The weather was great, the ribs were spectacular, numbers at the street dance were up 60 % and everyone had a BLAST.

The 2011 BLAST XXII, sponsored by Granite Peak Development and the Ribfest, sponsored by Brigham Exploration Company was an outstanding success.  The band, Fully Loaded, entertained the 

crowd late into the evening with a wonderful assortment of songs.  The Williston Herald, Plains Reporter and Talkin' the Bakken sponsored the band, which came in from Bismarck.  The Chamber Board and I want to thank the above mentioned Title Sponsors for their generous contribution and helping make this BLAST the premier event of the summer. Watching everyone have such a good time during the event reminded us all of how good it is to live in a small town.

The morning kicked off at 7:00 a.m. with the smell of pancakes and sausage.  Everyone loved the 66-cent breakfast cooked by the Korner Lions and sponsored by KEYZ radio.  Thank you Korner Lions for your delicious breakfast.  In 2010, they served 250 people.  This year they served around 425.

Children enjoyed the morning as they "wore themselves out" in the Jump-N-Fun inflatables.  We extend a thank you to the Williston Convention and Visitors Bureau for sponsoring the children's events.  Seeing so many children have a great time was truly enjoyable.

All day long downtown merchants had irresistible sidewalk sales.  Crafters were selling unique items and food vendors kept the crowd fed in the afternoon.  A special thank you to our downtown sponsors listed below.  We sincerely appreciate your commitment to the downtown business community.

Area residents were dazzled by ImagineNick, the roving magician, who was brought to Williston by GeoResources, Inc. All day long BLAST and Ribfest attendees smelled the aroma of the Bakken's best ribs.  You could plainly see the serious nature in the faces of all the Ribfest competitors.  These teams were definitely "in it to win it." I heard comments like, "This is a whole different level this year" and "I love all the competition here."

Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets!!!  The winners of Blast XXII Raffle are as follows:

The Ambassadors Committee works continually, welcoming new businesses and highlighting changes to existing businesses by hosting ribbon cuttings.  Plan on attending the upcoming ribbon cuttings.

Department of Motor Vehicles at Williston State College

July 11,2011 · 11:00 AM · New CTE Building

NDSU Williston Experiment Station

July 14, 2011 · 11:30 AM ·  14120 Highway 2 West

Do you know of a new business or a business that has made significant changes that might like a ribbon cutting?  If you do, contact Megan Berger at megan@willistonchamber.net .