Sleigh and cutter parade back to ‘normal’

The seventy-fourth Waseca Sleigh and Cutter parade seems to have “recovered” from the Covid-19 pandemic. “This year it’s back to being more like it was in the past,” observes Ken Borgmann, who has been a member of the annual event’s planning committee for nearly 30 years. “It feels normal again.”

The parade begins at noon on Saturday, Feb. 18, departing from the county fairgrounds. Nearly all units are pulled by horses or other draft animals. They travel to and through downtown Waseca before returning to the starting point. Borgmann anticipates 30 or more participants this year: the vast majority are from the local area, but a few travel much further, including from Iowa and Duluth.

Borgmann comments that he feels privileged to be part of the 12-member team of organizers who bring together the events of the annual festival. He seems especially proud that the parade has not only weathered the challenges of the pandemic, but is now coming back strong.

“There’s a renewed level of energy and enthusiasm,” he says. “It feels good again.”  Part of that renewal is the return of a hearty meal served to parade participants and volunteers, including the city staff who help put up traffic control signs, and police and sheriff department staff who help wirh safety protocols. “It’s always been part of the way we do things,” Borgmann says. “It was a feature of our parade that made people want to come–not only for the food, but for the fellowship and sense of community.”

Borgmann says he began working with the festival for exactly that reason–the enrichment and opportunities it brings the community. The array of  events spread across three months are chosen and scheduled to meet the varied interests of area residents–everything from the parade to the pageants to ice golf to snowmobile races to the kite show helps bring people out to interact and get to know one another. 

“The response is phenomenal,” he observes. The parade alone draws thousands of people; head counts a few years ago indicated that tens of thousands of people take part in the string of events. “It’s truly gratifying to see people enjoying and appreciating what we’ve put together.”