2023 Lakes Area 4th of July Guide

Stars & Stripes Days offers fireworks, parade July 3-4

Celebrate Stars & Stripes Days in Pequot Lakes on Monday and Tuesday, July 3-4, with fireworks and the annual parade.

The event also features food vendors, bean bag toss tournament, kids’ activities, kiddie parade, music, craft fair and more. Following is a schedule of events:

Monday, July 3

5 p.m.: Food vendors in South Trailside Park.

5 p.m.: Beer garden by MN Traders on Main Street in front of the flags.

5 p.m.: Bean bag toss tournament registration in South Trailside Park.

Cost is $20 per team with two players per team. Youth bracket is for ages 8-14. Adult bracket is for ages 15-plus. Cash prizes will go to first- through thirdplace teams in each bracket.

5 p.m.: Kids’ activities in South Trailside Park, includ-

ing bungee trampoline, bounce house and kids climb.

6 p.m.: Bean bag toss tournament in South Trailside Park.

Each team will be responsible for keeping track of their own score (honor system). Teams playing for first through third places will play for cash prizes.

7:30 p.m.: Live music by The Rusty Crayfish Band.

Dusk: Fireworks by North Star Fireworks from the Pequot Lakes High School practice field. Best viewing locations are Trailside Parks, Pequot Lakes School and TDS parking lot.

Tuesday, July 4

7-11 a.m.: Pancake breakfast at the Pequot Lakes Fire Hall on Main Street, sponsored by the Pequot Lakes Fire District.

9 a.m.-2 p.m.: Craft fair

and food vendors in South Trailside Park.

9 a.m.: Kids’ activities in South Trailside Park.

9:30 a.m.: Kiddie parade at the band shelter in North Trailside Park. 10-11:30 a.m.: Parade

lineup in the Pequot Lakes Middle School parking lot.

10:30 a.m.: Pie eating contest in front of the Chamber building in South Trailside Park. Cost is $5 per person with cash prizes for winners.

Noon: Stars & Stripes Days Parade.

The parade will start on South Oak Street on the west side of Pequot Lakes School with the route traveling to Brown Street, Front Street, East Sibley Street, Government Drive, Main Street, South Washington Avenue, East Woodman Street and West Woodman Street, ending back at the school.

To donate to next year’s fireworks show, visit pequotlakes. com, scroll down and click on “Donate to the fireworks show.”

Or search @PequotLakesChamber to send a donation via Venmo.

Mail donations to: Pequot Lakes Chamber, P.O. Box 208, Pequot Lakes, MN 56472.

Fireworks to erupt July 1 over Sand Lake

Run for the Walleye, music also are July 1

The 53rd annual Celebrate America fireworks show in Crosslake will take place shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, July 1, launched from Sand Island on the south end of Cross Lake.

Tune into Skeeter 101.5FM radio to hear patriotic music simulcast to the fireworks. Watch the show from the water or from the shores of Cross Lake.

To donate to future fireworks shows, make checks payable to the PAL Foundation and mail them to: Crosslake Chamber, P.O. Box 315, Crosslake, MN 56442.

Or visit crosslake.com to make a donation, or donate through Venmo by searching @CrosslakeChamber.

Music

Before the fireworks, listen to Shane Martin playing modern county rock from 6-8 p.m. in the Crosslake Town Square band shell as part of the Music in the Square series sponsored by the Crosslake-Ideal Lions Club.

Enjoy the music while viewing the Legacy Gardens at Crosslake Town Square that were just completed in memory of community activists Linnea Anderson and Christine Sesin.

Grandpa’s Run for the Walleye

Also taking place Saturday, July 1, is the 26th annual Grandpa’s Run for the Walleye and Kids Sunfish Dash, based at the Crosslake Community Center.

The event will begin with the 10K run at 8:15 a.m., followed by the 5K run/walk at 8:30 a.m., and the Kids Sunfish Dash at 9:45 a.m.

The 5K and 10K routes are USA Track & Field certified and professionally chip-timed. Strollers

FUN!

OUTDOOR BEER GARDEN

Budweiser

and dogs on leashes are welcome and water stops will be available along the routes.

Online registration is available by following the Run for the Walleye quick link at www. wapoa.org.

Participants can also sign up and pick up race packets from 4-6 p.m. Friday, June 30, at the community center. Race day registration will be open at 7 a.m.

Registration cost for the 5K and 10K is $35. The registration fee for the Kids Sunfish Dash (up to age 10) is $10.

The Whitefish Area Property Owners Association sponsors the race and uses the proceeds to benefit fish habitat in the Whitefish Chain of Lakes.

–Francis Scott Key

“Oh Long May It Wave O’er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!”

On July Fourth, we celebrate the birth of the United States of America, and all the great things our nation represents. We’re proud of our country and the values it upholds, and we gratefully salute the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who fight to defend America and her ideals.

God bless the U.S.A.

Wishing You and Yours a Safe and Happy Independence Day!

The flag is sponsored by Wilderness Land Clearing