Culture

Your 2024 Fall Event Calendar

August 15th, 2024

The nights are getting cooler, the days are slowly shortening and school supplies and Halloween goodies are already on the shelves. Fall is coming — and it looks like fun.

Celebrate the season with harvest festivals, pumpkin patches, Oktoberfests, haunted houses, corn mazes, spooky bar crawls and paranormal events across North Dakota and western Minnesota. (Don’t worry, there are lots of non-haunted happenings, plays, concerts and vendor shows, too.)

September

Dakota Nights Astronomy…

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​The rhythm of the ride

July 18th, 2024

The life of a jockey straight from the horse's mouth

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

For George Pineda, jockeying is a family tradition. But that legacy includes loss.

“My uncles, Alvaro and Robert Pineda — one got killed in a starting gate, the other one in Pimlico,” says Pineda. “They were the catalyst for all this.”

Originally from California, Pineda now hangs his hat in Florida. But he travels cross country to wherever the tracks take him. This July, Pineda (along with a…

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​The Deuce abides

July 18th, 2024

Deuce of August festival celebrates 125 years and many more

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

According to the 2022 census, the population of Mountain, North Dakota is around 70, give or take a few. But this small, largely Icelandic community packs a mighty punch, drawing thousands during the annual Deuce of August festival, which is held August 1-4 this year.

What’s so special about “The Deuce,” one may ask?

It is the longest running ethnic festival in North Dakota (2024 is its…

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Life in the ‘Promised Land’:

July 8th, 2024

Homesteading stories shared by late local historian

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

The 53rd Germans from Russia Heritage Society Convention convenes July 17-20 at the Baymont Hotel in Mandan, North Dakota. For further information, contact GRHS at www.grhs.org.

The Germans from Russia Heritage Society Convention provides a chance to connect with others who are passionate about this group’s unique culture, art, and history. One such individual is historian and author Leona…

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May June 2024: Summer Events Calendar

May 16th, 2024

Need more events? Check out our July 2024 and August 2024 calendars. (They're cleverly split up to save you some scrolling.)

May

Spring Crows

Now - June 28, Spirit Room, Fargo

Forty artists display works centered around a crow theme. Opening reception on May 17.

https://www.spiritroom.org/


Women of the West Art Show

Now - June 29, Long X Arts Foundation Gallery, Watford City

Amanda Heimbuch's mixed media art is inspired by western women.

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​Fern Welk remembers childhood in North Dakota

April 18th, 2024

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The Lawrence Welk Collection was donated to the North Dakota State University Archives in Fargo.

In May 1994, I interviewed Fern (Renner) Welk, wife of Lawrence Welk, during the grand opening of the Lawrence Welk Champagne Theater in Branson, Missouri. Included in this…

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Peltz, shawls and aprons: traditional dress of the Black Sea Germans

April 18th, 2024

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

Nancy Martin and Connie Ulasewicz co-authored the article, “Ach, Gott, yes, I wish I was back in Russia: Heimat in the Dress of North Dakota’s Black Sea Germans.” It was published in the Journal of the Costume Society of America, Volume 46, 2020. Martin did extensive German-Russian textile and clothing research at the McIntosh County Heritage Center in Ashley, North Dakota, the State Historical Society of North Dakota in Bismarck and…

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​The Allure of Asian and American Super Market

March 21st, 2024

By Annie Prafcke

annieprafcke@gmail.com

As an elementary school kid in the early 2000s, Kristy Tran didn’t start her day the way most kids do. Instead of rolling out of bed to go straight to school, Tran and her parents went grocery shopping.

Nearly every morning — or sometimes after school — the Tran family got in the car to drive to Asian and American Market. At the store, Tran’s dad waited in the driver's seat with a cigarette or a cup of coffee, while her mom made the grocery…

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North Dakotan begins new journey as family historian in Norway

March 21st, 2024

By Maddie Robinson

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Johan Stenslie has always been immersed in Norwegian culture. His mother, originally from Norway, and his father, from small-town North Dakota, met at Concordia College and were strong proponents of keeping their children connected with their Norwegian heritage.

Growing up, Stenslie was only allowed to read and speak Norwegian at home. He also kept a Norwegian journal, visited Norway every other summer and performed Norwegian folk dance with his…

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County museum receives help to digitally archive its collection

March 21st, 2024

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

When the McIntosh County Heritage Museum in Ashley, North Dakota was approached by their county auditor regarding the value of the museum’s collection for the sake of insurance, the museum couldn’t give them an answer.

“When I jumped on board with the McIntosh Historical Society, we found we had no records of what our inventory was,” said Randy Woehl, McIntosh County Heritage Museum vice president. “There was a record book at one time that…

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