by Dennis Dalman
Despite wavering weather forecasts with possible rain, Sartell SummerFest 2022 proved to be an unqualified success with thousands of people turning up for fun all day and into the night.
All day and night the weather was pleasantly warm with some clouds but plenty of sunshine.
Saturday, June 11 started with the grand parade as thousands of spectators lined the streets between St. Francis Xavier Church and Riverview Intermediate School. At the June 13 Sartell City Council meeting, the mayor and council member Tim Elness commented on the good turn-outs for the SummerFest events – the parade, the evening dance, the fireworks.
“What a great night!” said Elness.
After the parade, families gathered for energetic fun at the Libertyville event in the parking lot in front of Sartell City Hall. There, children scampered up several high rubbery bounce structures and slid down slides. Parents and children waited in long lines for face-painting, tattoos and treats and cool refreshments.
Meantime, over at the Sartell Community Center, the Riverside Jazz Band performed on the terrace while inside there was a “Paper Mill Remembrance” social gathering and a “Model Train Show” arranged by Sartell resident and train hobbyist Ron Euteneuer. The “Remembrance” was a way to honor the century-old paper mill in Sartell, which was terminally damaged by an explosion and fire 10 years ago on Memorial Day.
Visitors to the community center wore name tags. Those who worked at the paper mill added to their name tags the number of years they’d worked at the mill. Standing by one table covered with stacks of old photos were three former mill employees: Vern Bartel, 35 years of mill employment; John Lovitz, 30 years; and Joe Primesberger, 32 years. Those three and mill employees throughout the large room chatted with visitors who perused many artifacts from the old mill provided by the historical societies of Sartell and Benton County.
At one end of the room, there were books of local history for sale, being sold by their authors – Sartell residents Bill Morgan and John Roscoe. Morgan’s just-published book is entitled “Where Rivers Merge: Stories from the History of Sartell, Minnesota.” Roscoe’s book is “Minnesota’s Round Barns.”
Back at the city hall parking lot, a dance began at 6 with live music provided by local band Radio Nation. Dazzling fireworks capped off the night.
There were long lines of people all afternoon at Libertyville Family Fun Day June 11 in Sartell. Under the awning tents were face-painters, sticker tattooers and other forms of fun for children. The event was one of the activities during Sartell SummerFest.
A bouncy house was a big attraction for children who attended the Libertyville Family Fun Day June 21 during Sartell SummerFest.
Children, some shoeless, eagerly wait to climb onto the bouncy-castle slide during Libertyville Family Fun Day, an event that took place during Sartell SummerFest June 21.
A boy climbs up a slide and a girl prepares to leave after sliding down the bouncy slide during Libertyville Family Fun Day, an event that took place during Sartell SummerFest June 21.
A Champion Fire Brigade jacket is one of the many artifacts displayed at the Sartell Community Center June 11 during the “Paper Mill Remembrance” event. “Champion” was one of the many names of the paper mill during its century-long history – other names being St. Regis Paper Mill, International Paper Mill and Verso Paper Mill.
Ann Doyscher-Domres (at microphone) prepares to introduce the Riverside Jazz Band, which performed during Sartell SummerFest activities at the Sartell Community Center June 11.
