The Aquatennial is back and ready to set sail into a new era, just months after the Minneapolis Downtown Council announced they will no longer produce the city's annual civic celebration.
Mayor Jacob Frey kicked off the announcement at Bde Maka Ska Tuesday.
"The greatest city in the world needs a great celebration, and we are here to announce that yet again the Aquatennial is coming back to Minneapolis, everybody," Frey declared.
Of course, the Torchlight Parade remains a staple, and there will be new activities as well.
But most importantly, the Minneapolis Downtown Council is passing the torch to a new - or actually former - group to run the festival.
Marie Carrell is the Commodore with the Aquatennial Ambassador Organization, and a 2005 Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes.
"The Aquatennial Ambassador Organization is a group of civic leaders, alumni, and volunteers who all share a passion not only for the Minneapolis Aquatennial, but for the city of Minneapolis, and great pride for our community," says Carrell. "And it's through that that we host this event."
Also known as "The Best Days of Summer", the celebration returns July 18 through 26, with the Aquatennial Ambassador Organization taking over.
The AAO is a holdover from the original festival which ran for decades, from 1940 until the organization ran into financial issues by the late 1990s.
At that point, the organization handed the events such as the Torchlight, fireworks, milk carton boat races and more, over to Downtown Council, while the AAO was founded to continue the ambassador side of the festival. That includes the Queen of the Lakes and that candidate program, along with the festival's outreach to community festivals around the state and country.
"Putting this on was no small task, getting it set back up again was not an easy lift," notes Frey. "But some incredible people made it happen. From the leadership of the Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador's Organization, this commitment ensures a long standing celebration of our city."
The biggest challenge for the AAO is it is entirely volunteer-driven, requiring significant sponsor support, and commitments from volunteers in order to organize the events.
It will still have those traditional mainstays such as the parade and Twin Cities Beach Blast, but also new activities such as sand castle building and special performances from the cast of "Wicked."
The events that make up Aquatennial are expanded from previous years. Those original "10 Best Days of Summer" had been whittled down to just a few days in recent years. But kicking off the fun on July 18 and running for a week is an expansion despite the challenges getting it up and running again.
Classic events like the Torchlight, Beach Bash featuring the milk carton boat races and sand castle competition, the Twin Cities River Rats shows, the Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes Coronation, and others will return. One notable event not on the calendar is the Target Fireworks show, traditionally one of the largest in the nation.
