Jul. 21—A parade, car show and other activities return this year with Buffalo Days, said Emily Bivens, executive director of the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce.

"It's just a great community event and I love seeing our community come together to make it possible," she said.

The chamber is the primary promoter for Buffalo Days, which is July 24-25 in Jamestown. It is being held in conjunction with Big Guns of the Old West at Fort Seward.

On Saturday, the Buffalo Days Parade begins at 9:30 a.m. The parade will assemble beginning at 8 a.m. at McElroy Park, then start near the Jamestown Parks and Recreation office, go up Second Avenue Southeast, turn west onto Eighth Street Southeast to First Avenue, then continue north on First Avenue before eventually turning east onto First Street East by Sabir's Buffalo Grill and go south on Third Avenue Southeast. The parade usually disbands before reaching 10th Street Southeast, Bivens said.

"We don't charge for the parade (entries)," she said. "It's just an event that the chamber puts on as a courtesy to the community. So we don't have registration, it's just line up as you come."

Bivens is expecting more entries than last year's parade, which had about 50 during the year of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I do have a feeling it's going to be quite a bit larger than last year because we've gotten quite a few questions about it this year, more so than we have in the past," she said.

The Jamestown Fire Department's pancake breakfast returns this year, called off last year due to the pandemic. Jim Reuther, chief of the department, said the firefighters decided to provide the breakfast this year at no charge to the public. The breakfast will be from 7 a.m. to noon at the fire station. Freewill donations will be accepted.

"We are opening up the pancake feed this year (for free) to basically thank the public in the community for the help with the (new) ladder truck," Reuther said.

Any donations for the breakfast will go toward equipment replacement, Reuther said.

Firefighters will be cooking, serving and cleaning at the event. The breakfast will be pancakes, sausage, potatoes from Cavendish Farms, coffee, juice and water, Reuther said.

"We're just looking forward to having everybody back again," he said. "It's always been a good time to just be able to visit with people and serve our community up a bunch of pancakes."

The equipment at the fire station will also be on display.

Events in McElroy Park

The Buffalo Rally Car Show & Shine, vendor show and inflatables for children will be available in the park starting at 11 a.m. Inflatables end at 3 p.m. while the car show and craft and food vendor show continue until 4 p.m.

"We'll have the Old Friends band that afternoon (in the park)," Bivens said.

Other events

The Mini Art Hunt begins at 10 a.m., with 12 hand-carved wooden gnomes to find. Clues to find the artwork created by Cindi Psychos will be posted on The Arts Center's Facebook page. The gnomes can be found in Jamestown parks and historic sites, according to The Arts Center's website, jamestownarts.com. The artwork will be in plain sight and people will not have to dig or disturb anything to find it. People may keep the artwork and are asked to post a picture with the found artwork on The Arts Center's Facebook or Instagram page or notify The Arts Center.

A civics exhibit on display at the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse can be viewed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Grant Invie, a singer-songwriter from Moorhead, Minnesota, will perform at 1 p.m. on the lawn of the courthouse, according to the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Invie performs classic country music with hints of gospel and rock and roll. Those attending are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair as seating will not be provided. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved indoors.

The Young Professionals of Jamestown are hosting a cornhole tournament downtown from noon to 6 p.m.

A street dance with music by Incredibly Real starts at 8 p.m. by the Corner Bar.

Sunday

On Sunday, the James Valley Offroaders Mud Drags will begin at the Stutsman County Fairgrounds at 1 p.m.

Bivens said Jamestown Tourism is a major supporter of Buffalo Days and the sponsors include Dakota Central, Great River Energy and Cavendish Farms.