Organizers hosting family friendly, ‘Out for Fun’ event 

By Matthew Johnson

Reporter

A teen dance and a “Firemen’s Obstacle Course” are new additions to the annual Wolf Lake Harvest Fest coming up this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 14-15, in Wolf Lake.

Enjoy traditional fun festivities, as well, at the 43rd Annual Wolf Lake Harvest Fest “Out for Fun” event including the pageant, the parade, the 5K walk/run and the pedal tractor pull. Plus, don’t forget to purchase raffle tickets for only a dollar apiece from the Wolf Lake Community Cooperative, Wolf Lake Liquor Store or Wolf Lake pageant contestants. The drawing will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday during the street dance.

Jan Decker, with assistance from her son Steve Decker, is heading up the Wolf Lake Harvest Committee this year, which is in charge of planning and organizing events. She said the goal is to recapture all of that good-natured, homespun, community family fun reminiscent of festivals from years gone by. 

Anyone interested in helping with next summer’s mud run can call/text Jan at (218) 457-1809. This year’s mud run has been cancelled due to a lack of rain and volunteers.

“Come spring we’ll be redoing the pit and we’ll need help,” she said.

Friday

The much anticipated Miss, Jr. Miss and Little Miss Wolf Lake Pageant will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Wolf Lake Community Hall.

Support the pageant at the Wolf Lake Royalty Silent Auction just before the pageant from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Andrea Yliniemi is again in charge of organizing the pageant and the first Susi Jarvi Charm Hunt clue will be announced during the pageant. 

Clues will also be posted on Facebook in addition to being announced. Whoever finds the charm should call/text Jan or bring it to the Wolf Lake Liquor Store. That individual will be rewarded with $50 sponsored by the Wolf Lake Wolf Pack Baseball Team.

The first ever harvest fest teen dance with a Fargo-based DJ is scheduled from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Kinnunen/Jepson corner. Parents are welcome at the teen dance or they can spend time elsewhere and pick up their teens by 10 p.m.

Take advantage of the opportunity to make a difference right away Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the blood drive. Life-saving blood is always needed. That evening check out the triple meat raffle at the liquor store at 7 p.m.

Saturday

Make a free-will donation and fuel up for the big day on a hearty breakfast of egg bake, biscuits and sausage gravy from 8 to 11 a.m. at the community hall. All proceeds go to the harvest fest.

The start gun for the 5K walk/run is scheduled to go off at 9 a.m. Register in front of the Wolf Lake Community Cooperative from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Interested parties can inquire to the following email: eheltunen@menahga.k12.mn.us.

Enjoy the farmers market next to the Shepherd’s Table restaurant starting at 9 a.m. There is free set up and take down for vendors according to each vendor’s schedule. Any parties interested in participating in the farmers market or wanting more information about it should contact Jan.

The bounce house for kids will also be set up by Christ Lutheran Church starting at 9 a.m.

Check out the Vintage Wheel’s car show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kinnunen/Jepson corner with music provided by Little/Big Bear Towing out of Perham.

Kids ages 4-11 can once again enjoy Olson’s Pedal Tractor Pull starting at 11 a.m. Register at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Wolf Lake Liquor Store. Proceeds from the event will go to the Frazee FFA and at least a couple of Frazee FFA Chapter students plan to help out with the event.

The Firemen’s Obstacle Course, a new harvest fest event, will take place at Christ Lutheran Church, sponsored by Farmers Bureau/Michelle Beck. Firefighters are being asked to bring their own firefighter uniforms and the more firefighters who participate the better, and the more fun this event will be, said Jan. 

The traditional youth obstacle course is scheduled from 12 to 1 p.m. with the following age categories: 10-12, 13-15, 16-18 and 19 and up.

Don’t miss the 43rd Annual Wolf Lake Harvest Fest Parade at 2 p.m. Parade entries begin lining up at noon at the sledding hill north of town. For more information contact Logan Aho at (218) 234-6715.

Cornhole enthusiasts can form teams to participate in the cornhole tournament that starts at 3 p.m. The cost to participate is $20 per team. For more information contact Randy Torma at (218) 841-1184.

To top off the two-day weekend celebration enjoy the street dance from 6 to 10 p.m., sponsored by the Wolf Lake Liquor Store. 

Organizers have added the following about the fun-filled, family event on promotional flyers: “Wolf Lake Harvest Fest and the City of Wolf Lake is not responsible for accidents.”