Goodridge Veterans Memorial Park to hold festival at the Goodridge Centennial

The Goodridge Veterans Memorial Park Organization became a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit in 2011 with the goal to build a memorial to honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces. The committee also planned to have the park completed for the 2015 Goodridge Centennial (July 3-5, 2015) with their expectations becoming a reality. To celebrate and honor the Veterans Park, and the town’s Centennial, a fun-filled weekend for all ages starts on Saturday, July 4th, with Ca Claque, the Sons of Norway Kringen Accordian Band, Kiracature, Steve Porters Live Trophy Whitetail display, and the Area Century Farm Recognition. David Lee Catering will be serving Lefse during the Norwegian Kringen Band and other great food throughout the day. Sunday will be the dedication of the park with guest speaker Sherry (Johnsrud) King. Free entertainment at the park was funded, in part, by the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council, and the Goodridge Area Development.    

Sons of Norway - To kick-off the entertainment on Saturday, July 4th, at 11am, is the Sons of Norway Kringen Accordian Band, a group of 12-17 local Fargo/Moorhead musicians that meet weekly at the Sons of Norway Kringen Lodge to learn the ways of the accordion, practice and prepare programs for various events in the area. The music they enjoy playing for your listening pleasure consists of Scandinavian waltzes, two step and polkas. They perform at Retirement Homes, SON’S Lodge Concerts, Private parties, Hjemkomst Festival, VA Hospital, and Scandinavian Host Fest in Minot. The band plays a variety of melodies that will evoke fond memories of our Nordic heritage. The young at heart Kringen Accordion Band was organized eleven years ago at the Son’s of Norway Lodge in Fargo and many are charter members.

Kiracatures - Kira Layli, a caricaturist, known as KIRACATURES, will be at the Veterans Park on Saturday, July 4th from 11am to 3pm. Kira is a freelance artist, caricaturist and illustrator from Cedar Rapids Iowa. 

Kira has drawn live caricatures at events all over Iowa and into Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri. Besides traveling all over the midwest, she has drawn at Universal Orlando Theme Park in Florida and the Washington State Fair outside of Seattle, Washington.

Kira also draws illustrations and commissioned pieces. She uses both traditional and digital mediums. Kira has several awards from the International Society of Caricature Artist (ISCA).

Ca Claque - In the spirit of cultural exchange and friendship between our countries and specially the State of Minnesota and the Province of Manitoba, the Goodridge Veterans Memorial Park Organization has invited “Ca Claque” a French Canadian band and dancers to perform at the Vets Park on Saturday, July 4th at 1pm, and for a second performance at 4pm.

Since 2009, the members of Ca Claque have been promoting and celebrating French-Canadian folklore.

Ca Claque fuses the energy and creativity of their talented musicians with the elegance and technique of their gifted dancers and offers audiences world-class entertainment that will keep you captivated from the first note of the fiddle to the last step of the gigue.

After having refined their talents over the years within various folk groups all over the province of Manitoba, the members of Ca Claque joined forces in order to reach beyond established folk traditions and present a repertoire peppered with contemporary components. Their goal is to keep their French- Canadian culture alive at home and abroad.

Since its inception in 2009, Ca Claque has recorded a 4 track demo CD and a 12 track full length CD. The group has represented Canada internationally in Costa Rica, Peru and Chile and has participated in countless local, national and international festivals.

Century Farms Program - The Goodridge Century Farm Recognition Program will be held Sat. July 4th at 3pm in the Vets Park. Each century farm family will be presented with a plaque stating their family farm name and the year they were established. 

Whitetail Deer Display - If you are a whitetail deer enthusiast of any type, you have probably heard or seen an ad featuring STEVE PORTER’S LIVE TROPHY WHITETAIL DEER DISPLAY. Steve and his live trophy bucks have received a lot of media attention at sport shows and events in a five state area surrounding Minnesota. Steve will be attending the Goodridge Centennial at the Veterans Park on Sat. July 4th from 9am to 7pm.

Steve Porter’s Trophy Whitetail is a family run farm that started as a hobby in spring of 1992. Steve was fascinated with whitetail deer and wanted to see if he could raise a monster whitetail buck in a controlled setting. Once the proper license was obtained to raise deer, a buck fawn name Clyde and two doe fawns were purchased. What started with a passion for whitetails and a simple goal of “wanting to see a monster buck” slowly changed over the years from a hobby into a full time business.

Today, Steve and his family have 140 acres fenced in with eight foot high netting and own seventy whitetail deer. Steve travels with three of his tame monster bucks to schools and sport shows all over the upper mid-west in a trailer that was custom made to exhibit the deer. The genetics for these monster bucks were obtained by using an aggressive breeding program and artificial insemination. Now, every doe on the farm possess world class genetics. The does then produce marketable whitetail deer breeding stock, and the does are also used to fill scent orders each fall.

The Porter family also runs one of just a few whitetail deer hunting preserves in the state. When they first started their hunting preserve, it was pretty big deal if they could grow a buck with a 150 inch set of antlers. Last hunting season, there was a 214” buck and a 229” buck harvested on their property. Steve states that “investing in better genetics, growing better food plots, and using proper deer management techniques is paying off. “We have definitely learned how to grow big deer,” he says.

Do you like learning about big buck behavior? Do you like seeing incredibly large whitetail deer antlers? If so, you need to stop by the Goodridge Veterans Memorial Park on July 4th. Steve will be on hand sharing his years of whitetail deer experience and he will also have on display about 30 sets of antlers. The biggest antlers on display will be the fresh sheds of his three monster show bucks. The smallest set scoring about 240” and the largest set scoring about 275”. If you ask nice you may be able to hold the biggest set of antlers for a picture......So, don’t forget to bring your camera!

Guest speaker Sherry King - Guest speaker for the Goodridge Veterans Memorial Park dedication on Sunday, July 5th, will be Sherry (Johnsrud) King. Sherry graduated from Goodridge High School in 1975 and later attended college at UND, Memphis State University, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the California State University in Long Beach in 1983. After returning to North Dakota, King began law school at the UND School of Law in 1985. She was commissioned in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps as an Ensign in 1986, and began her service as a Navy Lawyer in 1988 following graduation from law school. Upon completion of Naval Legal Service Office in Bremerton, Washington, working as defense attorney, legal assistance attorney and prosecutor.

King left active duty in 1994, and began a dual career as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Snohomish County, Washington and as Navy Reserve Judge Advocate. Now a senior DPA for the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office, King has prosecuted all types of misdemeanor and felony cases, and currently works in the office’s Juvenile Justice Unit.

While on active duty and in the Navy Reserve, King served primarily in military justice and legal assistance assignments, and was selected as a Military Judge in 2007. In October, 2011 she was recalled to active duty, assigned as a staff attorney for the Navy Department of Defense committees, studying and making recommendations for reforming and improving military justice processes and procedures. She retired from the Navy in October 2014, and returned to her civilian employment as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Washington State.

King’s personal decorations from her military service include the Meritorious Service medal (three awards), Navy Commendation Medal (five awards), and Navy Achievement Medal (three awards). She is married to Herbert King, who recently retired from the FAA after serving 32 years as Air Traffic Controller. They have four grown sons, two daughters-in-law, and one granddaughter.