Sinclair Lewis Days Parade Rained Out; and Serenity Studio

Sunday, July 18, 2010. Sinclair Lewis Days wound up yesterday, but not quite as planned. The Chamber of Commerce ends the week - most years - with the Sinclair Lewis Days parade and then a street dance downtown. Generally, the weather cooperates. This year, not so much.


By late morning, there weren't many empty spots left on the parade along South Ash Street. July 17, 2010.


A little farther north on Ash, same story. July 17, 2010.


South 6th, between Ash and Main: a few more empty spots. July 17, 2010.


Downtown: not on the parade route. I'll get back to Serenity Studio later. July 17, 2010.


Sauk Lake, the public access near the campground. Some folks out, having fun. July 17, 2010.


Same thing, a closer look. July 17, 2010.


Craft show at Sinclair Lewis Park. July 17, 2010.


More craft show, by the band shell. July 17, 2010.


Crazy Days, downtown. July 17, 2010.


More chairs and blankets set out for the parade, on The Original Main Street, between South 6th and 7th. July 17, 2010.


Back on South Ash Street, near Our Lady of the Angels church: yet more chairs and blankets. July 14, 2010.

So far, the day was about as nice as the Chamber of Commerce could have hoped for. Then, a bit after noon, I started paying very close attention to weather reports.


Clouds, looking northwest from the corner of South Ash and Ninth in Sauk Centre. July 17, 2010, about 1:20 p.m. (from "Tornado Sirens, Hail, and a Parade Coming This Evening," Through One Dad's Eye (July 17, 2010))

Around 2:26, I heard sirens and went to the basement with my family. A bit later, I found this hailstone:


Most of the hailstones were around the size of pea gravel. This was the largest I saw. July 17, 2010.
(from "Tornado Sirens, Hail, and a Parade Coming This Evening," Through One Dad's Eye (July 17, 2010))

By 6:00 p.m., our time, the mid-afternoon storm had passed, but another line was coming our way.


(from Wunderground.com, used w/o permission)

An hour later, we were getting more rain. The folks who had set chairs, blankets and - in one case - sofas to watch the parade had packed their stuff up and moved on.


(from Wunderground.com, used w/o permission)

More about this week's storms:

• "Sinclair Lewis Days Parade Rained Out"
  Through One Dad's Eye (July 17, 2010)
• "Another Storm Coming"
  Through One Dad's Eye (July 17, 2010)
• "Tornado Sirens, Hail, and a Parade Coming This Evening" Through One Dad's Eye (July 17, 2010)
• "Another Tornado Warning"
  Through One Dad's Eye (July 17, 2010)
• "About Yesterday's Storm"
  Sauk Centre Journal Blog (July 15, 2010)
• "A Tornado Warning, a Hard Drive, Frustration, and a Hummingbird"
  Through One Dad's Eye (July 14, 2010)

'It could have been worse,' as the Minnesotan saying goes. A lot worse. Saturday's excitement was the second times sirens had gone off for a tornado warning here in Sauk Centre this week. I haven't heard of property damage: but I could have missed something.

Back to Serenity Studio, downtown.


Serenity Studio, where Winter's Drug used to be: the corner of Sinclair Lewis Avenue and Main, downtown Sauk Centre. July 17, 2010.

There's a new business on the corner of Sinclair Lewis and Main: Serenity Studio. It's where Winter's Drug Store was. That storefront has been empty for a long time. (June 4, 2008) I'm glad to see someone moved in there.

Serenity Studio (serenitystudio.com) has the art of Diane Schmiesing, of Sauk Centre. Some of her work is "done with
the intention of sharing the beauty and the lifestyle" of the people of Migori, Kenya. Which is quite close to Sauk Centre, in one sense.

And that's another topic, for another day.