New Prague welcomes many visitors

New Prague had its share of visitors this past weekend, and will have a few hundred more coming up.

The New Prague Half- Marathon was held on Saturday, May 11. According to official race statistics, 847 runners completed either the Half-Marathon, the 10-kilometer or 5-kilometer races. In addition there were several hundred youngsters who ran in the Kids Fun Run. Many runners were from the immediate area, but many more competed from the Twin Cities or southern Minnesota, and there were runners from other states as well, including one from Alaska. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kristy Mach, who serves as race director, said she got a call from someone from Alaska who was coming to town for a wedding and wanted to run that morning.

Not only did the runners come to town, but so did many family members and friends who showed up to support these runners. Many of them stopped by area businesses before or after the race.

Also last weekend was the annual Music Fest at the Park Ballroom in New Prague. This two-day music festival brought in four bands from throughout the Midwest and a number of dancers. Some of the dancers stayed overnight in campers parked near the ballroom, and again, many of these visitors stopped and supported local businesses during their stay.

This weekend is the Third District American Legion Convention, which will be held in New Prague. Several hundred Legion members from a 10-county area will be in New Prague for two days of activities.

Also this weekend, New Prague will host its annual Garage Sale, with about 50 garage sales pre-registered with The Times. These sales bring in visitors from many communities. 

It is a privilege for New Prague to be hosting these events and an opportunity for the community to once again put out the welcome mat and show these visitors all the charm the area has to offer. There will be more events coming throughout the next few months. If you encounter a visitor, make them feel welcome and show them why New Prague is a great community.

Over too soon With the late spring we’ve had, it seems the high school sports season just got started, but already we’ve seen postseason competition begin in one sport, with other sports following soon. The Trojan tennis team traveled to Hutchinson to open the Section 2AA playoffs on Tuesday. Individual competition starts next week.

Most other sports are winding down their seasons as well. The Missota Conference golf tournaments will be on Monday, with the girls at Chaska and the boys at Red Wing. Softball playoffs start Thursday, May 23, with baseball starting the following day, and the Trojan boys and girls track teams will have their conference meet on Thursday, May 23, at Chanhassen. The adapted softball team will start its playoffs next week as well.

Good luck to all the teams in the post-season. We hope all these athletes can extend their season as long as possible. 10