THE BEST DAYS OF SUMMER AQUATENNIAL

2010 Minneapolis Aquatennial July 16-24

THE THIRD WEEK OF JULY:

The Aquatennial is always held the third full week of July. The festival's founding fathers consulted weather forecasters who said that was traditionally the driest, warmest week of the year.

FIRST AQUATENNIAL:
The entire Minneapolis police department worked twelve hours each day of the new festival. 92-year-old Chief One Bull, last of the great Sioux warriors and famous for his defeat of General Custer, attended Aquatennial festivities. Celebrity Gene Autry was also an Aquatennial guest, broadcasting his "Melody Ranch" programs from WCCO Radio.

IN 1941:

The Aquatennial was proclaimed the Northwest's greatest summer festival and one that should not be missed. Bridal store owner Dan Cupid lamented that business was abnormally slow during Aquatennial week, with hardly any weddings scheduled. However, there were a tremendous number of weddings scheduled for the week immediately following the Aquatennial.

FAMOUS AQUATENNIAL GUESTS:

Vice President Richard Nixon served as the Aquatennial's Grand Marshal in 1958. The Lone Ranger attended Children's Day events at the new Parade Stadium in 1951, at the height of his career. Bob Barker hosted the TV game show "Truth or Consequences"; with a live broadcast from Edina, Minnesota - at the Southdale Shopping Mall in 1957. The Aquatennial had its own Woodstock in 1967 with "Happening '67" a three-day psychedelic band concert featuring rock stars like Jefferson Airplane and Buffalo Springfield. Millionaire and philanthropist, Percy Ross, rode in the 1978 Torchlight Parade and threw $16,500 worth of silver dollars into the crowd (by the way, throwing things from a float is now illegal in Minneapolis). Phyllis George, the former sportscaster, morning television show anchor, and Miss America was Torchlight Parade Grand Marshal in 1989. Tons O'People: The Aquatennial is attended by nearly 800,000 people over the 10 days of the festival.

TONS O'EVENTS:

Back when the Aquatennial began, there were nearly 200 events. Today festival organizers have scaled that number back to more than 70 events. The goal is to make each event absolutely spectacular.

FIRST MILK CARTON BOAT RACE:

It all started in 1971 with a local advertising agency trying to increase sales for its client, a milk distributor. Ad executives tried to think up the most outrageous idea and came up with milk carton boat races. The Aquatennial, a festival with a nautical theme, was the logical venue for the race.

FIRST TORCHLIGHT PARADE:

The first Torchlight Parade was held during the very first Aquatennial in 1940, but back then, it was called the "Illuminated Evening Parade".

LAST AQUA FOLLIES:

One of the Aquatennial's most popular events, the Aqua Follies, ended in 1964. This event began in 1940 at Cedar Lake and eventually moved to Theodore Wirth Lake Park. The main attractions of the Follies were the "Aqua Darlings," a variety group, and the "Aqua Dears," a team of 25 synchronized swimmers. Also featured at the Aqua Follies were Olympic divers, comedians, acrobats, singers, dancers and a sound and light show unrivaled in its time. Aquatennial officials ended the Follies because the cost to replace the deteriorating staging area, bleachers and diving area would have been astronomical.

LARGEST MILK CARTON BOAT:

In 1993, Tetra Pak, a Minneapolis packager, used 25,000 milk cartons to make a one-hundred-foot boat in the shape of an aircraft carrier. This was to honor those who had served in Operation Desert Storm. Nearly 150 people rode on the boat.