Santa Day coming in Brooten (December 18)

Please spread the word! Mark your calendars if you haven't already...Saturday, December 18 in Brooten. Everyone is invited! More details are at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website, and more are forthcoming (short link): https://bit.ly/3DDpNVy. This also includes a correction to what was printed in the December 9 newspaper issue.

(VIDEO) Brooten's lighted Christmas parade

Click here to watch the parade! https://bit.ly/3qUChD0.

More coverage will be in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

'Crazy' turnout for Brooten Santa Day

The turnout was incredible tonight in Brooten! Below, catch a glimpse of it in the video taken on main street:


THANK YOU to everyone to was in Brooten tonight. A special thank you to the Belgrade Royal Ambassadors for attending and joining the parade.

And thank you for everyone's patience as we turned over the drive-through Christmas into the lighted Christmas parade. The parade started almost a half hour after we planned. We waited until all vehicles had been through the drive-through portion of Santa Day, which allowed all the kids to see Santa Claus before he joined the Brooten Fire Department for the parade.

At least 200 cars passed through during a one hour, 20-minute stretch of time. At the peak of the event, between 30 to 35 vehicles were in the line down Central Avenue. It was an amazing night!

(HD VIDEO) Brooten Holidazzle lighted parade

Here's video from our Christmas parade, held last Saturday night! Finally got this posted...


We've really fallen behind on "getting caught up" here at the Voice, currently working on digging out!

Varsity sports Thursday night updates will follow in a new blog post.

Santa Day in Brooten

The town of Brooten will host Santa Day and a celebration of the Christmas season on Saturday, December 7, 2019.

Beyond that, no other details have been worked out yet. Since the town has no viable civic organization, we are working to organize business leaders to "figure it out" - we will move heaven and earth to make sure Santa Day is pulled off and is a success for local youth to enjoy.

I want to put two rumors to rest:
1. there will be no Santa Day...that's not true. We will have Santa Day in Brooten! We have to ensure whoever is included in the planning is trustworthy and will communicate in an above-board manner with the public.
2. the Brooten Commercial Club will spearhead Santa Day just as they have for the past many number of years. Again, that's not true either. The Brooten Commercial Club is in the nasty vice grip of the Minnesota Department of Revenue. That is an ongoing process, and all I'll say to it is that it is ugly.

Watch upcoming issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper for additional information.

(Video) Riding in style!

The Brooten Fire Department brought Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus to downtown Brooten for Santa Day on December 10...here's a little video:


Merry Christmas!!!!

Santa Claus and more in Brooten!

Today's the big day in Brooten! All the activities' details were on page 13 of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice and on page 10 of last week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

I was just in Elrosa and saw over 40 kids get some time with Santa Claus at the parish center. The Elrosa Commercial Club and Elrosa Baseball Club did a fantastic job organizing activities and treats for everyone.

What a great day! IN SPITE of the bitter cold, the Christmas spirit is alive and well across the Bonanza Valley!

Desk clearing

Here's some random notes from the news office of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper:

1. Turnout for the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team hovers around 25, which is the highest we've had in many seasons. It is terrific and will undoubtedly bolster their chances of a deep playoff run if we can keep everyone healthy. Their opener is on December 2 at home.

2. Turnout for the B-B-E/Paynesville dance team is equally strong, with around 25 recruits working in pre-season drills and practices. Their opener is on December 10 at Albany.

3. The Brooten Commercial Club Santa Day is Saturday, December 10 with multiple activities starting at
12:30 p.m. at the Brooten Steak House (Classic Co.) and running into the evening.

4. The Elrosa Commercial Club Santa Day is also on Saturday, December 10. Their activities run from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic church parish center.

And here's some video from the blizzard that I forgot to post on Friday night. It has been a very challenging weekend.


As always, read more details in the weekly issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper! We have 375 new subscribers since January 1, 2015, which represents an increase of over 60 percent in that time.

Santa Claus in Brooten!

Santa Claus was his jolly ol' self in Brooten tonight for the lighted Christmas parade.

Jana Zenner, Mr. Gossen, Mrs. Gossen and Brad Lieser manning the Rooster's Bottle Shop float in Brooten.

Brooten had all sorts of Christmas cheer to share today with visitors and residents of the town. The list of events was exhaustive! I heard that the crowd picked up after 1 p.m., and the free showing of "Ice Age - a Mammoth Christmas" had a nice-sized group of children and parents at the Brooten American Legion.

And the lighted parade was very, very fun to take in. It helped that the temperature hovered in the mid-40s!

Here's video of the magnificent lighted parade!

To see what went down in Sunburg tonight, click below. The music was a nice touch.
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2014/12/santa-claus-visits-sunburg.html

I have more photos and video to post on Sunday when I get time. Feel free to bookmark the following link and follow this for more news-related events. I finally got around to starting a website that will be geared towards news and community events. From time to time I'll still post non-sports updates on this Jaguar Sports blog, but that won't happen as much as it has in the past. As you'll see in the header of this new website, it will include news/events on what happens in the Brooten, Terrace, Sedan, Sunburg, Elrosa, Padua and Grove Lake areas as well as random news for the B-B-E school district.

http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com

My next move is to set up an online photo gallery to share photos for the B-B-E community...hopefully that will be sooner than later.

Santa Claus Day in Brooten

Come to Brooten on Saturday! You won't want to miss out on this. From what I have seen throughout the area, this may be the busiest "Santa Day" around.

The B-B-E wrestling club is sponsoring a Candy Cane Dash 5K and 1K. The walk/run starts at 10 a.m., and registration is at Trinity Lutheran Church starting at 9:30 a.m. Kids games will also be held.

A Boy Scouts (B-B-E Troop 66) bake sale is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the American Legion building.

**At Jana Mae's, local author Les Graham will sign copies of his book "Jude's Gentle Giants" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. As I have time, I hope to write a little more about his book between now and Saturday. http://www.janamaes.com/

At the Brooten American Legion building, a free movie showing of "Ice Age - a Mammoth Christmas" starts at 1 p.m.

Santa Claus greets children from 2 to 3 p.m., also at the Legion hall. Each child will receive a bag of treats.

Free sleigh rides by Horse Power Acres will be from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. outside the American Legion building.

All week you can register at Brooten Commercial Club business members for a drawing of $300 to $600 in Brooten Bucks. The drawing will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Legion hall. Drawings will be for $20, and if you are present that amount doubles to $40.

A Parade of Lights will be on main street starting at 6 p.m., where floats decorated with Christmas lights will drive by.

The night wraps up with "Christmas caroling by the fire." The campfire and caroling will be at the old Brooten high school parking lot following the parade. S'Mores will be provided.

See you Saturday!

...and if you are able to, be sure to squeeze in a trip to Belgrade on Saturday during the hours of 8:30 a.m. at 2 p.m. for the Belgrade Hardware Hank's Holiday Open House!