By Stan Rauch

The big event is about here. The weather forecast during the Jamboree is for moderate temperatures and that will no doubt result in an even larger attendance to an already expected immense crowd.

Everything has come faster and a lot more of it for this milestone 50th anniversary event. We will have a large amount of activity this weekend including campers and tractors arriving,.and then increasing in intensity throughout the week.

Our priority is to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for our visitors, especially during the Jamboree. To assist in accomplishing that, several vehicle related procedures will be in effect. New this year is that during the Jamboree all ATVs are strictly prohibited, as are dirt bikes and motor scooters. Medical scooters are allowed. Golf carts and side by sides are allowed with a registration fee of $10. Golf cart rental is available through NB Golf Carts in Hendricks, MN. Reservations can be made by contacting them at 507-275-3564. They will also have additional first-come first-served golf carts available on site in an area just outside our exhibitor (vehicle) gate. Rented golf carts are required to be turned back in by 8:00 p.m. daily.

To avoid waiting in line at the gate durng the Jamboree, golf carts and side by sides can be registered now at the gift shop, as well as the purchasing of the 4-day admission wristbands. Also available now at the gift shop is the 50th anniversary John Green commemorative print and the commemorative belt buckle. The silent auctioning of the number 1 of 100 print and the number 50 belt buckls is also now in progress. The silent auction closes out at noon on Sunday of the Jamboree.

We will provide non-electrical camping (dry lot) to those who desire it. No reservations are required or taken, and generators are welcome. Campers can just arrive at the gate and we will get them settled into a camping spot. We will have a large number of campers taking advantage of this opportunity.

Our dinner train is always a popular event at the Jamboree and we still have some seats available. We will be serving a four course meal catered by Dakota State University Dining Services on Friday and Saturday evenings, August 24 and 25. Reservations are required and tickets are $25 single, $40 a couple, and $14 age 12 and under. Call 605-256-3644 or e-mail prairiev@rapidnet.com to make reservations for the dinner train, or for any other inquiries.

There will be a free shuttle bus service from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. between Madison and Prairie Village on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Jamboree. The pick up point will be the Gehl parking lot on the Hyland Avenue bypass on the southwest edge of Madison. There will be two continuous buses on Friday, four on Saturday and three on Sunday. The buses will travel on Territorial Road and come through our south gate which is an exit only gate. The shuttle buses are the only vehicles that will be permitted to enter through the south exit gate. The shuttle buses (standard school buses) are not equipped to to load wheel chairs or other devices designed to assist disabled persons.

The complete Jamboree schedule of events and other information can be found on our website at www.prairievillage.org/jamboree.

Primary Prairie Village founder Joe Habeger will be the Parade Marshall for this huge milestone event. He and a lot of other people from throughout the years who worked to make Prairie Village become what it is today will be joined by thousands of others from South Dakota and throughout the United States to celebrate and commemorate our 50th Anniversary Steam Threshing Jamboree. What a grand time it will be.