Nathaniel Bast on Thursday evening at Memorial Park. All of the clues are still posted at city hall in downtown Brooten, and the additional note posted today helps tie them all together.

And now for the full description of Bonanza Valley Days 2021!...

Food, games, entertainment, music and more for all ages are what's in store to visitors of the BVD weekend! Posters are up in a saturation effort at area retail locations across Brooten, Belgrade and Elrosa plus area towns (mostly gas stations). Posters are also at the Elrosa and Belgrade Post Office buildings.

Another UPDATE on Friday morning: due to supply chain issues (thanks, COVID)...the mini donut and funnel cake stand will only be open on Saturday. They will not be able to open tonight for the Friday street dance on main street. I just talked to them, and they are marvelous people from Raymond who are excited to be in Brooten! Make sure to stop by on Saturday and say Hi to them!

The official BVD weekend kicks off with church in the park tonight (Thursday, July 8) at 7 p.m. Pastor Rick Krasky will be leading the non-denominational worship. That's followed by a concert by Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa students at the park shelter.

Bonanza Valley Days T-shirt sales by Murphey's Printing are underway and are going well. You can read more about that and see a video of the T-shirts by clicking here = https://bit.ly/2TzckwV. Cost is $15 for adult shirts and $10 for kids shirts.

The BVD Medallion Hunt is also underway! The Medallion Hunt brings a prize of $50 in local gift certificates (to be determined) to the lucky winner. Clues are posted each morning at Brooten City Hall. Children are reminded to be mindful of their safety as they hunt around town and be respectful of all property. Clues are posted at 8 a.m. each morning at city hall. **UPDATE: Clue No. 3 was posted at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

"The early bird gets the worm!"

Thursday: TONIGHT! Church and concert night!

On Thursday, July 8, numerous garage sales begin in the morning across the Brooten area. The list of garage sales was published in the July 1 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. The big event is that night, when everyone is invited to the Brooten city park (by the Pavilion) to help formally kick off Bonanza Valley Days 2021. The fun begins with Church in the Park, with a special non-denominational worship service at 7 p.m. led by Pastor Rick Krasky from the Brooten Community Church. After that, members of the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school band will hold their summer concert at the park shelter. Milk and cookies will be provided.

Bonanza Valley Days Kiddie Parade update: Bonanza Valley Area children are invited to this year's "FUN STUFF" kiddie parade! Show off something fun and win CASH PRIZES - $20 for 1st, $15 for 2nd, $10 for 3rd, plus $5 for oldest, youngest and friendliest! Meet at the Trinity Lutheran church parking lot at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday for parade staging. The parade route is along Hatton Street westbound to the Brooten Pavilion. After the parade, treats for all children plus books will be provided. This event is sponsored by Bollig Engineering.

Friday: youth baseball, garage sales continue - a chicken feed and two dances!

On Friday, July 9, the BVD youth baseball tournament begins at 8:30 a.m., with third and fourth graders (10-U teams) playing at the Brooten diamonds and fifth and sixth graders (12-U teams) playing at the B-B-E high school diamonds in Belgrade. Starting at 4 p.m., a craft and vendor show begins at the city park (Pavilion side of town), and that runs through 8 p.m. As of July 5, a total of 20 vendors had signed up for it. The Brooten Fire Relief Association is excited to host their annual Firemen's Chicken BBQ at the city park, where they will serve under the park shelter. The large tent will be set up to sit in and enjoy a great meal and socializing. The Firemen's Chicken BBQ runs from 5 to 8 p.m. with a price of $10 per plate. The menu includes chicken, potato salad, beans, pickles, bun and beverage. Music will be provided by the Nite Owls of the Sauk Centre area; they will be playing in the park gazebo.

From 7 to 11 p.m., the Brooten Pavilion will be the site of an indoor dance with music provided by Nathan's Old Time Band of Albany.

Starting at 8:30 p.m., Dee Jay Sounds of Belgrade will host a free street dance on main street.

