08/17/2026
This year marks 60 years since a celebration organized around the Kilbourn Fire Department helped lay the foundation for what would eventually become the Wo-Zha-Wa Days tradition we know today. KFD is proud to have been one of the organizations involved in the beginning of this longtime Wisconsin Dells community celebration.
The story goes back to 1966, when the Kilbourn Fire Department celebrated its 75th Diamond Jubilee. With George Bixby serving as chairman and numerous subcommittees helping with the planning, the department organized a major community celebration.
The Diamond Jubilee included a fire school near the city pool, water-ball fights between area fire departments, carnival games, fire truck rides, a boat tour for the firefighters' wives, and a huge parade through downtown. Interestingly, that parade traveled in the opposite direction of today's Wo-Zha-Wa parade!
Putting on a celebration of that size required plenty of fundraising. A commemorative booklet featuring the history of KFD was produced, with local businesses purchasing advertisements to help cover the cost of bands, parade units, and other activities. Copies of the booklet were even mailed to fire departments throughout the State of Wisconsin.
The firefighters also got creative with their fundraising, making wooden axes by hand and selling them as souvenirs of the Diamond Jubilee.
Food and fellowship were an important part of the celebration, too. Local service clubs helped serve food, much like community organizations continue to do today. The Kiwanis Club and its “Chic Pic” were among the original food vendors. The idea was simple: create a community picnic where residents could gather, reconnect with friends, and celebrate together after another busy summer season.
Around the same era, downtown businesses were also holding Maxwell Street Days on Friday and Saturday in early September, giving merchants an opportunity to sell remaining summer merchandise. That event began separately in 1960 and became another part of the community's early fall traditions.
After the success of KFD's Diamond Jubilee, people agreed that the celebration was simply too much fun to let disappear. A committee was formed with Bud Gussell at the helm to continue the tradition.
Those early years weren't easy. Attendance was sometimes poor, funding was scarce, and there were times when the celebration nearly disappeared altogether. But the community kept it going.
Six decades later, Wo-Zha-Wa has grown into one of Wisconsin Dells' most recognizable traditions.
KFD is proud to have been there at the beginning, and we're excited to celebrate 60 years of history, community, and tradition this year.
And, just as we have for so many years, you'll find the members of the Kilbourn Fire Department at our familiar corner of Oak and Broadway during Wo-Zha-Wa.
Stop by, say hello, grab a beverage, play the token toss, and help us celebrate a tradition that has brought our community together for generations!
Take a look at some video we dug out of the archives!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WQByMWNbVEYAOAdDA-ZDmtwXkt1JzFkp/view?usp=drivesdk
Make to follow Wozhawa Fall Festival for updates on the upcoming event!
