10/31/08 Captain's Log

Hi all....just a real quick check in here because I heard a terrific story this morning from a former Aquatennial Commodore.

As you know, I work at WCCO Radio. One of the legendary personalities who has worked here for 50 years now is Charlie Boone. He is best known as the co-host of Boone and Erickson which ran during the mornings on 'CCO for many years and was really one of the most successful radio programs of all time.

Charlie Boone (Top) and his longtime co-host
Roger Erickson in the 1980's

In 1996, Charlie was named the Commodore of the Aquatennial and has been a supporter of the festival for many, many years. During this past year, every time I see Charlie we talk about what we have been up to and who we've seen, etc. He's always interested in what we are up to and always has a story or two about his time in Aqua.

Today, he came in and we talked about a few things but he shared a story that, as an employee and just a person interested in the history of WCCO, struck me as really interesting.

In 1959, Randy Merriman was the Aquatennial Commodore. Randy was a personality on WCCO at the time. If you're old enough to remember, he was the co-host of a very popular 'CCO program called "Honest To Goodness" in the late 50's and early 60's.

Randy Merriman in the Early 60's

In February, Aquatennial travels to Winnipeg for the Festival Du Voyaguer (which we did this year....you can find that blog entry from this past February for our experience there). Aquatennial and Winnipeg have had this relationship for decades now. And in February of 1959, Randy Merriman was on his way to Winnipeg.

While driving through North Dakota, somewhere outside of Fargo, he turned on a rock and roll station, KFGO. He heard a young man on there spinning tunes that really struck him. His name was Charlie Boone.

After returning to the Twin Cities, he told 'CCO management about this man he heard in Fargo and WCCO decided to try and hire him.

Now, Charlie, being a North Dakota boy, didn't know anything about the Twin Cities. Besides an offer from WCCO, he also was offered a job by WDGY. Well, WCCO was at that point one of the largest, most successful stations in the country. And Charlie accepted the job at WDGY.

Before he started there however, a few people told him something like this: "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!!! GO WORK AT WCCO!".

Charlie took that advice, told the Program Director at WDGY of his decision (who, by the way said "I don't blame you...do what you gotta do"), and began what is a Hall-of-Fame, 50 year career at the Good Neigbor to the Northwest, WCCO Radio.

Just a story that was Aquatennial related I thought was interesting....50 years ago, someone who worked where I do, was involved in the same festival I am, on his way to a place I went, found one of the great radio broadcasters of all time playing Buddy Holly records on the prarie in the middle of February.

Great story.

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial

10/28/08 Captain's Blog

Spooky greetings and scary salutations Aquatennial-ites!

I can't believe I wrote that either. I guess I was just inspired by Anoka Halloween. We should just move on.

An exciting week of Anoka Halloween fun has just wrapped up and here's what happened: (cuing scary music.....oh, wait...this is a blog. Nevermind). OK, you'll have to play the creepy Halloween music in your head. Oh, but don't listen to the voices in there....not good.

This is what happens if you start to listen to the voices.
Jamie Lee Curtis not included.

So, Anoka Halloween....I told you about the Orange Tie Ball last week. This weekend was their big "Grand Day Parade" and the crowning of the new Anoka Royal Ambassadors. As I've mentioned, I love Anoka, having spent part of my childhood there and they are great friends of Aquatennial and especially our family this year. So, it was a fun, exciting day for us!

Now....Anoka gets a gigantic turnout from other royalty and festivals. They get to dress up for the parade. Who'd want to miss that? Aquatennial....well, we're already kind of dressed up. So we come as we are. Captain's hats and the usual. But it's a blast for us to see everyone else in costume (and try and figure out who they are!).

We made it to the Anoka Legion Saturday morning....Commodore Mary, Queen Tara, Princesses Jaclyn and Emily and Captain's Rob and Lindsey. We also were joined by our Senior Ambassadors. The Legion was where they had a little breakfast, coffee and, my favorite, Hot Cider. Mmmmmm....Cider. I'm a dork.

Our Aqua Family with the new Gibbon Royalty
Yes, it was REALLY hot in there!

It was a spooktacular day weather wise. Did I just say spooktacular? Can't seem to shut off this stupid halloween jargon....I think something's wrong with me. But you already knew that.

So, after the breakfast we found our way to our float. Queen Tara's parents were pulling the float for the first time and had already set up the float and were nice enough to bring water and snacks for us. Seems to me they may have done this before. Maybe. We are thrilled to have their help with it. The float can be a ton of work and we really appreciate their help.

Our float in the Halloween Parade! I'm back there somewhere...

And I have to make mention of all three of the girl's parents...I know every family has a lot going on and it is extremely hard to make it to event after event after event. I know when I was growing up that my parents just didn't have time to make it to many activities I was involved in. I understood then and I more than understand now (I can barely keep up with myself...if I had kids, they'd wonder who I was and why I was sleeping at their house).

Every parade we've done so far since they've been crowned, I think I've seen them. From Emily's parents coming to Le Seuer to Jaclyn's parents coming to Cokato to all of them showing up in Anoka. It's amazing. You can see why these are three very special young women...they all have very special parents. Pretty simple, isn't it? Good parents lead to good people. It's great to see. The support they all recieve is terrific.

