Dorchester Days to celebrate turning 150 in style
The Village of Dorchester will be celebrating its 150th anniversary and the 65th annual Dorchester Days in the same weekend on June 15 - 18.
On top of the regular Dorchester Days festivities will be a host of 150th anniversary-specific events including a talk with village historian Jim Jantsch on Saturday, June 17 from 9 - 11 a.m. in the Memorial Hall. Jantsch has been instrumental in keeping the history of Dorchester intact throughout time.
The event is kicked off with the food stand, beer tent and carnival opening on Thursday night. Comedians Rob Brackenridge and Jonnie W will be performing from 7 - 9 p.m. at Memorial Hall. Go to ticketspice.com for tickets to the event.
Fireworks will follow at 9:30 p.m. presented by Big Daddy’s Fireworks.
Memorial Hall will be open for displays and an apparel sale from 5 - 7 p.m. on Friday. Free 150th celebration cupcakes will be available.
The tractor pulls get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday with registration running from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Ages 12 and under will be admitted free to the pulls. Music on Friday night will be handled by Boogie and the Yo-Yoz starting at 9 p.m.
Breakfast will be served Saturday morning from 8 a.m. until supplies run out at Memorial Hall. Jantsch’s coffee and conversation on the history of Dorchester will commence at 9 a.m. with guest Jim “Ubby” Ortlieb. Registration for the second annual Bloody Mary 5k run/walk/crawl will be held online through race roster. The race will begin at 10 a.m. in front of the Dorchester Days beer tent on West Washington Street.
There will be prizes for those wearing Dorchester apparel. A post-race party will include a free Bloody Mary for those over 21 and sundaes for those under 21.
The 21st annual car, truck and antique tractor show will run until 2 p.m. Registration for the show runs from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Hobos DJ Service will be playing music throughout the day.
At noon, the American Legion will present a 150 gun salute and a wood chain saw carver will perform.
From 2:30 - 4 p.m., a taste of Dorchester recipe contest will be held. You must be either a current resident of Dorchester and/or the recipe came from a former/current Dorchester resident. See official rules for more information on the Dorchester 150th Anniversary Facebook page.
The truck pulls will begin at 5 p.m. with registration from 4-6 p.m. The pulls will feature the Mid-State Pullers of Wisconsin. Music by Rising Phoenix will begin at 8 p.m.
Sunday will feature a charcoal chicken dinner from 10:30 a.m. while supplies last. A rib fest event will be available beginning at 8 a.m. Ribs will be supplied by Pinter’s Packaging. Contestants must bring their own grill and be done grilling by 2:30 p.m. Awards will be handed out for the contest at 3:30 p.m.
The annual Dorchester Days parade will begin at 1 p.m. with registration beginning at 11:30 a.m. Music by “Stray Dog” will run from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The final pulls of the weekend will be featured at 2 p.m. as the Central WI ATV pullers will show off their garden tractors, ATVs and UTVS.
A coin scramble sponsored by Forward Bank will occur at 3 p.m. and the weekend will be complete with Lonie G karaoke from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
