Friday Festivals: Pelican Fest
This week's exploration of the upper Midwest's many summer festivals brings us to Pelican Rapids, Minn., for Pelican Fest.
• More: Summer festival photo galleries
Pelican Rapids is especially proud of their mascot "Pelican Pete," the "World's Largest Pelican." Pete is a 15-foot statue that overlooks the Pelican River.
Jennifer Hams from the Pelican Rapids Chamber of Commerce spoke to MPR News' Tom Crann about the interesting history of the festival -- and pelicans, of course.
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Other festivals coming up
The next three weekends in July, Walnut Grove will put on its annual "Wilder Pageant." Each night there will be live performances featuring characters from the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder in the town where she spent part of her early life.
Karl Oskar Days is back in Lindstrom, named after a fictional character in Vilhelm Moberg's 1960s stories about Swedish emigration to the U.S.
The town is celebrating its Swedish heritage all this week, wrapping up on Sunday.
Hinckley's "Corn and Clover Carnival" is in its 103rd year. Former Strongest Man competitor Ken Patera will be making an appearance.
And if you haven't had enough water recently, Detroit Lakes' 79th annual Water Carnival commences its 10-day stretch Friday.
The Prospect Park Witch's Hat water tower will be open for tours Saturday and Sunday afternoons, as will historic houses in the Prospect Park neighborhood. It's all part of the Tower 100 celebrations.