Summer Festivals on the Range

Summer on The Range can feel like a non-stop party when they’re all lined up together; there are Summer festivals all through the season and everyone can get in on the fun! From weekend long craft & vendor shows that take over the park to food truck festivals, fireworks, and rollercoasters, Summer festivals on The Range make the region come alive.

The first big festival on the horizon is the Land of the Loon in Virginia, MN which is now celebrating its’ 45^th year. It takes place typically on the third Friday & Saturday of June and begins on Chestnut Street in the downtown area with a massive parade that makes its way to the gorgeous Olcott Park. Another parade of smells from a seemingly endless variety of food vendors that line the park while a rotating line-up of performers in the center of the park dance & play music. The real show however comes with the vendors who show off their handmade art and goods that one would be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

Then, of course, is the 4^th of July and fireworks lovers can really get the most out of the celebration on The Range as the first official 4^th of July celebration begins on the 1^st! The Buhl Independence Day Celebration is the opening fireworks show of the Summer followed by Aurora Patriotic Days & the always highly anticipated Eveleth Street Dance and Clown Parade from July 3^rd through 4^th. There’s nothing that says “Summer” quite like a good fireworks show but it’s not all parades and fireworks; Aurora Patriotic Days hosts a car show and the Eveleth Street Dance is an entire evening of partying through the downtown area before fireworks from atop the hill where all of main street can enjoy the show.

Biwabik’s parade is colorful!

One of the most popular events is the Hoyt Lakes Water Carnival at the end of July that hosts an afternoon long waterski show with food vendors, performers followed by a fireworks show to cap the night off. There’s not much better than sitting lakeside to enjoy a show with a nice snack from a food truck. It’s a weekend long wholesome party that everyone in the family can enjoy!

In Chisholm there is the annual Doc “Moonlight” Graham Days festival that goes together with the St. Louis County Fair that is held just across the highway from downtown Chisholm where the rest of the festival can be found. Doc “Moonlight” Graham Days features a downtown parade & car show along with a variety of events downtown. The St. Louis County Fair is filled with rides, games, carnival goods including funnel cake and other classic Summer favorites, roller coasters, horse riding competition, and a bunch more. The two festivals together are held in early August and are some of the best fun to be had during late Summer.

Visitors to Bennett Park in Hibbing enjoy the annual Mines and Pines Revisited festival.

Also in August is Mines & Pines Revisited in Hibbing which is a celebration of the arts in honor of Bob Dylan (or Robert Zimmerman, as he was known when he was a Hibbing resident). This festival features artists & local musicians in Bennett Park where visitors can find a cornucopia of fun & artsy goods as well as enjoy tunes by artists inspired by a local musical legend.

Kevin White puts the finishing touches on a grill full of golden brown sandwiches at the K&B’s Grilled Cheese truck during Saturday’s Virginia Food Truck Festival.

Finally, the most delicious of all Summer festivals, the Annual Food Truck Festival in September held in downtown Virginia, MN! There’s no need to explain what visitors will find parked downtown at this popular party, but it’s also impossible to describe the variety of food that can be found there. The beautiful thing about food trucks is their unique menus and our local food trucks are no different, in fact, though they can be found at most events throughout the Summer to have them all together in one place is the most colorful display of culinary compositions that a person could ask for! Vegan butternut squash burgers, crepe gyros, giant eggrolls, and a wild assortment of other goods make Chestnut Street the most flavorful stop of the Summer during this festival.

As for the smaller festivals & parties that can be found throughout the summer there are a bunch: “Bands, Brews & BBQ” at Minnesota Discovery Center on Thursdays, “Concerts in the Park” at Olcott Park in Virginia, Pocket Park in Chisholm as well as Biwabik City Park throughout every week during Summer to name a few. With the long winters of The Range is it any wonder that Summer is a huge party?

Find information about area events here!