On a side note, my parents are good people...so I have no excuse for why I'm so weird. Oh well.

On another side note (I'm into side notes today), I've decided that I hate dressing up. I know I've had to kind of dress up for Aquatennial all year but that's different. Halloween has become this adult, go out to bars, wear funny or ultra-elaborate costumes type of holiday. My friends do it every year. And I find an excuse NOT to do it every year.

I mean...seriously. Why would I want to do look like this?
Well, actually, sometimes I do. But not on purpose!

Captain Rob, his wife Amy, a friend of mine and I had talked about dressing up and going out on Halloween this year (it's Friday night...why not?). We decided yesterday to skip it and stay home. I was kind of relieved. Am I out of my mind? I just don't get the dressing up thing. I kind of hated it when I was a kid. I think I put on my football uniform and Dan Marino jersey for about 4 straight years because I didn't want to wear another costume. I hated dressing up. Just give me candy. Who cares what I'm wearing? I just don't get it. (And I sound like I might be the world's worst Dad someday...right? Well, I hope not. I'm sure it's different when you have kids.)

After the parade, we were off to the Anoka High School where they had a little lunch and a quick program for us (us being the visiting festivals). It also gave us a chance to see a bunch of former Anoka Ambassadors that we know including our former Princess, Tzvetelina. She was there helping out and it was just great to see her last weekend!

Two happy Captains with their former Princess Tzvet!

And I'd be a horrible Captain if I didn't mention that our OTHER former Princess Jenna was at the parade that morning and we got to see her...we miss them both a ton and even though we talk all the time online, it's always so great to see our Princesses. They mean the world to Rob and I. Jenna came all the way from Gibbon to be there and that is so nice of her. And, by the way, she just was given an internship at Larson-Allen in Mankato as she works to complete her accounting degree at St. Cloud State this year. Congratulations Princess!!!!

After lunch, it was time to change and get ready for the coronation. Anoka had 39 candidates which is just an unbelievable turnout for that program (2nd most they've ever had I think). We really enjoyed their program...the girls were great and they did a few videos chronically both the events leading up to coronation and the events that the current Ambassadors attended all year.

Three of our favorites from Anoka!
Nichelle, Tzvetelina (both Aqua Princesses)
and Christina!

And while we are on the current Ambassadors, I need to mention Janelle, Alyssa and Taryn. The three of them did an outstanding job representing Anoka as Ambassadors this year. Everywhere they went, they stood out with their poise and grace, the way they present themselves (nobody ever looks better than that group of young women) and I think most importantly, the fun that they had with this. They were ALWAYS smiling, always laughing and making others laugh and just generally having a blast. You could easily see how much doing this meant to them. And our hats are off to you....what a great year they've had. We found out at coronation that Alyssa would be the Ambassador moving on to Aquatennial and she'll do a terrific job there as well (and honestly, any of the three would be a great choice for Aqua).

This is Princess Emily and me with Anoka this past summer.
From L-R it's Alyssa, Taryn and Janelle. They are fantastic
young women we are proud to call friends!

We went on stage and we did our routine....and we were very glad to present another Aquatennial Honorary Commodore's Award. We presented it to Kelli Goodwin who has been giving back to the Anoka Halloween program since being an Ambassador in 2002, most recently as Seceratary. Congrats to her...very deserving and again, it's always a big thrill for us to surpise people with those awards!

The Commodore's Award being given to Kelli Goodwin

Finally it was time to crown the new Anoka Royal Ambassadors....the three newly crowned girls were Tessa Cacek, Jessica Nordberg and Allie Skaalerud. We had a chance after the coronation to meet them briefly and all three will once again be terrific choices to represent the great community of Anoka!

The crowning of the new Ambassadors

The new Anoka Ambassadors are greeted

by the "Has Beens" (that's what they call
themselves in Anoka after they are done)

One more Anoka Halloween mention needs to be done here and that goes to the two women who do so much for those Ambassadors each and every year. Sharolyn Carlson and Sonja Weiler are the coordinators for the program and meeting those two will tell you why their Ambassadors, number one, have a great time and number two, do a fantastic job of carrying themselves as "royalty", if you will. I've gotten to know them both very well this year and will personally tell you that no finer people are out there dedicating their time and efforts to help young women.

From L-R: Sharolyn, Kelli Goodwin and Sonja.
All do a fantastic job and, again, are great
friends of ours!

And it wouldn't be the Captain's Blog if I didn't mention Cambridge, would it? Well, what can I say. They dig us! Yeah, we did them too.

After coronation, the three Cambridge Ambassadors, Nicole, Hanna and Renita (along with coordinator Laurie..."hey, hey Laurie".....you'll see what that means in a minute) came over to Rob and I with gifts.

Besides being unusual (people don't just bring us gifts!), it made me a little nervous. What on earth were they giving us? And why does Laurie have the camera ready to fire? And why are they laughing at us?

Do I look scared? I am...actually, I'm
kidding. It was VERY funny. Thanks girls!

Well, after telling us we have to open them at the same time, Rob and I dug in. And pulled out a photo frame. With a photo. Oh no....not that photo. Oh no.

