MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — One man’s fascination with fireworks has turned into a festival that is putting his small town on the map.
Donnie Hoffman’s passion led him to consistently push the envelope as the Fourth of July neared. His displays grew in notoriety in Stickney and had soon become an informal public event. So much so that as Hoffman aged, the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus stepped in to ensure the night sky continued to light up every year.
Hoffman passed in 2019, but the memories remained. Coming out of the COVID pandemic, six residents got together and founded Donnie Days. The 2026 festival is June 25th-28th. The final activity for the weekend is still the fireworks, but Stickney Community Foundation Vice President Becky Muck tells Mitchell Now the Saturday rodeo draws the biggest crowds.
The committee hosts it at the football field of the closed high school. Since the merger between area schools, it had sat vacant before being repurposed. Muck jokes that the first year they held the rodeo, nearly 2,000 people showed up, which was way more than they had planned on. There weren’t enough port-a-potties or seating. That winter, one of the committee members found grandstands online that were free as long as the Stickney group found a way to tow them all the way across the state.
Right away, they began making arrangements for a convoy of trucks that hauled the risers from Newell (near Spearfish) back to town in three sections. With the infrastructure in place, the rodeo continues to add events. Muck is excited for the bronc riding, in addition to stalwarts like the wild donkey race or women’s hangman event.
The rodeo was added in the second Donnie Days festival in 2024. The street dance and live music were the featured act in the inaugural event in 2023. That tradition continues on Friday night. A dance also follows the rodeo on Saturday. Other activities scheduled for 2026 include minnow races and a ceremony for veterans on Friday. A 5K fun run kicks off Saturday, plus a vendor fair, softball and volleyball tournaments, and bounce houses.
Sunday begins with church. A car show filled with roaring engines and chrome is at noon. The afternoon has a parade and bean bag tournament. Then as the sun sets, the pyrotechnics begin.
The opening of Donnie Days is Thursday night. Muck says, “We are honoring a member of our community, a little boy that was… he lost his life a couple years ago, and so his family is putting on a ‘Movie Night with Brey, and it’s a movie…on the rodeo ground, and it’s a…’bring your own lawn chair’ kind of thing, and we have a big projector. Each year, Brey’s parents go to [his] class and ask, ‘What movie are we playing this year?’ So, his class gets to decide each year what movie we’re playing. This year is ‘The Sandlot.’”
Muck notes the festival has become so successful that organizers of events at other towns now consult with her board on how to replicate the Donnie Days model elsewhere. “Committees from other communities who have had these long-established summer events have come to us asking us, ‘What do you guys do? Why is it that you guys make it such a success?’ …It’s weird because instead of us seeking out other places, what they do, we have those places coming to us, asking us for advice, and tips and tricks.”
Money raised goes to help with town improvement projects, which only furthers the legacy of the man who inspired Donnie Days. Mitchell Now asked Muck what Donnie Hoffman would think about all of this.
She replied, “We ask that a lot, because one of the other members of the committee, his name is Andy Hoffman, and that is one of Donnie’s grandchildren, and we asked Andy, ‘What would your grandpa say…and…what do you think he would think about this?’ Andy just.. he gets choked up every time, because I think he knows Donnie would just be absolutely over the moon to see what this community has done, and what we continue to do, and how he was…the initial part of it. So yes, he would be thrilled.”