Events

Join us for Community Events

2023 Afton Independence Day Parade

Four firefighters in uniform leaning onto front bumper of yellow fire truck parked on street.

Firefighter walking in parade handing out candy to kids along the way.

Yellow fire engine parked on side of street awaiting parade start. Banner with triangle red, white, blue flags hang overhead.

Close up of top of fire truck tender with kids and firefighters riding on top.

SPRING 2023 PANCAKE BREAKFAST

The Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department welcomes you, your family, and friends to attend our biannual pancake breakfast on Sunday, May 7 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon. In addition to all-you-can-eat pancakes, we will be serving up sausages, orange juice, milk and coffee. Non-perishable food donations for the local food shelf will also be accepted at this time, and our department will be making a matching donation. Food donation items may be dropped off at the table upon entry.

DATE: Sunday, May 7, 2023
TIME: 8 a.m. – Noon
LOCATION: Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department, 1560 St. Croix Trail S, Lake St. Croix Beach
COST: Free will donation

Stacked pancakes on a plate with square of butter on top and syrup being poured over.

Santa's Coming to Town

Santa will be visiting the Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department on Saturday, Dec. 12 for a drive-thru holiday event and community food drive. Vehicles should enter the back driveway of the fire station off of 15th Street and continue to the south side of the fire station where Santa will be. All visitors should remain inside their vehicles; Santa will come to each car to give a jolly greeting and hand a treat to the kids. Firefighters/EMTs will be available to receive any non-perishable food items to be donated to our local food shelves.

Santa and his helpers look forward to seeing you!

DATE: Saturday, December 12, 2020
TIME: 9am – 11:30am
LOCATION: Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department
1560 St. Croix Trail South
Lake St. Croix Beach, MN

Close up of Santa's coat and Santa holding a bag of toys on his back.

Halloween Trick-or-Treat Event

Parents, bring your little ghosts and goblins to Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department on Halloween evening for a fun trick-or-treating drive-thru event.

From 5pm–7pm on Saturday, October 31, drive into the front fire department parking lot. While you and your children remain in your vehicles, firefighters and EMTs will come to each vehicle to say hello and distribute candy, maintaining proper physical distancing.

This is a great opportunity for our department to express our sincere appreciation to all of you in the community who have supported us over this past year with your kind thoughts, words, and donations.

We look forward to seeing you on Halloween!

DATE: Saturday, October 31, 2020
TIME: 5pm – 7pm
LOCATION: Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department
1560 St. Croix Trail South
Lake St. Croix Beach, MN

Halloween suckers and candy spread out on white background.

Community Food Drive

On Saturday, July 18th from 9am till noon, the Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department will be hosting a community food drive to help replenish local food shelves.

Food and cash donations will be accepted and 100% of the proceeds will be donated directly to our local food shelves in Washington County. Our fire department members will match up to $500 for all donations received during this food drive.

Items and cash donations may be dropped off by driving into the front parking lot of the fire station (1560 St Croix Trail South in Lake St Croix Beach) on Saturday July 18th between the hours of 9am to noon. Residents should remain in their vehicles; firefighters and EMTs will unload the donations to maintain proper social distancing.

In years past, residents have been very generous with food donations at our pancake breakfasts. Due to the current pandemic events and high unemployment rate, your generosity is needed now more than ever. This is a great opportunity to continue to keep these valued food shelves in our community stocked with resources.

DATE: Saturday, July 18, 2020
TIME: 9am – 12 noon
LOCATION: Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department
1560 St. Croix Trail South
Lake St. Croix Beach, MN

Afton 4th of July Day Parade & Celebration 2019

Join us at the Afton 4th of July Parade & Celebration! This year the River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps will be performing in the parade. There will be food vendors, a beer tent, music in the park, and trolley rides. Other activities include a bounce house and crafts for the kids as well as a kids' bike/trike pre-parade. Our fire department members will be driving multiple fire trucks in the parade and handing out treats.

Come celebrate Indepedence Day with us and enjoy the 4th of July in Afton!

DATE: July 4, 2019 
START TIME: 12:30pm 
LOCATION: Downtown Afton, Minnesota

Red, yellow, green, and white fireworks exploding in night sky.

Five pancakes stacked with butter melting on top.

