With the seventh annual Weyburn Wheat Festival and Rodeo set to take place the weekend of August 8-10, committee organizers are urging city businesses to start getting into the spirit of the event by taking part in the window painting and window display competition.

The Wheat Festival itself will run on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 8 and 9, and the Lions Rodeo is set for Aug. 9 and 10 at the exhibition grounds. Events for the festival will be taking place downtown and at the Heritage Village, with a number of related activities on throughout the city.

To help put residents into the mood for the festival, window displays and paintings will be up all around the city. In order to have the displays and/or paintings registered for judging, they need to be registered by Tuesday, July 29; judging will take place on Thursday, July 31.

To register or for more information about the contest, contact Donna Hastings, tourism coordinator at City Hall. "If one wants to start setting up a display or painting, the neat thing is it gets people in the mood for the event," said Festival chairman Abraham van der Breggen, adding most plans are in place but some are still being finalized in the weeks leading up to the event.

One change residents should be aware of is the location of the bread-baking contest; the entries will now be on display at the Soo Line Historical Museum, and bread will also be available by the slice there. The festival's outdoor concrete oven will be on display at the site as well.

The cow poop bingo has now been changed to a horse poop bingo, to be held at the Heritage Village, along with such traditional events like the threshing demonstration and stooking contest. The village itself will also be open for visitors to see.

The committee is also still working on getting a sponsor to hold a farm tour during the festival, said van der Breggen.

Downtown, the Wheat Festival will be kicked off with a pancake breakfast on Friday morning, Aug. 8, sponsored by the banks, and children's rides are set to start at 10:30 a.m., and will also run on Saturday. The Chamber of Commerce and tourism department are also working on a large sign and map to go up at the intersection of Souris Avenue and Third Street, showing where all the events are taking place and what time they are at.

The annual Horticulture Show will be held in the Knox Hall, along with serving of berry tea by members of the Horticulture Society. At the mall, the arts and crafts display and sale will be held.

The interdenominational church service will still be held on Sunday, Aug. 10, but with a slight change of plans. The Ministerial Association originally planned on holding it in the mall parking lot, but that has now been changed to the outdoor stage area at Memorial Park, which is downtown next to City Hall. The stage will be up from the concert the night before; still to be finalized is the time for the church service, said van der Breggen.

To help fund the festival, a raffle for a large-screen TV is being held, and van der Breggen said tickets are still available, with the TV on display at the Paradise Market.