Department of Tourism
For Immediate Release:  June 7, 2002
Contact:  Donna Bierschbach 605-886-0999

PIONEER STORIES COME TO LIFE IN DE SMET

South Dakota’s Little Town on the Prairie, De Smet, celebrates hometown hero Laura Ingalls Wilder each summer with an outdoor pageant. The pageant enlists local actors to bring Laura’s pioneer novels to life.

This summer’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant, "Prairie Patchwork," will run three weekends: the evenings of June 28, 29, and 30, July 5, 6, and 7, and July 12, 13, and 14. The pageant is held one mile southeast of De Smet at the site of the Ingalls Homestead. Gates will open at 7 p.m. and performances, featuring re-creations of scenes from Wilder’s much-loved books, such as "Little Town on the Prairie," will begin at 9 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to arrive when the gates open as there will be a tour of two of the homes on the Ingalls homestead and the cemetery where Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie and Grace are buried. Three horse-drawn carriages will give rides to the children before the performance free of charge. Tickets for the pageant are $5 for adults and $2 for children and are sold at the gate. Bring jackets, blankets and lawn chairs.

Come and relive the early adult years of Laura’s life on the prairie she made famous. For information on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant, contact the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society at (605) 692-2108 or visit www.travelsd.com.

For a free South Dakota travel packet, call 1-800-S-DAKOTA (1-800-782-5682) or visit www.travelsd.com on the Web.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant has been designated a "Great Event" by the South Dakota Department of Tourism. With that designation, the department provides assistance to event coordinators and creates and funds promotions for the event. The objective of the Department of Tourism’s "Great Events" program is to boost attendance at South Dakota events and to increase economic impact in host communities.

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