PHOTOS: Despite date change, Waseca Lakefest a success

Though the latest storm in a historically wet 2024 may have forced its delay to July 5, Waseca’s Lakefest still proved a success which brought out hundreds of people to Clear Lake Park.

While effort to move the popular community festival back a day in light of dire weather reports may have been last minute and frantic, organizer Tom Sexton said that the event only lost a couple of food trucks and managed to retain a full slate of live music.

After weeks of heavy rainfall Clear Lake Park remained rain-soaked, which limited somewhat the ambitions of organizers to dramatically increase the number of kids activities, perhaps the top wish of those families who attended last year’s event according to Sexton.

With Clear Lake’s volleyball courts flooded with standing water, aspirations of a volleyball tournament with cash prizes and a traveling trophy just weren’t feasible. Similarly, the bean bag toss and other lawn games had to be cancelled due to the sheer wetness of the park grass.

While a variety of food options were on offer, the move to Friday cost attendees the opportunity to buy a cold beer to go with their food, as plans for The Mill to provide on-site liquor sales had to be scrapped due to the unavailability of staff on a Friday.

With Friday a busy workday for many Waseca families, many families bounced in and out of Clear Lake Park over the course of a 10 hour day of activities, weaving around a complicated construction zone to get there. At its peak, Lakefest organizers estimated that as many as 200 people may have been in attendance.

Sexton said that a key motivator of the decision to move Lakefest to Friday was the availability of fireworks. Due to the forecasted presence of thunderstorms in the area, the signature display of fireworks over Clear Lake would not have been a possibility had Lakefest been held on July 4.

The beautiful weather on Friday also lent itself nicely to the popular boat parade, with more than twice as many entries as last year. Cash prizes were awarded to the most creative and festive boats in several different categories, with a patriotic theme the most popular but several other inventive genres on offer.