family fun

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On Earth Day 2019, we invite you to do the earth and yourselves a favor by planning to shop second hand at Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days, August 16th, 17th, and 18th.

Flea Markets and antique shows are full of second hand items just waiting to be repurposed, reimagined and ultimately recycled. Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days is no exception.

Shopping second hand not only helps the Earth; there are also social and personal benefits to visiting your local flea market or thrift store. We've highlighted our favorite reasons why we think you should consider this option when shopping for clothing, home decor, furniture and more.

ENVIRONMENTAL

When you purchase a piece of clothing or furniture second hand, you are playing an important part in reducing the consumption of energy and resources that are necessary in producing new items. You are also giving new life to something that may have otherwise been tossed. Be proud of your second hand items and your positive impact it has on this earth!

SOCIAL

Shopping second hand at a flea market ensures that you will be supporting small and local businesses. This support of local businesses will keep your dollars close to home, multiplying their effect throughout your community. The small but impactful decision to shop second hand can have many positive outcomes on your life, and the lives of your friends and neighbors.

PERSONAL

The most obvious benefit of shopping second hand is that it can be significantly less expensive than buying new.  The not so obvious benefit is that you are able to put your own personal touch on your purchase and it will likely be more unique than anything you could buy new. This is a huge plus when looking to create your own personal style within your home or wardrobe. Originality is a priceless reason to shop second hand!

Red Wing Stoneware
Red Wing Stoneware

JOIN US

Besides all the wonderful reasons mentioned above, Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days is just plain old fun! Whether you are looking for that perfect bench to complete your entryway, that one last piece of pottery to finish your collection, or you just want to wander the vendor booths eating a delicious ice cream sandwich, there is something interesting for everyone! We hope you can join us on August 16th, 17th, and 18th!

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The race begins

We have Jeff Hovel to thank for the photos from the very first Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush 5K.

Jeff is a resident of Oronoco and asked permission to take photos to share with us.  He did not charge a fee for doing this, but did the photography as an act of charity and service.  For this we are grateful.

Enjoy the images here. If you want to contact Jeff about the photo of you or your family member his contact is Sales@meridianstudio.net

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On Sunday morning August 19th Oronoco began a new tradition.  Oronoco residents put together their first 5K and had it coincide with the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days.  Many participants registered months in advance, and some registered on Thursday evening at the Oronoco Presbyterian Church.  The last to decide came to Oronoco at 7 o'clock am to register to walk or run the 5K.

Marci came dressed for a special 5K
Marci came dressed for a special 5K

As the people arrived the energy of Oronoco rose with excitement.  Many showed up with their children and others had a buddy or came alone.  All came ready to have a good time.

The sun is barely up as these runners arrive.

As they began to form a crowd more and more of the Gold t-shirts dotted the street.  And the weather could not have been more co-operative. The race was scheduled to begin at 8 am. and there was a pleasant breeze.

We call this a tradition even though this was the first year that Oronoco sponsored a 5K.  And for such a small town the turnout was good.  The path they would travel began on the North side of the bridge where the old dam used to be.

After crossing the bridge and making their way up Minnesota Ave the group moved into a residential neighborhood, and followed a paved path through the woods along the Zumbro River.

At the start of the race was the clock to record each persons time.

The path is lined with yellow flowers 5 foot tall.  By the time the group gets to this part of the run there are wide gaps between the runners and walkers.  There are runners who came to beat their own time, from a run done somewhere before Oronoco.  For others who are bringing up the rear, they have no intention of hurrying this moment.  They are relaxed and enjoying all of the beauty Oronoco presents.

So if you didn't make it to Oronoco's first 5K  now would be the time to consider joining us the next time.  And if you have never been to Oronoco it is time to Start.....

Make a trip to Oronco one of the items on your list of "must do's" so next time you will be here for the line up.  Besides this 5K, and the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days, we have a Frisbee golf course, a river to contemplate, and the Oronoco City Park for camping. Many parks have playgrounds for the kids, and in the winter the Lions Club puts up the walls for the basketball court to become an ice skating rink.

Yes Oronoco, just North of Rochester is growing into a "big, little town" where we treasure our visitors, along with our fellow residents.

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How do we thank all the vendors and shoppers?

Lucy and her son Elliot were just two of the thousands of shoppers who came to the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days, this past weekend.  Besides the treasures they found at this particular booth they proceeded to find many more as they ventured out through old downtown Oronoco.

Elliot was scouting out the toy selection on Friday.

Both Lucy and Elliot also made themselves available as volunteers.  For two days they took a 2 hour shift delivering ice to the vendors.  Elliott was insistent that they volunteer again next year. Lucy agreed.

As I began this post, I asked..... "How can we thank all the vendors and shoppers?" ( who came to participate in Oronoco's non-profit event the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days)

Let's begin with a thank you to all the volunteers who helped us as well.  Beyond the golf carts, there was the volunteer fire department and first responders, who all worked their best to build funds for the best equipment to protect the Oronoco residents. They also prepared meals for the volunteers and shoppers.

In the VFW there were Veterans and their family members who prepared meals for the visitors and also had meals available for our volunteers.

Grace Lutheran Church returned this year with pies again, (we missed seeing their pies last year) and their new Pastor and his family were volunteering as well to help make this years event a success.

The Presbyterian Church is located up the hill from the old downtown, but they too had volunteers who set up a resting tent, providing shade and seats for nursing mothers or others needing a break.  They also made their parking lot available for the vendors to park their car there, while they worked their booths. (hopefully leaving a donation in the church donation box.)

One more non-profit organization that set up a booth this year was the Lions Club from Oronoco.  We know they use some of their funds to set up the winter skating rink in downtown Oronoco, and in the summer they host evening movies in the Oronoco City Park.

And for all the vendors, who drove many hours to be here, we send a big THANK YOU! We hope to see you next year and so do many of your customers.  We walked around and got feed back from the vendors and will work to continue to make the event a win for them as much as it was for us.

To the Shoppers we are grateful for no rain, cool temperatures in the morning and that you came to the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days .  Speaking for the red shirt volunteers who worked for a year to get the show organized, we know the show would not be a success without the shoppers.  Thank you for coming and for telling your friends to check us out as well.

And last but not least thank you for ALL the other volunteers who participated in making the 2018 Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days a wonderful family friendly place to be.

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Come for the race, stay for the treasure hunting!

Join us for the 2nd annual Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days 5k! Last year's 5k was very well received and we are happy to bring it back in 2019!  This year your registration includes a run through historic Downtown Oronoco and a t-shirt.  We are so excited to once again offer this event during our weekend festivities and hope to see you there!

Race Day Registration and Packet Pick up:  7:00am

5K Start:  8am

Parking is available Downtown Oronoco for a small fee.  Street parking a short walk from Downtown Oronoco is also available.

Register here: https://register.chronotrack.com/r/48399