Sleigh and Cutter celebrating three quarters of a century

Having begun in 1950, the Waseca Sleigh and Cutter festival marks its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2025. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, the festival is the longest-running event of its kind in the country. Ken Borgmann, who’s been one of the event’s organizers since the early 1990s, says things have really come together this year. A slate of events begins Jan. 16 and will continue through the day of the parade, Feb. 22.

The Sleigh and Cutter observance begins with the “Find the Medallion” and “Identify Frosty”contests, each of which has a prize valued at $1,500. 

A silver medallion has been hidden somewhere in Waseca; starting on Jan. 16, clues to its location will be released once per week on the Sleigh and Cutter Facebook page and website (www.sleighandcutterfestival.org). Anyone who finds the medallion should report their success  to the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce office at 210 North State Street.  

The Frosty contest will also have clues released once per week as to the identification of a well-known Waseca area resident; guesses regarding Frosty’s identity should be submitted at the Waseca Music Company at 111 South State Street. 

The pageant which will crown the Miss Waseca Sleigh and Cutter royalty will begin at 6:30 p.m.  January 25 at the high school’s Performing Arts Center.

Ice sculpting by the Sakatah Carvers will be featured the evening of Feb. 19 in front of the Public Safety Building along South State Street.

The Sleigh and Cutter dinner and dance is open to everyone. It will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the Starfire Event center. There will be basket dinners and a meat raffle from 5 to 7 p.m. A flag ceremony and introduction of the Miss Waseca Sleigh and Cutter pageant royalty will be at 7 p.m. Chris Brooks and the Silver City Boys will be performing from 7 to 10 p.m. The group is a Minneapolis based country band; their show is a combination of current and classic country hits and popular songs from Texas country to red dirt.

The seventy-fifth yearly Sleigh and Cutter parade will start from the Waseca County Fairgrounds at noon on Saturday, Feb. 22. The parade route begins at the county fairgrounds, circles through downtown and returns to the fairgrounds. Spectators can either stay in the shelter of their vehicles parked along residential streets on the route, or watch from the sidewalks along State Street. More information about the route is available online. The parade will feature animal-drawn and motorized units. A caisson owned by the Law Enforcement Memorial Association (LEMA) will be among the units: it is an authentic horse-drawn caisson which LEMA makes available for use in the funerals of any law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The parade features various horse breeds, festival royalty and units of many different types.

A fireworks display will be shown over Clear Lake after dark, about 7:30 p.m., the evening of Feb. 22. According to Borgmann, the festival is sponsoring its largest fireworks display ever. 

Throughout the 45 days or so of Sleigh and Cutter observances there will be numerous events for snowmobilers. The Waseca Sno-Secas will have a club ride starting at 10 a.m. on Jan. 18. The Annual Mike Filzen Memorial Ride will begin at noon on Feb. 1. The Toner’s Lake Vintage Ride begins at 11 a.m. on Feb. 15. The Annual Vintage Snowmobile Show/Ride will take registrations at the Boathouse beginning at 9 a.m. Feb. 22. Vintage Snowmobile Ice Drags are Feb. 22 at noon on Clear Lake.

Borgmann mentions that the balloon and kite festival will not be happening on Clear Lake this winter. The show has been rescheduled to July 5 at Farmamerica. There will be an American Flag kite flown that’s so big it needs to be anchored down by a semi truck and will require a staff to maintain it. There will also be food trucks present.

Sleigh and Cutter is sponsored by: All American Foods, Blaze Credit Union, Britton Plumbing, Bruce Ebnet, Club 57, Culligan Water Conditioning, Domino’s Pizza, Edina Realty, FM Bank, ICAN, Itron, iWealth, Keen Bank, KOWZ/KRUE Radio, Mediacom, Minnwest Bank, MPeters Enterprises, Personalized Printing, Suburban Furniture, Katie Gonzales State Farm, Tesch Service Center, Thrivent Diane Beckmann, Waseca County News, Waseca Area Foundation, Waseca Glass, Waseca Floral, Waseca McDonalds, Waseca Walmart, Waseca VFW Club and Xcel Energy.