Oklee Market Day - Something fun for Everyone!

On a beautiful August 10th, the town of Oklee was bustling with activity.

Actually it started the night before with all the volunteer workers for Market Day getting ready. They have signs to put up directing where not to park, where events are being held, hanging up quilts for the quilt show, etc., etc., etc. If it wasn’t for all the great volunteers, Oklee wouldn’t be able to host Market Day. Any event needs volunteers.

But on gorgeous August 10th morning, Oklee was ready as the sun came up for the fun filled day. The Hero Hustle 5K Registration opened at the Oklee Veteran’s Park which was a great place to set up the Start/Finish line.  A shelter with picnic tables makes it a comfortable place to be waiting for the start of the event which was at 8:30 a.m.

If you came dressed as your favorite superhero and some did, it just made it more special to be a part of the 5K event. Participants received their t-shirt if they registered early (a nice tied-dye t-shirt is bright green/blue colors), and also handed out to people was a collapsible cooler & Essentia Health water bottle. There were many signed up for the event and they were the heroes for the day, as all proceeds went to the organ donation organization. Along the pathways around the Veteran’s Memorial Park were signs featuring people from the surrounding area that had received an organ donation and also of the person who donated the precious organ.

The winners (Heroes) of the 5K were: 12 & under - Eli Nelson (24:24 and Ashlyn Nelson (24:50); 13-18 - Caden Lee (32:41) and Shawna Majeres (29:20); 19-29 - none; 30-39 - no men and Brittanie Pahlen (25:51); 40-49 - Quentin Nelson (25:40 and Michelle Bakken (29:36); 50-59 - Larry (Snook) Olson (43:14 and Holly Spong (30:25); and 60 and over - Bob Melby (46:11 and Mary Jo Mugaas (31:06). Congratulations to Oklee’s heroes for the day.

At 8:00 a.m. the Key Hunt started and seven keys were hidden around town and all but one key was found. There was no age limit, with 1 key per person limit.

At 9 a.m. located in the RLCC High School halls and the small gymnasium were many vendors and crafters. The main school gymnasium had been waxed and polished and so was unavailable for this year’s Oklee Market Day. There is always many types of vendors and it is fun to see all the fine products and crafts. One of the vendors outside was James Stonouse doing spray can painting.

The Quilt show was in the Oklee Community Hall this year and they had many different quilts on display from large quilts to small projects. It was hard for the people coming to look at all the wonderful quilts to pick their favorites.

The winner of the Large Quilt was called “Fractured Star” made by Florence Tvedt from Plummer. The Small Quilt was named “Minnesota Panel” made by Linda Hoffman from Red Lake Falls, and the People’s Choice for the Kids Division was a ‘Four Patch Charm” quilt made by Sidney Olson of Oklee.

Another favorite that draws people into Oklee for Market Day is the Car show. There were some pretty nice cars at the show. The cars were once again lined up on the shady Main Street just outside of the Oklee Community Center on Main & 2nd. They do cash prizes for the winners, so if you register your car you get a chance to win. Winners this year were, Korydon Chervestad- Oklee, Loren Klopp- Thief River Falls and Orrie Flermoen- Winger. Thank you to everyone who brought their car for all of us to admire!

Another event planned for the day was the Carnival Games set up by the RLCC High School with games. This was a fund raiser for the Oklee Lutheran Parish Youth Group who is saving up for the next National Youth Convention in a couple of years.

Once again, the Sidewalk Chalk Contest took place along Main Street, with contestants starting at 10 a.m. using chalk as their medium and before long, the sidewalks were beautifully colored. Entries needed to be completed by 1:00 p.m. for judging.

There was a couple of events that were new this year, and were fun for people of all ages. A Cornhole Tournament started at 11:00 a.m. and was held next to the newly remodeled Pickleball/Basketball courts on the corner of 4th and Main There was 24 teams competing in the tournament. Ron Hamm and Dave Olson took first place and Richard and Jamie Hendrickson took second place. 

The other new event was a Pickleball Tournament that also started at 11:00 a.m. 18 people participated in the tournament. Winners were, 1st Jason Jensen, 2nd Jamie Hoglo, 3rd Bob Melby, and 4th Jessica Hofstad.

There were Old Fashion Street Games on Main Street for all ages and were fun to watch and participate in. The games were old time favorites like the egg toss, three legged race, marshmallow on a spoon race, popsicle eating contest, and a beer chugging contest for contestants over age 21. At 3:00 p.m. the sand pile dig took place for kids where they loved digging in the cool sand and finding nickles and quarters to add to their coin banks.

At 3 p.m. they announced the winners of the many different raffles, key hunt, car show winners, etc.

Winners of the Raffle were: 1st prize: Queen sized quit - Barb Picolet, Grygla.

2nd prize: $100 L&M Fleet gift card, fish rod & tackle - Barb Anderson, TRF.

3rd 8ft Lifetime Kayak with paddle - Annamae Christensen, Plummer.

4th 4-man tent, double sleeping bag w/pillow, air mattress - Ron Hamm, Oklee.

5th Cornhole board w/bags - Shannon Moen, Oklee.

6th Cooler with TJ’s Tavern & D&C gift certificates - Lindsey Rystad, Brooks.

7th-10th Yard Games - Rick Bjerklie, Gully, Theodore Perfecto, TRF, Rodney Smith, Oklee and Justin Rystad, Oklee.

Key Winners received $5.00 except for one who received $20: Owen O’Neill, Molly Smith, Gunnar Sandeen, Brody Rystad, Debra Boucher and Kataha Bosley

And then it was off to the 2nd Annual Oklee Lumber alumni softball game at the softball fields on the southeast side of town. The elders beat the youngsters by a score of 11 to 9.

If you were getting hungry after exploring all the fun spots in Oklee there were several options available for you to choose from, Oklee Cafe, Cenex, TJ’s Tavern in addition to  Zion Lutheran Church who served burgers in the fire hall and the American Legion over by the School serving brats and hotdogs.

If you needed to cool off people stopped into TJ’s Tavern for a cold one and to listen to the Acoustic Entertainment that started at 3:30 p.m. and then that evening “Odd Man In” was the featured band starting at 9:00 p.m.

Thank you to everyone who came into Oklee and enjoy the day. And a huge thank you to everyone who put there time In to make this day happen! If you would like to help make something special happen at Oklee Market day or would like your organization to hold a fundraiser during it please contact Oklee Market Day staff at okleemd@gmail.com or Facebook.