One of Minnesota’s Best Small Town Festivals Returns This May

There’s just something about this time of year in Minnesota.

The garage sale signs start popping up on every corner. County fair concert announcements suddenly take over your Facebook feed. Small towns start hanging banners downtown for their summer festivals.

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Honestly? It’s my favorite time of year.

And one of the first big Minnesota celebrations of the season is coming up fast… and this one is fully loaded with basically everything we love about small-town summer.

We’re talking fireworks. A parade. City-wide garage sales. Food stands. Live music. A medallion hunt. Even a tractor pull. Fun fact, I used to crush it at the tractor pull back in the day.

Yep, we're talking about Preston’s annual Trout Days celebration. It's back and the schedule is jam packed.

If you’ve never been to Trout Days before, Preston goes all in for this thing.

The southeastern Minnesota town, known as “Minnesota’s Trout Capital,” turns into a full weekend celebration with events happening pretty much nonstop.

And honestly, it feels like the perfect kickoff to summer festival season in Minnesota.

Some of the Biggest Trout Days Events This Year (May 15th-17th):

The classics people show up for

• City-wide garage sales
• The medallion hunt
• The Trout Trot
• The Grand Parade (Saturday at 4 p.m.)
• FIREWORKS at dusk
• 5th Annual Dave Collett Memorial Tractor Pull

Family-friendly fun all weekend

• Kid’s fishing contest
• Kid pedal pull
• Chalk art
• Family game day
• Ax throwing
• Car show
• Disc golf tournament

Food, music, and downtown energy

• Live music throughout town (including Rustic Moon Unplugged)
• Steak dinner fundraiser
• Plant sale
• Depot Museum grand opening

You can see the full Trout Days schedule on the Preston Chamber website.

Which town festival are you most looking forward to this year?