Well, the three in the middle look terrific. Can't
say much for the bookends though...

OK....here's the story. In Cokato this past August, Rob sees Laurie walking through a parking lot and hollered out (in your best Queer Eye for the Straight Guy voice) "HEY, HEY Laurie!!!!!!"

Oh boy. I immediately started lauging uncontrollably while Princesses Jaclyn and Emily joined me. Rob couldn't understand what was so funny. So, I explained and then demonstrated what he'd done. He vehemently denied what I showed him he did. And was firmly told by all three of us that he had, indeed, just become Richard Simmons. Without the short-shorts. Thankfully!

"Hey, Hey Laurie!!!!"
Yep...that works.

Later that same night, they asked us to take a picture with them doing a funny pose and the hands on the hips shot apparantly won out. And now I have to live with that photo the rest of my life. Talk about a true Halloween scare!!!!!!

At least it's with our friends from Cambridge. And it happened at one of our favorite places with many of our favorite peope in beautiful Anoka, Minnesota! Go Tornadoes!!!!!

Now, on to what is happening this week. It's is University of Minnesota Homecoming week! Working at WCCO Radio and being a huge U of M football fan makes this already an exciting week. Now, Saturday morning, we are in the Homecoming Parade!

As some of you may know, our Aquatennial family is heading to Pasadena this December for the Tournament of Roses and the Rose Bowl. I'm not saying it's going to happen because it's really a longshot. But what if the Gophers end up in the Rose Bowl this year? It's still possible (depending on when you read this...as of this writing, it's still possible)! Yes, you are going to have to thank US if it happens. 1961 until now...it hasn't happened. But WE go to Pasadena and the U is back in the Grandaddy of Them All? Yeah....you can thank me now.

Yeah...that's right. Walkin in there on January 2nd
to watch the Gophers. I probably just jinxed it.
Whoops.

OK...back to reality. The Gophers are 7-1 and having a terrific turnaround after last year's struggles. It's fun to watch Gopher football again. And that will make it a lot of fun to be a part of this year's Homecoming Parade. And we hope to see you there.

Now, on top of that, let me say this....besides the parade, there's the Gopher Victory Walk and kind of an important football game to play. If you can, make an effort to get to the Metrodome and support the University and the football team this week. They deserve our support and we need to do what we can to fill the Dome for the last Homecoming in that building. They move into a gorgeous, brand-new stadium on campus next year and that will be very exciting. But we might as well send them out of the Dome on a high note!

Hope we see many of you there....1-800-U-Gopher or www.gophersports.com. Get tickets and support the U on Homecoming!!!!!!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial

10/21/08 Captain's Blog

Happy Fall! Feels like it's been forever since I checked in. Sorry about that but we've drifted back into normalcy here over the past couple of weeks. Back at it this past weekend though with the Anoka Orange Tie Ball and we have the Anoka Grand Day Parade and Coronation this upcoming weekend. So, Aquatennial is back in business!

To begin with, let me say that Anoka is a special place to me personally. That is where my parents and grandparents lived when I was born. That is where my Dad and Grandfather's Auction business was for many years, up until I was about 13 years old. That is where I went to school (St. Stephens...yes, I WAS a good Catholic boy. Was.) up until 4th grade (we moved to Elk River after that).

OK...I'll embarrass myself. My first day of school at
St. Stephens back in my Anoka Days. The cute one
is my sister. Gotta LOVE Catholic school uniforms and 1982 era belts!

So, I have a bit of history in the Halloween Capitol of the World.

Plus, we see their Ambassadors and Coordinators a ton throughout the year with our Aquatennial group. We get to know them well and they have had a large amount of success in producing Aquatennial Royalty (the much mentioned in this blog Tzvetelina Pramatarov to name one...and a very special one at that).

So, this past Friday, we were very excited to be attending their Orange Tie Ball! By we, I mean Queen of the Lakes Tara Litwinchuck, Princess Jaclyn Auger, Captain Rob and me. Our other two (Commodore Mary and Princess Emily) unfortunately couldn't make it. But, the four of us were glad to take the ball and run with it!

Rob, Anne and Me

We also were joined by former Aquatennial Captain, now a big-shot Vice-President, Skip Nelson (who is judging in Anoka this year....good luck) and 2001 Princess, now also a big-shot Vice-President, Anne Sumangil. They are the backbone of Aquatennial and I don't even hesitate in saying that. What they do behind the scenes cannot be underestimated. A HUGE thank you to them for all they do and the support they've given us all year long. It is inspiring to see them at work and I can't wait to be a part of what they do every year. Volunteerism at it's absolute finest.

Anne and Skip looking their best!
Well, how could they look better?

I want to also mention that several members of our Senior Ambassador Group were there also. They are so good about attending all of these events and helping to support so many communities.

OK....enough about us. Kind of. Back to Anoka.

Anoka is a gigantic program. Outside of Aquatennial, they have the biggest program in the state. I believe they have 40 young women running this year. 40! That's just incredible and a tribute to what they do. Number one, they have a blast with each other from what I've seen. Number two, they do a great job of showing everyone what a rewarding experience that being an Ambassador can be. Number three, who doesn't want to dress up and ride in parades all the time?

