SNELLMAN — A church breakfast, samples of native traditional foods, bingo, rock painting and even a mayoral "election" — where candidates can literally buy votes for $1 each — are just a few of the dozen or so activities planned for the annual Snellman Days celebration, which takes place this Saturday, Sept. 3, in the tiny eastern Becker County community of Snellman.
This "neighborhood get-together" is typically well attended, according to organizer Aune Longfors, owner and proprietor of Aune's Kauppala in Snellman.
The festivities begin at 7:30 a.m. with a community breakfast at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, served up by members of the St. John's Church-Height of Land congregation. Fresh pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs and sausage will be available until 11 a.m., along with coffee, orange juice and water — all for a free will offering.
The Wolf Lake VFW Auxiliary will be serving up coffee and rolls from 7-10:30 a.m. as well, and at 10 a.m., Snellman's Hemp and Artisan Market Store will be serving up native traditional foods, which will be available until 5 p.m.
At 10:30 a.m., the Wolf Lake VFW's lunch tent will open, featuring hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and bratwurst along with potato salad, beans, sweet treats and beverages.
"We'll be doing two sessions of bingo, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m, with 100% payback," said Longfors, and there will also be lawn games to play throughout the day, from a bean bag toss and lawn bowling to Jenga and "Yard Yahtzee," a life-size form of the popular board game that uses oversized dice.
"My brother made these big wood cubes that we use as dice, and we put them in a pail and throw them," she explained.
Of course, there will also be an ongoing "flea market, bake sale and rummage sale, which encompasses everything," Longfors said.
A DJ will be on hand as well, offering karaoke from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a fun rock painting session takes place from noon to 1:30 p.m.
"I've been gathering up rocks, and there will be a variety of paints," said Longfors, adding that the rock painting is free, though donations are welcome to help offset costs from the event. "People can set them out to dry, and then we'll spray them with a protective coating so they can take them home.
"We will also be giving away attendance prizes all day," she added, and last but not least, the drawing to determine Snellman's honorary mayor will take place at 2 p.m.
Mayoral ballots are $1 apiece. The more tickets you buy for your favorite candidate, the better chance they have of winning, she said, because the winner is determined via a blind drawing.
As soon as the mayoral "election" is concluded, there will be a final raffle drawing held to conclude the day's festivities, featuring prizes including a meat variety package from Mills Locker in New York Mills and a gift basket from Secret Gardens in Park Rapids that includes soup starters, pancake mixes and the like, along with cash and gift certificates from stores in Osage and Park Rapids.
For more information about Snellman Days, call Aune's Kauppala at 218-573-3924, or 218-841-4727.