REVIEW #4700!…read more Sweetcorn Days is my home town's big summer festival and arguably the annual highlight of Estherville's social calendar. It's sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and runs from Thursday - Sunday during the first weekend in August. Event highlights include the Opening Ceremonies (Presentation of the Flames/Burning of the Cobs), the Remember the Fallen Display, Classic Cars, the Run for the Cobb Foot Race, Free Sweet Corn, and of course the big Saturday Morning Parade. And that's just the tip of the iceberg event-wise. I was in the Parade as Sweetcorn Days is a great weekend for various High School Reunion classes to get together. For the Class of 1974 (Yes I'm Old), that included our own Parade float, followed up dinner later that day at the Softtail Saloon in Superior, and lots of good conversation with a room full of friends. I had a great time and I was particularly happy to show off my home town to Gayle and my Son. Both in turn, learned a little bit more about where I'm from and how we stand together. One name for that is Midget Pride.

OPA!!!! Whooooo hoooo...my 250th review!! My Big fat Greek…read moreFestival. It's hot and humid but that doesn't stop people from enjoying a good Greek festival. I came at 11:30am and things were just getting started. By the time I left, it was packed with people. It's not a huge festival, but it's till worth visiting. This festival lasts all day long until 10pm. Plenty of Greek food, Greek beer, Greek music, dancing and more. Remember to go to the ticket booth first. Each ticket is worth $1.00 You can redeem your tickets at each of the booths you desire to go to. Example: Want a Gyro? That's 6 tickets. Service is fast so you don't have to wait too long. Grab a chair under the canopy and enjoy the sights and sounds. There's even a Greek bake sale inside the church if you want to take home some baklava or other Greek pastries. Have fun! OPA!!!

I returned to the Clay County Fair on it's last day (Sunday) of the 2014 event. I drove all the way…read moreup from Ames for the Day, instead of other Sunday alternatives (like the Tom Harkin's last steak fry in Indianola), and never looked back (except to check for the Iowa Highway Patrol). I paid $5 to park less than a half-block away, and then entered what is perhaps the best County Fair ever. I spent most of my time marveling at the huge displays of farm equipment (of various brands), barns full of farm animals, and various commercial exhibits. . I also got to visit with one of the Richter brothers of 3 Sons fame, enjoy some of the Art at the Barn, listen to some good music, watch some cool model trains and some chain saw art, and of course nosh down on a nutty bar. I left feeling happy, healthy and terrific, and i really hope that I can come back next year.

The people of NW Iowa claim this is the greatest county fair in the world. I have been to multiple…read morecounty fairs in Iowa and I will say it's the best one I've been to so far. The fair does a great job of providing lots of things to see and do. If you like animals they have everything from horses and cows to bunnies and goats. They have typical fair events like carnival rides, farm equipment, and an expo area. They also have fun different things like a baking contest, table setting contest, and a big railroad area. Like any fair most people go there for the food and this fair is no exception. Clay county fair is known for its Nutty Bar ice cream bars. It also has a boat load of food venders. I got the bacon tenderloin that had bacon ground up in the meat and it was great. All in all I can't recommend the fair enough. I still prefer the Iowa State Fair more but you truly can't go wrong with either. If you go to this fair I guarantee you will find a couple things you enjoy.

OOOOOOoooh Bacon - The North Iowa rendition of bacon fest. Not a big as the original, but nearly as…read moredelicious!

What a cool festival... they have a kite festival on the frozen lake. It had these incredible…read moregiant balloons. It was for all ages and the main area of town was open to shop as well. Each kite was better than the next. There was ample street parking plus you could drive along the lake shore and catch all the kites and still stay warm. I bet you can gather what we did. The template was hovering around 0 degrees.

