Current and former Menlo residents, along with the general public, are invited to spend the weekend together celebrating the town’s 150th anniversary.

The Menlo Sesquicentennial will start with a free birthday cake and ice cream party from 6-8 p.m. at the community building on Friday. There will be plenty of events through Saturday to attract all ages, including a parade, steam engine train rides, free inflatables, bags tournament, stage contests, tractor pull, and much more.

Organizer Bill Messenger says this weekend can be a time to reconnect with old friends, family, and neighbors, “It’s going to be a great day, we’re going to have a lot of activities going on. It’s not going to cost a lot of money, most everything’s free right down to free cotton candy and popcorn for the kids, free lunch for the kids, (with) hot dogs and drinks. So a lot of good entertainment, not going to cost a lot of money. It’s going to be a great day for families to really get out and have fun.”

Other event highlights include a historical Menlo program at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the community building, and a fireworks display at 10 p.m. Raccoon Valley Radio will be part of the celebration, broadcasting live from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday from the Lil’ Big Red Radio.