By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A parade, fireworks and demo derby—oh my!

The annual Henning Festival will kick off on Thursday night in Henning and will includes events throughout the weekend.

The festival will get underway on Thursday with a farmers market at the Farmstand at 3 p.m., before the historic walking tour led by Chris Schulke of the Otter Tail County Historical Society will begin at 7 p.m. at the Trinity Center.

On Friday the kiddie parade and main parade will roll through town beginning at 6 p.m. 

The line up for the kiddie parade will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Friday night at the city park. For any questions about the kiddie parade, contact Jamie Wilson at (763) 227-9826.

Following the parade, the annual Henning Festival Miss and Little Miss Queen Pageants will be held at the festival grounds.

This year’s queen candidates include: Breanna Bunkowski, who is the daughter of Casey and Gabrielle Bunkowski; Alyssa Witt, who is the daughter of Randy and Charlene Witt; Isabelle Godding, who is the daughter of Isaiah and Krista Godding, Emma Fosse, who is the daughter of Shawn and Tammy Fosse; as well as Monica Hansen, who is the daughter of Don and Sandy Hansen. 

Three people are competing for the title of Little Miss Henning during Friday’s coronation ceremony. Candidates this year include: Lillian Tallman, Vaylyn Eckhoff and Brynley Jorgenson.

The coronation will get underway at approximately 7:30 p.m. More information about the pageants can be found on page 14.

On Saturday the festival continues with the festival walk/run, as well as the softball tournament beginning at 8 a.m. The Henning Lions Club will be hosting a breakfast at the event center beginning at 8 a.m., before the quilt extravaganza gets underway at the Trinity Center beginning at 9 a.m.

The volleyball tournament will be held at Amundson Park beginning at 9 a.m. and bingo at the event center will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The afternoon will include a dunk tank, inflatable games and bean bag tournaments, before the demo derby kicks off at 6 p.m. at the festival grounds. 

The night will come to an end with live music from Darren Quam and Friends at the event center beginning at 9 p.m., as well as the fireworks beginning at approximately 10 p.m.

The annual Henning Festival will come to a close on Sunday with the quilt extravaganza from 9 a.m. to  2 p.m. and the Tri-County Cruisers Car Show getting underway at 11 a.m. at Amundson Park. The car show continues to grow in popularity and routinely features well over 100 classic cars and trucks at Amundson Park. The car show will wrap up at 2 p.m.