South Dakota Web Roundup

Aug 17, 2012

By Laura Johnson

 

What's on your agenda this weekend? The weather should be gorgeous — perfect for taking in the many great events taking place around the state. Fairs, rodeos, wacipis and more – there’s too many to list, so we’ll mention a handful and let you peruse our events page for the rest. 

As I type this, two young boys are wrapping up in white crepe paper in our conference room, getting ready to terrify the Yankton Riverboat Days kiddie parade watchers as a couple of mummies. They'll fit right in with the theme of this year’s event, “Weekend at the Movies.” 

Oahe Dam is turning 50 this year. The dam was dedicated on August 17, 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. There are a variety of activities planned to celebrate, including presentations, a screening of film footage of JFK’s visit and the dam’s construction, tours of the Oahe Chapel and more. 

The dark night skies of the Badlands will be taken full advantage of this weekend for the Badlands Astronomy Festival. Timelapse photographer Randy Halverson will be there, showing his Badlands sky video. 

Note to fairlovers: the Central States Fair starts tonight in Rapid City, and the Meade County Fair and Black Hills Threshing Bee will provide a little more excitement for folks in the Sturgis area. The Brown County Fair and Butte/Lawrence's joint fair wrap up this weekend, so get there while you can, and have a little cotton candy for me.