The Minneapolis Aquatennial is a victim of the weather. The iconic Torchlight Parade, for decades a highlight of the city's celebration, will be canceled due to the threat of severe weather.
WCCO-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer confirms a widespread outbreak of storms is likely across the metro area Wednesday evening and with thousands gathering on the sidewalks and across downtown.
The safety of those people would need to come first according to the Minneapolis Downtown Council which organizes Aquatennial activities.
Earlier, Adam Duininck with the Minneapolis Downtown Council told WCCO they were preparing a contingency plan but the weather just didn't cooperate. Duininck says it's relatively rare for the Aquatennial Torchlight to be affected by bad weather, but this threat of storms was too much to overcome.
"It's a really difficult decision, as you could well imagine," says Duininck. "A lot of time and energy goes into planning such a large scale event that happens one time a year. But when it came down to it, we really had to center on people's safety. I'm thinking about both the attendees who would be asked to come out to watch the parade, the participants, our volunteers, and our staff team and helped to produce the event."
Duininck adds they did consider rescheduling the parade, both to an earlier time Wednesday to try and avoid the weather, and to possibly Thursday, but the difficulties they would need to overcome forced their hand.
"We would have had to figure out how to start and stop the parade and likely would have lost some of the participants who couldn't make tomorrow as well," says Duininck. "So in the end, the decision just happened to be the best decision for us, happened to be just to cancel."
In a news release, the Downtown Council explains their concerns:
"This decision follows extensive exploration of all viable alternatives. It was made in close consultation with local weather experts who have been monitoring conditions closely.
The safety and well-being of our participants, spectators, volunteers, and staff remain our highest priority.
We are deeply grateful for the time, effort, and enthusiasm of all those involved in bringing this beloved tradition to life, and we share in the disappointment of this outcome.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of the Minneapolis Aquatennial."
There are still several major Aquatennial events coming up, including the River Rats Water Ski shows, the Target Fireworks and the Queen of the Lakes Coronation on Saturday. You can find all the events here.