FOR THE GREATER (CRATER) GOOD

After being sidelined in 2020, Manson Greater Crater Days is back

Since its creation more than four decades ago, Manson’s Greater Crater Days had been a staple at the tail end of June, with the assortment of concerts, truck pulls, family friendly activities and much more.

Before being sidelined at the last minute in 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic, the weekend slate of activities was set to balance social distancing with the tradition of creating memories for those living within and beyond the city of nearly 1,900 people.

With the theme of “Salute to Our Military,” this year’s edition of Greater Crater Days is set to the biggest and best yet. Manson’s annual weekend of events take off at 5 p.m. on Friday, toward “Crash My Crater” on Saturday night at Shore Side Pub & Grub in downtown Manson, before stretching to the end of the day on Sunday with the final round of the 11th annual Middleton Classic at the Manson Golf & Country Club.

The weekend slate begins with an Old Fashioned Spelling Bee, project to start at 5 p.m. at the Manson Public Library. The Cookout at Heartland Bank is also set in motion at 5 p.m.

One of the biggest changes for 2021 will be the Greater Crater Days Parade, which will be held on Friday evening rather than Saturday morning. The Pet Parade, which commences at 5:30 p.m., will proceed the main parade’s start time of 6 p.m.

The main event of Friday evening is the Greater Crater Days Truck Pulls, set for 7 p.m. at Fairground Park.

Saturday morning is full of events, ranging from a Hot Breakfast located downtown to the first round of the Middleton Classic. According to tournament director Elias Johnson, the event honors the late Joe Middleton, a beloved golf coach and teacher at Manson-Northwest Webster High School.

The purpose of the two-man classic, which attracts players from near and far, is to provide scholarships to two graduating seniors from Manson-Northwest Webster.

“It’s super competitive,” Johnson said of the tournament. “And it’s all about giving small town Iowa that big tournament feel. We have a jumbotron on the other side of the ninth hole that has live scoring and we have an IT guy – who lives in Manson – who has developed a live-scoring app that we can use during the tournament. We then have a construction company who decided to place a prefab building on a cement slab to have a hospitality area with TVs mounted for live scoring.”

“We have a hospitality tailgate truck coming in this year that will just be out of this world,” Johnson continued. “When you put all of these things together, it creates this atmosphere that you don’t see anywhere else.”

Johnson’s ties with the area are deep, as he was a standout wrestler for Manson-Northwest Webster, Iowa Central Community College and Arizona State University. While donning a singlet for the Sun Devils at 141 lbs., Johnson helped Arizona State capture a PAC-10 Championship in 2006.

Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree from the prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

During his time at WOI-TV in Des Moines, where he was the former anchor of “Good Morning Iowa,” Johnson won four Emmy awards and hauled in two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for feature reporting in 2015 and 2021.

To Johnson, as long as it’s fun for those participating, helps the kids and honors Middleton, he’ll continue to make the tournament the best that it can be.

Downtown will see a plethora of activities from noon to 4 p.m.

At four o’clock, “Crash My Crater” returns in front of Shore Side Pub & Grub, with local favorite Scott Kirkhart opening the three-act show. Then, the show features rising Nashville music artists in Niko Moon and Jameson Rodgers.

As Moon and Rodgers ascended the music charts, Shore Side Pub & Grub owner and “Crash My Crater” organizer Jesse Grossnickle felt like he struck gold. To the Manson resident, it may be his biggest show yet.

“After not having a show last year felt weird, and I believe that we needed to get the show back on the road and get things moving,” Grossnickle said. “Back in 2017, that was the initial plan – which was to start small. We’re digging through the group of musicians out there in Nashville, where we try and make a gamble early on with who we think will get hot come the event.”

“This year, we nailed our goal,” Grossnickle added. “We have two artists with two debut singles that went number one in the country Billboard charts. Their second releases have also reached into the top 20s, and yeah, it’s going to be a great time.”

As “Crash My Crater” continues to grow into a must-see event, Grossnickle is grateful for the volunteers who make the show possible.

“It takes all of our volunteers and help, but the sky's the limit,” Grossnickle said. “I don’t want to get too big, too fast. We want to do what we can do, but also make it fun and affordable for everyone.”

According to Grossnickle, he wants to go “bigger and better” to commemorate Manson’s 150th anniversary.

“We eventually want to bring in some big names,” said Grossnickle. “But we really want to thank our sponsors and everyone who supports us, and keep this going every year. It’s huge for us to keep things growing."

Capping off Greater Crater Days weekend is the final round of the Middleton Classic, where the best team will be crowned as champions. The championship round begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning and wraps up by later that afternoon.

To Johnson, the event has become more than just a weekend two-man golf tournament. In a little more than a decade’s time, the Middleton Classic has expanded into an event that Manson can be proud of.

“I want to include everybody in this,” Johnson said. “It’s grown into a real community thing. It’s special, it’s unique and it’s growing. When you attend the Middleton Classic, your face will hurt from smiling too much.”

MANSON GREATER CRATER DAYS

Schedule of Events

Friday, June 25

5 p.m. – Cookout at Heartland Bank.

5 p.m. – Old Fashioned Spelling Bee (Manson Public Library)

5:30 p.m. – Pet Parade (Main Street)

6 p.m. – Greater Crater Days Parade (Main Street)

7 p.m. – Manson Greater Crater Days Truck Pulls (Fairground Park).

Saturday, June 26

9 a.m. – Middleton Classic, First Round (Manson Golf & Country Club).

9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Hot Breakfast (Downtown)

9 a.m. – Horseshoes Tournament (Fairground Park).

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Pork Burgers and Maidrites (Downtown).

Noon to 4 p.m. – Car Show and DJ (Downtown).

Noon to 4 p.m. – Duck Fun (Downtown).

4 p.m. to 11 p.m. – Crash My Crater 2021 (Shore Side Pub & Grub).

Sunday, June 27

9 a.m. – Middleton Classic, Final Round (Manson Golf & Country Club).