Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Looking ahead to a local market, festivals & celebrations this weekend September 10, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
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Shoppers and vendors at a previous Rice County Historical Society Flea Market. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2024)

THE UPCOMING WEEKEND brings a quartet of local events that not only entertain, but also honor, support and celebrate. Count me in.

First up is the Rice County Historical Society Fall Flea Market from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, September 13, at the RCHS museum grounds along Second Avenue in Faribault. Here vendors set up shop and sell an assortments of goods with the variety of an old time mercantile.

I love browsing, and sometimes buying, at this outdoor market. But I also enjoy connecting with the sellers and other shoppers. Often I’ll see people I haven’t seen in a while, which leads to conversations. And to me, that’s what these events, at their core, are really about—connecting and reconnecting to build a strong sense of community.

Trees flooded with purple lights at a past Light of Hope Celebration and a special tent for survivors. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo September 2023)

LIGHT OF HOPE

Saturday afternoon, beginning at 4 p.m. until 10 p.m., folks will gather in Faribault’s Central Park for the Light of Hope Celebration, which focuses on cancer. Or, more accurately, focuses on those who have died from, survived or are fighting cancer. I expect every single one of you have been touched by cancer. Many of my friends and family members have endured cancer, including my dad who died of cancer in 2003. And my dear friend Barb, who died in 2024. I also know plenty of survivors.

Light of Hope aims to raise monies for local cancer patients and their families through the sale of luminaries, bench markers and donations. Recipients receive gas cards and/or monies to assist with mortgage payments, groceries, utility bills and other everyday expenses. The Light of Hope organization emphasizes “local” in their mission. I appreciate that people within my community can get financial help in the midst of a cancer diagnosis.

Among the hundreds of luminaries at a past Light of Hope luminary walk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

Saturday’s celebration includes a luminary walk, personal stories, family fun, music, food trucks, raffle baskets and more. While the mood is celebratory, it can also be difficult as memories of loved ones unleash strong emotions. I know. I’ve walked the luminary path and cried as I read names of those dear to me.

SPIRIT FEST

Also on Saturday, from 5-9 p.m., Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Faribault hosts its annual Spirit Fest, a jam-packed weekend event featuring, food, music, auctions, raffles, makers’ market, bake sale, kids’ crafts, games, inflatables, outdoor movie, mini golf, cornhole tournament and much more. The fest is open to the public. Sunday, September 14, brings a second day of fun starting at 9 a.m. and running until 5 p.m. (Click here for a full schedule of events.)

Valley Grove churches and cemetery, rural Nerstrand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2024)

VALLEY GROVE COUNTRY SOCIAL

In rural Nerstrand, the focus turns to history, specifically two historic Norwegian immigrant churches set high atop a hill in rural Nerstrand. The Valley Grove Preservation Society celebrates its annual Country Social from 1- 4 p.m. Sunday, September 14, with Nordic music, a history stroll, wagon rides, children’s activities, blacksmithing and rope-making demonstrations, a book discussion and more, including coffee and treats.

Hutenanny performs under the oaks from 1-2:30 p.m. Jeff Sauve, writer and former archivist at St. Olaf College in Northfield, leads “Unbound Love at Valley Grove” history strolls from 1:30- 2 p.m. and from 3-3:30 p.m. A discussion of the book Muus vs. Muus—The Scandal That Shook Norwegian America by Bodil Stenseth happens in the wood church from 2-2:45 p.m with editor Kari Lie Dorer and translator Torild Homstad.

Attendees are also encouraged to view commissioned Norwegian tapestries inside the 1862 stone church and the renovated steeple on the 1894 clapboard church just across the lawn.

Inside the wooden church at Valley Grove. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2022)

Valley Grove happens to be one of my favorite spots in rural Rice County because of its natural beauty, history and peacefulness. Fifty acres of rolling prairie grasses and woods surround the two churches, which are on the National Register of Historic Places. The church buildings are beautiful in their simplicity. It’s not hard to imagine long ago Norwegian immigrants gathering here to worship, mourn, marry and celebrate.

