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One of our county's largest celebrations is upon us. The City of Lindstrom is proud to bring you Karl Oskar Days. If you are planning on attending one event this year, this is the one you won't want to miss.

Beginning today (Wednesday), Karl Oskar Days kicks off with the annual Snuff Box Hunt. People are always asking me for hints about the whereabouts of the box, so here is my hint. I do not hide the box. That is my hint. Stop following me around everywhere I go. Trust me, I am not smart enough to write those absurdly cryptic clues. If you follow me around, you just might be bored to tears. Anyway, the snuff box is worth $500, so once you find the box, bring it in to the Press to claim your prize. Make sure you have a button!

There are just too many events for me to ramble on about, so I will mention a few of them. Of course, all the Karl Oskar Days events and happenings are detailed beautifully in this edition of the Press.

On Thursday, Lindstrom will play host to its very popular Ladies' Night Out. It promises great shopping and fun for ladies of all ages.

Also on Thursday, the 2009 Karl Oskar Days Queen coronation takes place at the Performing Arts Center at the high school.

Friday, the Snuff Box Hunt continues with clues being posted at noon. At 11:30, you are invited to take a trip back in time to the Taste of Tingsyrd at the Lindstrom Community Center. You can sample wonderful foods from Sweden while enjoying Swedish fiddle music. There is a Swedish Sing-along that follows the dinner.

Friday night is a night to take your kids out. They will love the Queen's Tug-O-War. Teams line up for a chance to pull the other team into a giant mud pit.

Then stick around as the kiddie parade meanders down Akerson Street and onto Sylvan Street.

Saturday, is easily the biggest day of the celebration. Beginning at 7:30, there is the annual Karl Oskar Golf Tournament (register now by calling 257- 1484).

At 8 a.m. begins one of the most popular 5K races anywhere. The Lindstrom Loppet has grown exponentially over the years, so if you want to register call 257-8806 or show up at 7 a.m. the day of the race. The race begins at the Chisago Lakes Free Church next to the high school.

If you like craft fairs and great food, this year's fair is jam packed with vendors.

Saturday will host a classic car show, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, a book sale, a hot dog eating contest, a cribbage tournament, a tea party, and of course the Karl Oskar Day Parade.

For a complete list of times and places of the events, please refer to this edition of the Press. In the schedule of events, you will find advertisers from around the area who have chosen to support this great event. Some will be offering great Karl Oskar Days deals and others are proud to associate their business with Karl Oskar Days. Thank you so much to those businesses for their great support. If you get a chance, please visit them and give them your business. They have shown their support to our great community, so let's show our support to them.

Getting back to the parade on Saturday, Rich and Shari Bachman of Bachman's Photography will be shooting pictures in the parade. They are looking for the most enthusiastic parade fan. If they take your picture, be sure to look in next week's Press to see if you are that lucky person.

If you had to purchase a paper this week because you didn't receive one in the mail, it could be because we finally cut off those who have not renewed their annual subscriptions. If you were one of those few, all you need to do is send in a check for $47 or call us here at 651-257-5115 with a credit card, and we will get you up and running again.

Having no friends, with nothing to do on the 4th, we decided to take the boat to a new lake. We traveled down the road to Big Marine Lake in Washington County. I have driven by the entrance of the regional park many times, but have yet to venture in.

There is a $5 daily pass fee per vehicle, and since we were putting our boat in, I figured why not.

What a beautiful park. The park is huge, with mature trees, walking trails, and plenty of room for everyone. Washington County did a wonderful job with this park.

While in the park, all I could think of was, this could be Ojiketa. Maybe not the boat landing part, but definitely the public usage part. Hopefully someone involved in the Ojiketa reinvention can take a trip down the road.

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