The Moorhead High School Band is always a highlight of the Greater Moorhead Days parade. (File photo/Nancy Hanson.)

Marybeth Suplee Recreation Coordinator Moorhead Parks Department

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Here it comes again – Greater Moorhead Days, the city’s annual opportunity to enjoy early autumn while celebrating what makes the city great.
Ten days of special events ramp up Thursday (Sept. 5) with the city’s final Cruise Night at M State. Perhaps the biggest spectacle starts at 6 p.m. Friday, when the Greater Moorhead Days Parade observes its 75th birthday. The cavalcade of more than 80 units– bands, floats, honor guards and all the rest – begins making its way down 20th Street at 6 p.m., starting at M State. Tony and Diane DeLeon lead the way as the grand marshals.
Afterwards, the local human rights commission and Inclusive Moorhead team up for Welcome Week community social in the area north of the college, complete with snacks, games and music.
On Saturday, the FM Kicks Band adds to the festive atmosphere with a free 3 p.m. performance at Viking Ship Park. Their special guest is Fargo Folklorico, with its swirling skirts and colorful Mexican folk dances. The band explores many genres, from jazz, funk and blues to Latin music.
And that’s just the first weekend. “We have so many great events this year,” Parks Department recreation coordinator Marybeth Suplee points out. It’s her first year of organizing the event; hired last March, she says she quickly learned how important Greater Moorhead Days is to the community: “We have something for literally everyone, I think.”
The first clue in the GMD Medallion drops at 8 a.m. Monday., with another revealed each morning until all three have been found. Clues will be announced daily on local radio stations Big 98.7, Bob 95FM and 107.9 the Fox. The gold, silver and red beribboned medals are hidden on public land throughout the city. The grand prize: $1,000 in gift cards from Hornbachers.
The Clay County Food Partners welcome families to MB Johnson Park from 4 to 7 Monday night for guided tours of the growing Food Forest, culinary demonstrations and other hands-on activities.
Midco Kids Fest makes headlines on Tuesday. The Bluestem Amphitheater area will be filled with things to do – inflatable games, music, carriage and barrel car rides and a petting zoo. Concessions will be available throughout the event from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the GMD Farmers Market will be offering homegrown veggies, homemade jams and pickles, honey and more in the Hjemkomst Center parking lot.
The Moorhead Public Library has planned several special events, beginning with the Best Sellers Book Club meeting at 6 p.m. Monday. Other include a visit by author Cary Griffith at 6:30 Wednesday to talk about his latest book, “Gunflint Falling,” the story of the bizarre derecho that struck the area in 1999. A discussion of the local hisotry of changes in agriculture is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday. Meanwhile, the Friends of the Library group holds its three-day fall used book sales from 5 to 7 Thursday through Saturday. Books are individually priced for the first two days, but on Friday, patrons can fill a bag with volumes for just $5.
The second weekend of Greater Moorhead Days starts with the 9th annual Dragon Twilight Invitational at MSUM’s Nemzek Hall Friday. The cross country races begin with middle-school runners at 4 p.m., high school junior varsity at 5 p.m., high school at 6 p.m., and collegiate at 7 p.m.
The Lake Agassiz Pacers kick off the 50th annual Red River Run at 9 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 14) at M.B, Johnson Park. The area’s longest-running (and walking) event will be raising funds for Moorhead’s Inclusive Playground.
For details of the events, go to cityofmoorhead.com/departments/parks-recreation/greater-moorhead-days.