A four-day party is coming to White, July 18 through July 21 with this year’s Pioneer Days — a celebration showcasing food, golf, live music and more.

“Our big thing is: it’s a weekend for all ages, and we’re just a short drive from Brookings,” Jennifer Olson, president of the Pioneer Days Committee, said. “We always say, you know, hey just come, and bring a lawn chair, and take in the events and enjoy.” 

The community of White has observed a Pioneer Days celebration since 1980, pausing only once to cancel the event in 2020 due to COVID-19. Each year has a different theme, and this year’s theme is: Caution — Fun Times Ahead.

“It’s because we’re kind of under construction in White,” Olson said. “We’re having a whole bunch of road work done, we’re doing some infrastructure work and some road work, and some big things going on. They’re updating our water tower. So the town is a little tore up. So that’s why we thought we’d go with a construction theme.”

Pioneer Days is held the third weekend in July, but events typically spill out into the preceding Thursday and Friday as well. This year is no exception, with a schedule starting Thursday, July 18, featuring a line-up of food trucks on Main Street, a meal in Arthur Graslie City Park, a kids' tractor pull, a bike parade, and music in the evening at Lefty’s Sports Pub.

Activities continue Friday, July 19, with a golf tournament at Six Mile Creek Golf Course.

“We usually have 48 teams. And we do two sessions. We have a morning session, and we have an afternoon session,” Olson said. “It usually fills up in an hour and a half. So people stand in line for it.”

Friday also features go-kart races on Main Street and a free-admission street dance in the evening with the Rewinder Band performing. Saturday, July 20, serves up the busiest agenda.

“There’s a parade in the morning at eleven o’clock. It just comes down Main Street, it circles our park, and that is a big draw. We’ve one of the bigger parades in the area,” Olson said. “That is a huge draw for us. It’s a pretty big parade. And of course, we’re pretty proud that we still throw candy. So it’s a pretty big deal for us, too.”

From 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, there will be inflatables and a bounce house in the park.

“Saturday is the big thing for kids,” Olson said. “We always say, hey bring the kids with a swimsuit and a towel, because some of our inflatables have water. Especially when it’s hot, because this is July.”

Saturday’s events also include a farmer’s market, co-ed volleyball tournament, and the traditional chili cook-off.

“We have about 25 cooks every year, and they’re all local. Everybody is a local cook,” Olson said. “We have rules. It’s official judging: we have an official judging panel that does it. But if you don’t want to cook, everybody who comes can get a wristband or stamp, and you can taste all the chili.”

The weekend concludes with a bang Sunday, July 21, with the annual demolition derby.

“We have people that fix up old cars. I mean it’s a true demolition derby. They go in and smash and smash,” Olson said. “We usually have about 800 people attend. And that is a huge community event, because it takes the entire town to pull that together. The entire fire department has to be there for safety concerns. Our EMTs are on hand, you know, in case there’s any problems. We have our tech people who have to look at the cars to make sure they’re following all the rules.”

Olson said it takes the entire town to make the weekend a success.

“And this just brings everybody, you know, in from town, out from the country, from area towns, and just gets everybody together, I don’t know, to just visit and have a good time,” Olson said. “I like to think it’s about community involvement and getting people, you know, in the community together to socialize and just be neighborly. I don’t think that’s being done as much as it used to be.”

A complete schedule of this year’s events is posted at the “Pioneer Days White SD” page on Facebook.