This 165-Year-Old Festival is the Oldest Celebration in Minnesota

Towns all across Minnesota have festivals and celebrations. They could be celebrating the town's history, or it could be just for fun. But there's one small town in the Land of 10,000 Lakes whose town festival is a step above the rest.

Have you heard of Norwood Young America, MN? Sometimes it's called NYA. I hadn't either until I learned about their town's festival!

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Where is Norwood Young America?

This small town is just west of the Twin Cities.

They have a population of just under 4,000 people as of the 2024 census. The town is actually relatively new because it was officially formed in 1997 when two small towns merged together (Norwood and Young America, which makes the name make a lot more sense).

Even though the town isn't very old, their town's festival sure is. In fact, it's the oldest festival in Minnesota!

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The Oldest Small Town Festival in Minnesota

Their festival is called Stiftungsfest, which is German for Founders Day Celebration. Their 2026 celebration will be the 165th!

That means the first Stiftungsfest was in 1861, just a few years after Minnesota became a state.

As you can imagine, it's all heavily German-influenced with plenty of beer, German music, and German food.

The big attraction for the festival every year is their massive music lineup that goes all weekend long. They also have special events and plenty of food throughout the festival. Plus, every 5 years, they do their big Stiftungsfest parade. 2026 will be the next time the parade happens!

Stiftungsfest already happened for 2025, unfortunately, but that means we have to mark our calendars for it for next year. It's scheduled for August 27th-30th of 2026.