BLOOMING PRAIRIE – Once, just once, it’s important to attend an old-fashioned 4th of July celebration at Blooming Prairie.

Friday, June 29, 2001

BLOOMING PRAIRIE – Once, just once, it’s important to attend an old-fashioned 4th of July celebration at Blooming Prairie.

Each year, over 40,000 people make that decision over and over again. That’s how many people the Blooming Prairie Chamber of Commerce is expecting for the 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 4, parade.

It is southern Minnesota’s largest parade. Just ask Steele County Sheriff Bill Hildebrandt, who leads the sheriff’s mounted posse members in the parade each Independence Day.

Just ask Elsie Slinger, editor of the weekly Blooming Prairie Times newspaper, who has to cover two days, July 3 and 4, of summertime fun.

Just ask Gene Trom, who is organizing a special tribute to a friend and classmate from Blooming Prairie High School’s class of 1946.

Trom was able to get a fly-over of an AF-16 fighter from the Minnesota Army National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing at Duluth.

The BPHS class of 1946 is holding its 55th reunion Saturday, July 7. On Wednesday, July 4, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Roger Ingvalson will be honored. The former Vietnam War POW is sure to revive patriotism at the Independence Day celebration in his hometown.

The Chamber of Commerce is selling commemorative buttons to help fund the parade and other special projects. Each button is numbered and prize drawings will award the lucky holders of the right buttons BP Bucks.

The celebration begins Tuesday, July 3, with an antique tractor pull at Victory Field near the high school.

Then, it’s a whirlwind of activites: the Taste of Blooming Prairie food festival, pie and ice cream social, water war games, art show, pedal tractor and tug-of-war, Middle Eastern dancing and a teen dance and street dance.

On Independence Day, the schedule of fun triples with events at Victory Field, City Park and the greater downtown area.

The Awesome Blossom Run, an "Iron Man" obstacle challenge, the second annual Couch Potato races, Luverne’s Concertina Band and a lumberjack show are just a few of the highlights.

But the parade with over 150 units and two hours long is the one event that brings everyone together Independence Day.

At night, there’s music at Victory Field and a repeat of the lumberjack show, the conclusion of a youth baseball tournament and time to reflect on the celebration before falling back on the grass and gazing skyward after dusk for a fireworks display.

Bring a lawn chair, blanket and cooler. Blooming Prairie’s Old Fashioned 4th of July celebration never disappoints.

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com