West Fest, the annual fall celebration that brings thousands of visitors to downtown West Fargo, is set to bring the Wild, Wild West to the City of West Fargo Saturday, Sept. 21-Sunday, Sept. 22. This year’s events kick off Saturday morning with a full day of activity in the city’s core area from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and ends Sunday with a fly-in event at the West Fargo Municipal Airport.

With a theme of “Wild, Wild West,” picked by the public, this year’s celebration will showcases the excitement in West Fargo as the downtown area continues to revitalize and the major Sheyenne Street renovation on the south side wraps up.

“Last year, West Fest introduced the POW/MIA Plaza and downtown revitalization to our residents and visitors. It was a blast to close out Saturday with the dance in the POW/MIA Plaza and see the whole community come together for the day,” said Ellen Rossow, Communications and Community Services Coordinator. “This year, the public picked a great theme that I can’t wait to see play out in parade floats and fun activities throughout the day.”

Residents are encouraged to plan for a day downtown Saturday. Activities on Sheyenne Street before the noon Grand Parade include a soleMOTION Children’s Fun Run, 5k and 10k, softball tournament, Penny and Pals performance and a drum-off between the West Fargo High School marching band and the Sheyenne High School marching band.

The POW/MIA Plaza will host a Fargo FitLife boot camp session in the morning, the NDSU Bison versus UC Davis game in the afternoon and a dance featuring The White Keys from 6 to 9 p.m. A Craft and Vendor Show will be held in the south parking lot of Pioneer Place (308 Sheyenne St.) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Family Fun, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., will be spread out throughout downtown with bouncy houses and a magician on the west lawn of Blessed Sacrament, and caricaturists, balloon artists, face painters, West Fargo Public Library, and other community organizations in the Pioneer Place parking lot. The West Fargo Police Department, Safe Kids Fargo/Moorhead and the West Fargo Hockey Association will also be parked on Sheyenne Street north of Fourth Avenue W. for children to interact with and chalk will be available to decorate Sheyenne Street.

Also Saturday, Blessed Sacrament will host a pancake breakfast and a food court will be available on the east side of Fourth Avenue W. from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with eight different food options. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 22, the West Fargo Municipal Airport will host a fly-in with food trucks, free Young Eagles rides for children and airplane rides for all.

For more details about the event and a full schedule, visit www.westfargond.gov/westfest.