The eighth annual Ryan “Pie” Truesdell memorial softball tournament will take place Saturday and Sunday at Snyder Field in Albert Lea.

The tournament remembers Truesdell, an avid softball player, who died  on Aug. 14, 2007, when he was trapped in a grain elevator at the Glenville Grain elevator. He was 20 years old and about to start another semester at Rochester Community Technical College, where he played baseball. He was voted to the Big Nine All-Conference baseball team during his junior and senior years at Albert Lea High School.

In addition to softball, this year’s tournament includes raffle, food and prizes. The entry fee was $150 by Sept. 8 for a three-game guarantee.

The tournament has donated over $10,000 to help area youth sports.

For more information, call Ray Bohonek at 507-676-2666 or Scott Truesdell at 507-383-1958.

The following is a roundup of other events happening in the area this weekend:

 

Friday

• The Shangri-La Music Festival by Wookiefoot will be all day in Harmony Park Music Garden.

The American Red Cross will host a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea.

• “Asia Speaks,” an exhibit showcasing the work of Dee Teller, an internationally acclaimed, Minnesota-based sumi-e brush painter, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Freeborn County Arts Initiative, 224 S. Broadway.

• The Albert Lea High School class of 1950 will have a reunion at 11 a.m. at Wedgewood Cove.

 

Saturday

• Farming of Yesteryear, including the 32nd annual Threshing Festival, will be in Kiester. Look to Page 3 for a full story.

• The Shangri-La Music Festival by Wookiefoot will be all day in Harmony Park Music Garden

• The Albert Lea Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon in the Northbridge Mall parking lot.

Homemade breads, baked goods, honey and more will be available for purchase.

• The Freeborn County Historical Museum kicks off its “Historically Speaking” lecture series with a presentation on the religious beliefs of the presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama and the relationship that they had with the Rev. Billy Graham.

The lecture, presented by Gary Schindler, runs from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Freeborn County Historical Museum, 1031 Bridge Ave.

Cost is free for museum members and $5 for nonmembers. Refreshments will be served.

• Ruby’s Pantry will run from 10 a.m. to noon at Albert Lea Assembly of God. Donate $20, and go home with an abundance of food.

• The Albert Lea High School class of 1945 will have a reunion at 11:30 a.m. at the Green Lea Golf Course clubhouse.

• The Fall Czech Festival will be from noon to 7 p.m. at the Brick Hall, 17509 850th Ave., three miles north of Myrtle.

The festival features award-winning polka artist Mollie B., who performs from 1 to 5 p.m., along with Czech music, dancing, pulled pork, brats, koache, pop and beer. A silent auction and door prizes will be all day.

Tickets are available at Hunters Bar in Myrtle and the Geneva Bar & Grill or by calling the Czech Inn at 373-2477. Cost is $10 in advance or $15 at the gate.

• “Asia Speaks,” an exhibit showcasing the work of Dee Teller, an internationally acclaimed, Minnesota-based sumi-e brush painter, will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Freeborn County Arts Initiative, 224 S. Broadway.

Teller will give a sumi-e demonstration at 2 p.m.

• The Southern Gateway Chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association will have its 25th annual banquet at the Albert Lea American Legion. Social hour starts at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. Cost is $55 for an adult, $25 for a spouse and $20 for children 17 and under.

• The Z’stonish comedy hypnosis show begins at 7 p.m. at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center.

The act features a man named Zac Tennebue in hypnosis, illusion and mind reading.

The show promises to leave the audience in awe and on the edge of their seats laughing hysterically. Cost is $15 for adults and $10 for students.

 

Sunday

• Farming of Yesteryear continues all day in Kiester.

• The DAV Picnic for Disabled Veterans will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at the pavilion at Edgewater Park.

• The Alden-Conger Color Bash begins at at 5 p.m. in the school student parking lot.