Fantastic Festivals
Film competitions, music series, community barbecues, holiday celebrations—there's so much to do in Vermillion.
Dakota Farm Show
January 7–9, 2025
The Dakota Farm Show kicks off the new year, showcasing hundreds of exhibitors representing over 1,000 agricultural products and services. Special events at the 2024 show include seminars by SDSU Extension, a Northland Ford Truck Giveaway, daily showbucks drawings, and live broadcasts by WNAX radio.
Fool's 48
March 28–31, 2025
In this community favorite, local teams have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film. To add a challenge, each team draws a genre at random, and all teams must incorporate the same line of dialogue, prop, and location into their movie. Completed films premiere the following Monday at the Coyote Twin Theater.
Wacipi
April 11–13, 2025
The longest-running student and campus powwow in South Dakota, the Wacipi is a celebration of Native culture through dance, song, and ceremony. For Native attendees, it's a unique chance to showcase culture on campus. For non-Native participants, it offers an immersive experience into the beauty of Native traditions.
SDSO State Summer Games
May 29–31, 2025
Vermillion is the proud host of the South Dakota Special Olympics State Summer Games, which features events for track and field, soccer skills, power lifting, race walking, swimming, and volleyball skills. Kicking off the games is the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which carries the Flame of Hope from the Ratingen Platz to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
SD Shakespeare Festival
June 23–29, 2025
The South Dakota Shakespeare Festival is a weeklong celebration of Shakespeare and the arts. The festivities include the feature production at Prentis Park, a Shakespeare film screening, the “Bark with the Bard” doggie 5k, trivia nights, workshops for youth, and a wide array of community outreach events. This year’s production will be Romeo & Juliet, showing June 26–29 in Prentis Park. All showings are free of cost, though donations are welcome!
SD Pro-Am Golf Tournament
June 2025, Dates TBD
The Pro-Am is Vermillion's premier golf tournament! Professionals from all over the globe come to Vermillion every summer to golf with casual players from our humble corner of the state. The tournament is three days of play plus a championship round on Sunday. Highlights include the Ladies Scramble, putting contest, shootout at hole 10, calcutta, and community feed hosted by the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company.
Vermillion Burger Battle
July 1–31, 2025
Every July, our local restaurants duke it out to see who has the best burger in the Vermillion area. Stop into any participating restaurant, order their specialty burger, then go to the Burger Battle section in the LiveVermillion app to rate it and leave comments. The burger with the highest average score at the end of the month is declared the winner!
Community Fireworks
July 4, 2025
We like to celebrate Independence Day with a bang! Pack up your lawn chairs and picnic blanket for the most spectacular fireworks show in the county. Location TBD.
Thursdays On The Platz
Thursdays in July & August, 2025
Thursdays On The Platz is Vermillion’s own summer music series. Every Thursday in July and August features a band downtown at the Ratingen Platz. The exception to the rule is the second Thursday in August, where the series heads to the fairgrounds for the Clay County Fair! Enjoy food and drink, socialize with friends, and take in the beautiful summer weather while listening to some great local musicians. 2025's series begins July 10!
Clay County Fair
August 7–9, 2025
The Clay County Fair is three days of animal shows, live music, cornhole tournaments, barbecue competitions, street dances, and more. See everything from 4-H competitions to chainsaw carvings to herpetology exhibits. Enjoy live music all day, and don't forget to stop at the many tabling vendors throughout the fairgrounds. Standout events include ATV mud drags, bull riding, and the annual demolition derby.
Ribs, Rods & Rock n' Roll
September 5–6, 2025
Ribs, Rods & Rock n' Roll was born out of an old Vermillion tradition where townspeople celebrated the end of harvest season by barbecuing ribs over hand-dug pits along the Vermillion river. Now, the event is held downtown, and features a smattering of great things to do, including a people's choice wing-war between local restaurants, an amateur backyard barbecue competition, antique car and tractor shows, a 5k run/walk, pickleball and cornhole tournaments, games, live music, and tons of tasty barbecue.
Oktoberfest
September 2025, Date TBD
Celebrate Vermillion's proud German heritage with Oktoberfest! Compete in a stein holding competition, craft a flower crown, and assemble a team for the Bohemian Tractor Pull. Don't forget to dress in your best lederhosen or dirndl for the costume contest. Meanwhile, enjoy wiener schnitzel, polka music, and steins galore of excellent local beer.
Vortex Film Festival
September 2025, Dates TBD
Vortex Film Festival is a celebration of regional filmmakers and a showcase for movies and filmed in South Dakota and neighboring states. Gather for a weekend of feature-length movies, short-films, documentaries, and workshops, plus reruns of Fool's 48 films. Cinephiles, rejoice!
Downtown Trick-Or-Treating
October 31, 2025
Grab the kiddos and head downtown for the biggest halloween event of the year. Tons of businesses, nonprofits, and USD student organizations will be hanging out and giving away tricks and treats. Plus, stop by the trunk-or-treat at Vermillion Public Library!
South By South Dakota
November 2025, Dates TBD
South by South Dakota is a week-long music festival celebrating regional, original music. From documentaries and choir performances to music biographers and an all-day concert, South by South Dakota includes events for every music fan. South by South Dakota focuses on music and musicians from the area trying to highlight all the incredible art that is created here in South Dakota.
Standstill Parade of Lights
December 4, 2025
The Standstill Parade of Lights hearkens in the holiday season in Vermillion. What makes it a "standstill" parade? The floats sit still and the people move! Check out the floats designed by Vermillion area businesses and organizations; enjoy music, carols, and performances from the Vermillion Area Dance Organization; and drink lots of hot chocolate. Then, see Santa Claus as he officially lights the Vermillion Christmas Tree at the Ratingen Platz. A fun time for the whole family!