For one Saturday in early October, the corner of Second Street and Bridge Avenue was the busiest place in Wright County. There were vintage snowmobiles on Bridge Avenue, a hot dish contest and a pie-eating contest. Late in the afternoon a small plane made a low pass over City Hall. Then everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and ate Coborn's cake. The Delano Herald Journal reported that Community Enrichment Director Nick Neaton put the crowd at about 2,000 people, possibly more.

That jamboree was the one part of the sesquicentennial meant to last a single day. The rest went into Corten steel, ceramic tile, engraved brick and bronze plaques that you can still walk up to this week. Delano spent more than three years getting ready for its 150th, and most of the result is permanent.

The anniversary's centerpiece sits above the Crow River

Start at Sculpture Park, between U.S. Highway 12 and the Crow River, across from Peppermint Twist. A recent renovation added a retaining wall, new paths and a shade structure. The Delano Area Council for Arts and Culture then built its 150th tribute on three levels of that wall.

On top is "Sesquicentennial," a permanent piece by the father-and-son team James and Ryan Pedersen. It's made of four curving Corten steel and aluminum forms that stand for the Crow River, the railroad, agriculture and industry. Stand where all four line up and the open space between them spells 150.

The Historical Community Mosaic is mounted on the wall itself. The arts council started collecting decorated tiles at the 2024 Sculpture & Blues Festival and gathered 2,239 of them at 18 community events over two years. Each tile was scanned and worked into four historical paintings by Delano artist LeAnna Wurzer. The paintings show Indigenous people along the Crow River, agriculture, the railroad and industry. From a distance you see the four large scenes. Up close you see the individual squares made by neighbors, classmates and families.

Below the wall is a patio of 262 Heritage Bricks sold to community members. If your family bought one, it's there to find any day of the year.

The Herald Journal reported the June 13 ribbon-cutting for the sculpture, the brick patio and the mosaics. Ahead of the festival, organizer Debbie DeBeer told the Herald Journal why the space mixes old and new: "I think the big thing is that we're celebrating 150 years, but 'now' is part of Delano as well, so it kind of brings the present into that whole 150."

The sculptures that won't be here next summer

The 11 other sculptures that debuted the same June day work differently. The arts council runs them as an annual walk. Each piece is displayed for a year and replaced the next, so the 2026 group is the part of this anniversary year with an end date.

They were chosen from 29 submissions. Seven are in Sculpture Park, three are along River Street, and one stands between the Delano Heritage Center and the city's Motor Vehicle Office. The full list:

• "Osprey and Trout" by Paul Albright, a kinetic metal bird and fish hanging from an upside-down tree branch
• "Soul Connections" by Victor Yepez
• "Invasive Species 2" by Brian Berle, a steampunk metal fish
• "Greeting Tower II" by Sunghee Min, welded stainless steel inspired by totem poles
• "In the Wind" by Linda Marsh, a woman facing the wind with cloth in hand
• "Dystopia" by Tim James and Aidan Demarais, built partly from welding test pads made by students at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School
• "River Run" by Craig Snyder
• "Miss..66" by Michael Pettit, which traces the Mississippi's curve through northern Minnesota
• "Emerging" by Hilde Bruyne, wings coming out of a cocoon
• "Quiet Ascent" by Jim and Ryan Pedersen, the same pair behind the permanent piece
• "Dance of the Butterflies" by Isaac Kidder

If you've been meaning to see "Osprey and Trout" move in the wind, or to show the grandkids the steampunk fish, this year's set has a limited run. The Pedersen sculpture above the wall will still be there when this group is swapped out.

Bronze in the sidewalk ties the whole downtown together

The anniversary's biggest permanent project is spread across downtown rather than in one place. The Spirit of Community Trail, run by the Delano Franklin Township Area Historical Society, now covers more than 50 historic sites plus additional stops honoring local nonprofits. Each stop has a bronze commemorative plaque and a QR code that opens stories, photographs and video about that spot.

