Kristi Goldade will be climbing up and down the note scale as she yodels for attendees at the Hague Centennial.

Kristi is North Dakota’s own yodeling cowgirl and has been doing shows for six years. She first desired to yodel after going to the Medora musical with her family when she was eight. She was so enthralled by the yodelers there that she practiced nearly the entire drive home, during which she recalls her two brothers holding pillows over their ears.

After about two months she got a chance to play for an audience at the Beaver Creek Pumpkin Patch. There she met Clifford Johnson, who invited her to sing with his band there.

Since then Kristi has come far, doing from 40 to 50 shows a year. She has sung a few songs that she wrote herself, but most of her songs come from Janet McBride in Texas, who arranges for Kristi to be able to sing songs performed by LeAnne Rimes.

Kristi has been playing the guitar in her shows for four years. She first took lessons for two years from Kellie Wikenheiser of Strasburg. Then she started teaching herself for a while, and recently she ran into Clifford Johnson again and is now taking guitar and mandolin lessons from him in Napoleon.

Kristi has also been joined in her performance by her father, Michael, who plays the keyboard.

Kristi has sung all over North Dakota and has played in parts of Minnesota. She also regularly performs for the South Dakota State Fair.

The largest crowd she has ever entertained had over a thousand in attendance. When asked if she ever gets nervous with the bigger crowds, she casually stated, “Not really.”

Kristi worked with Higgins Family Production out of Mandan in 2005 to produce her first CD. She recently worked with Sherwin and Pam Linton from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, to produce her second, which will be out by the end of July. Anyone who wants a copy of the CD’s can contact Kristi either after her one of her shows or by phone.

Kristi is the daughter of Michael and Geraldine Goldade and is the youngest of six children, with two brothers and three sisters. The family lives on a dairy farm in between Linton and Wishek. They take care of lots of animals, Kristi said, including a horse, cows, calves, chickens, turkeys, dogs and cats.

When not performing, Kristi always stays busy with schoolwork and helping out around the farm. She is currently training a horse in these summer months.

Kristi will be a freshman at Strasburg High School in the fall. She plans to continue working with her talent professionally when she finishes her schooling.

Kristi Goldade will be performing during the opening ceremony of the Hague Centennial on Friday, July 4, at 11:30 under the tent.