Celebrate Dundas This Weekend

Dundas has plenty to be proud of, says the president of the town’s historical society. So, calling its annual festival “Celebrate Dundas” makes a lot of sense.

“The name fits what we are trying to do,” said Michelle Millenacker, the Dundas Historical Society’s leader. “Dundas has evolved in many ways. And, we want people to take notice of that.”

Millenacker and other members of the historical society are organizing the third annual festival, set for Friday and Saturday at various sites in town. Businesses and nonprofits are also lending support.

The kickoff event is a youth baseball clinic before the Dundas Dukes’ game at Memorial Park Field Friday night. The remaining events are on Saturday, mainly along Railway Street.

Just like Dundas, the town’s annual festival has experienced its share of changes over the years. Two of the more obvious are its moniker and its sponsorship.

The Dundas Jaycees-sponsored Detour Days was the main community festival for 27 years, drawing residents and visitors from surrounding communities to town. But that event ended in 2006, and the town’s sesquicentennial celebration, led by the historical society, was conducted the following year.

“Residents then asked us, ‘What are you going to do the next year,’” said Millenacker. “We then asked ourselves, 'What are you going to do the next year.'”

No town festival was scheduled in 2008. But the following year, historical society members organized what would be known as Celebrate Dundas.

“It was a way to get people and neighborhoods to connect with one other,” Millenacker said about the first Celebrate Dundas. “People came out and had a good time.”

In addition to serving as main organizer and lead collaborator with other community groups involved with Celebrate Dundas, the historical society has another purpose for being involved with the festival: sharing the city’s artifacts with residents. The historical society does not have a physical home, so Dundas City Hall transforms into a temporary, one-day museum during Celebrate Dundas.

“We have a very distinct history from Northfield,” said Millenacker. “This serves as a good opportunity to share that.”

The festival grew in terms of the number of events and number of participants from year one in 2009 to last year,  said Millenacker. That trend is expected to continue this weekend.

“We are a small community, but we try to get as many of our local community organizations involved,” she said. “It takes time to cultivate a festival.”

Last year’s festival drew between 300 and 400 people, Millenacker said.

Considering that Dundas’ population is 1,326 people, according to the city’s website, the festival is drawing a fair share of residents.

A festival event that proved to be a crowd-pleaser the first two years was printmaking steamroller, and it is scheduled to return on Saturday. Participants make print blocks that are pressed with ink, then are rolled over with a steamroller to create a print that can be taken home.

"Dundas has been one of our favorite stops on our yearly "Thousand Print Summer" tour. In fact, last year the 1000th print of 2010 was created in Dundas," said Dave Macheck, executive director of ArtOrg. "This year we are coming off our June trip, which saw us print 12 times in 13 days. Dundas is our return home and we are looking for a fun event.

Other events returning on Saturday include a pancake breakfast, vintage baseball, classic car show, horse-drawn wagon and buggy rides and bingo.

New events on Saturday include a family bike ride through town and a street dance in downtown.

A more thorough schedule of events can be found on the attached PDF or by visiting the Celebrate Dundas Facebook page.

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY

• 5:30 p.m.—Dundas Dukes kids baseball clinic
• 7:30 p.m.—Dundas Dukes baseball game, SPAMtown Challenge

SATURDAY

• 8-10 a.m.—Pancake breakfast
• 9 a.m-noon—Farmer’s market in Mill Park
• 9:30-10 a.m.—Bike decorating
• 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. -- Face painting
• 10-11 a.m.—Family bike ride
• 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.—Car show
• 10 a.m.-1 p.m.—Dog activities
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m.—ArtOrg printmaking
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m.—Horse-drawn people movers (wagons and buggies)
• 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.—One-day city museum at City Hall
• 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.—Kid’s carnival
• 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.—Music by All Jamped Up, the Mark Cameron Band, Martin Anderson and the Goods
• 4:30 p.m.—Will Healy’s Long Way Home Radio Show
• 8 p.m.—Street dance featuring Eighth Street Band