That's a big expansion. When the Delano Area Chamber of Commerce described the trail's first phase, it had 16 sites marked by bronze sidewalk medallions and plaques, with more phases planned through 2026. The trail's guide page credits a committee of Wendy Gilmer as chair, Kathy Workman as historian and researcher, Debbie DeBeer as webmaster and Randy Szarzynski as graphic designer. It says the work builds on an interpretive plan funded by a Minnesota Historical Society grant.

The sites are grouped into seven color-coded loops, so a short walk can cover one era or one corner of town. Here's one route that links the anniversary's three main locations:

1. Begin on the Green loop at the Old Village Hall, home of the Delano Franklin Township Area Heritage Center, across from City Hall at 234 2nd St. N. The Green loop includes City Hall, the Fire Department, Leiters Livery and Auto, and a stop simply labeled "Sesquicentennial."
2. Walk Bridge Avenue on the Red loop, which takes in the Brick Block on Bridge with its east and west sections, the State Bank of Delano, the Eppel Building and a stop called Hollywood in Delano and Local Talent.
3. Cross to the Lime-green loop for the Wagon Bridge and the Crow River, along with Delano Granite Works and the First National Bank of Delano, then drop down to Sculpture Park.
4. Finish on Railroad Avenue with the Yellow loop, which covers the Great Northern Hotel, the grain elevators, Lundsten Lumber and the Delano Library.

The Purple, Blue and Orange loops cover River Street storefronts like the Rieder Meat Market, the old Delano Creamery and The Drive-In, and Central Park. Two of the Orange loop's stops are Delano Light the Night and the Delano Snowstormers, which makes it a good loop to save for the cold months.

Two pieces of the 150th you can take home

The Red loop goes past the historic Brick Block building, home of The Vintage Storyteller bookstore. During the jamboree the shop ran letterpress demos, and the Herald Journal reported that owners Kari and Joe Ramstrom heard visitors' memories all day. One man remembered buying his first baseball bat there back when it was a sporting goods store.

That shop is also one of the places the anniversary's book was expected to be sold. Delano on the Crow: 150 Years of Unrivaled Spirit! by Marcia Brakke runs 350 pages, from before settlement to today. The Delano Sesquicentennial Committee and the Historical Society sponsored it. At the June launch it sold for $40, and the Herald Journal reported that copies were expected at the Senior Center, The Book Nook, Market 12 and The Vintage Storyteller. Call ahead before you make a special trip.

The second piece is music. The Delano Community Band commissioned "Unbound Celebrations" from composer Randall Standridge with a $6,000 award from the Central Minnesota Arts Board. The band played it in public for the first time to close its set at the jamboree. No second performance has been announced, but the piece now belongs to the band and the town.

Wurzer's work also shows up beyond the mosaic. According to the Herald Journal, more of it can be seen at the Delano American Legion, Central Park and Delano High School.

What's still on the 150th calendar

The City of Delano keeps a calendar category called "Delano Sesquicentennial: 150 Ways to Celebrate," and it still has dates through the end of the year. Most of what's left happens indoors at the Senior Center, which suits November:

The Doug Ohman talk is Thursday evening, Oct. 29. The city's listing has the time but no venue, so check the Delano city calendar before you head out. The Treelight Ceremony listing has a date but no time or location yet.

Holiday lights come next. Delano Light the Night, the volunteer-run display in Central Park, lists nightly hours of 5 to 11 p.m. The display opens over Thanksgiving weekend. Its closing date varies between listings, and this year's kickoff details haven't been posted yet, so check the site before planning a late-season visit. Central Park is on the trail's Orange loop, so the bronze plaques and the light display end up in the same place this winter.

Delano was incorporated on Feb. 11, 1876. Committee chair Michelle Dirckx summed up the day for the Herald Journal: "We really have a spirit of community and we've made it through the first 150 years and we can't wait for the next 150."

If your home sits a few blocks from the river, the Brick Block or one of those bronze plaques, you probably have a good sense of what downtown adds to daily life. You can also find out what it adds to your home's value. Tonia and the team at The Realty Lab live and work in Delano. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through how homes near downtown are priced right now.