Cottage Grove confirms Strawberry Fest, drone show and July 6 fireworks; local businesses donate toward display

Cottage Grove officials told the council on May 7 that Strawberry Fest and summer celebrations are scheduled and will include a drone show and a July 6 fireworks display at Kingston Park, funded largely by local business donations.

Councilmember (speaker) announced that Strawberry Fest is roughly six weeks away and said planners had added a drone show alongside the traditional fireworks. The council set the fireworks for July 6 at Kingston Park; the later date is used because many residents are “out of town” on the Fourth, the council said.

The mayor and council members acknowledged local donors covering the majority of the fireworks cost. The meeting record names the Cottage Grove Lions Club as an event partner and lists corporate donors described in the meeting as “3 m Renewal by Andersen, Northpointe, which is the Logistics Park, Tennis, Sanitation, and also Hy Vee,” each donating $5,000. The council said the combined donations were intended to fund what would normally be a $25,000 show and that a new vendor added roughly $3,000 in additional cost, bringing the total cited amount to $28,000.

Council comments included additional summer event announcements: a Memorial Day service at the veterans memorial on May 26, a May 17 “battle of the badges” event at Park High School, and a kids’ adventure mud run on June 7 at Hamlet Park (entry fee listed in remarks as $23). Officials urged residents to check cottagegrovestrawberryfest.com for event details.

These remarks were delivered in the council comments portion of the meeting; no formal votes or appropriations for the fireworks or festival were recorded during the session.