Waiting their turn at the Smelt Fry

The first day of the 2011 Rotary Smelt Fry has come and gone.  The dining room of the Northern Edge was filled–as were the bellies of those who came to eat.

The Smelt Fry is one of the Lodi Area Rotary’s biggest and most-anticipated events.   This year certainly lived up to the anticipation.  The golden-brown smelt were delicious, the conversation was lively, and volunteers were kept busy.

The event is run entirely by volunteers from the Rotary and their families.  The dining room and kitchen are generously donated by Annette and Rick Fassbender, owners of the Northern Edge, and the skilled and eager crew of Rotary volunteers takes care of all the rest–from running the kitchen to serving cold milk and hot coffee.

Proceeds from the Smelt Fry go directly to the Lodi Area Rotary, and are used both locally and internationally to provide education, service, and community strength.

If you’ve never been to a Smelt Fry, you don’t know what you’re missing.  But don’t worry, it’s not done yet.  There’s still one more day:  March 30th, from 5pm to 9pm.  After that, you’ll have to wait until next year.

Nothing is sunnier than a girl and her duck

The skies may have been overcast, but the sunshine was eminently evident on the faces of the children at this year’s Susie Day parade.

As always, the Lodi Rotary put on a fabulous parade that showed off all the things that make our community great.  We know that the “big city folk” might not understand why we love a parade that only lasts 2 blocks, and why we get so excited about a bunch of rubber ducks dumped into a tiny creek.

There’s only one way to respond to those people:  Come on down and see what it’s all about!

The big cities may get all the press, but it’s small towns like Lodi that make up the majority of this proud nation.  And we’re not shy about showing our pride.

You can have your expensive coffee shops and your national chain stores.  They don’t tell you anything about the way things are.   Around here, we discuss our politics at the “long table” down at the Downtown Cafe.  We hear the latest news over the counter at Main Street Liquor. And we talk to the mayor when we see him on the street.

This is America.

And you know what?  We know how to have a good time!

We’re talking about ice cream, and parades, and candy, and live music, and games, and… yes… several hundred small rubber ducks dumped into the creek in a heated race to see who’s first to the finish line.

C’mon! Can it get any better than this?

(If you said “yes”, you just don’t know how to kick back and have fun.)

If you missed out on the fun this year, we whole-heartedly invite you to come back next year to see what the hoopla is all about–and to help us make this celebration even better.

So… Be honest… Are you ready to toss away your troubles for a day and just have some good, old-fashioned fun?   Because we have a day set aside to help you do just that.

Susie the Duck Day:  It’s just fun.

Butch Wickham and the daffodils welcome you to Lodi

They say that April showers bring May flowers.   Here in Lodi, we’re a little bit impatient–we’re already blooming.

The daffodils are blooming all over town.  Last fall the Chamber of Commerce purchased another batch of bulbs to sell to the community.  People were out in teams planting them in public and business locations, while homeowners did their own part.

With the gorgeous weather we’ve been having, the flowers are getting their share of “face time”.   Winters in Wisconsin are long, and spring can be frustrating in its randomness.  But 20,000 yellow faces are smiling up at us and letting us know that it’s time to hang up our coats, pull our our shorts, and get ready for 6 months of fun and sunshine.

Come on out and join us.