New ‘SummerDaze’ festival coming to Menomonie in May

Tracy Chipman |

Coming up May 18, 19, and 20, Main Street Menomonie is pulling out all the stops for its first ever SummerDaze Festival. Joanie Dulin, Main Street Menomonie’s Executive Director, shares the story behind this, “Many communities in the area have their own summer multi-day festivals, for example Durand has Fun Fest, Boyceville has Cucumber Fest, Spring Valley does Dam Days, and we think Menomonie deserves one as well. Our goal is to have something for everyone, celebrating our heritage and community.” SummerDaze activities and events will range from a Street Dance to Kid Again Inflatables (yes, bouncy castles for big “kids”), a Bow Wow Couture Doggy Fashion Show and an honest-to-goodness Medallion Hunt with clues beginning Sunday May 13. The medallion will be hidden somewhere downtown, in a public location with the clues getting narrower as the days go by.  The prize for finding the medallion will be VISA gift cards donated by local banks. Wait, in addition to all this there’s more; an Arts and Crafts Faire, Historic Tours, a Lumberjack Show & Competition, and even a Euro-Bungey Jumper right smack in the middle of downtown Menomonie. Yes, that’s right a Euro-Bungey Jumper. Learn more at MainStreetMenomonie.com and on Facebook.

SummerDaze will also feature a Chalkfest-style event on May 18, and they’re making a strong request for artists. So for any of you artists looking to get a practice run in before Volume One’s big Chalkfest in Eau Claire (August 4) – you have until Friday, May 4 to register for the SummerDaze version. Download your registration form here.