The 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills is the only historic flour mill of its kind in the Midwest that can still operate, and there’s exactly one day every year that it roars back to life for visitors to experience. Saturday, May 3, the roller mill fires up for the annual Millfest celebration beginning at 9:00am.

“It really is an unforgettable opportunity to see history in action and up close,” Adam Pracht, Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum‘s Marketing and Communications Director, says. “The floors shake and rumble, you hear the rattle of gears and belts, and you can even smell the old wheat dust and oil in the air.”

Tours run 9:00am-4:45pm and cost $10 per person during Millfest. All other museum attractions will be available by donation. For safety reasons, tours are restricted to those 13 years old or older; but when the mill shuts down for the day at 4:45pm it will be available to families with children ages 12 and younger to take a free mill tour.

Music entertainment will be available on the museum front porch 10:00am-3:30pm.

Other museum activities throughout the day included in the “by-donation” admission:
.antique tractor show sponsored by the International Harvester Collector Club
.face painting from “Just Face It” 1:30-4:30pm
.decorate your own Dala Horse
.traditional stick-and-hoop races
.Kubb (a Swedish lawn game)
.dance with Folksdanslag (traditional Swedish dancing)

Demonstations include:

.a quilt show from McPherson Quilt Guild
.blacksmithing
.learn about perennial agriculture from The Land Institute
.artwork
.hand woodcarving from Salina Woodcarvers
.and others!

Several food vendors will be present to tempt your taste-buds, and a silent auction to help support the museum’s mission will run from 9:00am-4:00pm. Bid on baked goods, artwork, gift cards, a computer tablet, and more!

Read about all you can expect to find at this year’s Millfest by clicking on this link: Visit Lindsborg blog.