Moorheaders of all ages enjoyed the Greater Moorhead Days Parade in 2024. Photos/Moorhead Parks and Recreation.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
With the first hint of autumn colors, Greater Moorhead Days once again takes to the streets of its namesake city Thursday, Sept. 4, scattering both traditional and new events across the next week.
Plenty fills the 10 days that are “greater in Moorhead.” Starting with Cruise Night, the festival rolls forward with the Greater Moorhead Days parade on Friday, Sept. 5; and the Wings and Wheels Fly-In and Car Show Saturday, Sept. 6. A new event, Roam the Red, teases folks of all ages to enjoy the river on the same day.
The medallion hunt starts on Monday morning, Sept. 8, luring sharp-eyed medallion seeks to search for a $1,000 top prize. Later that week, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, the Midco Kids Fest – one of the year’s biggest draws for youngsters — closes out the week at Bluestem.
“Our theme is, once again, Moorhead’s sesquicentennial,” says Parks and Recreation director Sean Brandenburg, adding, “This is the third year we’ve celebrated it.” Along with events specialist Steve French, he has put together the week’s agenda after only six months heading the city’s Parks and Rec. He notes that exactly which of Moorhead’s landmark moments is being commemorated with the city’s third year of celebrating its 150th birthday – its sesquicentennial – is up for debate.
So what exactly marks the city’s start? The announcement that the Northern Pacific would cross the Red River at this spot? The first sheriff, city attorney and judge in 1872? Its official establishment as a village in 1875, or a city in 1881?
What’s clearest is that 2025 is the time to observe a more confidently documented anniversary – the 75 birthday of Greater Moorhead Days itself. The festival dates back to 1950, when local merchants banded together to ballyhoo all that set their city apart. Rooted in the boom years following World War II, the annual community festival had faded to only a shadow of its former self by the late 1960s. But it rose again around the turn of the century, fueled by the city’s new spurt of growth, rebounding energy and enthusiasm. It has been going strong ever since (except for 2020, of course, when the pandemic prompted a “virtual” parade and other festivities at a distance).
The final Cruise Night of the summer kicks off the first greater Moorhead day. The Thursday event will again fill the parking lots at M State with classic and classy vehicles. From 5:30 to 8 p.m., the area will also abound with car enthusiasts perusing hundreds of automobiles, along with food vendors and live music by The Decades.
The parade down 20th Street begins at 6 p.m. Friday, rolling up 20th Street from M State to 14th Avenue. Afterwards, Inclusive Moorhead hosts a social on the college grounds, where guests can enjoy ice cream and snacks and take in dance performances by Fusion Dance Studios and Fargo Folklorico.
Saturday is a big day. Out at Moorhead Municipal Airport six miles east on I-94, Wings and Wheels Fly-In and Car show celebrates its 30th birthday with … well, wings and wheels. Visitors to the aviation and car show can eye the rolling and flying stock, enjoy a pancake breakfast, and enjoy the legacy of pioneer Moorhead Aviator Florence Klingensmith.
Back in town, the cities of Moorhead and Fargo are embracing both sides of the Red River. Roam the Red, their day of exploring and enjoying the wild sides of the river starts at Dike East in the morning and winds up at MB Johnson Park in the afternoon. Activities will take place in both of the connected cities, including in Viking Ship, Woodlawn and Gooseberry parks on the east bank. Take your pick: paved trails, or the wilder dirt tracks maintained year-round by FM Trail Builders,
The popular Medallion Hunt reveals its first clue at 8 am. Monday on Big 98.7 FM, Bob 95FM and The Fox 107.9. Subsequent clues will be revealed daily, or until lucky hunters have located the three prize medals, all cleverly hidden in spots entirely open to the public.
The week wraps up at Mid co Kids Fest from 4:30 to 7 pm. Wednesday. Like the other events, it’s free and open to the whole family. The Bluestem-based festival includes inflatable games, music, carriage and barrel car rides, a petting zoo and plenty of concessions.
Following the official week, the Red River Agassiz Pacers sponsors its 51st Red River Run. Both the 5K and 15K races begin at 9 am. Runners will start at MB Johnson Park, following the dirt trails that trace the river’s banks. The race is a fundraiser for FM Trail Builders, the volunteer group that maintains those tracks year round. To register, go to https://www.fmlakeagassizpacers.com/red-river-run./
For detailed information on the schedule, go to www.GreaterMoorheadDays.com.
