(KNSI) – Granite City Days is shaking up the lineup.
St. Cloud’s five-day summer festival returns Wednesday through Sunday with three new events, a revived pancake breakfast and live music back at its center.
The headliner is Summertime by George, now officially part of Granite City Days through a partnership with the Rotary Club of St. Cloud. The Fabulous Armadillos play the kickoff Wednesday from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Lake George/Eastman Park. “It brings that music atmosphere that we lost when the block party changed up. So now we are excited to have that,” said Granite City Days Committee co-chair Alisa Schmidt.
The other two additions both fall on Saturday: a pre-parade party hosted by the Great River Children’s Museum from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., with candy bags and $5 museum admission all day, and the new Granite City Ski Show, spearheaded by the Convention and Visitors Bureau, featuring the River Rats on the Mississippi River at Wilson Park at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The Fly-In/Drive-In Pancake Breakfast hasn’t been part of the festival since the Wings, Wheels and Water Fest era. St. Cloud Sky Central Airport takes the lead this year, serving Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to noon.
Among the returning favorites, Schmidt urged people not to miss the Paramount Center for the Arts collaboration with Wacosa, a free performance at 11:00 a.m. Thursday. “The staff at Wacosa does such an amazing job, and just kind of seeing them up on that stage living their best life is just such a heartwarming experience,” she said.
The Lemonade Concert and Art Fair, with more than 100 vendors spread across the St. Cloud State University campus, also runs Thursday, followed by opening ceremonies featuring the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. Friday brings Park and Rock, the festival’s signature family event, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Lake George/Eastman Park, with food trucks, touch-a-truck, a petting zoo, face painting and a performance by Sawyer’s Dream.
The Coborn’s Granite City Days Parade steps off Saturday at 10:00 a.m., running the same route as past years from near the hospital, south to Division Street, and down to the library. Organizers are hoping for 60 to 80 floats. This year’s parade returns to a theme, “honoring our past, celebrating our future,” and adds cash prizes, with the mayor selecting first place at $300 and second at $200. A People’s Choice winner takes home free registration for next year’s parade, a value of about $150. The prizes are sponsored by Coborn’s.
The Zonta Club of St. Cloud serves as this year’s parade Grand Marshal, an honor coinciding with the club’s 75th anniversary. Since 1951, the organization has supported causes including Anna Marie’s Alliance and Terebinth Refuge, distributing more than $42,000 in 2025 alone.
The Zonta Club is also one of this year’s Rock-On Award winners, recognized by Mayor Jake Anderson for outstanding civic engagement.
The other honorees are the St. Cloud Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 464; BCI Construction, Inc.; Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Rachel Thompson; and St. Cloud entrepreneur and educator Tiffany Elise. The awards will be presented at the opening ceremonies on Thursday.
The festival takes a year of planning and the work of well over 100 people across the committee, the city’s Parks and Streets departments and partner groups, a number that climbs toward 200 once SCSU staff are counted. Schmidt said the reason behind it all is straightforward.
“We want to make sure that we’re providing a festival for our city to really come out and get to know your neighbors, get to know our city,” she said.
A full schedule is available by clicking here.
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