sunthisweek . com Burnsville Festival & Fire Muster • Friday , August 30 , 2024 Page 3
Event has grown in attendance , attractions
This year will include tributes to fallen first responders by John Gessner SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
A revamped kickoff party on Thursday and symbols of tribute to the city ’ s three fallen first responders will mark this year ’ s edition of the Burnsville Festival and Fire Muster .
Burnsville ’ s biggest and oldest community festival returns Sept . 5-7 in its traditional post-Labor Day spot .
Four days of events have been compressed into three with Thursday ’ s kickoff block party , but everything else is on the rise , according to festival President Dan Kealey .
The last three years have seen more food vendors than ever , and attendance has risen “ dramatically ” with an estimated 20,000 visits last year , said Kealey , also a City Council member .
A multicultural stage added in 2022 after Kealey became president offers world music and dance on Saturday , in addition to the traditional Friday and Saturday night main stage bands .
Even the Inflatable Zone at the Nicollet Avenue entrance to Civic Center Park is going from four inflatables last year to seven .
“ It ’ s going to be bigger and more colorful than last year ,” Kealey said . “ A lot of kids are going to be diverting into that before they go anywhere else .”
Visual evidence of
growing attendance is in the number of people on the carnival and festival grounds immediately after Saturday ’ s Fire Truck and Community Parade from 11 a . m . to 1 p . m ., he said . In years past big crowds didn ’ t materialize until the late afternoon and evening .
“ Finally we ’ re getting lots of people there during the day ,” Kealey said . “ And at night we ’ re getting the same or lots bigger crowds than we ever had .”
The festival begins on Thursday with the Kickoff Block Party from 5-8 p . m . at Nicollet Commons Park . The family-friendly event includes a Kidsdance DJ , a fire truck-shaped inflatable and slide , face
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