With the inaugural appearance if the first Miss Le Sueur-Henderson and her fellow princesses, a WWII fighter jet flyover to kickoff the parade and the return of classic events like the Minn-E-Rods tractor pull and Giant Corn Feed, Le Sueur’s annual Giant Days celebration is looking to leave a big impact.
From Aug. 1 through Aug. 4, Le Sueur’s most anticipated summer event is taking over American Legion Park and bringing a mix of familiar favorites and activities from years past.
As usual, the celebration begins with the Le Sueur Lions Club-sponsored Teen Night on Thursday, Aug. 1 featuring DJ Daddy, games and snacks from 8-11 p.m. Like the rest of the Giant Days events, the dance will be held at American Legion Park.
The festivities kick off for the whole community starting at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2. The park will feature a variety of food and drink vendors and bounce houses from Awesome Fiesta Jumpers.
In an event that’s sure to get motors running, the Minn-E-Rods tractor pull will rip down the Legion Park track from 6-8 p.m. Then, after headlining last year’s Giant Days celebration, Chris Hawkey and the Fabulous Armadillos will be returning to the Agropur stage at 9 p.m.
Residents will have to rise and shine early on Saturday, Aug. 5 if they want to catch the full day of events. Luke’s will be serving breakfast to early risers, starting at 7:30 a.m. Then at 8 a.m. the Le Sueur Chamber of Commerce will present the Giants Valley 5K Green Out at 8 a.m.
The Bloody Mary and beer garden opens at 9 a.m. and the rest of the food vendors open at 10 a.m, alongside a variety of events. Starting at 10 a.m. is the first Giant Days pickleball tournament. All of the slots for adults have been filled, but the following kids tournament still has spaces for teams who register ahead of time. Also beginning at 10 a.m. is the three-on-three basketball tournament sponsored by the Le Sueur-Henderson Basketball Association, as well as the annual Classic Car Roll-in (up until 2 p.m.) and the Arts and Crafts Fair (up until 4 p.m.)
Saturday’s morning entertainment begins with a performance by St. Anne’s Dance Club at the Cambria Stage at 10:30 a.m. Guests can also catch a glimpse of the high-flying tricks of Aerial Affinity’s silk and lyra dancers at 11 a.m.
Giant Days and Sauerkraut Days’ inaugural Miss Le Sueur-Henderson Koreyann Straub and royal princesses Alison Miller and Kaylee Berger will be making their debut at the Giant Days celebration painting nails for kids at 11 a.m. and a hula hoop contest at 3 p.m.
Also new to Giant Days is Sharon Cartway’s Belgian horse wagon rides at 12 p.m. At the same time, community members can enjoy some Bingo in the park, while listening to live polka music by Mary and the Gang. In what’s sure to be a hit with all animal-lovers, pony rides by Glitter Ponies starts at 12 p.m. Those who can’t catch the festivities on Saturday will have another chance to enjoy the pony rides starting 11 a.m. Sunday.
The annual treasure dive at noon will allow kids to scavenge for as many coins as they can carry at the Aqua Valley Pool. Whatever change kids find at the bottom of the pool, they’ll be able to keep.
At noon, community members can enjoy some Bingo in the park, while listening to live polka music. In what’s sure to be a hit with all animal-lovers, pony rides by Glitter Ponies starts at 2 p.m. Those who can’t catch the festivities on Saturday will have another chance to enjoy the pony rides starting 11 a.m. Sunday.
On the Cambria stage, Ed Shimota and friends kick off the all-day Saturday concert series with good-old fashioned polka at noon. Classic hard rock band High Octane takes over the stage at 2 p.m. followed by local acoustic guitarist and singer Luke Richards at 3 p.m. GTX makes their return to Giant Days with country and classic rock tunes from 5-7 p.m.
Headlining Saturday’s showcase is Plato-based outlaw country band Bill Litzau and Open Highway. The Minnesota band is known for their own original songs as well as their covers of country artists like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Chris Stapleton.
After a fireworks show concludes the festivities on Saturday Sunday picks up with the food vendors, beer garden, pony rides and bounce houses opening between 10 a.m. and noon. The morning also features the return of the Giant Days outdoor church service, hosted by the Word of Life Church at 10:30 a.m. The event will continue to be held in future years with new churches leading the service each year.
At 1 p.m., community members should point their eyes to the sky, as the WWII flyover starts the annual Giant Days Parade. Featuring in the parade are Giant Days Grand Marshals Art and Barb Straub and the Miss Le Sueur-Henderson royalty.
Another Giant Days favorite, the all-you-can-eat corn feed, begins at 3 p.m. As always, the event is free with the purchase of a Giant Days button available at Radermacher’s, Scoops, Corner Drug, Luke’s, Holiday and Froggy’s. The corn eating contest, which has categories for all ages, is free to all and starts at 4:30 p.m.
At the same time, visitors can watch firefighters hose each other down in a 3 p.m. water fight tournament while Music in the Park returns with bands from the parade. The events conclude with a live concert from local musician Jared Graff and a raffle drawing immediately following the corn eating contest.
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