Parking may be hard to come by during Hayward Days over the weekend of July 11 and 12.

One of the big events is the April Sorensen Half Marathon, which begins near the Country Inn & Suites in Albert Lea and ends about 13 miles later by the Hayward City Hall. The awards ceremony for the half marathon will be around 10:30 Saturday morning by City Hall.

A softball tournament starts Friday night at City Park, and then resumes at 8 a.m. Saturday and then again Sunday morning. Citywide garage sales begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Coffee and rolls will be offered at a bake sale that goes from 8 a.m. to around 11 a.m. at the Hayward Lutheran Church.

“Last year probably from about 9 a.m. until noon, you probably couldn’t find a parking spot anyplace in town because of the [soft]ball tournament going on, the garage sales, and the marathon spectators. So I think that was fun to just see all the people,” said the Rev. John Malm of Hayward and Trondhjem Lutheran churches and former president of the Hayward Boosters Club. Malm said they’re expecting more people than the nearly 250 who participated last year.

Around 10 a.m., the church will open a lunch stand outside and one inside until around 1 p.m. There will be another food booth open on the street near town hall.

The Hayward Fire Department puts on a mud bog that begins in a field west of the old school with registration at 11 a.m. and a noon start time.

Julio’s Bar is the main event site for the evening. A band will play there before the street dance begins around 8 p.m. The Hayward Booster’s Club will have a food stand on the corner of Front Street and Main Street near Julio’s serving pork patties, brats, potato salad and beverages from around 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Hayward 4-H will also have a food stand.

The Hayward Lutheran Church will be the focal point of  Sunday’s events. Aside from the continuation of the softball tournament, there will be 9 a.m. coffee hour, and then a worship service on the west lawn of the church 10 a.m. featuring The Happiness Emporium, a gospel quartet. If it rains, the service will be held in the church.

“It brings everybody closer together,” said Hayward Mayor Willis Pfieffer. “You have people move in all the time, and we get to know the strangers because they’re willing to help. I think it helps bring our little town closer.”