May 12th, 2025
Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota.
And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May events, June events and our July calendar as well. Happy planning!
Emo Night Fargo
August 1, The Aquarium, Fargo
Cassandre 3000 brings emo and pop punk classics to the stage. Free and 21+.
Fargo Blues Festival
August 1-2, Newman Outdoor Field,…
May 12th, 2025
July means we're deep into summer and ready to find new ways to cool off, connect with our neighbors and have fun. Whether you want a road trip, a staycation or a way to shake yourself out of a midweek slump, these are our picks for the best events and attractions all month long.
Planning ahead? Check out our August 2025 Events Calendar too. (And here are our May events and our June calendar, if you missed them!)
The Unchosen Ones Exhibit Opening
July 1, Hjemkomst Center, Moorhead
R.J.…
July 15th, 2025
By Tylar Frame
To the Ashtagrama community in the Karnataka region of India, “Parachigo” means “a group of little stinkers.”
Anjali Karna — local activist, artist and community organizer — learned the word from their father. When it came time for them to choose a name for downtown Fargo’s newest DIY venue, nothing felt more fitting. After all, what better word could describe a small group of people willing to do almost anything to keep local art alive…
July 3rd, 2025
By Alicia Underlee Nelson
A free, family-friendly Somali Heritage Celebration will take place at Broadway Square (201 N. Broadway in downtown Fargo) from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 5. Attendees of any background are invited to try traditional dishes, enjoy Somali music and dance and learn about Somalia’s culture, customs and history through displays, storytelling and interactive exhibits.
Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney will present a proclamation recognizing Somali…
May 19th, 2025
By Michael M. Miller
Prairie Public Broadcasting is hosting a documentary world premiere of the “Lawrence Welk: A North Dakota Farm Boy,” on Saturday, May 31, 2 p.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. The event is free and open to the public.
Also, on May 31 at the Heritage Center, NDSU Press will launch the limited special edition hardcover three-volume set of the new biography, “Champagne Times: Lawrence Welk and His American Century,” by…
May 12th, 2025
This summer is action-packed, so High Plains Reader is making it easy to maximize those long summer days. Check out some of our favorite June events below and review our May 2025 Summer Events Calendar to find events you might have missed.
And we're just getting started. We share lots of great events happening this July and August also.
Tuesdays in the Park
June 3-August 26, Detroit Lakes City Park
It’s a new summer tradition! Catch a free, all-ages concert in the park every Tuesday…
May 12th, 2025
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with everything you need to make this the best summer yet.
Check out the May events below and mark your calendars with all the great June events on tap. We'll bring you July events and the August event calendar in our June print issue, but you can read them all…
April 17th, 2025
By Prairie Rose Seminole
I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have the words to name what I was learning, but I felt the weight of history in story, the pull of a sense of place in land, the breath of language in prayer, the shape of theology in the way we loved one another.
Faith, culture and community became my earliest…
April 16th, 2025
By Winona LaDuke
You sent me a postcard in 1984. It’s a picture of myself, author Peter Matthiessen and a few more of us in Fargo, right after your Bismarck evidentiary hearing in October. We had scraped together money and purchased a billboard downtown Fargo that said “Free Peltier.” We were proud of ourselves that day. That’s in the photo’s background.
You wrote a sweet note to me, the return: #89637-132, from Marion Federal Penitentiary. I’d gone…
March 15th, 2025
By Sabrina Hornung
Rodeo is a family tradition for sisters Kate and Tera Flitton. The duo performs under the moniker Stellar Trick Riding Cowgirls. The Utah natives will be performing along with bareback riders, steer wrestlers, barrel racers and more at the Fargo PRCA Rodeo at the Fargodome on March 28-29.
Kate, who is 18 years old, has been trick riding for 11 years. Tera, age 13, has been trick riding for five years. Kate fell in love with the sport after seeing a…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakotans will take part in a nationwide civil rights rally on Thursday, July 17. Protests, marches, rallies and acts of service are scheduled in Bismarck, Bottineau, Devils Lake,…
Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…
July 18-19, 25-26 and August 2-3North Dakota Horse Park, 5180 19th Ave. N., FargoLadies and gentlemen, prepare to place your bets — racing season is upon us! Not just horses will be racing this year; word on the street suggests…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com On July fourth, Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest took place at Coney Island. The winners, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, reigned victorious. Chestnut earned his 17th title by…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhy doesn’t the world require politicians to leave office at 60?Most of the leaders of countries, whether gods, fascists, democrats or socialists, are not doing very well these days. David Van…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gion and Simone Wairickgion@gmail.com The Red River Market returned to downtown Fargo on Saturday, July 12. The event will take place every Saturday except July 19. (That date will be moved to Sunday, July 20, due to the…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comPhoto by Sabrina Hornung Wing, North Dakota is a town of 132 located about an hour northwest of Bismarck on Highway 36. There’s a shiny new Cenex on the intersection of the highway and the high…
By Deb Wallworkdwallwork@icloud.comI first met Catherine Mulligan at a party at her house. It was a small gathering, spontaneous, just a few people over for dinner. Directed toward a stack of plates and bowls and a big pot warming…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comPhoto by Yvonne Denault There is something intimate and personal about plays. Even in our age of multimillion dollar Hollywood productions and droves of streaming services, watching actors…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
The drug that keeps re-purposing itselfBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…
