Many of the traditional celebration events were put on hold during the two years of COVID protocol, and the Downtown Fall Festival was one of those casualties in 2019 and 2020. Retuning in 2021 with a more limited schedule of events, the downtown area was once again crowded with people ready to enjoy a fall day walking the streets and sidewalks of Downtown Minot.
In a recently released schedule of events for this year’s Downtown Fall Festival, Chairman Denise Lindbo of Gourmet Chef has orchestrated an 8-hour, family friendly event starting with the Dakota Cruisers Classic Car show starting at 9 AM with over 150 cars filling the downtown Main Street venue.
For the Cruisers, this year is also a return to more normal operating procedures, and Canadian cars will once more be able to make the trek to Minot for the annual show.
Although the cars will take center stage from 9 AM to 1 PM, there are plenty more events including a stage area that features local talent like Gene Putnam, a guitar and vocal stylist. Just wondering the street, you will run into Dizzy the Clown and his famous balloon creations (from 1 to 3 PM), Bingo in the main court of The Fair building, Face painting, food booths and much more.
Just a block off of Main, you will find the Farmer’s Market full of fall produce and other food products provided for sale by various vendors.
On Main Street, local merchants will move outdoors with sidewalk booths (weather permitting) that feature those unique, hard to get, items for purchase.
Other scheduled attractions include inflatables for the kids, food vendors and a scheduled appearance by the Minot Air Force Base Military K9’s.
For the Downtown Area, it is the start of what will be a very busy fall season. After the Fall Festival, on September 21st there are two events scheduled. A Downtown Excursion that features a tour of Minot for those who sign up, along with lunch, and educational seminars sponsored by various merchants. For more information about, and sign up for, the Downtown Minot Excursion you can go to downtownminot.com. Tickets are limited because of the capacity of the bus being used to transport participants.
At 6 PM on the 21st, The Pursuit Church will hold their first annual Prayer walk. This first time event will have several individuals sharing their faith walk stories. Once again Main Street will be full of activity. There will be food trucks, bounce houses, yard games, gaga ball, axe throwing and more. As well as the opportunity to hear stories of God’s faithfulness and a chance to win an awesome Downtown Minot gift basket!
There is no cost for Faith Walk 2022, and you can find more information on The Pursuit web site, thepursuit.church.
Our Downtown September continues with the Troll Stroll, beer & wine walk the very next night, September 22nd, starting at 6 PM. Tickets for the Troll Stroll are on sale right now on downtownminot.com. Those attending the Troll Stroll will be treated to 18 different stops, some featuring beer, other featuring wine, and nine of the stops will have unique food, beer and wine. Tickets will be limited, so pre-event purchase is encouraged. All in all, it will be a great event on what will hopefully be a nice fall evening in Downtown Minot.
With the many new personnel and dependents who have recently arrived at Minot Air Force Base, September will offer them a way to experience Downtown Minot, and what the area has to offer in retail and event opportunities. Of importance is the availability of parking in the 2 downtown parking centers. For both of the centers, the first hour of parking is no charge. These centers are conveniently located on 3rd Avenue SE, across from the Big M building, and on Central Avenue and 1st Street SW.
The Red Carpet is certainly out for those who want to visit Downtown Minot in September. We hope you enjoy downtown Minot hospitality and come back to visit often.
