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Guest Blog from ND Tourism: www.LegendaryND.wordpress.com.
It’s almost Memorial Weekend which means, for most people, a nice three-day weekend. Last year our Memorial Weekend update included information about flooding and closures. This year we’re happy to say – Missouri River boat ramps are open! All 18-holes of Bully Pulpit Golf Course are open! Campgrounds in the Badlands are open! The Dakota Zoo is open! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for fun experiences you can enjoy this weekend and all summer long in North Dakota.
Looking for some North Dakota travel tips? Be sure to pick up an official North Dakota Travel Guide and state map. They’re free and if you don’t already have one you can pick them up at rest areas or order online and we’ll mail them to you. Check your routes online with the ND Dept. of Transportation. A travel information map will alert you to any road closures or construction.
Here are a few events from our weekend calendar and you can find many more at www.NDtourism.com.
- Memorial Day is Military Appreciation Day in all North Dakota State Parks which means free admission for veterans and current service members.
- The Sky Dance Sakakawea kite festival will take place at Fort Stevenson State Park – May 26-28
- How about a Wild West Shootout? It goes down at 3 p.m. on Monday in the Frontier Village in Jamestown
- Kick back with some cowboy poetry, May 26 in Medora
Memorial Day services are held in communities around the state. One of the most notable takes place in Sherwood where veterans from the U.S. and Canada exchange flags at the International Boundary. A program and parade will follow with North Dakota’s Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley as keynote speaker.
Thousands of runners will be flocking to the Fargo area this weekend to participate in the eighth annual Fargo Marathon. It has best described as Flat, Fast, Friendly & Fun… with an emphasis on Friendly & Fun! The Fargo Marathon has been the recipient
of the Runner’s World Magazine Reader’s Choice Award as the #1 Best Value Marathon in America. Runners World also recognized the event as the 8th Best Overall Marathon in America in January 2010.
The festivities kick off on Thursday with a youth half mile and 1-mile run. Also starting Thursday is the Health and Fitness Expo at the Fargo Dome. Runners can pick up their packets and visit more than 80 vendors showcasing the latest and greatest in food, clothing, shoes, souvenirs and more.
Let the carb loading begin! On Friday night the pasta and lefse feed will be filling all of our runners with extra carbohydrates so they have extra energy for the big race. Friday evening is the start of the event with the 5K race. This year, the Fargo Marathon Organization set a goal to register 10,000 runners for the 5K. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and NIKE have partnered to produce a matching funds program with the goal of raising enough money to purchase a new pair of running shoes for 1000 underprivileged children in the Red River Valley.
On your mark…get set…run! Saturday morning the 10K kicks off bright and early at 7 a.m. with the half marathon runners starting at 7:30 and the full marathon runners at 8:15 a.m. If you are in the Fargo area you should definitely come down and cheer on the runners. The “cheerleaders” as I call them are an important part of the race. They keep runners excited and driven to keep going. If you can get to the finish line, which is inside the Fargo Dome, it is such a neat experience to see runners of all sizes and ages cross the finish line. What an amazing accomplishment it is for all the runners. The Fargo Marathon is one of the coolest events North Dakota has so get out and cheer on the runners this weekend!
