Welk Homestead celebrates ‘Life on the Homestead’

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s management of the Welk Homestead State Historic Site on Sunday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Life on the Homestead,” a day of free, family-friendly activities, includes the dedication of a life-size bronze statue of Lawrence Welk.

The day kicks off with local Tractor Trek participants arriving at the Welk Homestead at 10 a.m. Tractor show awards will be presented at 12:30 p.m.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., learn how to make sauerkraut, butter, paper, and rope. See demonstrations on canning, weaving, spinning, and blacksmithing. Watch how a printing press works. Visit the vendor show featuring area crafters. Food vendors will serve lunch, refreshments, and snack items throughout the day.

Welk biographer Lance Richey, Ph.D., will be in the vendor area visiting about his research and signing copies of “Champagne Times: Lawrence Welk and His American Century.” The three-volume biography contains more than 1,200 pages on Welk’s life. Copies will be available for purchase.

Kids can participate in gunny sack races, bunnock, horseshoes, and a “money in the haystack” game from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The afternoon features a reenactment of “The Lawrence Welk Show” by musical group Joyful Voices at 1 p.m.

At 2 p.m., Margaret Heron Letterman, who retired as syndication manager after 48 years with the Welk organization, will join a panel of speakers to for the unveiling and dedication of the statue of Welk that once stood outside the former Lawrence Welk Theater in Branson, Missouri.

For more information or to join the Tractor Trek or craft and vendor show, contact Brian Grove, 701.336.7777 or [email protected]. For additional upcoming events and programs, visit history.nd.gov/events. The Welk Homestead, located at 845 88th St. SE, Strasburg, is a state historic site managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Summer hours are May 24 to Sept. 1, Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.