Minnesota Town Hosts Yearly “Running of the Meatballs” Fundraiser
The United States is filled with bizarre small town traditions, from toboggan races Maine to to celebration of a Frozen Dead Guy in Colorado. In the town of Scandia, Minnesota, their bizarre annual tradition comes in the form of meatball racing, or what they call the “Running of the Meatballs.”
The Running of the Meatballs is hosted in Scandia as a fundraiser for the Gammelgården Museum, honoring the Swedish immigrants who founded the community. Tickets are purchased for $5 (or $20 for 5) prior to the start of the race. The meatballs are then released down the chute on Oakhill Road, where they race to the finish. The first handful of balls to the end, in addition to the last few, usually receive prizes.
Sounds like a greasy mess, right? Well that’s part of the race’s secret. Though the balls look like they’re made of meat, they’re actually just golf balls painted brown. It might make it a little less fun, but it definitely makes it significantly easier to run.
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