Saturday: something for everyone! Really!

The third day of Bonanza Valley Days is jam-packed from sunrise until well past sun set. The day starts with a breakfast buffet at the KaDe Shack that runs from 6 to 10:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome, special guests of the breakfast will be those with car and tractor show entries for that day. The BVD car and tractor show runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on and near main street. Providing entertainment at the car and tractor show will be CM Rock DeeJay on main street; they will play from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

City-wide garage sales continue on Saturday and will begin at 7 a.m. and later.

The B-B-E Wrestling Club hosts a Walk/Run at 8:30 a.m. starting at the parking lot of St. Donatus Catholic church.

A long list of activities start at 9 a.m. on Saturday: the men's slow pitch softball tournament at the city park, the sand volleyball tournament at the city park, the craft and vendor show at the city park, Game Truck U.S.A. at downtown, Knights of Columbus root beer floats next to the Brooten Bakery, the two large water slides on the north end of main street, kids inflatables and the National Guard Rock Climbing wall. Wowzers!

The BVD Sand Volleyball tournament has a registration cost of $60, and payouts are determined on the number of teams entered. To register, call the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper office (320-346-2400). All proceeds beyond the payouts will be donated to the B-B-E Blaze Junior Olympics volleyball program.

From 9:30 to 11 a.m., Stearns County Dairy Princesses will serve free milk and cookies on main street.

Another round of activities start at 10 a.m. on Saturday: the BVD Kiddie Parade, minnow shooting at Marcia's Bar and Grill and the BVD Vintage Snowmobile Show.

The BVD Kiddie Parade starts at the Trinity Lutheran church parking lot and runs west down Hatton Street towards the Brooten Pavilion.

The BVD Vintage Snowmobile Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by the train tracks, north side of town by the substation with registration from 8:30 to 10 a.m. During the snowmobile show, the Flavor Shack food truck will have a mobile food stand on site.

Another food option starts at 12 p.m. on main street with the B-B-E Wrestling Club having food for sale out of the Booster Club trailer. They will serve well into the street dance on Saturday night.

The Gary Fauskee Scholarship tournament starts at 1 p.m. at Prairie View Community Golf Course with registration ($40 per team) starting at noon. Gary Fauskee, who passed away in July 2011, was a 1976 Brooten high school graduate and star five-sport Buccaneer student-athlete.

A petting zoo will be held at the city park from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The kids tractor pedal pull starts at 4 p.m. on main street in memory of Rick Thonvold (1969-2016).

The BVD Bean Bag tournament starts at 5:30 p.m. on main street with registration opening up at 5 p.m. next to city hall ($10 per person, 50 teams maximum).

The Miss Brooten and Little Miss Brooten pageant starts at 6 p.m. at the Brooten Pavilion. The city of Brooten is honored to have five Miss Brooten candidates and six Little Miss Brooten candidates. The 11 candidates will be featured in the July 8 issue of The Voice.

The grand event on Saturday is the street dance starting at 8:30 p.m. with the local band Wasted Time from the Sedan-Terrace communities. Wasted Time specializes in classic rock and country songs.

Sunday: waffles and a grand parade!

On Sunday, July 11, BVD activities come to a head with the grand parade at 1:30 p.m. Before that everyone is encouraged to head to the city park in the morning to take in the Grandpa's Belgian Waffles feed in support of the B-B-E Scouts BSA chapter. This waffle feed runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the large tent in support of B-B-E Scouts BSA Troop No. 667! All-you-can-eat waffles, syrups and toppings, sausage, coffee, juice and milk are on the menu. Just $8 for adults is the price with kids ages 6 to 12 at $6 each. Children ages 5 and under eat free! You can get $1 off advance tickets by purchasing them from any Scouts BSA member.

The BVD grand parade is at 1:30 p.m. with the Bonanza Valley State Bank ice cream social at the city park after the parade. That ice cream social concludes the big four-day celebration in Brooten.