Festivals in area communities this weekend are planned to be a lot of fun — but it’s also a way to bring people together, organizers said. In Minneota, community supporters have put together Boxelder Bug Days activities that are fun and free for the family, said Scott Josephson, one of the festival organizers. And in Milroy, local residents are bringing back the town’s Fun Fest celebration for the first time in more than 10 years, community member Bev Welu said.

“Fun Fest is back, and it’s for everyone,” Welu said. Organizers wanted to make sure that there were activities for all age levels, from kids and teens to adults, she said. “We’ve got something for everybody.”

Fun Fest used to be an annual tradition in Milroy, Welu said.

“It’s been many years since our town came together for Milroy Fun Fest, and we just missed the sense of community,” she said.

Fun Fest activities include some all-day attractions like inflatables, train rides for younger kids, as well as games like knockerball and gaga ball. There will also be a car and tractor show, a bean bag tournament, and axe throwing. The Fun Fest parade will start at 1 p.m.

The evening will culminate with live music by The Broken Oak at Oasis Bar and Grill in Milroy.

“We just want people to come have fun and enjoy it,” Welu said.

The community aspect of Fun Fest showed in one of Saturday’s planned events. At 9:30 a.m., the festival will have a cookie and pop break in memory of Melvin Welu, who was an active part of efforts to get Fun Fest started again. Melvin died in July as the result of a farm accident.

Everyone in Milroy knew about Melvin’s favorite daily snack, Bev Welu said.

“Melvin always took a 9:30 pop and cookie break,” she said. The event would be an appropriate way to remember him.

It was exciting to see community members’ response to Fun Fest coming back, Welu said.

“We have so many people who are stepping up to help,” she said.

Welu said Fun Fest organizers hope to keep bringing the event back bigger and better each year.

Fun for all at Boxelder Bug Days

The Minneota area community is looking forward to Boxelder Bug Days, Josephson said.

“It’s always a fun family weekend,” he said. And thanks to the support of local sponsors, the events are free for attendees, he said.

The celebration will kick off tonight with a Minneota Vikings football game against Eden Valley Watkins, followed by fireworks and a dance featuring music by Whiskey Rich.

On Saturday morning, Bug Days attendees can start their day with the family fun run and walk around Minneota. “Everyone enjoys that,” Josephson said. And at the end of the run, participants can stick around for prize drawings.

A pickleball tournament, a kids’ coloring contest, chili cookoff and a lot more will all be going on Saturday. One new event in the schedule will be the “Pints, Poppers and Puzzles” contest. Puzzle contests with food and beer have become popular events at area festivals, and Bug Days organizers added their own twist on the menu.

“We decided to do something a little different,” Josephson said. Instead of having to finish a pizza while doing a puzzle, teams would need to eat a certain amount of jalapeno poppers.

There’s plenty of music going on during Boxelder Bug Days. The schedule Saturday includes performances by Kayla Daniels, Ali Gray, and Up South. Casey Muessigmann will be the main entertainment during Saturday night’s street dance.

“He’s an up and coming country-western entertainer,” Josephson said.

Saturday night will also be a chance to catch a special performance by a group of Minneota locals, the Jefferson Street Band.

“We started playing together 44 years ago,” Josephson said of the band. “This is like our grand finale performance.”

Bug Days finishes out Sunday with events like a pancake breakfast, community worship service, and the grand parade at 1 p.m.

“It’s a fun-filled weekend,” Josephson said. He said organizers were thankful for the support of more than 100 sponsors that made the free festival events possible.