Truly, all four of these weekend events in my area are about community, connecting and celebrating. Thank you, organizers, for offering these activities that are fundraisers for your groups and fun for all of us.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Spotlighting cancer in the light of hope October 2, 2023

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 12:06 PM
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Purple spotlights transformed trees to shades of purple. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

IN THE EARLY EVENING DARKNESS of Faribault’s Central Park, on an unseasonably summery September Saturday, I felt enveloped in a magical world of autumn leaves sparkling purple. The setting seemed surreal, magical, enchanting. And the feeling felt hopeful.

Musician Steve Huber performed first followed by Joe and the Mechanics in the Central Park Bandshell. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

I was among hundreds gathered for the first-ever Light of Hope Celebration to recognize those lost to cancer, those battling cancer, those who’ve survived cancer…and those of us who love (d) them. Purple spotlights shone on trees centering the park, creating a serene, yet celebratory, scene while musicians performed in the bandshell, speakers spoke and kids engaged in activities just for them.

An autumn-themed luminary for a cancer survivor. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

My focus, though, was on the hundreds of luminaries lining the sidewalks that edged and crisscrossed this central community gathering spot. I walk here daily, among the towering trees and scampering squirrels. The din of traffic, the presence of others, the locations of St. Vincent de Paul and the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour across the streets are all reminders that Faribault truly is about community. We need one another. And I felt, at this event, a strong sense of community, of coming together, of leaning on one another.

Gathering to talk, to listen to music, to celebrate. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

I felt such love as I hugged the local x-ray tech who did my recent mammogram. I assured her my results were good. She and I have a history, meeting several years ago in the hospital ER when I broke my wrist. I hugged others, too, whom I haven’t seen in a while. It felt right, to reach out and encircle these individuals who, at some point, have been there for me, whether personally or professionally. And if my cousin and a friend, who are currently undergoing chemotherapy for aggressive, advanced breast cancer, had been there, I would have held them close in prolonged hugs also.

I saw so much love written upon luminaries by those who lost loved ones to cancer. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

Twenty years ago I was on the receiving end of many hugs as I stood inside my hometown church, St. John’s Lutheran in Vesta, embracing family and friends at the death of my dad. He died of esophageal cancer and other health issues. At the cemetery, I wrapped my arm around my mom, shaking with cold and grief on that brutal winter day. She was a breast cancer survivor.

Many family—including my husband, a sister and sister-in-law—and friends have survived cancer. Many family—including a dear nephew and aunt—and friends have died of cancer. And today many in my circle are battling cancer, including a much-beloved cousin, a brother-in-law and a dear friend. Cancer is brutal and awful and horrible. And it seemingly spares no family.

A beautiful hope sign suspended in the center of the park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

But there is hope. In the support of others. In events like the one on Saturday organized by the Light of Hope Cancer Foundation with a mission “to empower local cancer patients and families to focus on treatment and healing by providing immediate and practical financial support while advocating and fundraising for research, education and cancer prevention.” There is strength in a supportive and caring community.

A survivors’ tent, right, offered survivors of cancer a place to gather, celebrate and enjoy cake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

And there is hope, too, in knowing options are available for treatment. That is also personal for me as my uncle, Dr. Robert M. Bowman, developed the drug Letrozole (Femara), approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998 to treat certain types of breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Today, as my retired chemist uncle lies in hospice suffering from Parkinson’s, his wife, my beloved Aunt Dorothy, tells me how grateful Robin feels for having created a life-saving drug. He gave women hope.

I shot this scene shortly before leaving at 7:45 pm. So beautiful…the luminaries, the trees morphed purple by spotlights. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2023)

As I walked among the hundreds of luminaries, first in the light of early evening and then in the darkness, I remembered, grieved silently, contemplated, celebrated… And I felt hope. Strong, beautiful, powerful hope.

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling