Welcome to Bug Days 2017!

Bill Holm’s ever-present spirit will continue to reign over Boxelder Bug Days as the 2017 version of the event opens Friday night.

The man who penned the Boxelder Bug poem and whose larger-than-life presence continues to influence the community, will be the topic of “Bill Holm Archives,” presented from 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. with a presentation at 1 p.m. Saturday by Carissa Hansen of the Minnesota Historical Society.

The annual “Bug Races” will continue to make the event unique and hometown author Dana Yost who will be doing a book signing Saturday and Sunday at the Minneota Library’s Six-Dollar Sale.

“Proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library,” said Yost, who recently penned the book: “1940, Journal of a Midwestern Town, Story of an Era.”

Here are some special events happening at Boxelder Bug Days:

The medallions are ready for Boxelder Bug Day's hunt.

Charlie Callens of Guza Machine Inc. of Ivanhoe manufactured two medallions recently that will be used for the hunt.

The three-inch medallions are made out of aluminum.

They were each painted brown and Callens inscribed “Winner 2017” and etched a boxelder bug on the top side of each one.

“Charlie was generous to offer his services in a time when we weren't sure what direction to go with the actual medallions,” said Stephanie Vlaminck.

“His craftmanship far exceeded anything we originally planned. We are so grateful for his help.” Callens designed and manufactured the medallions at Guza Machine Inc., where he has been employed the last 21 years.

He first cut out the aluminum discs before they were painted and allowed to dry.

“I took a picture of a boxelder bug and loaded it into the computer, along with the inscriptions,” Callens explained.

“It's all done by a computer-programmed system.” Callens also made the four medals for Ghent's Belgian-American Days Mud Run, as well as three inscribed ventilation grates at the Minneota Public Library.

The medallions will be hidden on city property, excluding Memorial Park which is undergoing renovations for a new pavers system.

“The medallions will not be on school property either,” said Vlaminck.

“They will not be in anything that remotely resembles private property.”

Clues will be available in print from 8 a.m. until noon each day Tuesday through Friday at Prairie Winds Wellness and Gislason's Hardware/The Arched Door.

At noon each day, the clues will be posted on the Go Minneota Grow Facebook page and on the Mascot website. “Because there are two medallions, there will be two prizes,” said Vlaminck.

The prize for Medallion “A” is a $10 gift certificate to Brad's Market, a $10 gift certificate to J's Dream, and a $50 gift certificate to The Arched Door/Gislason's Hardware.

The price for Medallion “B” is a $10 gift certificate to The Arched Door/Gislason's Hardware, a $10 gift certificate to be B Lenore, and a $50 gift certificate to Brad's Market.

The medallions are not designated “A” or “B” on them; rather they are determined by geographic location.

“The finder of a medallion should present it to Dave or Barb at The Arched Door/Gislason's Hardware to redeem their prize,” Vlaminck noted.

Pots will be cookin’

The giant pots and portable cooking grills will move across Highway 68 this year for the 20th annual Johnny Tillemans Memorial Chili Cook-off as part of the Boxelder Bug Days celebration.

Both competitions will be held on Saturday. The Chili Cook-off will be held in the parking lot beside Memorial Park this year, while the Smokin' BBQ Cook-off will be marking its fourth anniversary in the same location as always at Memorial Park.

“The Smokin' Cook-off will be pretty much the same times and place, but we will be using tickets this year,” said D.J. Prellwitz, the organizer of both events.

“This year, it will be $1 per ticket (for those wishing to sample the ribs), and a one rib per ticket.

The cook with the most tickets in their bucket, will win half of all the money collected.”

That is basically the same as last year's event with the exception of a ticket replacing cash. The competition also requires the cooks to prepare chicken, as well as a dessert.

All items must be prepared at the site and cooks are required to provide their own chicken, ingredients for the dessert, and any seasonings. Each cook will be provided with 10 racks of pork baby-back ribs.

The chicken must be turned into the judges at 1:30 p.m. And the dessert at 4 p.m.

The ribs will be presented to the judges at 5 p.m. and the public tasting competition begins at 5:15 p.m. “There is a limited amount of ribs and when they're gone, they're gone,” Prellwitz said.

Winners will be announced at the coronation ceremony. There will be first-place awards given for Best Chicken, Best Dessert and Best Ribs.

There will also be awards for the top three overall winners, as well as the People's Choice winner. The Chili Cook-off had five participants last year and Prellwitz is hoping for even more this year.

“I'm not sure how many there will be this year because they come in that morning,” she explained, referring to no pre-registration required. Contestants can begin cooking any time after dawn and judges will collect samples at 11:30 a.m.

The public tasting will begin sometime after that.

Trophies will be awarded for the top three chili recipes as voted by judges. Traveling trophies will be given for the best booth and the People's Choice. Proceeds for the Chili Cook-off go to the Marshall Hospice.