The Gopher Count is an annual community festival held in Viola, Minnesota. Since 1874, the event has been on the third Thursday in June. Some the events include a parade, a tractor show, a nail-driving contest (women only), a pie-eating contest, fireworks, and dancing. Gopher Count is one year older than the Kentucky Derby.
The festival is named for the practice of collecting a bounty on killed gophers, still paid by the township as of 2009, though other aspects of the festival are more actively promoted.
References
Gopher Count Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA