The annual Hiawatha Pageant draws thousands of visitors to Pipestone. One of the oldest and most colorful of pageants, crowds flock to the natural amphitheater just north of the city to see Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha" acted out by local townspeople.

The site is on the edge of the world-famous Pipestone quarries, where for centuries American Indians have come in peace to quarry the beautiful pink Pipestone, from which they made their peace pipes.

In 1949 a group of Pipestone residents at that time formed the Exchange Club with the idea of doing charitable and civic projects. One of their early efforts was the Song of Hiawatha pageant. A few years later the group took on sole sponsorship of the pageant and renamed themselves the Hiawatha Club.

There were 25 original charter members. Bob Owens, an organizer and long time active person in the group, recalled that he had enjoyed memorizing poetry from the time he was quite young. He felt that the entrance to the quarries was the perfect location to tell the story found in Longfellow's poem, "The Song of Hiawatha."

While rehearsing for the first performance in 1949, the group experimented with automobile headlights to produce the lighting because no power was available at the grounds site.

The local Rural Electric Cooperative (SMCE) provided a temporary line for those performances, indicative of community support for the pageant.

Lighting is vital to the Hiawatha Pageant. Vast improvements have been made in both lighting and sound over the years. In fact, the club has spent nearly $250,000 on lighting alone. Three of the lights cost $10,000 each.

The sound system was at first a standard public address system. Over the years it has been enhanced with the use of stereophonic equipment. The sound follows the action as the players move freely about the 1,500 foot stage area. On a quiet evening, it can be heard in many locations around Pipestone.

The 200-member cast consists of local men, women and children who give up other activities each summer to rehearse and perform the pageant.

It takes tremendous dedication and commitment to present the program nine days each summer, year after year. No one receives any money for their work, but the time is freely and enthusiastically donated. All the money taken in is used to improve the pageant and the grounds.

The stage area was quadrupled in size and the 1,500-seat amphitheater expanded and brought 150 feet closer to the stage. A modern concession building and larger restroom facilities were erected.

The original costumes were fashioned by hand by wives of club members. Later the costumes were replaced with a substantial wardrobe purchased from the Indian Trading Post in Pawnee, Oklahoma.

Thousands of people from all over the United States and several foreign nations have come to see the colorful pageant. More than half a million people have seen the Song of Hiawatha Pageant since it began in 1948.  It has been publicized or mentioned in major publications including Time and Life magazines, and was once named the one of the top 100 attractions in the country by the American Bus Association.  The pageant, for 10 consecutive years, was recognized as one of the top 25 festivals the state of Minnesota offered.  

In 2008, the Hiawatha Club made the tough decision to discontinue the once-popular pageant after 60 years.