Now, on Friday, Captain Rob and I met up with Queen Tara and Princess Jaclyn and we went to Rob's to get changed and head up to Anoka. We happened to have some time to kill, so we decided to break out Rockband. Because what would this year be for our wonderful girls if they didn't get to see the absolute dork video-gamers that Rob and I are? Right? OK...don't answer that.

(By the way, if you don't know what Rockband is, it's a video game that had drums, a guitar, a bass guitar and microphone. And you follow along with the notes on the screen and you have yourselves a rock and roll band. Kind of. A Cyber-rock and roll band I guess.)

Anyway, it's Rob's game. He should be good at it, right? Well, Rob has the rhythm of a sleep-deprived crack addict (he's going to kill me when he reads this....speak well of me when I'm dead). Makes it tough to play drums. But, he tries. And really, he's not bad on guitar. We won't let him sing anymore. Starting to get too many cats coming to the door.

The World's Most Dangerous Rock Band

Tara sat down at the drums and immediately showed Rob how it is done. Banging out song after song like a true Queen of the drum-set. And Jaclyn stood there in her little black dress looking like a way-hipper version of the bassist for the Bangles (to make an obscure 80's reference). Nice job ladies!

Yes, We Are Dorks

So, we wrapped up the gaming portion of the evening and it was off to Anoka.

We arrived at Greenhaven Golf Course where I've managed to deposit many Titleists into the lake and went inside to mingle with so many of our friends and colleagues. The first thing we noticed was the parade of sashes on the Anoka Candidates. They just kept coming. Again, 40 of them. Wow. They all were really nice too. You could tell they were excited to be there which makes these really fun to be at.

Princess Jaclyn, talking to some of the Anoka
Candidates. Only 36 more to go!

We had a chance to talk and mingle for a bit before we headed inside for dinner. We were joined, as I said earlier, by a few of our former Aquatennial Senior Ambassadors. We also enjoyed the company of our friends from the Winter Carnival (yes....we're still friends despite the Prime Minister's CONSTANT provoking of us. He actually said that St. Paul is all over the Bible but he couldn't find Minneapolis in there anywhere. What does that even mean?) and the Cambridge Ambassadors, Renita, Hanna and Nicole (and their wonderful coordinator Laurie!). We are always thrilled when we see them. We've had a great year in no small part due to the friendships we've struck up with them.

Winter Carnival Doing Their Thing

Then there are the outgoing Anoka Ambassadors. Taryn, Alyssa and Janelle. All three beautiful young women who did a spectacular job representing Anoka throughout the year. Can't wait to see them next weekend AND see which one is coming to Aquatennial next July. Whoever it is, I know they will do a great job!

Anoka (in the black) and Cambridge (in the red)
with their favorite Captains!

After dinner, Anoka Mayor Bjorn Skogquist (who by the way was the youngest EVER elected Mayor in the state of Minnesota in 2000 when he was 22 years old!) said a few words and then introduced the Aquatennial. We went up, did a few introductions and then I said a few words.

I wanted to mention the Halloween tradition of Anoka. Legend has it, Anoka was the first community to put on a celebration that was intended to divert young people from Halloween pranks in 1920. Hence the parade, trick-or-treating, etc. I mentioned that in my young years in Anoka, it didn't really work. So, a public apology from me to anyone that lived near me in the early and mid 1980's. (OK....I wasn't THAT bad. But I thought it was funny anyway! It's not? Oh well.)

Me....trying to be funny while Tara, Jaclyn and Rob
wonder what I'm talking about

After us, Winter Carnival came up to make fun of everything we said. They think we kiss up. Well, we do! And it works. So, yes, this is me sticking my tongue out at you! Luckily, I have this blog to do that in and if you had someone that could read or write, you could do the same! OK, OK...before you get offended or bent out of shape, I'm totally kidding! We have a great give and take relationship with them and besides, they said it first! We love the Carnival group and are thrilled to call them our friends!

See! We LOVE Boreas!

Plus we even talk to them! That's (L-R) Me,
Boreas, Rob and Brooke, the Queen of the Snows

After that, it was dancing time. Well, for some people. We've already talked about Rob's rythm and I'm not much better. So, we'll leave that to the professionals.

So, we had a great time. Thanks for the hospitality Anoka (and all the volunteers who put it on....Roger and Joni Kruse leading the way. They do a great job!).

Tara, doing her thing...she talked about what
a great relationship Aqua has with Anoka which
is right on the money!

As I mentioned, next up is the parade next Saturday (the 25th) followed by the Anoka Coronation that night. We'll all be there for that and why not get dressed up and come to the parade? It's the Halloween Capitol of the World! If you can't do it there, where can you? Plus, then Rob and I will look normal for once in our Captain's Hats!

There's nothing sadder than a "hatless" Captain.
Especially his hair!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial

9/26-9/28 Captain's Blog

Happy Fall! Or should I say Happy Oktoberfest!

Our Aquatennial family is fresh back from La Crosse, Wisconsin (or behind the "Cheddar Curtain" as we like to say) and their Oktoberfest celebration. Here's what went down!

La Crosse has one of the largest Oktoberfest celebrations in the midwest, certainly one of the largest in this area. They began the celebration in La Crosse in 1961 and it has grown ever since (go here for more history). Let me assure you....it is a PARTY in the Oktoberfest tradition. I don't know if they do it like this in Munich but they should.

We left last Friday afternoon from downtown Minneapolis....Commodore Mary, Queen Tara, Princess Emily in one vehicle, Princess Jaclyn with Captain Rob and me in the other (and Rob's wife Amy as well...Mary's husband Mike met us in La Crosse).

La Crosse is about 2 1/2 hours from Minneapolis. It's an absolutely beautiful drive especially once you get east of Rochester and head down into the bluff country near the Mississippi. In a way, it looks like Germany. With a little less yodeling.

The Festmaster's Ball and the Golden Keg. We must have
found the right place I guess.

We checked into the hotel and we quickly changed because we were off to the Festmaster's Ball.

There is a "royal family" that oversees the festivities. One of them, the Festmaster and Frau (which is German for an adult woman, or, basically, the Wife!) and this ball is where they say goodbye to the old one and welcome in the new.

Commodore Mary, Queen Tara and the new Festmaster!

It was a HUGE crowd and a wonderful dinner (mmmmm.....German food. Not bad!). There also was a tradition they do called "The Tapping of the Golden Keg". Works for me. It is Oktoberfest after all! And yes, it is actually a golden keg. In a golden barrell. That's just good stuff right there. Yes, Rob and I were quick to get in line. As we always are!

Mmmmmm....Golden Keg. Don't mind us.

Following the Ball, we were off to the Southside Festival Grounds. In La Crosse, they have a North Side and South Side Festival Grounds which, basically, are carnival grounds with rides, food, beer tents (mostly beer tents) and live music. The "Dweebs" were playing on Friday night. Nice!

Now, it's awfully tough to take underage girls drinking! Did I just say that? That's not what I meant. Let me try that again (I'm being funny here....just go with it).

The basic, after-hours atmosphere includes beer tents, live music (with beer tents) and bars (with beer tents). If you are 19, 20 years old, kind of tough to hang out (in a beer tent). So, we found a place to sit at the festival grounds where they didn't have to be 21 just to get through the door and hung out (it was kind of a beer tent)! It was good to hang with the girls and just talk. We just all have so much fun together plus having Amy and Mike (Rob and Mary's spouses) is always fun. We have a great group of people.

At the Festival Grounds...our group with Bill (King Boreas) and
Brooke (Queen of the Snows). Oh, and an empty
pitcher. Whoops.

Eventually, they let us in to see the band (after they stop alcohol sales of course) so we could catch the last couple of songs. Gotta love the Dweebs! It was kind of funny because inside the stage area, it was wall to wall, across the floor, crushed beer cans. You could literally walk the whole length of the building without touching the floor. You did NOT want to be in sandals!

At that point, it was time to get the girls back to the hotel. Of course for Rob, Mary, Mike, Amy and me, it was time to see what else was going on. Well, you hear all the stories about La Crosse, you want to see what's happening downtown, right?

Stop judging me.

We met up with our friends from the St. Paul Winter Carnival including King Boreas and two of their Wind Princesses, Natalie and Erin. We went to a place called the Library where not much reading was going on to enjoy some of Oktoberfest's finest libations and people watch. Because THAT is the best part.

As a side note, the T-shirt watching may have been better. I can't really share a lot of them with you but trust me, they were very creative. "Notsoberfest", "Don't Worry, We're Professionals", "Minneapolis Drinking Team", etc. You get the idea. Very funny stuff, some of them. Others, maybe a little on the disturbing side. I guess that's what they're going for though.

It was a late night but we had a lot of fun. We have such a great relationship with Winter Carnival and it's so much fun to hang out with them.

Do you think they pick their parade spots early enough?
Thanks for the seats!

Saturday morning was the Maple Leaf Parade. The parade runs from north to south through the town and it is a zoo. It's a tailgate party with a parade in the middle. Interesting? Yes. Fun? Without a doubt. Borderline frightening? Definitely.

The view from the float!

Example.....we were talking to a couple of Police Officers while lining up for the parade and one of them told us that if anyone tries to "climb onto the float, go ahead and kick them down". Yes, kick them down. I don't remember that in the job description.

Gotta love alcohol induced float climbing. Sounds like a new reality show on Fox. Right after that show where people try to fit through a hole in the wall before being knocked into a pool. Weird. If they do the show, it should definitely be hosted by someone in Lederhosen named Franz.

So, the "boys" along the parade route were a hoot. Yes, I said hoot.

Anyway, they were....ummmmmmm.....how do I say this? Oh, interested in the girls. We got a LOT of "Jaclyn, call me!!!!", and "Tara, we love you" and just plain yelling ("EMILY!!!!!! EMILY!!!!!!! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!!!!!!!! GIVE ME FIVE!!!!!!! DON'T BE THAT GIRL!!!!!).

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we love them too. Just don't fall!

