Kenmare, ND

Each fall, the marshes and lakes around Kenmare, N.D., (pop. 1,081) come alive with sound. Scattered honking escalates into a massive roar as thousands of snow geese simultaneously take flight in search of grain left behind following harvest of nearby farm fields.

Kenmare is located in the Central Flyway and within 30 miles of three national wildlife refuges—Des Lacs, Upper Souris, and Lostwood—making the region a regular stop for an estimated 400,000 snow geese and flocks of other waterfowl migrating from summer nesting grounds in Canada to warmer southern climes.

“The refuge provides a sanctuary and roosting area, and there is food all around it,” says Dan Severson, manager of Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge. “That’s the draw for the birds.”

More than 300 species of ducks, geese, swans, cranes, eagles, hawks, songbirds, and shore birds can be seen at the refuges sometime during the year, and a 12-mile gravel road that runs the lengths of the Des Lacs Lake provides spectacular views for wildlife watchers. The fall migration provides the greatest spectacle, however, and townspeople mark the event with an annual celebration called Goosefest.

“We hunt during the day and come in to play at night,” says Arlen Gartner, who helped start the event 13 years ago. “Goosefest brings hunters together for fun and encourages family involvement.”

The festival, scheduled for Oct. 21-27 this year, features a wild game feed, wildlife art show, shooting competitions, inductions into the Goose Hunters’ Hall of Fame, and a children’s goose-plucking contest. The Goose Supremes, a group of eight talented local women, also perform at Goosefest.

“Hunters who think they’ve seen everything are pretty much in awe when they come the first time,” says Rick Harris, who introduced his son, Hunter, 5, to duck and goose hunting last year. “When you see the geese’s waking rituals and hear that incredible sound, it’s pretty impressive.”

The willingness of area farmers to allow hunters on their land is key to the success of Goosefest. Farmer Delmer Nelson and his wife, Marion, for example, not only give hunters free access to their land but also rent out rooms in their home. The Nelsons also allow guests to use their barn for game cleaning and their freezers for storage until they’re ready to return home.

Over the years, the fall migration has given Kenmare an identity, and the town has adopted the snow goose as its mascot. Since the early 1900s, the local school’s sports teams have been known as the Honkers, and in 1997 a metal sculpture of geese in flight was erected along U.S. Highway 52 to commemorate Kenmare’s centennial.

Kenmare made national news in 1990 when retired Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant was inducted into the Goose Hunters Hall of Fame. “Bud is the consummate hunter,” Gartner says. “We invited him the first year because we thought having a well-known hunter would give Goosefest some credibility.”

Grant has been back every year. “Snow geese are the ultimate challenge,” Grant says. “They’re smarter and warier, and, of course, they’re protected on the refuges, so you have to be smart enough to get them off. And you can’t find nicer people than here.”

But there’s more to the “Snow Goose Capital of North Dakota” than bird hunting and watching. Kenmare also boasts a historic pioneer village and museum, an authentic Danish windmill, and a downtown business district with an old-fashioned soda fountain. Fran Buzzell, a California transplant and proprietor of the White Buffalo Soda Fountain, says she loves Kenmare for its relaxing pace and absence of freeways.

Still, it’s the flocks of geese that visit each fall that make Kenmare memorable.

Candi Helseth is a freelance writer in Minot, N.D.

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