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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

The Albert Lea area comes alive in the summer.

Whether it’s adventures on the lake, venturing out on the trails, traveling to a nearby small community festival or checking out one of our own community events, it’s a busy place here in the summer.

In the last 17 1/2 years I’ve lived in Albert Lea, I’ve seen the events grow by leaps and bounds.

So, when people say they can’t find anything to do in the summer, I get confused.

If you have children, there are events through Albert Lea’s Parks and Recreation Department, the city library and the pool. There’s activities through Albert Lea Community Education, the Bayside Ski Club and the list goes on and on.

If you like art, there are typically events through the Albert Lea Art Center and Freeborn County Arts Initiative.

There’s weekly free music concerts at the Fountain Lake gazebo and concerts and other events at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center.

If you like car shows, the area has lots to offer — with the Eddie Cochran Car Show and Music Festival probably my own personal favorite.

If sports are your thing, there’s plenty of that to offer, too, with baseball and T-ball opportunities, disc golf and lots of golfing opportunities and tournaments.

There are fundraiser events like Relay for Life and the Let Inclusion Fly Kite Festival, and how can we forget about places to relax and enjoy live music such as Three Oak Winery?

I haven’t even touched on the Fourth of July holiday in Albert Lea, which is one of my favorite times to be in the city, with the Third of July Parade, the fireworks, annual car show and usually a couple other festivities, too.

Not to mention, if you like to go out on the water but don’t have your own boat, there’s the Pelican Breeze on Albert Lea Lake that you can go out in for a ride, or if you’d rather, there are kayaks, canoes and standup paddle boards you can rent at the Community Boathouse.

All you have to do is look around and stay a little bit in the know, and the opportunities will be right in front of you.

If you or someone you know is organizing a new event this summer, I encourage you to reach out to me as we are planning our annual Summer Times edition that will come out in the beginning of June.

Before we know it, school will be out and summer will be in full force.

Help us showcase all there is to do here at this time of year and especially highlight the new opportunities taking place.

We’d like this to be a comprehensive look at the summer happenings, so don’t be afraid to reach out to me about it at sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com or 379-3433.

If something comes up last minute later in the summer, and it’s too late for the Summer Times edition, reach out to me with that, too, so we can cover it for the regular paper.

Summer is on the horizon, and I can’t wait.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.