Head to the lake for a weekend of fun during the 52nd annual Litchfield Watercade celebration blasting off this weekend.
The Center Bank brat feed in the bank parking lot, 301 Ramsey Ave. N., will kick off the events today (Thursday), with free ice cream cones at the park by the Meeker County Dairy Association. The first day of the festival concludes with the crowning of the 2008 Junior Royalty at 7 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church.
On Friday, root beer floats will be served in the Wells Fargo parking lot, 100 Marshall Ave. N. A beach party at Lake Ripley and a water ball fight hosted by the Litchfield Rescue Squad and Fire Department at the Rescue Hall, 214 Miller Ave. N., also will take place that evening. Day two of the festival will come to an explosive end with fireworks at dusk at Lake Ripley beach.
Saturday begins early on Lake Ripley with the fishing contest at West Ripley Park, as well as the 4-Mile Run and the Kids’ 1-mile run at Lake Ripley Memorial Park. Also that day will be the kiddie parade and Art in the Park, where there will be many interesting things to buy, good food to eat, and entertainment all day long. At noon on Lake Ripley beach, the annual sand sculpture building contest takes place. A lip sync contest starts at 1:30 p.m. The Grande Day Parade begins at 6 p.m.
Athletic tournaments take place all weekend long, including tennis, men’s softball and horseshoes.
On Sunday, the golf tournament begins at 11 a.m. at Litchfield Golf Club. A Taste of Meeker County starts at 11 a.m. at Memorial Park, along with adventure games. The Little Crow Ski Show will take place at 1 p.m. on Lake Ripley, followed by A Ripley Home Companion show at 3 p.m. in Central Park, and the grand finale of Watercade, the Queen Coronation at 7 p.m. in the Litchfield High School gymnasium.
Copyright 2008 Litchfield Independent Review/Crow River Media/Media News Group.