BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL

41st annual Lake George Blueberry Festival returns July 25-27

Pioneer Staff Report — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 13:00:00 GMT

LAKE GEORGE — The 41st annual Lake George Blueberry Festival is set for July 25-27, with activities for all ages including live music, sporting events, a car show, and of course, blueberry baked goods.

Friday, July 25

From 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 25, at Trinity Lutheran Church, there will be a homemade from-scratch pie and ice cream social. Blueberry, peach, strawberry-rhubarb and apple pies will be available. During the social, the 2025 Blueberry King and Queen will be crowned on the Lake George Stage.

Following the social, attendees are encouraged to stay for live music by the Golden Harbor Quartet starting at 7 p.m. at the Lake George Bible Chapel. Community members are asked to bring their own chair.

At 7:30 p.m., sand volleyball will kick off at Lake George Community Park.

Saturday, July 26

A full day of events will take place on Saturday, July 26.

A "Run Through the Pines" 5K run/walk will wind through the beautiful trails of Lake George. Registration starts at 7 a.m. with the race starting at 7:30 a.m. There is a $10 cash-only fee to enter. The first 50 participants will receive a T-shirt and medals will be awarded to the first three overall finishers and first two finishers in each age category.

At 10:30 a.m., teams of two can compete in canoe races on Lake Paine. Registration is free and will start at 10 a.m. at Lake Paine Beach.

A strong man competition will be held at noon at Lake George Community Park. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m.

Hungry participants can stop by the food stand at Lake George Community Park for lunch from noon until they are sold out.

At 1 p.m., a bean bag tournament will take place at Lake George Community Park.

Festival goers can see vintage and classic cars during the "Cruising Back to Lake George" car show from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lake George Community Park. Admission is free for all and awards will be given for People's Choice, Best in Show and Furthest Distance Traveled.

A free kids carnival with bike drawing will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the town hall.

Also from 1 to 3 p.m., participants can play bingo at the Lake George Senior Citizens Center.

Bumps on a Log will provide live music from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Woodland Store.

A fireman's ham and bean feed from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the fire hall will be followed by a raffle drawing.

At 5 p.m., a tug-of-war competition is set to take place in front of town hall. Participants need to gather a team of eight people to compete.

The day will close with dancing to The Snowmen at the Woodland Store backyard stage from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Sunday, July 27

A variety of events are scheduled for Sunday, July 27, starting with a fireman's blueberry pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the fire hall.

A kids pedal tractor pull will take place in front of Tin Lizzie Antiques. Registration starts at 10:30 a.m. and the pull starts at 11:30 a.m. It is free and sponsored by Sanford Health, Paul Bunyan Communications, Park Rapids Ford and Kabekona Collision.

A horseshoe tournament will be held at Lake George Community Park, with registration starting at noon followed by the tournament at 1 p.m.

The festival will wrap up with a 3 p.m. church softball game at Lake George Community Park.

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Lake George Blueberry Festival set for July 26-28

Pioneer Staff Report — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:47:22 GMT

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Blueberry Festival is set for July 26-28, with activities for all ages along with flea markets, lefse and art for sale by local artists and vendors.

Friday, July 26

Set for 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, July 26, at Trinity Lutheran Church. There will be a homemade from-scratch pie and ice cream social with a variety of delicious pies to choose from. Pie will be available to purchase by the slice or whole.

A gospel concert featuring the Abello Family will be held at 7 p.m. at Lake George Bible chapel. Attendees should bring a lawn chair.

Saturday, July 27

A full day of events will take place on Saturday, July 29, starting with a "Run Through the Pines" blueberry 5k run or walk at 8 a.m. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The entry fee is $10 per participant, cash only. The first 50 runners will receive a free t-shirt.

A bake sale will be held starting at 9 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church featuring homemade blueberry baked goods and pies for sale. A food stand will be outside the church from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A "Cruising Back to Lake George" car show will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at Lake George Community Park. Free admission for all. There will be awards for best in show, people's choice and furthest distance traveled.

There will be a bean bag tournament, sponsored by First National Bank of Bemidji, at 12:30 p.m. at Lake George Community Park during the car show. First place will receive $100, second place will win $50; third and fourth place will get $25.

Bingo will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Lake George Senior Center.

A free kids carnival with bike drawing will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the town hall, followed by a fireman's ham and bean feed from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Fire Hall, wrapping up with a raffle drawing at 6:30 p.m.

Dance to the Snowmen at the Woodland Store backyard stage from 8 p.m. to midnight, with free admission. Attendees should bring a lawn chair.

Sunday, July 28

A variety of events are scheduled for Sunday, July 28, starting with a fireman's blueberry pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Fire Hall.

A kids pedal tractor pull will take place in front of Tin Lizzie Antiques; registration starts at 10:30 a.m., the pull starts at 11 a.m. It is free and open to ages 3-11. Sponsored by Sanford Health, Paul Bunyan Communications and Park Rapids Ford.

A horseshoe tournament will be held at Lake George Community Park. Registration starts at noon with the tournament at 2:30 p.m. Entry costs $10 per person and there are prizes for first and second place.

Things will wrap up with a tug-of-war competition at the park. Bring a team of eight to compete. Registration starts at 2 p.m., the pull starts at 2:30 p.m. There will be medals for first and second place.

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Lake George Blueberry Festival set for July 28-30

Pioneer Staff Report — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 22:00:00 GMT

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Blueberry Festival is set for July 28-30, with activities for all ages along with flea markets, lefse and art for sale by local artists and vendors.

Friday, July 28

Set for 7:30 to 9:30 on Friday, July 28, at Trinity Lutheran Church. There will be a homemade from-scratch pie and ice cream social made by the church ladies.

Saturday, July 29

A full day of events will take place on Saturday, July 29. Starting with a bake sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church. A food stand will be outside the church from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A vintage and classic car show will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at Lake George Community Park. Free admission for all.

A free kids carnival with bike drawing will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the town hall, followed by a fireman's ham and bean feed from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Firehall, wrapping up with a raffle drawing at 6:30 p.m.

Dance to the Snowmen at the Woodland Store backyard stage from 8 p.m. to midnight, with free admission.

Sunday, July 30

A variety of events are scheduled for Sunday, July 30, starting with a fireman's blueberry pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Firehall.

A kids pedal tractor pull will take place in front of Tin Lizzie Antiques, registration starts at 11:30 a.m., the pull starts at noon. It is free and open to ages 3-11. Sponsored by Sanford Health, Paul Bunyan Communications and Park Rapids Ford.

A bean bag tournament, sponsored by First National Bank of Bemidji, will be held at Lake George Community Park, registration starts at noon. First place will win $100, second place $50, third and fourth place $25.

Things will wrap up with a tug-of-war competition at the park. Bring a team of eight to compete. Registration starts at 1:30 p.m., the pull starts at 2 p.m.

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Bountiful blueberries: Lake George lauds the luscious berry

Shannon Geisen — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 14:44:28 GMT

All manner of blueberry-infused items could be found in Lake George on Saturday – from lotions to brats to milkshakes.

The village celebrated the delicious gem throughout the weekend at its 38th annual Blueberry Fest.

Are blueberry brats popular, you may ask?

“Oh, my gosh, yeah. I think we sold out,” said Jim Clark, owner of the Woodland Store, estimating that 400 to 500 sausages were gobbled up.

And the Woodland Store was one of several vendors serving blueberry-laced brats that day.

“We’ve got a butcher shop that produces those and a couple other brats for us. He’s got his own special, secret recipe that he does it with,” Clark said.

Clark purchased the store eight years ago.

“It was a busy weekend. It’s the biggest I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” he said of this year’s blueberry gala. “I think everybody who participated this weekend, who was operating a tent or vendor, I think everybody did well.”

In fact, the number of merchants exploded for the 2022 event.

Clark said, “It had been growing every year, kind of doubling every year until the COVID thing happened. We fell off the radar for a couple years, then this year it came roaring back, that’s for sure.”

Nearly 200 children bustled into the Lake George Town Hall Saturday afternoon for a free carnival.

Community members and local businesses donated 42 kids’ bikes for this year’s give-away to lucky youngsters.

The Lake George Fire Department fed hundreds Saturday night at their ham and bean feed. They served jumbo blueberry pancakes Sunday morning in the fire hall.

A stellar harvest

The blueberry season has been “the best ever in 15 years,” according to Deb Yennie of First Fruits Blueberry Farms.

“If all goes well, and we don’t have overripening or fruit fly problems, I think we’ll be harvesting 7,000 pounds or more,” she said.

Last year, they only harvested about 2,800 pounds. A late frost devastated 30% of her blossoms.

The biggest bounty prior to that was 4,000 pounds.

This season, the weather has been ideal for berries everywhere, Yennie said, including strawberries.

Yennie dished up blueberry lemonade and blueberry brownies along with the plumb, blue orbs. Her organic blueberries are $8 per pint. She reminded shoppers to never wash them and to freeze right away, if going uneaten.

Rosemary Mills of Park Rapids returned to the Blueberry Festival with her “Grey Lady” jams and jellies. Mills offered hot pepper, dandelion – and, of course blueberry – jelly next to the Wigwam. Her sister, Jeannie Kruft, used to run the souvenir shop.

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