South Dakota Chislic Festival aiming for biggest event yet

The popular South Dakota Chislic Festival is back for its third annual event after a year’s hiatus. The festival, which is in Freeman at the Prairie Arboretum, has drawn national attention for its chislic-centered scene. 

This year, organizers are hoping to have the biggest event yet when it takes place Saturday.

“Even though plans were in the works already (last year), the pandemic screeched them to a halt, which was actually a really great thing because it gave us time to plan and be even bigger and better this year,” public relations chair Andrea Baer said.

The event will feature live music, bingo and, of course, chislic from about 10 vendors. Even if you’re not a personal fan of the signature state dish, there will be other festival foods available from additional vendors, including hot dogs, hamburgers and funnel cakes. 

The official festivities will begin at 10 a.m. with the opening ceremony, but the popular Mutton Run, which is sponsored by a local assisted living facility called the Salem Home, will kick off the festival at 7:30 a.m. It features a 10k, a 5k and a 1 mile walk/run. 

“The Mutton Run concludes at the entrance of the Chislic Festival,” Baer said. “And then we kick off the festival as soon as our runners are done.”

The first Chislic Festival in 2018 experienced so much traffic that the original venue was full, Baer said. This year, they’re equipped for even more people and ready for a large crowd. Organizers have had extra time to ensure they get it right, Baer said, and they’re sure they have.

“That night (at the first Chislic Festival) we had between 8,000 and 10,000 people show up,” Baer said. “We regrouped and got to work right away and decided we needed a bigger space, and the Prairie Arboretum has plenty of space for as many people as we could ever imagine coming.”

A first for this year, craft beer specialized for chislic from Ben’s Brewing Co. and domestic beer from the Freeman Fire Department will be provided by the festival, and all alcohol sales will go to future festival investments, Baer said. Also new to the scene are helicopter rides that will be offered to give festival-goers a bird’s-eye view of the event. 

The festival will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 9 p.m.