Old Time 4th of July Festivities Attended By Nearly 1,000 People

The fourth of July festivities at Lake Farley Park Monday went off with a bang and were rated a success by the Milbank Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We really didn’t know what to expect, but it was well received and turned out great,” stated Abbey Angerhofer, chamber board president and one of the organizers.

Many children enjoyed digging for nickles in the sand, a candy toss and a treat walk before heading to the lake for a kids fishing tournament. “The fishing tournament was a great success with 45 kids participating,” stated Angerhofer. The tournament was sponsored by UPI of Milbank. Rick Hentjes, owner of UPI, provided the bait while Jamie Pekelder with the Game, Fish and Parks provided the poles and equipment. “We had more kids participate in the tournament then I thought there would be,” stated Hentjes.

The evening concluded with a fireworks show with nearly 1,000 people in attendance. The spectacular fireworks display started with a tribute to the late Marlow (Sam) Oltman and his family who graciously donated their land for nearly twenty years for the annual event. “The show was amazing, and we thank the Milbank Fire Department and Jeremy Johnson for all their hard work with the show,” stated chamber interim director Laura Kelly. “The day went great and we are very pleased.”

Businesses sponsoring the fireworks show include American Family Insurance, Angerhofer Plumbing & Heating, Bat Mobile Wireless, Bien Pharmacy, Casey’s, Coester Schwandt Law Office, Conroy Eye Care, Dakota Granite, Dakota Portables, Exit Leading Edge Realty, Family Focus Chiropractic, First Bank and Trust, Gesswein Motors, Golden Living Center, the Grant County Review, Great Western Bank, Hardee’s, Hartman’s Family Foods, HealthFirst Chiropractic, Healthy Kneads, Insurance Solutions Plus, ITC, J&J Earthworks, Kampen Photography, KDLO, KMSD, KS93, KXLG, Lewis Family Drug, Midland Publishing, Midwest Powersports, Milbank Area Chamber of Commerce, Milbank Area Hospital Avera, Mundwiler Funeral Home, NAPA Auto Parts, Ol Mill Meats, Otter Tail Power Company, Pizza Ranch, Poet Biorefining, Radio Shack/Design Electrics, Rob’s Barber Shop, Roger’s Electric, Schuneman Equipment, Sime Repair, State Auto, State Farm-Jan Scriver, Storm Insurance, Super 8, T&T Heating, Taco John’s, Tech One, The Flower Shoppe, Thrivent Financial, Tidbits of the Lake Area, Trapp Brothers Plumbing & Heating, UPI, Valley Liquor, Valley Office Products, Valley Queen Cheese, Valley Rental & Recycling, Wells Fargo Bank, West Con Co-op, Whetstone Real Estate, Whetstone Valley Electric, Window World and Wittrock & Sons.

Next up in the Lake Farley Summer Event Series is the country concert featuring Craig Morgan. The show will take place Friday, July 15. Forgotten Highway will open for Morgan at 7:30 p.m. with Morgan taking the stage at approximately 9 p.m. “There are a limited number of VIP, stage front and reserve tickets still available,” stated Kelly. “Hurry and get your ticket before they sell out.”

Tickets for the county concert can be purchased by clicking here!

Click here to view our full album of photos from the 4th of July at Lake Farley Park!