“It never rains on Palmer Day” is the unofficial motto of the annual early autumn festival held the first Saturday after Labor Day each year in Palmer Township, and the 2015 edition was certainly no exception. 

 

Perfect weather greeted the runners for the annual 5K run early Saturday morning, and the crowds lined both sides of the main street down past Palmer Park to set up lawn chairs and blankets for parade watching.  Marty Teigen finished first among the men with a time of 20:53, with Madeline Corey taking first in the women’s category with a time of 27:58.  Wyatt Hilter was first in the youth class.

 

Promptly at noon, the first of the 60 Palmer Day parade entries made their way out of the staging area and onto the street to begin the festivities.  The Honor Guard from Clearwater American Legion Post 323 carried the Colors at the head of the parade, followed by police and fire vehicles with lights flashing and sirens wailing, delighting the youngsters in the crowd with a shower of candy from each passing vehicle.

 

Smiling Queen Dee and King Greg Schendzielos reigned over the festivities as Grand Marshall’s of the parade, giving the royal wave from their seats of honor on the traditional convertible as they rolled majestically towards the official luncheon at Palmer Park, followed closely by the float containing Past Palmer Day Royalty.

 

The parade itself was the usual eclectic mix of floats from local businesses and organizations salted with a number of new acts not seen in Palmer before.  Those included a performance by the St. Cloud Fire and Police Pipes & Drums, who marched to the skirl of the bagpipes playing “Scotland the Brave” and other classics along the route.

 

Also on hand were the performers from Wild Creek Entertainers, a Wild West show that includes dance hall girls, cowboys, gunslingers and a host of western characters.  The highlight of their parade appearance was a “High Noon” style gunfight that left several actors temporarily laid out in the street in true western movie fashion.  The company later performed at the park throughout the day.

 

Also on hand were parade favorites such as the Becker High School marching band, and the manic antics of the St. Cloud Shriners high-speed go-kart drill team.

 

The perfect weather drew what appeared to be a record crowd to the events at the park after the parade, which included long lines at the food and beverage stalls, capacity seating at the plinko and bingo tables and heavy attendance at the annual car and tractor show.  The car show has grown larger each passing year, this year featuring a wide variety of restored GM, Ford and Chrysler products, as well as classics like a bright red Duesenberg and a perfect 1937 Hudson Terraplane.

 

Entertainment includes DJ Bob Weber playing the daytime music, and a performance by the Honey Badgers during the evening session.  A bean-bag tourney, a horseshoe contest, “Koosie Kar” races for the kids and a raffle rounded out the day’s activities.