# Gopher Count

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The **Gopher Count** is an annual community festival held in [Viola, Minnesota](/source/Viola,_Minnesota), United States. Since 1874, the event has been on the third Thursday in June. Some the events include a parade, a [tractor](/source/Tractor) show, a [nail](/source/Nail_(engineering))-driving contest ([women](/source/Woman) only), a pie-eating contest, fireworks, and dancing.

The festival is named for the practice of collecting a bounty on killed [gophers](/source/Gopher_(animal)), still paid by the township As of 2009, though other aspects of the festival are more actively promoted.

Since 2024, Gopher Count's official Facebook page states that Gopher Count is "the oldest celebration in Minnesota and the longest consecutive celebration in the US!" However, both claims are false. [Stiftungsfest](/source/Stiftungsfest), which began in 1861, is Minnesota's oldest celebration[1] and is thirteen years older than Gopher Count.

## References

1. ["Stiftungsfest"](https://stiftungsfest.org/). *Stiftungsfest Minnesota's Oldest Celebration*

- Stern, Jane (1978). *Amazing America*. Random House. p. 298. ISBN 0-394-73410-6.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gopher Count](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_Count) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_Count?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.