City prepares to kick off summer with Homefest weekend
By Tina Foreman
Farmer Staff Writer
Summer is a great time for reunions, street dances and of course ,the county fair. In most areas, these events are spread throughout the summer, but in McKenzie County, they mark the beginning of a fun-filled summer.
The last weekend in June has been bringing visitors to Watford City for 20 years with its Homefest reunions, and once again McKenzie County has made sure that there is plenty going on to keep its visitors busy. Things won’t be quite as busy as last year, but it is sure to be a fun-filled weekend just the same.
“The fair and Homefest are two completely different entities that just happen to land on the same weekend,” says Rene Johnson, Homefest coordinator. “It gets to be a lot in one weekend, but the fair isn’t having a dance this year, which we really appreciate, so I think the two events will work well and offer a lot of fun for visitors and residents of McKenzie County.”
Other events that have been removed from this busy weekend and rescheduled throughout the summer include the Missoula Children’s Theatre and Art in the Park.
The McKenzie County Fair has a lot to offer visitors of all ages beginning on Thursday, June 25 with 4-H livestock and homemaker exhibits followed by a great weekend of food, games, and rodeos. The McKenzie County Fair truly has something for everyone from livestock to games.
Friday begins Watford City’s Homefest celebration, an attraction for many former graduates of Watford City High School. Family and school reunions are the focal point of this celebration, but you don’t have to be a Watford City native to enjoy Homefest which kicks off Friday evening with a memorial golf scramble and steak fry at the Watford City Golf Course. If you’re not a golfer, you can still attend the steak fry.
For the athletic-minded Saturday morning brings the Homefest Road Race which kicks off at 8 a.m. at the Watford City Elementary School.
After a enjoyable day at the fair and the rodeo the Homefest Street Dance is a great place to meet up with friends and family for an evening filled with great entertainment and socializing.
If the special events of the weekend aren’t enough to keep you and your guests busy, you can stop by the Long X Visitor Center to find out about everything else McKenzie County has to offer, you can check out the art show featuring paintings by former Watford City resident, Miles Bendixson, the Prarie Rose Quilt Guilds quilt showing or the movie debut of ‘Small Town Soldiers’ produced by Cody Shimek.
For more information on events planned for Homefest Weekend, including the McKenzie County Fair schedule, check out the stories and advertisements that can be found in this week’s paper.