Festing at Flandrau

Many events in town make for busy weekend

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- There's something about the weather that makes people want to get outside and do something.

Saturday had clear skies, warm temperatures, light breezes and plenty of that essential summer element, the sun.

This Saturday could serve as a prelude to next weekend, when many towns and cities will celebrate the 4th of July. And of course, nobody around here can forget that the oompa-oompa hoopla surrounding Heritagefest starts the weekend following the 4th.

Some folks simply chose to go do one thing all day long. Others, like former New Ulm mayor Arnold Koelpin, chose to travel around the area to several different happenings.

In the New Ulm area, there were sports tournaments, a dairy show, a classic car cruise, a Wanda Gag book signing and a big day at the beach for lots of parents and children.

Up at Flandrau State Park, the annual Flandrau Fest got off to a slow start because of cloudy skies and cool air but by 2 p.m., the fundraiser was in full swing.

Over by the Brown County fairgrounds, the Southern Minnesota Youth Dairy Show shared part of Franklin Street with the parents who were watching a girl's softball tournament.

The folks who got together at the Brown County museum annex to talk to the daughter of the woman who wrote the Wanda Gag book got their copies signed and traded stories and information about their favorite author.

And the clue cruise for Autofest 2003 gradually registered car after car once registration got rolling around 3:30 p.m.

Auto traffic at Flandrau reached 1,000 by the end of last year's Flandrau Fest, said park manager Tom Schmitz. He estimated that about three people were traveling in each vehicle. The traffic count was at 229 vehicles when Schmitz checked at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The crowd at the park's beach munched slices of pizza and handfuls of kettle corn. They shot waterballoons at people in cages, kicked soccer balls, hunted for a medallion, grilled burgers and camped out on blankets. The fest is designed to raise money for the Friends of Flandrau State Park.

"The idea is to have a good time," said president Charles Mitchell. "It's a big party by the pool."

Attorney and New Ulm city councilor Ruth Ann Webster has volunteered for the fest for two years in a row. She said she came out because she thinks the state parks need support.

"We're really lucky to have this place," Webster said.

According to Schmitz, Flandrau is the 10th most-visited of Minnesota's 75 state parks. He said Flandrau sees 250,000 visitors per year.

"This is, traditionally, the biggest day of the year," he said.

If New Ulmers weren't splashing at Flandrau or bargain hunting at garage sales, chances are that some were taking in the baseball and softball tournaments around town, showing dairy cows or sharing stories about Wanda Gag.

There were quite a few others from around the area who buffed up, say, a '67 Chevy Malibu SS, a 1950 Pontiac or a 1977 Chevy Corvette and headed down to Maday Motors Jeep for the annual classic car cruise.

"Last year, we had 38 total," said Autofest committee member John Vorwerk of New Ulm. "This year, with the way it sounds, we have groups of 30 coming from other towns."

Autofest 2003 will hold its annual car show today at Maday Motors Jeep and Joe's Campers.