Small town sees big fun
Street dance, demolition derby and corn feed bring crowds
Hundreds of people from Pierce County and beyond came to Balta Aug. 6-7 for a weekend of music, dancing demolition derbies and corn on the cob.
The Balta Street Dance kicked off the fun on the evening of Aug. 6 at the intersection of Main and Second Street. Stands set up around the Balta Bar sold food such as pulled pork sandwiches and drinks with or without alcohol.
On the stage that was set up in the intersection, Fargo band Special Blend played an assortment of Top 40 tunes spanning several decades.
Stephanie Halvorson, owner of the Balta Bar, said the cool weather and occasional sprinkles proved a welcome change from last year’s dance, when muggy temperatures soared into the 90s.
“There was some rain early in the evening,” she said, “But it didn’t affect the start time of 9 p.m. The street dance went well and was very well attended. The music was very enjoyable and was a great fit for several reunions that gathered in and around Balta for the weekend.”
Some attendees decided to stay in the area all weekend, parking their RVs at the Balta Dam. Some had come from as far away as Minnesota.
The next day, about 300 people went to a racetrack across from the dam for the annual Balta Demolition Derby.
Unlike the 2021 derby, participants had no need to have a water truck give the track an occasional spritz to keep the dust down. A steady drizzle created a sticky layer of mud on the track.
Chunks of mud sprayed into the air as beater cars spun their tires. By the last race of the day, mud showered the entire track as the last three cars battled to the end.
Winner Kyle Arend emerged from his beaten-up blue sedan, mud covering any part of his face that hadn’t been covered by goggles.
Arend comes from Bottineau. Other competitors came from locations such as Grand Forks, Harvey and Maddock. Rugby’s Jace Odden placed fifth in the feature event.
Event promoter Larry Vetsch said participant Dean Mosfeldt, Bottineau, won a raffle for a small “Herbie” car.
The name for the cars comes from the Disney “Herbie, the Love Bug” movie series.
After the race, many of the spectators headed across the gravel road to the picnic area, where volunteers from Little Flower Catholic Parish served up grilled hot dogs, corn on the cob and potato chips.
Tickets to the event sold for $7 each, with the proceeds supporting Little Flower Parish.
Don Schmaltz said he had purchased about 3,000 cobs of corn and 3,000 hot dogs for the event from the Rugby Leevers store.
He added he wasn’t sure how many people would attend the feed, because people were still coming in a few groups at a time from the demolition derby.
“Last year, it was about 97 degrees out and that kind of hurt,” Schmaltz said. “We still had good attendance but not as much as normal.
“This is a fundraiser for Little Flower Catholic Church,” he added. “The only other fundraiser we can do is the fall supper. That’s our main one every year.”
Rev. Frank Miller, pastor of Little Flower Parish, said the event “was a great success. We had more people this year than last year, so we were very pleased.”
“There was a good turnout in spite of the rain,” he added.
Despite the larger numbers, Miller said the feed had plenty of leftover food. Miller said attendees bought the food to raise more money for the parish.
“We always have corn left over to make sure we have enough,” Miller said. “We sell it to whoever wants to buy it after the feed.
“We didn’t have that much left over this year, which was good,” he added. “It was very good corn, so people were anxious to get some.”
Results from the Balta Demolition Derby were: Feature Derby winners: Kyle Arend, first place; Travis Lehmann, second place; Michael Goulet, third place; Alex Sabbe, fourth place; Jace Odden, fifth place; Jason Gross, sixth place; Jadyn Magdeson, seventh place; Robert Rennak, eighth place and Alex Hoffert, ninth place.
Herbie (small car event) winner: Jadyn Vlaminick.