30 Things I Love: Small Town Celebrations

Small Town Celebrations

Many small towns in rural America have community celebrations in the summer. I love these celebrations, and reconnecting with friends and family.

Our town’s celebration is called Coming Home Days. We used to have a winter celebration, called the Fishless Derby, but after a few winters of less than ideal conditions for the snowmobile races and ice fishing contests, it was moved to the weekend after Independence Day.

There is a lake in town, where we have a fireworks display on the first evening of the celebration. We usually go sit at the beach, and watch from there. This year, the lake was almost perfectly calm, making for some cool reflections on the water. It’s a pretty good show for a small town. Saturday is the busiest day of Coming Home Days. This year, my serving group and church was in charge of the pie social. So many wonderful pies were brought in by our congregation members! Fruit pies, custard pies, cookie pies…you name it, it was there. I look forward to visiting with the people who come to enjoy a piece of pie and relax a little bit. The pie social ends just in time to head outside to watch the parade. Our parade is pretty typical of small town parades. Tractors (new and old), area fire departments and ambulances, politicians, music, local clubs, and local businesses all wind their way through town.  Following the parade, we have a pork loin feed at the town fire hall, which raises funds for new equipment for the fire department.

The thing that makes small town celebrations best, are the people who come home to visit. It is so fun to see people that have been away for awhile. People that we may have taught in confirmation or Sunday school, were classmates of our daughters, or who were friends of Jonathan from high school. Catching up and reconnecting are just as important as the other events that are going on. After all, our small towns are nothing without the community of people. If you’re debating whether or not to attend your hometown’s celebration this year, I would encourage you to go. Not for the entertainment as much as reconnecting with family and friends. It’s the community that people create that make small towns great.

What is your town’s celebration like? What is you favorite part?

Day 1: Pizza

Day 2: Shoes

Day 3: Shout Stain Remover

Day 4: The Ability to Vote

Day 5: My Heritage

Day 6: NASCAR

Day 7: Black Velvet for Photography

Day 8: Strong Coffee and Strong Hairspray

Day 9: Peacefulness

Day 10: Winter’s First Snow

Day 11: Freedom

Day 12: Dairy

Day 13: Jonathan

Day 14: Coffee

Day 15: Seasons

Day 16: Scones

Day 17: #AgNerds

Day 18: Playing in the Dirt

Day 19: Friends

Day 20: My Church Choir Family

Day 21: OxyClean

Day 22: Small Town Celebrations

Click here to go to Holly Spangler’s blog, and see the link for other 30 Day Challenge Bloggers

Thankful Thursday – The Local Coffee Shop

CarolynCares ThankYou Coffeeshop

Rural areas like ours in Southwest Minnesota can seem like Mars to some coffee loving city dwellers when they learn we are two hours from the nearest Starbucks. They wonder how we can handle living so far from that type of atmosphere. It’s pretty easy for those of us in my area. We have two great locally owned coffee shop options.

My favorite place to grab a mocha latte (my favorite beverage), or have lunch with friends, is a little place called Bagels & Brew. This cute little place is attached to a laundromat in an unassuming building along the main drag in Marshall. After 15 years in business, they have built up a loyal following. They serve bagels, but also have a nice selection of sandwiches and paninis, along with side salads. If you are just looking for beverages, they have a full line up of coffee options, tea, smoothies, and in the fall, a delicious caramel apple cider.

What makes Bagels & Brew my favorite coffee shop…besides my love for the coffee? The people. I have stopped for coffee or lunch many times over the years, and I have never seen any of the employees grumpy. It doesn’t matter if you are going through the drive-thru, or eating in, the staff is always friendly. I have witnessed Todd, the owner, run out to vehicles in line, taking orders so they wouldn’t have to wait so long in the drive-thru. When customer service is taken seriously, and delivered with a smile, it makes me want to support them.

Living out in a rural area isn’t so bad when you have great local places that fill your needs. When the service is delivered with a smile, it makes it all the sweeter. Thank you, Todd and staff at Bagels & Brew in Marshall for your smiles, the friendly atmosphere, your delicious sandwiches & salads, and your wonderful mocha lattes!