For 364 days of the year, the small town of Milroy is just that, a small town. It’s no different than any other southwest Minnesota hamlet: a community full of prideful hard workers, committed to the rural life.
The other day? That’s when Milroy comes alive. And that day is Sept. 12, when the renewed Milroy Funfest celebration takes place.
The celebration was brought back to life a year ago, and this year is expected to be even better.
“As town days in the area are winding down, Milroy is just beginning,” said Bev Welu, one of the main organizers, whose dedication to bringing the small town to life was inspired by her late husband, Melvin. “This is about community involvement, volunteers calling to help, coming together as family.”
For people like Welu, the annual celebration is about more than bands, bingo and food (although all will be featured on the 12th). To her, Funfest is the epitome of what smalltown gatherings should be.
“Our town may be little, but it’s huge in a lot of people’s eyes,” she said. “When you have such a small town, people put so much effort into making big things happen. A lot of people — this is where they were born.”
Welu is truly motivated by her late husband, who some a year-and-a-half ago began his effort to bring Funfest back to Milroy. She remembers as Melvin and Scot Bowman discussed the idea of reviving a town celebration and how she couldn’t resist getting involved because she knew it was important to bring back positive vibes to Milroy residents.
“You’re bringing people back who have been gone for so many years,” Bev said. “That’s one reason why we started this up again. And we want to get ready for our 125th.”
From a conversation involving two people, Funfest has grown into a muchanticipated end-of-summer celebration thanks, not only to Bev, but to the dozens of businesses and people who have supported it.
“The community and their sponsorships have helped this really evolve,” Bev said.
Funfest kicks off on Sept. 12 with a 5K color run at 8 a.m. That, along with a volleyball tournament and climbing wall, are just two of the new offerings this year. There will also be a Bloody Mary bar, balloon twisting, car show, bean bag tournament, petting zoo, axe throwing and a pedal pull.
At 11 a.m., Hope Welu will provide musical entertainment as people enjoy Cookies for Melvin, a heartfelt nod to the late Milroy farmer and businessman.
The parade will be at 1 p.m. with Doug Christopherson serving as the Grand Marshal, who has spent many years helping to keep Milroy looking nice.
“He’s got his lawnmower all over town,” Bev said. “He mows the cemetery, he does community work. He’s just a friendly, smiling person all around Milroy. Everybody knows him.”
The day will conclude with a live band at the Oasis at 9 p.m.
Because last year’s event exceeded expectations, Welu said organizers are ready for another big turnout.
“We really wanted to have a mix of stuff for everybody,” Bev said. “There’s going to be stuff for everybody, food throughout the day. The people exceeded the amount of food we had last year. The firemen ran out of food, the 4-H ran out of food, the Legion ran out. We didn’t expect so many people to come.”
The goal, Bev, added, is to let people know that even though summer is coming to an end, there is still plenty of good times to be had in Milroy.
“People come back home to their little towns,” she said. “It’s fun for me to see people standing around and visiting with somebody, saying, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen you for years!’ It’s really fun to see the camaraderie.”
