Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair slated Sept. 8-9

Tourism events around Minnesota, as provided by the Minnesota Office of Tourism. For more information, visit http://www.exploreminnesota.com or call (800) 657-3700 or (651) 296-5029 in the Twin Cities area.

Minnesota Pioneer Park in ANNANDALE will present Old West Cowboy History Day on Saturday, Sept. 8, with historical re-enactments, comedy skits, horse rides, roping and whip-cracking demonstrations. To learn more, dial 320/274-8489.

Downtown Railroad Parks in BENSON will be the site of a Germanfest on Saturday, Sept. 8, with German foods, crafts and music, as well as fresh garden produce, vintage tractors and a tractor parade. To learn more, dial 320/843-3618.

BOVEY will present Bovey Farmer Day on Sunday and Monday with farm displays, a parade, flea market, and other entertainment and activities. To find out more, dial 1-800-472-6366.

The Otis Memorial Fly-In Breakfast will be held at Sugar Lake Lodge in the COHASSET on Sunday from 7-10 a.m. This event honors resort & aviation pioneers Art & Eleanor Otis. Float planes are welcome to land on Sugar Lake, with docking, mooring and beaching available. Pilots eat free, and there will be gifts for the youngest and oldest pilots, as well as the furthest flight. For further information, dial 1-800-450-4555.

The Lake Region Pioneer Threshing Show will take place in DALTON from Sept. 7-9. Featured will be Massey Expo 2001, with Massey Harris, Sawyer-Massey, Massey Ferguson, Bull and Cushman engines and scooters. There will be daily threshing parades, plowing, a sawmill, planer, blacksmith shop, stationary- and traction-type shingle mill steam engines, gas engines, a flea market, food booths, a military display, old-time school and church and more. For further information, dial 218/589-8891.

The EAGAN Civic Arena will present A Multicultural Festival on Sunday, Sept. 9. Featured will be continuous and diverse entertainment including free cooking demonstrations, an international boutique, exotic foods, contemporary and traditional folk and ethnic artists. To learn more, dial 651/681-4660.

Heritage Acres in FAIRMONT will offer A Labor Day Celebration on Sunday from 1-4 p.m., with canning demonstrations on a woodburning stove, samples of applesauce, children's games at the school, a Fruits Of Our Labor dinner, and more. For further information, dial 507/235-5731.

The Amazing Minnesota Corn Maze Experience is offered in HAMPTON, along Highway 50, each Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., from Sept. 1-Oct. 31, including Labor Day and MEA weekdays. Get lost within this gigantic, 8-acre, corn maze featuring Peanuts characters Linus and Sally, Snoopy and the Red Baron. Other activities will include a pumpkin patch, hayrides and helicopter rides on special weekends. To learn more, dial 651/437-6666.

Star City Days will be held at city parks throughout INVER GROVE HEIGHTS from Thursday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 9. Highlights of this family festival will include a parade, softball tournaments, trail blazing, a fishing contest, fireworks, dances and a Taste of the Heights. For further information, dial 651/450-2587.

Heimatfest, a German hometown festival, will take place at Lagoon Park in JORDAN on Sept. 8, with German bands, bratwurst, beer, a parade, contests, kids' activities, the crowning of Miss Jordan and fireworks-all in a popular, park setting. For further information, dial 952/492-6211.

The Grand Army Of The Republic Encampment will be held in LITCHFIELD from Saturday-Monday, including a period artillery competition with muskets, rifles, carbine, pistols, cannons, rifled and smooth bore, and mortars. For more information, dial 320/693-8911.

The 29th annual Little Falls Arts & Crafts Fair will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 8 & 9, and features more than 900 artists & crafters, 60 food booths, music and more throughout LITTLE FALLS. For more information, dial 1-800-325-5916.

A Polka Festival will be offered at K.C. Hall in MAHNOMEN on Saturday and Sunday with five bands performing on two dance floors. To find out more, dial 218/935-5912.

Boxelder Bug Days will be held throughout downtown MINNEOTA from Friday through Sunday, Sept. 7-9. Featured will be a short-story contest, concerts, sports tournaments, pony train rides, sheep shearing, weaving demonstrations, a magician, animal show, street dance, parade, arts and crafts. To find out more, dial 507/872-6790.

Utschtallung, a Heritage Fair, will be held at the Heritage Village Museum in MOUNTAIN LAKE on Sept. 8. Highlights during this 27th annual festival will include ethnic foods, a kiddie parade, spelling bee and musical entertainment. In addition, there will be tours of historic buildings, including an 1884 Mennonite Homestead, an 1890 Mountain Lake Depot, a railway caboose, Minnesota's Telephone Museum and a general store -- all furnished with antiques and items from Russian immigrants. For further information, please dial 507/427-2023.