It was all in good fun. I think. Except for the people who kept yelling "Vikings Suck!!!" Yeah, yeah. We know! You don't need to tell us. It wasn't like we were wearing purple Adrian Peterson jersies! Back off. You can't reason with a Cheesehead (well, how do you? They're wearing cheese!). Told you we were behind the Cheddar Curtain. I should have worn a Jets Favre jersey.

Saturday afternoon was a luncheon during which all the visitng festivals gathered to spend some time together and exchange some gifts. Along with Winter Carnival and Aquatennial, we were joined by a HUGE contingent from Winnipeg (Festival Du Voyageur), a couple of festivals in Florida, the Vulcans were all there (hide the women and children) plus a few more (I killed a lot of brain cells....I can't remember all the names).

What could be better than a Princess with an Accordian?

Saturday night, Oktoberfest welcomed us to a hospitality tent (yes, it was a beer tent....a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet for all you Shakespeare fans).

It was really a great bonding time for all of us. They had an accordian player there who would walk around from table to table singing polka songs and, of course, making us sing along with. That was interesting. Ziggy socky, ziggy sockey! Hoy! Hoy! Hoy! That plus more of the beautiful German language. And every song from "The Sound of Music". Edelweiss get's old after the 48th time but we had a lot of fun.

Oh my...Ein Prozit never sounded so....off key.

After that, back downtown to see what was happening there. Yep, more drinking. But this time more people. I think both Minnesota and Wisconsin emptied into dowtown La Crosse Saturday night. That is quite the scene.

Sunday morning, we had a group breakfast and then we were off to church. Commodore Mary and Winter Carnival Prime Minister Scott did readings and our good friends from Winnipeg played some music. It was a very nice service.

After that, it was time for goodbyes. Not only from the other festivals but from each other. Princess Emily went with Rob, Amy and I while the rest were with Mary. It's funny, when you spend so much time with each other, you'd think that splitting off from each other would be easy. Well, for us, it's not. At all.

Princess Jaclyn, Me, Queen Tara and Princess Emily...
All decked out in our Oktoberfest finest!

And then we drove home listening to the Vikings stink it up. Yep. The Cheeseheads were right.

So, what's next? Not a lot but a few things to tell you about.

First, Queen of the Lakes Tara, Princess Jaclyn, Captain Rob and I are off to the Anoka Halloween Orange Tie Ball on Friday, October 17th. It's a fundraiser for the Anoka Halloween festival and I still can't figure out if I need to buy an orange tie or not. TBD

After that, we have the Anoka Halloween Parade and Coronation on October 25th and the U of M Homecoming Parade on November 1st.

Hope we see you all soon!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Minneapolis Aquatennial Captain

Captain's Blog 9/16

Greetings all....It's kind of been slow so I thought I'd check in with a little bit of an aside. Just a what we've been up to sort of thing!

This past weekend was Captain Rob's 42nd birthday. So, why not have a party, right?

Now, if you are a loyal reader (and who among you are not?), you probably know Rob and I are very good friends. We knew each other long before Aquatennial and it's through that friendship that Commodore Mary and I asked him to join our nutty family this year.

He may have turned 42 last Friday, but I always joke with him that he's the oldest 15 year old I know. And I mean that. Not in a bad way, mind you. Some of us just need to stay boys. So, 42 is just a mythical number. Years on the planet, not 42 in any way other than that. Well, mostly. You know what I mean.

So, the festivities began around 6pm on Friday night at the Mauzy condo in Minnetonka. They have the best deck in condo history and it was a beautiful night....why not use it?

There were many people on the guest list but I'll just fill you in on the Aquatennial people. Besides Rob and me, we had Commodore Mary, Aqua Board members Skip Nelson and Anne Sumangil who have both become great friends of ours. We also were joined by one of our current Princesses, Jaclyn, and our two former Princesses Jenna and Tzvet. It was great to get everyone together again.

Now, during Aquatennial week, Commodore Mary got Rob and I gifts. She gave us matching T-Shirts that read "Hey Princess.....Bring Me A Beer!". Ummmmm....very fitting. I'll leave it at that. (And NO, we've never asked them to bring us anything....it's a joke! Actually, we take care of them and are happy to do it!)

The Gift Giving During Aquatennial

And Wearing them at the party....I guess the message worked!

Rob and I thought we should wear the shirts for the party. I agreed. And yes, we looked like a couple all night. We had to wear matching polos during Aquatennial week a couple of times and people still make fun of us. Apparantly when a couple of fellas wear matching shirts, you look a little.......how do I say this? Not straight.

Good tip. Take that one with you.

Boys in matching shirts....always a bad thing!

We were joined by a lot of Rob and Amy's family, my friends and other people who are not totally familiar with Aquatennial. This was not a good way to break them in.

See, when you bring us (and I can't believe I'm saying this) Festival people together (I can't believe I'm Festival People), all we talk about is the festival. So, it's Aquatennial all the time. "How was Oak Grove", "I ran into Miss Lakeville the other day", "Anoka has 40 candidates", and on, and on, and on. Getting the picture?

This can be ugly. At one point, a good friend of mine basically ran screaming from the party because he couldn't take it any more. It's more than a little overwhelming. I don't know how Amy does it. We're just flat out annoying after a while.

