Agates are the lure in moose lake

The most interesting portion of the Agate Stampede in Moose Lake Saturday was all the pregame talk along Elm Street about strategy. Some vow to wait back and snatch the loot others miss after the two dump trucks unload their haul of rocks along the two, long, people-packed, blocks of the downtown street. Some get ready to dash right in, water bottle in hand to better discern the precious rocks from the ordinary.

There are all levels of bucket sophistication (some with built-in sifters) and apparatus to ply the rocks. Some go for the super-shiny stuff first, the coins tossed into the mix. Perhaps the best strategy was to get a big old bucket of popcorn at the Historic Lake Theatre, on the north end of the throng, eat it all up while waiting for the 3 p.m. start, and use the empty bucket to collect your rocks. Even better? Being a grandparent and settling into a camp chair to simply watch grandchildren scurry during the hourlong show. Surprisingly, the whole affair had an orderly feel, even cooperative. It was the opposite of a parade, where children often jostle over turf and tossed candy.

The beginning of the stampede had a slight glitch. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was on hand to greet people. She came down from Duluth after making an appearance at the air show there. She was expected to be the official starter for the scramble. Police officers on the north end held up their arms and told people to wait. But down the street, midway down, someone apparently gave a rogue signal and people scuttled to the pile of rocks covering the center line of the street, creating a cascade of people moving onto Elm without any official start signal. Oh well, the police intoned, go ahead. And then it was on.

Police officers were bored, save for a few moments when a boy lost his people. They were soon reunited, and the search for agates went on. Meanwhile, down at Moose Lake City Park, musicians Colleen Myhre, Nathan Frazer and Jeff Gilbertson were entertaining Art in the Park goers with a marathon five-hour set that began at 11 a.m. Between songs, Frazer read poetry. It was as arty as the many booths dotting the park on a gorgeous, puffy-cloud day next to Moosehead Lake. People swam, ate and loped between the booths and food stands. There was a busy gem and mineral show all weekend at Riverside Arena. Saturday was bookended by a pancake breakfast in the park put on by Moose Lake Covenant Church and an evening steak fry at the Moose Lake Fire Hall.

On casual glance, it seemed everyone got just what the annual celebration ordains - at least one potential, if not positive, agate.