Taco John's restaurant is surely mighty glad to see Terry Keller, 43, back in town. Last time the 1979 Mandan High School graduate was in Bismarck he bought more than 100 soft-shelled tacos in a week's time and was made customer of the week and given a special shirt.

And Big Boy restaurant is glad to see Keller, too. When Keller, now a Kentucky resident, arrived in Bismarck on Wednesday, he bought for his family what he says can be bought nowhere else - a dozen "flying style" pizza burgers.

But there are plenty of other people here who are Keller fans, too - about 300 other family members who will attend the Keller family reunion in Bismarck this weekend.

Keller, in charge of the reunion's entertainment, started out kind of small - relatively speaking. The fan of Two Tons of Steel - a Texas rockabilly band that has played at the Grand Ole Opry three times - wanted to bring the band here for some family fun. He did that. But it has evolved into much bigger doings.

The family reunion is no longer just a day in a park with some watermelon and volleyball. Hee haw, no. The family's pre-reunion entertainment has become an almost full-day Saturday concert at the Bismarck Civic Center with not only Two Tons of Steel playing, but also Marci Mitchell, fresh from a performance at Loretta Lynn Ranch. She's being compared to a younger version of Shania Twain.

Keller's also bringing in the country band Stampede and Bismarck's own Rocky Top to play.

And for those tired of too-tiny dance floors, that won't happen here. The Civic Center is offering its arena floor, about the size of a basketball court, for some two-stepping and waltzes.

So there's room for more than the 300 family members that Keller bought tickets for. And a couple thousand more. And so the public is invited to buy tickets. A portion of the profits will go to Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, Bismarck's homeless shelter.

"He's such a generous person, to do this for all the relatives," said Jeannie Heck, Keller's aunt and godmother.

Heck said Keller also has a lot of guts, this non-musician, trying to put on a full-fledged, big-time concert.

Keller, 43, is a former North America manager for Bechtel Corp. who now owns a company in Kentucky, TCB Group, that he hopes to move here if possible. He said he left Bismarck in 1981 because he had that syndrome that a lot of North Dakota residents have - a desire to leave North Dakota and make his fortune. He said he discovered that "your fortune is where your heart is."

Keller said people who come to the bash are "going to be glad."

"(Two Tons is) not country, not rock … in between, jazz," he said. "They're extremely upbeat, refreshing - gets you rejuvenated."

It's mostly original material, but the band also performs Elvis music and tunes from the '50s.

Some Two Ton originals on its Big Bellied Records label that are Keller family favorites: "Little Pig," "I'm Sedated" and "Red-Headed Woman." The group's latest album, "Transparent," has been out for about three months, Keller said.

The bash goes from 1-11 p.m. at the Bismarck Civic Center with this schedule: 1-3 p.m., Marci Mitchell; 3-5:30 p.m., Stampede; 5:30-8 p.m., Rocky Top; and 8-11 p.m., Two Tons of Steel.

Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and the Civic Center box office. For more information, call 222-2121 or visit http://www.ticketmaster.com.

(Reach reporter Virginia Grantier at 250-8254 or at vgrantier@ndonline.com.)