Main Street News: August 29

Another Potato Days weekend has come and gone. Over Potato Days, I hope you had a chance to take in some events, enjoy some great food, activities and fellowship. Of course, many of us in town took the opportunity to help out an organization or group as well. It is astonishing how many volunteer hours go into an event of this size. Many thanks go out to everyone that did their part to make Potato Days a success. That includes everyone who extended a heartfelt welcome to all of our guests in town.

Now that Potato Days is over, the summer activities have come to a close. Glue and markers are being put into the back packs and the new sneakers are just waiting for the first day of school. Educators and school staff have been busy readying their classrooms and school facilities for the first week. Parents are busy with last minute preparations of schedules and planning, transportation and changes in child care services. We want to wish all of the students and faculty heading back to school a great year ahead! As many return to the fall school schedule, evenings are filled with sports activities. Best of luck to both the football and volleyball teams in a great season!

When school is back in session it marks a new season for everyone!  The Main Street Program is busy working on an Area-Wide Rummage Sale scheduled for September 24^th.  That means it’s time to go through your cupboards, closets, & garages to clean out! Look for more information in the Record Review on how to sign up for the rummage sale.  We are also looking for any farmers or gardeners who would like to sell their fall goods on this day.  If you are interested, please contact the Main Street Program for more information at 354-2479.

Main Street News: August 22nd

It’s here! The week everyone has been waiting for. Growing up just 30 minutes away from Barnesville, I have always been familiar with Potato Days. I’m proud to say I’ve been one of the 20,000+ people that have come to Barnesville to take part in all of the fun. It will be an exciting time as I’m sure many residents have family and friends coming to visit while the festivities are happening in town.

Just like many of our Main Street events, the many helping hands willing to pitch in are an essential part to what makes Potato Days a success year after year. The residents of Barnesville contribute countless number of volunteer hours, whether it’s on the Potato Days Board, volunteering at an event or working for a local organization’s food stand. Many of these groups depend on the funds raised in these two days to carry out their services and programs in the community.  And that service continues to grow and multiply throughout the year. 

We need to do what we can to support Potato Days and these organizations.  It’s not too late to get involved with the two day festival.  Check with someone you know who is a member of an organization or church.  Offer to help out.  Pick an event or club that you would like to help with then give them a call and ask.  I’m sure you won’t be turned away. You will benefit and so will the club and the community as a whole. The Potato Days tabloid in last week’s Record Review has a number of names which you could contact.  If you still don’t know who to ask, give me a call and I will track down some information for you.  You’ll be glad you did.

I also want to congratulate Potato Days on their 25^th anniversary! Numerous people have worked hard to keep this event running for this many years.  Like many of you, I’m excited for another great festival this year. See you there!

Main Street News: August 15th

This Thursday, August 16^th we are teaming up with the Barnesville EDA to host Business After Hours. This is going to be a fun night held at the Jacobson’s beautiful property outside of town, called the Vintage Garden. This free event is open to all Barnesville business owners and employees from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. There will be complimentary hors d'oeuvre and lemonade, as well as a cash bar onsite. We are putting this event on to bring the Barnesville business community closer together. We hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to make business connections outside the normal nine to five office setting.  It is also guaranteed to be a fun night as we have yard games for everyone to enjoy, as well as tours available to see the gorgeous property. We want to thank Ben Jacobson for allowing us to visit their venue, as people are waiting for an opportunity to see what it’s all about! We hope to see everyone there!

This event has been headed up by our summer intern Christena Goedtke. Being that it is her last week with us, I want to thank her for all of her hard work these last few months! It has been a pleasure to work with her and we wish her all the best as she heads back to Grand Forks to complete her final semester of college. 

Main Street News: August 8th

I can’t believe that the calendar is now saying August. It seems like the time is flying by! Now as I finish putting everything away from the Community Picnic for another year, I can’t help but look back on that night and smile. I smile not because Mother Nature cooperated (hmm, well that might have a little something to do with it!) I smile not because my feet are finally forgetting how much they hurt after reaching 20,000 steps that day.  But I smile because each year Barnesville residents come together on this night and celebrate how amazing their community is and how wonderful the people they call their neighbors are. Since I didn’t grow up in town and have lived here just over a year, I have a little bit of an “outsider’s” perspective of the community. It was fun to look around at the Community Picnic and see how everyone interacted and came together just to relax and have a good evening in great company. One word came to my mind, and it is the one single word I can use to describe the citizens of Barnesville. That word is proud. You could tell the parents were proud of their kids on stage competing for Miss Barnesville and Princess Blue Eagle. You could tell the organizations present were proud to serve Barnesville, including the Main Street Program. And you could definitely tell that everyone was proud to call Barnesville home.

Originally, Miss Barnesville would have been the next event on the Main Street calendar. Because we already crowned our new royalty at the community picnic, we don’t have any scheduled events in August besides Show ‘n Shine this Thursday the 11th^th. We know everybody in town will be busy getting ready for the much anticipated Potato Days, so this might not be so bad. This will also give everyone time to go through your closets to get ready for the Fall Area-Wide Rummage Sales on September 24^th!

Main Street News: August 1st

Barnesville has been a busy place the last couple of weeks.  It’s been exciting to see visitors in our community. The recent Clay County Fair and last week’s Community Picnic have all been well attended. It’s been more than great to have all of these opportunities to celebrate together, work together and play together as a community!

I hope that you were able to attend the Evening at Blue Eagle Park Community Picnic on Thursday, July 28th. A beautiful July evening was the setting for our gathering. There was good food, great music, activities galore and wonderful conversation with friends and neighbors.  The Main Street Program and the Promotions Committee would like to thank the Barnesville Lions, the Barnesville Booster Club and the City of Barnesville for their sponsorship of the picnic and its activities. Without their donations, the event would not have been possible.

Special thanks goes to Trever Moen and the entire Public Works Department, Guy Swenson, Barnesville Police Department and Barnesville Ambulance for their help and work at the park getting everything prepared and equipped. A huge thank you goes to Valley Care and Rehab for their donation of the macaroni salad.  It was delicious! Also thank you to the Barnesville Area Community Fund for donating the water. The evening was made complete with the Eagle Cafe Club cooking the meal.

The park was busy with all kinds of activities. Inflatable games are always a hit for children of and age. The return of the barrel train and fireworks created excitement for all! The DJ’s music and activities rounded out the fun. Several community organizations and groups were there with treats after dinner.  Special Thanks to all these folks for their efforts at making the picnic so much fun.

I would also like to congratulate Alexis Pederson as being crowned as Miss Barnesville 2016 and Ava Foster for being crowned Princess Blue Eagle! I know Alexis and Ava will represent us well! You will be able to see them riding in the Potato Days parade, various area parades, Showcase, and the picnic next year. Special thanks to all of the local support for this year’s Miss Barnesville crowning, as well as the many hours put in by the Miss Barnesville Committee. These ladies are wonderful to work with. We would love to hear any suggestions about how to promote Miss Barnesville going forward!

We would also like to thank all of the volunteers who came and helped with the games, served food, or just had other jobs throughout the evening.  They are too numerous to mention.  The Main Street Promotions Committee of Lindsay Bontjes, Michelle Field, Janet Rasmussen, Brooke Fradet, Jill Moen, Katie Van Den Einde, and Cindy Zander have put in many hours of planning and preparing for this event. Without their willingness and efforts, it would not be held. Thank you to the Main Street Board of Directors for their support.  Everyone’s help and commitment is what makes living in a small town like Barnesville so great!