Forreston Sauerkraut Days a success, despite the heat

FORRESTON – Despite the heat, Forreston Sauerkraut Days went well, organizers said.

“Had it not been so hot, especially midday Saturday, there’d have been more people,” Sauerkraut Days Committee Chairwoman Jane Koeller said.

The 2024 Forreston Sauerkraut Days kicked off Friday, Aug. 2, and concluded with fireworks and a community breakfast and church service Sunday, Aug. 4.

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Tom Cox of the American Legion (left) and Angie Determan (center) serve brats and sauerkraut at Forreston's Sauerkraut Days on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. The popular luncheon was held in the shelter at Memorial Park during the three-day festival. (Earleen Hinton)

The bulk of events took place Friday and Saturday, including the Forreston American Legion Post 308 sauerkraut lunch, a parade, the Cabbage Patch Kids Fun Run, a dunk tank, kids inflatables, a mobile climbing wall, the American Legion Car and Bike Show, music trivia, a watermelon-eating contest and a pork chop dinner.

The fireworks show initially was scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 1, but organizers rescheduled it to Sunday because of the threat of rain, Koeller said.

“It ended up not raining, but we had to make the decision at 2 p.m.,” she said.

The fireworks show was almost 23 minutes long, and the company “shoots them really high, so people – even if they were at home, they could still see them,” Koeller said. “It was really good. It wasn’t as attended as it probably would have been if it was Thursday, but it was still well-attended.”

The sauerkraut lunch also went really well, and there was a steady stream of people, she said.

“As always, everybody loves to have that sauerkraut,” Koeller said.