There were a lot of ways that residents felt the loss of Granite Falls’ longtime mayor Dave Smiglewski when he died in September, Audrey Arner said. Smiglewski was not only an advocate for transportation and recreation in the community – he loved music and knew a lot about local history.

“Right after his funeral this fall, we started talking about wanting to do a celebration,” Arner said.

SmigFest, an event remembering Smiglewski, will include live music and a trail dedication at Memorial Park in Granite Falls on Saturday afternoon. Smiglewski’s family members and friends feel it will be a good way to honor his life’s work, Arner said.

SmigFest will be just one of the events going on in the region on Saturday. The Shades of the Past car show will also be going on from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Marshall.

Arner said the idea for SmigFest came from a group of Smiglewski’s friends and family. “They wanted to honor his life’s work,” she said.

One way that the city of Granite Falls is honoring Smiglewski is by dedicating a trail at Memorial Park in his honor, Arner said. The dedication of the Dave Smiglewski Trail will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by live music at the Memorial Park shelter house from 2-7 p.m.

Arner said SmigFest “mostly just revolves around the music.” The performance line-up will include many area residents. Smiglewski supported music in the Granite Falls community, and was a drummer for Good Time Railroad, a band that “kind of became a go-to dance band” in Granite Falls, Arner said.

The event will also feature food from the Papa D’s Diner food truck, and the Blender Co. coffee truck.

Shades show is Saturday

Classic cars, motorcycles and more will be on display Saturday near the Marshall Runnings store, as part of the Shades of the Past car show. Event organizers said there’s a lot going on at this year’s show, from kids’ activities to a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Ford Mustang.

Shades of the Past club president Wayne Mack said there will be a featured category for Mustangs at the show, as well as some special displays including cars that were part of Ford’s performance driving school.

Another highlight of the Shades of the Past show is that it will be a voting event for members of the Minnesota Street Rod Association. Each year, the MSRA has six voting events across the state, where members can vote for Street Rod of the Year and Custom of the Year.

“It’s a real honor” for the Shades of the Past show to be chosen as an MSRA voting event, Mack said.

The show will also feature “Car Tunes” by Mylan Ray, and activities like Hot Wheels car races for kids age 12 and under.