There’s an out of this world celebration in Manitowoc this weekend. It’s been termed wacky, tacky fun, but it commemorates Manitowoc’s introduction to the Space Race in the early 1960s. The third annual Sputnikfest is being held at the Rahr West Art Museum in Manitowoc. Organizer and outgoing museum director Barb Bundy-Yost said the fest is a celebration of a piece of space debris that landed in the middle of Eighth Street in the city, during the early morning hours September 6th, 1962. It was a twenty pound chunk from Russia’s Sputnik 4.
The Space Age themed festivities begin Friday evening with a “Miss Space Debris” pageant parade led by Mayor Justin Nichols. There will also be an outdoor movie – E.T. of course – along with an art fair, a Sputnik reenactment and live music.