1. Black Hills Playhouse
City: Custer, SD
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (605) 255-4141, (605) 255-4242
Address: Custer State Park
Description: A visit to the playhouse is a perfect chance to tour beautiful Custer State Park and catch a great stage performance, too. The summer season runs from June through Aug each year. You’ll need a South Dakota state park sticker to access the park. You’ll find detailed information about the playhouse in the Arts chapter. The historic Playhouse buildings have been undergoing extensive renovations so check before making the trip into the park for a performance for actual show locations.
2. Crazy Horse Volksmarch
City: Custer, SD
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (605) 673-4681
Address: US 16/385
Description: Just once each year, participants are allowed to walk right up to the huge carved face of Crazy Horse and view the work in progress close-up. (You can read about Crazy Horse Memorial in the Attractions chapter.) In recent years, between 10,000 and 14,000 hardy folks have made this 6.2-mile trek. The Crazy Horse Volksmarch, the largest Volksmarch in the country, is held on Saturday and Sunday during the first full weekend of June and costs just $2 per person. To receive official credit for your Volksmarch, you must pay $2; to receive the “Volksmarch Crazy Horse” medal, you must pay $7.
3. Crazy Horse Night Blast
City: Custer, SD
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (605) 673-4681
Address: Crazy Horse Memorial
Description: This ceremonial blast on the mountain takes place each year in early June and on Sept 6. (You can learn about the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Attractions chapter.) The latter date commemorates both Crazy Horse’s untimely death in 1877 and the late sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski’s birthday. The blast takes place after dark for spectacular effect, and it’s free with your entrance fee. An open house, during which you can tour the visitor complex and exhibits, is held on Labor Day weekend.
City: Custer, SD
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: Custer State Park
5. Native American Day Observances
City: Custer, SD
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (605) 673-4681
Address: US 16/385
Description: A special program and events are held each Oct at Crazy Horse Memorial to commemorate the struggles, triumphs, heritage, and legacies of Native Americans. You can enjoy lectures and demonstrations, drumming, singing, dancing, and storytelling. Tour the Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Cultural Center; both are housed on the grounds. A special day blast is planned on the mountain (see more about the sculpture in the Attractions chapter), and there’s a buffalo stew feed at noon. It’s all free with your admission to the memorial.
6. Buffalo Auction
City: Custer, SD
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (605) 255-4515
Address: Custer State Park
Description: Read about the Annual Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival that takes place in Custer State Park in September’s listing (Southern Hills) or in the Parks & Mountains chapter. The surplus animals culled from the herd along with the park’s surplus burros are sold at this auction held on the third Saturday of November annually, which helps support the park’s operations. It’s an interesting event to watch, even if you’re not inclined to take a buffalo or burro home.