Spring Pancake Breakfast

Come hungry and leave full and happy! Join us for our biannual pancake breakfast at the Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Station bay on Sunday, May 5 from 8:00am – 12:00 noon. We will be serving all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausages, orange juice, milk and coffee. Bring your family and friends and enjoy a morning off from cooking. As always, we will be accepting non-perishable food donations for the local food shelf during this time; they may be dropped off at the donation table upon entry.

DATE: Sunday, May 5, 2019
TIME: 8am – Noon
LOCATION: Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department, 1560 St. Croix Trail S, Lake St. Croix Beach
COST: Free will donation

Pancake Breakfast with Santa

Santa is coming to town on Sunday, December 2! Bring your family and friends down to the fire station for a visit with Santa and enjoy all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, orange juice, milk and coffee.

DATE: Sunday, December 2
TIME: 8am – Noon
LOCATION: Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department, 1560 St. Croix Trail S, Lake St. Croix Beach
COST: Free will donation

Fire Prevention Week is October 7 – 13, 2018

Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department will be visiting Afton-Lakeland Elementary School during Fire Prevention Week. A fire safety trailer will be used to help teach students basic fire safety in a realistic but safe environment.

LOOK, LISTEN, LEARN, BE AWARE. FIRE CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE.

Here are three basic but essential steps to take to reduce the likelihood of having a fire — and how to escape safely in the event of one:

LOOK
Look for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.

LISTEN
Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.

LEARN
Learn two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

9/11 Tribute

In honor of the lives lost on 9.11.01, Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department will be participating in a tribute on I-94 on 9.11.18. Fire departments from Bayport, Lake Elmo and Lower St. Croix Valley will be driving rigs down I-94 from Lakeland westbound to Manning Avenue around 1800 hours. To participate and view the tribute, spectators are encouraged to gather at the Stagecoach Trail bridge and take a moment to pause and remember. We will never forget.

Washington County Deputy smiling and talking with kids and parents.

Kids and adults talking with Washington County Deputy.

Cones with Cops 2018

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with Selma's Ice Cream Parlour in Afton, is hosting Cones with Cops — a summer evening of community engagement, fun and ice cream!

This is a great opportunity to meet some of your local deputies and firefighters, see the inside of emergency vehicles, and watch a K-9 demonstration.

Kids 12 and under will receive a free ice cream cone from Selma’s.

DATE: Thursday, August 23, 2018
TIME: 5 – 7pm
LOCATION: Selma's Ice Cream Parlour, Afton, Minnesota

Washington County Deputy eating ice cream alongside kids and woman eating ice cream cones.

Heritage Day & National Night Out 2018

National Night Out is an annual nationwide event. Residents are encouraged to get out in the community, hold block parties and get to know their neighbors as a way to encourage crime prevention.

Come on out to enjoy a Minnesota summer evening with your family and neighbors and meet some of your local firefighters!

DATE: Tuesday, August 7, 2018
TIME: 5 – 8pm
LOCATION: Riverfront Park, Lake St. Croix Beach, Minnesota

Two firefighters in blue uniforms playing yard size Connect Four game.

Firefighter holding up ice cream waffle cone and smiling.

Front end of yellow fire engine with parade crowd along street.

Afton Independence Day Parade

Celebration Activities

Afton Town Square Park

Music
Food, crafts, beer tent

For the Kids

Bounce house
Kid's crafts at the park pavilion
Kid's bike/trike pre-parade

FREE trolley rides will be given within the village of Afton.

AFTON 4TH OF JULY DAY PARADE & CELEBRATION

Bring your family and friends and join us at the Afton 4th of July Parade & Celebration for food, drinks, music, trolley rides and a parade. Other activities include a bounce house for the kids, crafts for children, and a kids' bike/trike pre-parade.

Our fire department will be driving multiple fire trucks in the parade.

DATE: July 4, 2018 
NEW START TIME: 12:30pm 
LOCATION: Downtown Afton, Minnesota

Ambulance and yellow fire tender driving in parade. Crowd watches along side of road.

LSCVFDs ambulance and tender during Afton 4th of July Parade

Grass rig pulling a Zodiac dive boat on trailer in parade.

Brush Truck 2 and Zodiac at the parade