By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Fifty-two years after a group of Vining residents offered free watermelon at the end of summer, the biggest small town celebration in Otter Tail County will once again be coming to Vining.

The 52nd annual Watermelon Day celebration will kick off on Saturday morning with the annual Vining Lutheran Church pancake and sausage breakfast at 7:30 a.m., before the annual Run for the Melon 5k/10k rolls through the streets near East Battle Lake. 

One of the largest arts and craft vendor fairs and farmers market will begin at 9 a.m., while the classic car show will get underway at Bigfoot Gas and Grocery at 10 a.m. 

Clueless the Balloon Twister will be creating custom pieces of art out of balloons from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a NASA Kite Building activity will be held in the lower level of the community center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The morning will also include events at the Vining History Center and bounce houses, as well as live music throughout the day beginning with Nathan’s Old Time Band at 10 a.m.

The afternoon includes bingo and a bean bag tournament at 12 p.m., as well as children’s games near the Vining Community Center at 1:30 p.m.

A major change to this year’s Watermelon Day celebration will be the start time of the parade, which will be bumped up to 5 p.m. from its conventional 7 p.m. start time. The band Thunder Road will hold a street dance from 8-11 p.m. to close out a busy day in Vining.

In addition to the parade, and all of the free watermelon a person can eat beginning at 11 a.m., the second annual Jacob Quam 3 on 3 tournament will be held near the Vining Community Center throughout the day. The event is a fundraiser for the Jacob Quam Foundation and features teams from throughout the region.