Gary Williams, Mayor of Cottage Grove

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the City of Cottage Grove I wish to welcome everyone to Cottage Grove and to the 53rd annual Bohemia Mining Days festival.

Since the 1960s, when the festival was still young, I have enjoyed and participated in Bohemia Mining Days as one of the highlights of my summer. It's a celebration centered on our rich mining and logging heritage and is made possible by the generous sponsors and by the many volunteers who have donated their time and talents to ensure the perpetuation of this beloved event.

"The Feud: Slabtown vs. Lemati," is the theme for this year’s Bohemia Mining Days festival. I invite everyone to get into the spirit of the theme this year, and to do whatever you can to help take Cottage Grove back in time for these four July days, so that both locals and visitors from out of town can experience and appreciate this unique chapter of our area’s history.

Cottage Grove is home to many treasures: our people, our history, our businesses, our organizations and our many recreational offerings. I encourage you to use this special celebration to learn something new about our community's colorful and interesting past. Then take the next step and share what you learn with others to further enhance the spirit and pride we have in our community -- past, present and future!

-- Mayor Gary Williams