“The Big Event” is happening from Thursday through Sunday at the Busti Fireman’s Grounds — 3476 Lawson Road, Busti. Each of the days include amusement rides, fair food, a Busti beer tent, concerts and DJs.

On the Thursday, rides are open from 5 to 9 p.m. and entertainment includes Good Life Entertainment and Happy Days. Friday’s rides are also open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with entertainment made up of DJ Campbell Dawson and Smokin’ 45.

Saturday the Busti Bicentennial Parade begins at 10 a.m. –with floats set to include multiple organizations and representatives — and rides open at 1 p.m. Music includes Osborne and the Nash, The Untouchables, and the Earthquakers. The day ends with a fireworks show by Gibson Fireworks at 10 p.m. Sunday there will be a community church service at 9 a.m. and rides are open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All concerts are free and there is no entrance fee, but there are tickets in order to ride the rides. On Thursday and Friday there will be concessions run by the Busti Church of God, and on Saturday and Sunday concessions are run by the Fire Department.

Town Clerk Darlene Nygren said the last big event is an important one for the community.

“People are excited for it because it allows them to relive the old gala days, when we used to do something similar,” Nygren said. “It’s a part of our history. I’ve had constant calls from people who want to participate.”

Nygren said the overall Bicentennial events throughout the year have gone very well, so many are looking forward to the final event this weekend. This is the first time in around 30 years that the town has been able to do anything like this.

“It’s gone amazingly well,” Nygren said. “The kickoff was beyond anything we could have predicted. The Rod and Gun club had a record day. The Tarp Skunks game for the veterans we had about 20 come and there was a special gift donated from a local resident that they were honored and overwhelmed to receive.”

Twenty-eight teams participated in the golf tournament which raised funds for $500 scholarships for the Miss Busti competition. Three local girls participated in that competition, and Reece Beaver was crowned Miss Busti. The sock hop and square dance events were also well received according to Nygren.

“I think the biggest take away from all of these is the community,” Nygren said. “We’ve already been told we need to get together and do this more often by the community. The lectures went very well at the Fenton and Lakewood Fireman’s Grounds. I reflected back at the most recent Bicentennial meeting and I said the community should be very proud of these celebrations. It has been memorable.”

Nygren thanked everyone who has donated prize money from the community for multiple events throughout the year, saying there has been “overwhelming” support from the community.

While the kickoff was the most attended event so far, with between 500 and 800 people in attendance, Nygren said there has been an average of at least 100 people at each event. The celebrations have allowed the town to celebrate their history and allowed the community to come together.

“It creates the spirit of community,” Nygren said. “We made it through Covid and the isolation that came with that and some are more free now but some are still more held back, but these events bring people together to enjoy the town.”

Another part of the events has been the creation of a new coin for the town. The last one was made at the 50th anniversary, and a few changes have been made including adding logos for the Busti Mill, Cummins and more.

Nygren said the town has been amazed with the reactions so far.

“We have not had one person come to us with a complaint,” Nygren said. “We are very pleased and happy that people are coming out to support the town and enjoy having time together. Some people have come to town just for the events and others have been out of town and unable to come back and sad about that. At the kickoff event I heard people talking and one man said he was just there to support Busti. It really has been building the community.”

The Busti Bicentennial events have been in the works for a number of years, and Nygren said many community members have expressed the want to do similar things more often. She added that the Fire Department is looking down the road for more possibilities but if there were more events in the future it would be more up to them. The town will support anything that comes.

“At every event people have said we need to do this again,” Nygren said. “I think the community hopes that this will spark into an annual event.”

For more information on “The Big Event” and a full schedule visit the town of Busti’s website, townofbusti.com or their Facebook page.