FONDNESS FOR FUN DAYS

FONDNESS FOR

BY NATE BOOTS

The parade. The carnival with its Ferris wheel and rides and food. The food. The bingo tent. The games. The excitement. The beer garden. The music. The friends and the laughs. The family and the reunions and the history. The fun. Make that Fun with a capital F.

These are the things that North Mankatoans and the people that flock to the fair city of North Mankato think about when they think about Fun Days, the city’s annual summer celebration. Started in 1965 to celebrate the city’s survival of the infamous Flood of ‘65—made possible in part by local folks coming together to volunteer their assistance with sandbagging and other flood abatement machinations—Fun Days has become a staple event of North Mankato’s existence for more than 50 years.

The Civic and Commerce Association helmed the event for years. In 2022, the North Mankato Activities and Business Association, supported by the city, will take the reins. There will be a new logo and “an updated and fresh feel” according to Anna Brown, the city’s public info officer. Brown says that Family Fun Shows is providing the carnival aspect once again, and that bingo with the Knights of Columbus, the tractor pull, and Mankato Baltics old-time baseball game will be back as well, along with other events. Also, says, Brown, “A great line-up of entertainment is scheduled for this year's beer garden, including Jeremy Poland, Coyote Wild, and Pop Rocks.”

The hope here is that Fun Days will continue to provide North Mankatoans and its visitors the same sorts of great memories that it has inspired in the past. To that end, here are a few of the fond memories, at random, from Fun Days festers from the recent and not-so-recent past. 

“My husband and I were there every year. We loved the church ladies’ meals. I always bought cotton candy!”

—Diane Norland

“One of my earliest memories of Fun Days comes from when we used to live on Wheeler Avenue, when I was about five or six years old. Out of my bedroom window I could look over and see just the top of the Ferris wheel. So every night during Fun Days, before bed, I got to look out there and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, cool! Fun Days! I get to go tomorrow!’ It’s a cool memory I think about every year when Fun Days comes up.”

—Harry Franke

“I remember when Tiffany and I first moved in we were wondering what this Fun Days thing was all about because every time I left my parking spot during Fun Days, when I’d come back I’d have to park four blocks away. But now that I’m on the Fire Department, I’ve learned more about it. It’s a labor of love. A lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s worth it.”

—Greg Thate “It was always about the music for me as a small child. The music I would hear from the beer garden that seemed to dance poetically with the lights from the rides. My otherwise calm father became protective during Fun Days. It was a bit of an intrusion to our normal relaxed Wheeler Park existence. My five siblings and I knew we were to use our allotted ride tickets and then retreat to home with the blinds drawn during this time. But the music, the lights.... We would gather in the back upstairs bedroom to defiantly peer through the window. It was amazing. It was magical. Turns out it was Fun Days.”

“As a kid growing up I can’t remember a single summer when I didn’t spend the second Saturday of July sitting on the curb of my grandma’s front yard (on Belgrade Avenue), patiently waiting for the two-hour-long parade to start. And every summer, still, all of my grandma’s kids—and their kids, and their kids—arrive to my grandma’s house around 10:30 a.m. to fill the yard with chairs and blankets, eat too much candy, and then reward ourselves with a big family BBQ afterwards.”

—Bailey Burg —Emily Rentas

“My fondest memory of Fun Days came last year. My children had reached an age where they could meet with friends and go to the carnival on their own. As I sat with a couple of my Lower North neighbors, I realized what a big deal that was for me, having the small-town vibe of knowing your children are safe. I can be a bit of a helicopter mom, so that was a big deal for me.”

“We moved to the Mankato area from the Twin Cities in the summer of 1965.

My father brought us to the first Fun Days celebration and told my younger sister and I they were having a welcoming party for us coming to town. Who doesn’t believe their dad when they are 4 and 6 years old?”

—Mark Dehen

“I loved the teen street dances they held in the tennis courts. I wasn’t allowed to go so I stayed at my grandma’s and went. One year a smoke bomb somehow landed on my new coat, and I started on fire. The police were called, and I was busted. The music was great. Wish I remembered who the bands were.”

—Nancy Myers

—Holly Dodge

GRILL

TIME

Steaks and burgers are not the only foods to enjoy on the grill. Add grilled fruits and vegetables to your next cookout menu. Grilling fruit brings out its natural sweetness and the flavor of the grilled vegetables is enhanced when they are lightly charred.

INGREDIENTS

8 slice(s) Hy-Vee bacon, chopped 2 T Hy-Vee honey 2 T Hy-Vee Dijon mustard 1 T Hy-Vee apple cider vinegar ¼ c. finely chopped red onion ½ head(s) (1 pound) green cabbage ½ head(s) (1 pound) purple cabbage ¼ c. Hy-Vee canola oil

DIRECTIONS

Looking for more grilled vegetable and fruit recipes? Scan the QR code:

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO PERFECT YOUR VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GRILLING TECHNIQUE:

• To prevent sticking, use 1–2 tablespoons oil per pound. Any more fat will cause flare-ups.

• Skewer or use a grilling basket for very small foods. Alternatively, cut the vegetable or fruit into pieces large enough so they won’t fall between the grill grates. Slices are fine for many items, like potatoes, squash, eggplant, or apples.

• Soak wood or bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes before using to keep them from burning.

• Clean the grill grates; your vegetables and fruit will be less likely to stick.

• If you’re grilling a variety of vegetables, be sure to start with the ones that take the longest to cook and add the others incrementally, saving the quickest-cooking ones for last.

• Apply barbecue or other sweet sauce or coating toward the end of cooking so it has time to glaze but not burn.

April Graff, MS, RD, LD Hilltop Dietitian 507.625.9070 AGraff@hy-vee.com

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1

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct grilling over medium heat.

2

3

For dressing, in a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, mustard and vinegar. Slowly drizzle in bacon drippings and whisk until well blended. Stir in crumbled bacon and red onion; set aside.

Remove the loosest, toughest outer leaves from the cabbage. Cut each portion into 4 wedges. Do not remove the stalk or inner core. Lightly brush the wedges with canola oil.

4

Place wedges on grill rack. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges show grill marks and cabbage begins to soften, turning once. Arrange wedges on plate. Reheat dressing, if needed, and spoon over wedges. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 200 calories, 7g fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 20mg cholesterol, 520mg sodium, 27g total carbohydrate, 5g dietary fiber, 18g sugars, 0 added sugars, 9g protein. Daily values: 10% iron, 10% calcium, 50% vitamin A, 220% vitamin C.