"I know...seriously. If Rob and LP talk anymore
Aquatennial I'm going to scream! But I love their shirts!"

So, the party went well into the night (and the poor Mauzy's woke up to a living room full of people....thanks for accomodating us!) and fun was had by all. Well, except maybe for Jenna who seemed to be a target of teasing by a couple of my friends. Sorry Princess!

Now, onto what's coming up because we still have a few very exciting events in front of us.

We are about one week away from Oktoberfest in LaCrosse. We head down there on Friday, September 26th and stay through Sunday. Just received the itinerary and it looks like we are going to have a ton of fun. If you'll be in the area, please come see us at the parade. If you dare. I've heard it's quite the scene!

We also are getting ready for Anoka Halloween already. We are about one month away from the "Orange Tie Ball" which is a fundraiser for Anoka that Rob, Tara, Jaclyn and I will be attending. I have no idea where I find an orange tie.

The week after that will be the Anoka Halloween parade and coronation....talked to their coordinator Sharolyn the other night and they have 40 (40!!!!!) candidates this year in Anoka. Good luck judges!

One more that we've just added that is very exciting is the U of M Homecoming Parade on November 1st. That should be a lot of fun. And hopefully we can beat Northwestern!

We are also looking forward to the Cambridge and Hollidazzle parades in December plus a few other scattered appearances coming in. Plus, as I've said, we will end the year at the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena.

That's all for now....talk to you after LaCrosse (if I have any brain cells left)!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial

Captain's Blog 9/5-9/7

Hi all...finally an update. We had a bit of a lull following the State Fair but a couple of events this past weekend to tell you about. And one of the more interesting side trips we've done yet. Let's just say for now that there was a lot of laundry to be done.

Let's start on Friday night with Oak Grove.

Oak Grove is a community in Anoka County, right in between Ramsey and Andover. Now, I grew up in Anoka, Andover, Big Lake and Elk River (we moved a couple times...I guess I call them all home). Oak Grove is right next to them. Until meeting their royalty a month ago, I had never heard of Oak Grove. Weird. Maybe I should pay attention.

With the Isanti Ambassadors

Anyway, Commodore Mary and I left work Friday night (in case you don't remember, Madame Commodore and I work at WCCO Radio together) and headed to the U of M campus to pick up Queen of the Lakes Tara and Princess Jaclyn. Both are U of M students and last week was the first week of their sophomore years.

As as aside, thank goodness the 35W bridge is set to open very soon (should be open within 2 weeks). It is just a mess trying to get around that area and over the river (and through the woods, to Grandmothers house we go.....sorry, couldn't resist. Yes, I'm singing while I write this. Lovely). Took forever to get down University Avenue. Also, what about the traffic over there once the new U football stadium opens? Ride your bike I guess.

We arrived in Oak Grove and did some minglining before the coronation....our good friends from Cambridge and Anoka were there, Columbia Heights, Big Lake (Go Hornets!) and many more. It had been a while since I'd seen some of them so it was good to catch up.

Oak Grove does it a little differently...they crown girls in four seperate classes. They have the usual high school seniors/juniors but then they add 3 more ages all the way down to 1st/2nd grade (I think...I seem to remember hearing 2nd grade but I may be a year or two off). There were about 4 in each class.

With the new Oak Grove Ambassadors

Here's a little inside info for you...how we kind of work behind the scenes.

It was the first coronation I've done in a while with Commodore Mary. Now, when we are split up, I do the majority of the speaking, the awards, etc. When Mary is there, my job is just to introduce our group and then turn it over to her. Well, I'm used to speaking! I don't typically "prepare" anything. I just kind of wing it. I usually think of a couple of things I pick up while there.

Your friendly, neighborhood Captain blabbering on stage!

Mary (and Tara and Charissa before her, former Princess Jenna, Captain Rob, etc.) tend to work on what they're going to say. They practice it ahead of time with each other (or with me). I started the year doing that. But I've found I do a better job when I just go up and start talking, usually about who I've met, what I've seen or something like that.

Mary is the best public speaker I think I've ever met. She works hard on it and it shows. She does a fantastic job.

I guess why I'm telling you this is because I've noticed we have really become good at this. Not a bragging thing here (I hope this doesn't sound as pompous as I think it does while writing it...not inteded that way). I just think that early in the year, we were not nearly as polished as we are right now. The last few events I did, the two we did over this past weekend and everything I've seen us do lately has been really spot on. Weird how all of a sudded the lightbulb just kind of came on and now we are so much better. Not that we were bad....we're just better.

OK....enough about how great we are. Just wanted to share. I guess that's why I'm writing this! To feed my ego. And if you can't tell, that's sarcasm!!!!

Now, back to Oak Grove. It did happen to be a very long coronation....I mean, obviously they had a lot to do when you crown four classes of royalty. It takes a while. It was entertaining and we enjoyed ourselves. Terrific people and we were glad we could make it.

What little girl doesn't love a Princess?

But by the time I got home, I was spent. At WCCO, we had just emerged from 2 weeks of State Fair and Republican National Convention.....HUGE events for us at work and we really busted our tails on those. So by midnight Friday, the last thing I wanted was to go to another event. Luckily, Saturday was not just another event. It was Gibbon.

