n Hat Daze and Father's Day Fly-In are adding new attractions to the schedule

By Deb Gau

dgau@marshall

independent.com

There will be plenty of new things to see and do in Canby this weekend, whether on the ground, in the water or in the air.

Canby's Hat Daze festival is taking place this Friday and Saturday, followed by the fourth annual Father's Day Fly-in at Myers airfield in Canby. Both events have added a variety of new attractions this year, organizers said.

"We've slowly been getting bigger and bigger," said Canby airport manager Matt Wagner, describing the lineup at this year's fly-in. "We started out with a one-act show, and now this year it's a six-act show."

Hat Daze will feature several returning favorites on Saturday, including the Hat Daze Parade, the tractor pull and the fishing derby on Del Clark Lake. Joining those events will be a fireman's dance and live music Friday night, and a kids' carnival in Central Park. Runners participating in the Hat Daze 5K will also be able to get a change of scenery, with a new route that starts by the Canby municipal pool and continues toward Stone Hill Park just outside town.

Canby High School will be hosting a quilt and purse show for Hat Daze this year. Proceeds from the show will go toward scholarships for CHS students, said organizer Bonnie Longtin.

"I think this year we will have a really good show. We have quilts coming from a lot of different towns," some of them heirlooms, Longtin said. "We'll also have sections for kids that have made quilts."

Wagner said the air show at Sunday's fly-in is one of the only air shows in Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities, and this year it will feature some well-known acts.

"James Maroney will be there with a Super Chipmunk," a type of plane used for military aerobatic training, Wagner said. "He's one of the nationally-ranked airshow performers." Another performance will feature an L-39 jet trainer.

"To see a performing jet in Canby is pretty unusual," Wagner said.

Wagner encouraged visitors to come to the fly-in's waffle feed or take an airplane ride - proceeds from both help keep the airshow free to the public.

Schedule of events

Friday

5-7 p.m.: Pork supper at Central Park

5-8 p.m.: Twilight garden tour

6 p.m.: Kids' pedal pull at Central Park

9 p.m.: Firemen's dance and live rock show featuring Eclipse at the Yellow Medicine County fairgrounds. Beer garden opens at 7.

Saturday

Men's softball tournament at Sylvan Park Field

Tandem skydiving at Myers Field

Free swimming at Canby pool

Free camping at Sylvan and Triangle Parks

9 a.m.: 5K fun run, with new start location at Canby swimming pool

9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Blue and Gold quilt and purse show at Canby High School Cafeteria. Trunk Show by Mark Fokken at 11.

9 a.m.-2 p.m.: Craft show at the Connection

9:30 a.m.: Co-ed volleyball tournament at Sylvan Park

10 a.m.-Noon: Kid's fest in Central Park. Activities include tie dying, sack races and chalk art contest.

11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Lunch in the park

1 p.m.: Tractor pull at Schrunk's Canby Implement

1-3 p.m.: Fishing derby at Del Clark Lake

1-3:30 p.m.: Free entertainment in the park, including music and dance

3 p.m.: Canby Knights baseball against Wheaton at Canby High School baseball field

5-6 p.m.: Beef producers supper at Central Park

6:30 p.m.: Hat Daze parade. Melodrama in the park following the parade.

Sunday

Men's softball tournament at Sylvan Park Field

Fly-in at Myers Field: Belgian waffle breakfast from 7 a.m.-noon, Canby Classic Cruisers from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Marshall Model Airplane Club from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Airplane rides all day.

1 p.m.: Free air show at Myers Field

3 p.m.: Canby Knights baseball against Wheaton at Canby High School baseball field