Mankato Riverfront Park/Vetter Stone Amphitheater…read more Well me and my Gal took a drive to Mankato for another of our Kid un-friendly events. We got tickets for a concert at the Vetter Stone Amphitheater at the Mankato Riverfront Park. We found some street parking close by and had a short walk into the park. Grabbed our 21+ wrist bands and headed to the beer tent. The line moved fast enough but as the night progressed we found out they really needed a few more tents. They had a full bar but cheap crappy beer. $4.50 for a Tall Boy Grain Belt wasn't bad. At least it wasn't expensive crappy beer. Standing in beer line ended up being some of the best entertainment at the event. So the lineup was Lita Ford, then Dokken, next Sebastian Bach and closing out the Show Ratt. We would have preferred to have just seen Lita and Sebastian as neither one of us were big fans of Ratt and Dokken back in the day. Lita Ford... Still hot at 54. Great show, Old stuff new stuff and even Cherry Bomb from the Runaways. 4 Stars. Dokken... We were pleasantly surprise we ended up enjoying them more than I thought we would. 3 Stars. Sebastian Bach... Kicked Butt! Still has the voice and puts on a great show. It was great when he stopped the show a few times to "encourage" the fans to get pumped up. Plus he has an awesome bass player. (I have all ways liked a great bass player better then an average lead guitar) 5 Stars. Ratt... I could take a pass. They were boring compared to the other 3 bands. We left the concert before they were done with their set. It was phoned in music in the 80's and hasn't improved with age. 2 Stars. The Park and Amphitheater... Good acoustics, great sight lines, they had plenty of Biffs, (however as I mentioned not enough beer tents) You can bring a chair or blanket if you want. (we had a blanket along but rock n rollers don't sit much during concerts ) 4 Stars.

Just attended our first event here - overall, it's a nice local venue and I'm hoping they can get…read moresome more great entertainment here. I understand it has been renovated, but had never been here prior. Seating - was all assigned and chairs were provided. The seating and rows were very tight. Bars - good, food trucks were also available which was fun/unique- but we had ate prior to the event, so we didn't try them. Restrooms - were just portapotty's - was often a line, could use some more. No lights, so hard to use once it got dark. Security - to get into the event went fine- checked ID's, bags, and metal detector.

I'm not sure if I came too early or what, but there really wasn't a lot of art exhibitors there…read more I'm guessing 15 max? A few booths were selling pottery, jewelry and other hand made items. Not many painting or photography vendors. Maybe it was too hot? I was told it started at 9 am.... I was there at 9:30 am. Plenty of people stood in line for the free pancake breakfast. Live music played while the people ate. There were tables that supplied crafts for kids to do and a big air inflatable slide to jump on. I walked the whole thing in less than 15 min. Something to do on a hot summer day.

What a delight was the arts festival! A great showcase for artists around the state and a wonderful…read morechance to showcase the art museum that is quite the gem for this small town. Tons of exhibitors with plenty to sell, live music from around the area, and delightful inflatable slide on which your child will squeal with delight for only $1 a slide! Money goes to a good cause so it's worth it right! Well worth going to and checking out.

As a refugee in the heart of North Iowa for the weekend, we were told we must check out bandfest -…read moreit's quite the little spectacle! Bandfest is the largest free marching band competition in the Midwest and is now 77 years deep. It's effectively a showcase of marching bands from around the midwest combined with a carnival and parade. The parade was a great place to kill a few hours, see plenty of the bands from around the area, get some candy for the kiddos and see a number of the businesses in the area. The best part of the parade was seeing the creative stuff the different places were throwing into the crowd. Our favorite were the restaurants tossing ribs and chicken! Quite the unique weekend festival and something that's absolutely worth checking out if you're in the area!

Definitely worth a visit. This is an annual Christmas festival benefitting One Vision. Tons of cool…read morestuff to do, and it's all free! Friday night there was a showing of Elf. Saturday: pancake breakfast with Santa, tons of decorated trees (for purchase), poinsettias for sale, crafts for kids. Then in downtown, they have free pony rides, petting zoo, smores, carriage rides, and hot chocolate. What a nice day! Lines were not too bad, I expected it to be busier. Parade of lights and good fireworks show in the evening. Fun day! We went 3 times over the course of the weekend (nap time segments your days). I think there was also a polar plunge and some other activities Sunday.