Get your paddle on for a cause at this year’s Crawford County Dairy Days in Soldiers Grove.
The weekend event held in Soldiers Grove on June 15-17 features a new event that raises money for the Crawford County Dive Team: Canoe Races!
“Teams of 6-10 people will sprint race their canoe in three stages from the ball diamond to the boat landing by the tennis courts,” organizer Guy Nelson explained.
With five canoes at a time racing, the winning canoes will move through to elimination rounds throughout the afternoon on Saturday.
“The race kicks off at two, so it’s good to stop in and register from one o’clock on,” Nelson said.
The dive team will be on hand, handling the registrations, which are $10 per person. Every last penny collected from registrations will go to the dive team.
The canoe race isn’t the only new fundraiser at Dairy Days this year. A two and five-mile run/walk is also planned for Sunday morning. The Soldiers Grove Trail Walk/Run will help the expansion of the Soldiers Grove Trail, planned to eventually reach to North Crawford Schools and possibly even Gays Mills. Registration is $20 and includes a t-shirt. It begins with registration at 8 a.m. at Eugene Moran Road next to the tennis courts with the Walk/Run beginning at 9 a.m.
The Soldiers Grove Lions and Soldiers Grove Fire Department are teamed up in another important fundraiser, the Friday Night Fish Fry. Organized by the Lions with the fire department assisting, the crews will be cooking up fish for the hungry crowds, while raising money for the fire department.
Lest it sound like an all-fundraising event, Nelson pointed out that a shift was made just a couple of years ago to make all of the main attractions at Dairy Days free of charge. No longer does the crowd need to pay to get into the Saturday Night tractor and truck pull. Organized by Southwest Wisconsin Pullers, the pull features three diesel truck classes (hot, farm, and modified gas) in the evening beginning at 5 p.m. Prior to that, Badger Land Sanity Pullers out of Richland Center will be on hand running the antique and farm class pulls that start at 11 a.m.
Both Friday and Saturday night, music begins at 9 p.m. in the big tent. The Back Home Boys will be back this year on Saturday night, offering up an evening of country music. Friday night sees a band new to the area hitting the stage. McKenzie’s Mill is based in Nashville and bills the music as Carolina Southern Rock.
A Gym Khana horse show will be held at the horse corral on Friday evening from 6-:830 p.m. Participating equestrians will display the precise, controlled actions and tight teamwork between horse and rider, which they strive to develop year-round.
The volleyball, slow pitch softball and horseshoe tournaments will be back, as will the midway rides. In fact, new rides will be found on the midway this year, presented by Dairyland Amusements.
Other returning events include the pedal pull and the parade on Sunday. Parade registration begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday with the parade beginning at 1 p.m. Folks interested in registering or with questions can contact Nicole Wetley at 608-604-2110 or Tammy Herbst at 624-5468. As in the past, the pedal pull for 4-12 year-olds will be held after the parade.
For those staying all day, and those camping all weekend-long, food won’t be an issue at Dairy Days. In addition to the fish fry, the Lions will again be offering their Chicken-Q on Saturday and Sunday from noon until it’s all gone. And the Crawford County American Legion will hold their Pancake Breakfast Saturday from 6:30-9 a.m.
Don’t miss Dairy Days in Soldiers Grove June15-17.
