By It’s going to be a darn busy weekend in Aberdeen.
Two sizable events should have motels and hotels full and restaurants packed as thousands of visitors are expected.
It’s homecoming week at Northern State University, with the primary public events being the 9 a.m. parade down Main Street and the 2:30 p.m. football game against Concordia-St. Paul at what should be a stuffed Dacotah Bank Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Then there’s the 2025 BMX North Central Gold Cub Finals at Aberdeen Hub Area BMX track starting Friday, Sept. 19 and continuing through Sunday, Sept. 21.
Kyle Oswald, track manager, estimated around 750 racers will be in town, and that number doesn’t include family members and fans. Roughly 75 of the racers will be from the Aberdeen area, he said.
Traffic, parking diversions
Both events will lead to some temporary traffic diversions.
Because of the parade, there is no parking along Main Street from its intersection with Eighth Avenue North to its junction with 12th Avenue South near campus from 12:01 a.m. Saturday until after the parade.
MORE: BMX racing a family affair for Heinsohns
And First Avenue Southeast will be closed most of the weekend between South Dakota Street and Bethlehem Lutheran Church. That is to allow for BMX racers to load and unload and accommodate some parking and camping near the track. While there will be free parking in the area, there will be a $10 charge to park nearer the track, Oswald said.
But, he said, admission to the races is free.
Both events are big draws, said Casey Weismantel, executive director of the Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Weismantel
“Things are going to be busy, there’s no other way to say it,” he said.
Even so, he said he believes there will be enough hotel and motel rooms available. He said he’s working with hotels and USA BMX to accommodate all of the visitors.
There are also camping options at the Brown County Fairgrounds and Wylie and Melgaard parks, he said.
Weismantel said homecoming festivities and the BMX races will attract different crowds, but the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s aim is the same — to offer great hospitality. The CVB will be at the Gold Cup handing out visitor bags to racers, their family members and fans, he said.
Gold Cup will feature BMX racers from nine states, the return of Miss Kittie
Oswald said the North Central Gold Cup Finals will feature top racers from nine states — South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. The competition should be fierce, he said.
Kittie Weston-Knauer, 77, will be racing at the BMX North Central Gold Cup Finals this weekend in Aberdeen. She’s the oldest BMX racer in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Kittie Weston-Knauer.
There will be racers from ages 1 up to 77, he said.
That’s because of the return of Kittie Weston-Knauer to Aberdeen. The Des Moines, Iowa, racer was also at the BMX Hub City Nationals in 2022. She’s believed to be the oldest BMX racer in the U.S. and was nearly 40 before she started.
Weston-Knauer broke her neck in 1993, but it hasn’t stopped her from competing. Known as Miss Kittie, she’s developed a nationwide following.
While some people think BMX is just for kids, that’s not the case, Oswald said. There aren’t many sports you can begin as a toddler and continue into your 70s, he said.
MORE: GALLERY: BMX Gold Cup qualifier draws racers from the region
The Gold Cup is a big event, Oswald said, but the races don’t serve as, for example, a qualifier to national races.
Instead, he said, the sport is somewhat like martial arts, but instead of earning different color belts as they advance, BMX riders earn different color number plates for their bikes.
- White: New rider or local/district series.
- Green: State novice/intermediate series.
- Blue: State expert series.
- Gold: Gold Cup series.
- Red: Race of Champions.
- Gray: National age group series.
- Black: National overall.
The number on a BMX rider’s plate indicates their ranking within the series.
There’s not a major race that stands out above the others this weekend, Oswald said, although the expert level riders will be faster.
“Every main event has a title on the line,” he said.
Weismantel said because the Gold Cup is a regional event, it might draw more racers than national races. He said the CBV submitted a bid to USA BMX and was selected to host the races this weekend.