If you've been reading this, you know that our former Aquatennial Princess that gave up her crown in July is Jenna Forstner from Gibbon. And we have been looking forward to making it back there for weeks (if not months). We've become such good friends with the people in Gibbon who are involved with their program not to mention many of Jenna's family and friends. This would prove to be as much fun as we've had all year.

Gibbon, as a refresher, is a small town (pop. 880 or so) on highway 19 in Sibley County. It's probably an hour and forty-five minutes or so from Minneapolis (to the south and west). It's mostly agricultural, they LOVE their baseball and some of you who have been around a while will remember the famous Gibbon Ballroom. Which is still there by the way. Coronation was in an adjacent building. But more on that later.

Captain Rob, his wife Amy, Princess Jaclyn and I set out for Gibbon Saturday afternoon. Commodore Mary, Queen Tara and Princess Emily were meeting us there. Rob, Amy and I were also staying overnight at Jenna's parents house. It was going to be a late night so why not just stay, right?

We arrived at Jenna's and she greeted us at the front door. I'd been there before but first time for everyone else. Jenna had Macy, her Rat-Terrier with her. Rob, apparantly not thinking at all, wanted to hold Macy. Have you ever held an over-excited, not been out to do her business in a
while, skittish to begin with dog? What happens? Yep. They pee on you. Nice decision Captain.

Yep...that's going to leave a mark.

So, a change of shirts later and we headed out to Bode Farms where Jenna works part-time milking cows. She wanted us to see what she does which was really fun.

Where the magic happens...and the gloves go on!

Now, I'm not exactly farmer Bill but I've been around farms and farm animals in my life. I've milked a cow before (when I was a kid, we had cows on one side, horses on the other....I'm familiar with the smell). This, however, is a large operation. 350 head (that's number of cows...yeah, I know the terminology!) of cattle that need milking twice a day. That, my friends, is a LOT of work. And a lot of milk.

Rob and I both shot milk on our shirts....don't point that thing at yourself. Helpful tip.

Whooops....Now I need a new shirt!

There....that's better.

We also met one of the calves...very cute. He'd suck on your finger like it was a bottle. Rob (are you sensing a theme here?) was absolutely slimed by him. Think Bill Murray in Ghostbusters...."It got me Ray. I feel so funky!".

Just born the day before...so cute!

Then, it was back to Jenna's to change and get to dinner.

Dinner was where we met the candidates for the first time....and saw Steph, Nickie and Katie who run the program. They've become good friends of ours this year and, naturally, loyal readers of the Captain's Blog!

The candidates did a commercial for their sponsor which was the last bit of judging that was done. And yes, that was all I had to see before I picked a winner. I'm officially getting good at that. I was told before the year got going by former Aqua Ambassadors that by the end, you'll know immediately who will win. They were right. I guess that's why they always ask them to be judges.

And another quick aside....Jenna's mom and Anna Albrecht's mom (Anna was Gibbon's candidate at Aquatennial this year) made dinner. And they did so very well!!! Great cooks. Thanks moms!

Anna with Commodore Mary and the "Two Crazy Captains" as
our reputation apparently now precedes us!

Coronation was great...and unique. It was the first one I can remember that was basically in a bar. It was in conjunction with the Fireman's Dance in Gibbon so they do coronation as a part of that event. It was really fun. HUGE crowd. I think half the town was there. Plus, we could go get a beer after. I'm good with that!

We got up on stage and it was nice to be able to congratulate Jenna in her hometown. As I've said before, she is just a very special person and has become a great friend. Her family and friends, I know, are all very proud of her and what she's done. But I was glad we were able to stand there in front of them and tell them how much she means to us.

Jenna on the left...that's the farm's owner on the right.

Anytime we've been in the hometown of one of the girls, it just takes on a whole new energy. We were in Cokato a while back with Emily and I mentioned that and we still have Anoka coming up which is where our other former Princess, Tzvet is from.

We also surprised Steph with an Honorary Commodore's Award. Nickie secretly nominated her and it was great to shock her with that. We also gave one to Wade Werner who is someone we met way back in April when we were in Winthrop. Again, giving out these awards is always great but when it's someone we know and call a friend, it makes it that much better.

Our Group with Jenna following Coronation

Following coronation, it was party time. They had a great live band and we spent the night dancing (or trying to in my case), talking, catching up, meeting new people and just having a great time. It was a really fun event to be a part of and wonderful friends to share it with. Not only the folks from Gibbon but Princess Jaclyn's parents came down from Hutchinson and it gave us a chance to get to know them better as well.

Our first photo with the new Aquatennial Family!
And it happened in Gibbon!

Well, that is it for a couple weeks. Next up, we have Oktoberfest in LaCrosse which is the last weekend in September. That will be a large event for us so I'm sure lots of stories will come out of that one. Should be really fun.

Everyone keep in touch....lot of photos here but many more on Facebook if you're into that sort of thing. Talk to you in a couple of weeks and for good mojo sake, go Vikings, beat the Pack!!!!!!!!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial