TO READ ABOUT THE PAST is one thing. To learn about history via people passionate about the past is quite another.
The past came alive over the weekend at the first-ever Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival in Faribault organized by the Rice County Historical Society. I spent four hours of my Mother’s Day roaming the festival grounds alongside the Cannon River at North Alexander Park. Listening. Learning. Connecting. Questioning. Observing. And photographing.
The Rendezvous covered 1701-1900 with participants dressed in period costume. Think top hats, mountain hats, head scarves, long skirts, lots of leather and fur.
The re-enactors shared their period skills from blacksmithing to hat making to cannon shooting, rug weaving, leather stitching and much more. There was a lot to see, a lot to learn. And a lot to do, if you chose to participate.
I left the hands-on activities to others, including two of my elementary-aged grandkids. They joined many kids trying out new skills, making memories. School classes attended the festival Thursday and Friday. So many lessons taught and learned.
My biggest personal lesson of the day came in an unexpected way, and not until I arrived home. While walking from one tent to another at the Rendezvous, I crossed paths with Valin cuddling his pet skunk. I’d never seen a real skunk up close and I was rather excited to photograph Little Stinky. I even called my husband over for a close-up look. Valin assured me Stinky’s stinky part had been removed. Back home, Randy revealed to me that Little Stinky was a pelt. “Didn’t you see his (Valin’s) hand underneath moving the skunk?” Uh, no. I can only imagine the story Valin told around the evening campfire about the lady who thought his skunk was alive. This is now the stuff of laughter and legend for my family. Lesson learned: Everything is not as it appears.
That humorous moment aside, I did appreciate the honest and informative storytelling of local historian and documentary filmmaker Sam Temple. Smartly attired in a top hat and dress clothes, he talked about early Minnesota, about Indigenous Peoples, about the illegal French Canadian fur traders who came here first—about their relationship of interdependence and co-existence with Native Peoples and how a new mixed race culture developed.
Temple shared much more before shifting his focus to Faribault town founder Alexander Faribault, of mixed race (his mother was part Dakota) and a licensed fur trader by age 21. Alexander arrived in a multi-cultural community with “a foot in both worlds,” Temple said. Wood-frame houses and teepees stood side-by-side. As I listened, I considered my multi-cultural community today. Getting along, but not always. By the time Alexander Faribault, who was historically-influential both locally and state-wide, left Faribault, “the teepees were missing and his mother’s culture was gone,” Temple said.
If there’s something else I learned while attending the Rendezvous it is that I absolutely love fruit-filled Indian frybread, which I’ve not previously eaten. The sugar-topped pie-like dessert oozed blueberry filling and cream cheese. It was beyond decadent.
As much as I loved frybread and Little Stinky, the good folks who participate in history fests like the Riverside Rendezvous assuredly love stepping back in time. Their passion and desire to present the past in a way that engages people in history was something I felt, saw, heard while moving from tent to tent, space to space. To be part of this proved a cultural, historic experience, growing my knowledge and appreciation of those who shaped Minnesota and Faribault, this place I call home.
FYI: Please check back for more photos from the Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival in Faribault. This year’s Rendezvous was so successful that the Rice County Historical Society is planning a second one for 2026, but a weekend later so the event does not fall on Mother’s Day and the fishing opener weekend.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Good things coming to Minnesota. https://www.startribune.com/willie-nelson-farm-aid-bob-dylan-margo-price-university-of-minnesota-neil-young-john-mellencamp/601350077
That’s exciting. I haven’t thought about Farm Aid in years.
What a fun adventure. We went to a rendezvous years ago, up in northern Minnesota. It takes someone dedicated to preserving history. I’m grateful for the folks who put this big production on and I hope the Rendezvous comes back to Faribault again. I’m glad you had a good time.
Yes, putting on a history event like this is certainly a lot of work. But it seemed to go effortlessly. The participants (those who set up camp and teach) are like one big family. They really get into this. I so appreciate that they share their love of history with all of us. And, yes, a second Riverside Rendezvous is planned for mid-May 2026.
How wonderful your grandchildren were able to experience hands-on activities.
Valin and his pet skunk certainly fooled me too. After I read what Randy had said, I went back to the picture and then realized what was going on. Funny.
I’ve heard a lot about Alexander Faribault, but I didn’t realize his mother was Dakota. What a lovely image, living in his town with teepees and wood framed houses. Too bad we can’t still see that today.
We could learn a lot from those days of teepees and houses side-by-side. As Sam Temple said during his talk, the Dakota and French fur traders got along well, recognizing that “you need something and I have the ability to provide” (Sam’s words). But then as Europeans pushed into Minnesota, things changed. Cultures clashed. White people wanted to take over the land, etc. Then came the US-Dakota War of 1862. Sam shared about all of that; I just didn’t cover everything here. Sam is an incredible storyteller and historian, truly remarkable.
Yes, Alexander Faribault’s mother was part Dakota. Alexander’s first language was Dakota; his second, French; and his third, English. You can understand why he became a go-between between cultures. By the time he left Faribault, he was not well-liked here given his friendship with Native Peoples.
There certainly was a good combination of education, entertainment, even participation. I just pray all the grant cutting doesn’t set organizations like RCHS, even Steele Cty. whose resources I’ve used too, back too much.
Check back for more Rendezvous photos in the morning. Funding cuts will definitely affect our history centers and so many other places and people.
this looks like an absolutely wonderful event and I’m always taken by historical re-enactors passion for history and the telling and showing of the past. how great for you and your grandchildren to see and learn about things up close. the crafts and skills of the past never fail to amaze me. the skunk story is hilarious and I probably would have fallen for it too! bonus thrilled that you had a chance to try the fry bread, it sounds so delicious –
Check back for more photos tomorrow. It was an interesting and fun event. In the four hours I was there, I didn’t see everything. There’s always next year. And next year I will be suspicious of any skunks I see. And I will be sure to order frybread again.
ha! looking forward to more pics today –
Hey, I may have my skirt – err Kilt done by then! Love it all!
Definitely lots of skirts/kilts at the Rendezvous. I hope yours is stitched and ready to wear by the time of your event in Superior.
You find the best things in and around your community. It is fun to travel along with you!
Thank you.
Been a long time since I’ve been at an event like this. I loved them. Wonderful Audrey.
You and your family would have enjoyed this, Keith. Lots of photo opportunities. Initially, I was going to leave my camera at home. But I realized I would regret that decision.