Chamber, city, county decide Arts in Park will permanently be held at courthouse

During her quarterly report to the Luverne City Council Jan. 28, Luverne Area Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere made an announcement about the community’s long-running Buffalo Days celebration.
She announced that she and local planners had decided to move Arts in the Park activities to the Rock County Courthouse Square for all Buffalo Days celebrations going forward.
After flooding rendered the Luverne City Park too wet for foot traffic last summer, planners moved venders, art booths and other activities to the courthouse lawn and parking lot in the center of town.
“It seemed to work so much better there and people really seemed to enjoy it,” Lanphere told the council.
Primarily, she said the sidewalks dividing the lawn and nearby parking in neighborhoods surrounding the courthouse made it easier to access the event.
After 36 years of Arts in the Park being staged in Luverne City Park for Buffalo Days, she said it will be a big change going forward.
“We’ll have to do a lot more planning, and we’ll have to call it ‘Buffalo Days Expo’ since we can’t have it in the park anymore,” Lanphere said.
The annual Buffalo Days celebration in Luverne is always staged during the first weekend in June.