Fort Sisseton Historical Festival in South Dakota

An historical festival takes place at Fort Sisseton in the Fort Sisseton State Park in South Dakota every year during the first full weekend in June. This year it will take place from June 6th through the 8^th. This festival takes place on the grounds of historic Fort Sisseton, in South Dakota. You will feel like you are living in the 1800's as you experience frontier life as it used to be. You will see history reenacted each day of the festival as actors and volunteers tell the story of what happened on the prairie long ago.

Each day is filled with activities to both watch and take part in. At the authentic military camp you can observe the Flag Raising Ceremony each morning and watch reenactors go through drills, Gatling gun and cannon firing demonstrations. You'll see Calvary troops on horseback and learn what it was like to live at a fort. And don't miss the military costume ball. The period clothes are beautiful. They really put a lot of effort into showing authentic replicas throughout the Fort Sisseton Historical Festival.

The Rendezvous Camp is where traders gathered to trade furs and supplies during the 1800's. You can listen to tall tales of adventure in their camp and watch the traders show off their mountaineering skills as they tell you about their daily life. Rendezvous traders will compete in exciting black powder shoots and tomahawk throws each day. It really is a thrill to see.

Fort Sisseton State Park is the perfect backdrop for the rodeo at the corral. It's an exciting event that takes place everyday. Blacksmiths provide horse shoeing demonstrations and you can see what a chuck wagon looked like and how they helped the frontiersmen survive. There are also draft horse pulls and a horse driving competition.

Sunday morning you'll find several Worship Services to attend. There is a Catholic worship service, a non-denominational worship service, and a Military Worship service.

There is something for everyone that's for sure. You'll hear different music throughout the day; music from the civil war era, and the beat of the drum that kept the soldiers in line and focused on their duties. Musicians tell the story of the land and times and sing civil war songs. Enjoy the old time fiddlers and bluegrass concerts. Go to a medicine show, or listen to gypsy story telling, or the poets wandering around. There are plays to attend and craft shows. There are also frontier fashion shows where you'll see authentic clothing. You can buy historic and modern items at Art in the Park where South Dakota artists show their talents. There are so many activities to take part in, from dance classes to pie eating contests. The Fort Sisseton Historical Festival offers something for people of all ages. There are plenty of activities throughout the day for children too, such as scavenger hunts and hands on demonstrations that help to explain how life was lived at Fort Sisseton. And of course you'll find lots of food vendors by the barn offering both modern and old time food choices. There's nothing like eating out in the open air.

Daily admission is $5.00 per person for people 12 years and older. There are 200 camping spaces to take advantage of. Camping in the Fort Sisseton State Park is $18.00 per night, which includes the daily admission fee. Campers can check in as early as Wednesday, June 4^th, after noon. You can't make reservations for Festival camping so plan on getting there on Wednesday, as spaces are first come first served.

You can visit http://www.sdgfp.info/FortSisseton/FestivalIndex.html for more information and daily activity schedules. Plan on being in South Dakota for the Fort Sisseton Historical Festival. It's an experience for the whole family that you won't forget.