June 26 – STICKNEY, SD – It’s time for summer festivities in small towns.
As summer is in full swing, rural South Dakota comes alive with vibrant festivals. Many communities face challenges in sustaining their populations, but through these vibrant celebrations they seek to attract visitors and potential new residents. This weekend is a great example of two small towns showing off to stay as relevant as possible.
The fourth annual “Leap to Lane” festival, taking place Saturday in Lane, was born from the creative minds of three neighbors: Ed Gray, James Linn and Loree Gaikowski. Their vision was to revitalize their small town, which has only 51 residents.
Stickney, 36 miles south of Lane, is also home to its own community tradition: Donnie Days. The now three-day festival honors the legacy of late resident Donnie Hoffman, who for nearly 20 years staged a simple fireworks display as a preview of the fireworks he sold from his garage each summer.
What started as a simple idea to clean up and improve Lane has grown into a beloved local tradition. The event now serves as both a celebration of Lane’s spirit and a fundraiser for city improvements, with activities such as live music, a car show and various competitions that draw visitors from the area.
“We decided we had to control the direction the city was going,” Gray said. “We’ve had 40 years of decline and we don’t need to see this happen again.”
Leap to Lane is more than just a festival; it has grown into a non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of the city. The name “Leap to Lane” was inspired by an annual dance held at the old school from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
“The city doesn’t have enough money to do all this. So we share a lot of things with the city, with the city,” Gray said. “The improvements have to be made somehow.”
Organizers of this year’s festivities have made a significant change by focusing exclusively on local food vendors. In a departure from previous years, they have sourced local meat, purchasing beef from Bob Hine, a farmer in the area, and will be grilling hamburgers.
To complement the local flavor, Sheriff Jason Weber will contribute his culinary skills by smoking a whole pig for the event.
“Bringing in food trucks never seemed to work out well for us,” Gray said. “Involving local producers keeps the community at the center and stimulates the local economy.”
A major draw that keeps visitors coming back year after year is the cornhole tournament. This competition always attracts 30 to 40 teams with enthusiastic participants, making it a phenomenon in itself. The tournament’s popularity extends far beyond casual players and attracts a dedicated group of cornhole enthusiasts. Among the stalwarts is a notable contingent of 13 players who make an annual pilgrimage from Chamberlain to take part in the festivities.
The Fireman’s Challenge has also helped draw visitors from nearby communities. Firefighters from Wessington Springs, Alpena and Woonsocket use their water hoses to push a barrel back and forth on a cable that runs between two fire apparatus.
The event organizers see the festival as more than just a fun day; it is a strategic effort to showcase Lane’s potential and generate interest in its future.
“Hopefully by improving the look of the city it will help attract people,” Gray said. “Lane has a lot of history and a lot of memories for a lot of people. And I want to keep it that way.”
Last year, Donnie Days expanded into an even bigger celebration, with a wide variety of new attractions and events, growing beyond the initial one-day fireworks event.
The festival now features live music and entertainment, classic car and antique tractor shows, a 5K run, and softball, volleyball, and bean bag tournaments. Visitors can also enjoy a pancake meal and even a rodeo performance.
The purpose of an extensive festival was to raise money together with the city, which is repairing and upgrading the city swimming pool.
“The city unfortunately does not have the kind of money needed to repair the pool,” said Donnie Days organizer Andy Hoffman. “We’re talking about a quarter of a million dollars.”
Hoffman, along with other concerned citizens of Stickney, formed a community foundation dedicated to improving the city. The foundation’s primary goal is to strengthen the community. After last year’s celebration, the foundation was able to present $25,000 to the city for the pool project. Once the pool is complete, which is expected to take two to three years, the group plans to use the Donnie Days funds to support future projects.
“We just want to ensure the continued improvement of Stickney,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman estimates that each day of last year’s event drew about 500 visitors to the city. With only 320 residents, Hoffman certainly believes the event was successful in bringing positive attention to the city.
“We need to show people that we have something different to offer – that we are a small town and that we feel like we are a small town, that we support each other and are friendly,” Hoffman said. “We must expose our city.”
One way this year’s event is fostering a sense of community and support is by honoring the memory of 5-year-old Brey Van Gorp, who died in a farm accident this spring. The festivities kick off Thursday night with an outdoor screening of Sing 2, Van Gorp’s favorite movie. Gray and Hoffman are content to see their towns stay small and not grow as big as Mitchell or Sioux Falls, but they also don’t want to see their communities decline and disappear.
“You need a forward progression of growth,” Hoffman said. “If you don’t get bigger, you get smaller.”