Dozinky-A Czechoslovakian Harvest Festival will take place along Main Street in downtown NEW PRAGUE on Saturday, Sept. 15. Featured will be a family oriented celebration of Czechoslovakian heritage and the fall harvest, with a farm parade, ethnic music and dance, ethnic crafts and foods, a petting zoo and more. And on Friday, Sept. 14, there will be an evening Classic Car Cruise. For more information, dial 952/758-4360.

Historic Forestville, located within Forestville State Park in PRESTON, will present An Evening Of Leisure on Saturday. Featured will be a sing-along with a string band, lemonade, cookies, horseshoes, croquet, checkers and other activities enjoyed by the residents of Forestville 100 years ago. The historic site also offers a turn-of-the-century general store, hotel and gristmill. To find out more, dial 507/765-2785.

ROLLAG will be the site of the annual Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion from Friday through Monday with a chance to relive the old days of farming with steam and gas tractors. This is the second largest show of its kind in the United States, with a 210-acre show grounds and 90 buildings. To learn more, access the Web site at www.rollag.com.

The Minnesota State Fair will be held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in ST. PAUL through Monday. Featured will be midway rides, a talent show, national acts at the grandstand, free live entertainment on seven stages, fine arts and crafts, robot combat, dueling pirates, the miracle of birth at the children's barnyard, garden tours with master gardeners, fireworks each night, and more. For further information, dial 651/642-2200 or check out the Web site at www.mnstatefair.org.

The Wabasha Street Caves in ST. PAUL will be the site of Twin Towns Tacky Tours, with motorcoach tours of the quirky sites you'll never see on typical city tours. Tours are $20 and will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 1, 15 & 29 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. For more information, dial 651/292-1220.

SHAKOPEE and Mid-America Festivals will present the 31st annual Minnesota Renaissance Festival each Saturday and Sunday through Sept. 30, including Labor Day. Highlights of this 16th century fair will include musicians, jugglers, mimes, entertainment on 11 stages, hundreds of artisans and demonstrations. For more information, dial 952/445-7361 or 1-800-966-8215.

The 25th annual Valleyfair Green Giant Corn Feast will be offered at Valleyfair Amusement Park in SHAKOPEE, Saturday through Monday with an unlimited supply of free corn on the cob from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. In addition, Johnny Holm will perform daily in the Amphitheater. To find out more, dial 952/445-7600 or 1-800-FUN-RIDE.

Historic Murphy's Landing in SHAKOPEE will be the site of A Laura Ingalls Wilder Weekend on Saturday-Monday, with a Little House on the Prairie celebration. Visitors are encouraged to wear 19th century costumes and participate in period-style games and activities. To learn more, dial 952/445-6901.

Downtown and Floyd B Olson Park in THIEF RIVER FALLS will be the site of Everybody's Market on Saturday, Sept, 8, with an outdoor craft show and flea market, including food booths and garden produce. To learn more, dial 218/681-3720.

Box Car Days will be held in TRACY from Friday through Monday. Featured during this annual Labor Day weekend celebration will be a softball tournament, a street dance, Miss Tracy pageant, a parade, craft fairs, a downtown beer tent, a fly-in breakfast, midway rides, games, and food vendors. To learn more, dial 507/629-4021.

Downtown WALKER will be the site of An Ethnic Festival on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14 & 15, with the music and dance of different cultures, as well as ethnic foods, arts and crafts, in a celebration of cultural diversity. To find out more, dial 1-800-833-1118.

And, just some of the upcoming concerts & performances in the TWIN CITIES include: STEVIE NICKS at the Target Center, Friday; ALABAMA at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Saturday; THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS vs. THE CAROLINA PANTHERS at the H.H.H. Metrodome, Sept. 9; RIVERDANCE at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Sept. 12-23; ELO at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Sept. 18; THE BACKSTREET BOYS at the Target Center, Sept. 23; THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS vs. THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at the Metrodome, Sept. 30; A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION with Garrison Keillor at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul each Saturday from Oct. 6 through Dec. 1; ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, Oct. 7; TRISHA YEARWOOD at the Historic State Theatre in Minneapolis, Oct. 11; DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN at the Historic Orpheum Theatre, Oct. 17-28; TORI AMOS at the Historic State Theatre, Oct. 21; NEIL DIAMOND at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Oct. 26 & 27; AVALON at the Historic State Theatre, Oct. 27; LUCIANO PAVAROTTI at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Nov. 30.