Happy belated 4th of July to everyone...another fun-filled weekend around the region as many towns celebrated the holiday and Aquatennial was on the scene. Here's what went down on my sid of town:
We started last Thursday (July 3rd) in Coon Rapids for the Lions Club Parade. Met Princess Tzvet and her brother George who was nice enough to drive us in the parade that night and we headed out for Sand Creek Park. A beautiful night for a parade...couldn't have been better weather and the turnout certainly reflected that. A different type of parade because it winds through the neighborhood behind the park, not through a "downtown" type of area. It was kind of nice. People had been camped out if their garages and lawns and because these were side streets, we were really up close to people.
One thing about being with Tzvet (or, as it says on the car, Princess Tzvetelina Pramatarov), a lot of people love to ask "How do you pronounce your name?". It's actually kind of fun to say...try it. Follow along with me.....zvet-a-leena prom-a-tar-of. See? Fun! Now do it fast. Good. Moving on.
Friday, July 4th was to be spent in Annandale with Queen of the Lakes Charissa. Charissa is from Buffalo and a former Miss Monticello so Annandale (about 15 miles past Buffalo) was a close to home stop for Charissa. They have a huge 4th of July parade. One person told us they expected around 30,000 people for the parade which is 10 times (!!!) the towns population. Wow.
Charissa and I with Clearwater and Howard Lake Royalty
We arrived about 9am and were greeted by a couple from Annandale who were driving us in their Mustang. It just so happened right next to us what Charissa's Grandmother and her brother and sister. Her Grandma owns a travel agency in Monticello and does this parade dressing up people like Mickey and Minny Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. Fun to see them!The parade was packed. It's probably the largest turnout we've seen outside of the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the 'sea of humanity' known as San Antonio, Texas. People were 7-8 rows deep a lot of the time and it was every bit 30,000 people. Rumor has it, Annandale and Delano compete each year for the largest celebration on the 4th. I don't know who won.
You know it's a good parade when even the dogs are Shriners
Following the parade, we headed over to the fire hall where the visiting dignitaries (Buffalo, Clearwater, Cokato, Monticello, etc) were all gathered for lunch and a quick "meet the candidates" type of program. We spent some time there and got to know a couple of the candidates coming for Aquatennial in a couple weeks.Charissa and I with Buffalo Royalty
We also were joined by Vollie and Betty Sanders...Vollie is an Aquatennial board member and long-time volunteer...he and his wife were judging in Annandale. They introduced us to B.A. Breese.B.A. and her husband, Jack now live in Annandale and are helping out with their pageant. They used to be involved in Aquatennial as hosts of the candidates and various other duties. Jack was also a Vice-Commodore in 1989 (Vice-Commodore was kind of the pre-cursor to the Captain's role now). They invited us to spend the afternoon at their home on Lake Sylvia while we were waiting for the coronation to begin that evening. We happily accepted.
They had a beautiful home....it had a gorgeous wraparound porch that looked out over the lake. Really a great spot. We spent the day talking Aquatennial and getting some really great stories of what things were like when they were involved. B.A. had some great photo albums and Charissa and I really enjoyed looking at those.
In fact, Charissa found a photo....of her Mom!
Turns out, her mom Val was an Aquatennial candidate as Miss Buffalo during the time the Breese's were hosting candidates. B.A. had a photo of Val being interviewed by the late WCCO Television announcer Bill Carlson and one of Val looking....well, shocked. Charissa couldn't wait to make copies.
After a nice afternoon pontoon ride and a quick dinner, it was into our formal wear for coronation and back into town. Coronation was outdoors on the lake shore and it was a really beautiful setting. I could have done without sitting in the sun, but what are you going to do? Oh, sweat. Yeah, that's right.
Anyway, we also had a chance to talk to Charissa's parents at coronation....and show Val the photos we found. Funny isn't enough to describe her reaction. I think she was shocked. B.A. introduced herself and they reminisced for a bit. It was really a lot of fun.
Charissa with her Dad (hidden on left) and Mom (in middle)...that's B.A. on the right
Saturday was a rare off-day for us. SO, what do I do? Spend it with Captain Rob and Princess Jenna of course!It just so happens, Rob has family and Jenna has friends who have homes on Lake Koronis in Paynesville. Convenient for Jenna and I because we are off to Starbuck in the morning (if you're playing along at home....and why wouldn't you be?.....Starbuck is about an hour north and west of Paynesville. Cuts down on the drive time which is always good).
So, I head up to Paynesville where Rob and wife Amy are camped out for the weekend at Aunt Sheila and Uncle John's house (big, BIG thanks by the way for letting me crash there...saved me 2 1/2 hours on the road Sunday morning). Rob and I jump on a couple of Jet-Ski's and we speed across the lake to meet up with Jenna. We talked her into taking a Jet-Ski out and she was very apprehensive....but we're very persuasive! She goes out....and comes back screaming "when are we going to buy one!!!!". I guess she's into it now.
We also did a little tubing....that hurt. Really bad. I'm old.
At this point, we were still having fun....
Not anymore...this is called hanging on for dear life
We then watched fireworks over the lake in the pontoon and capped a really great day.Sunday morning Jenna and I were off to Starbuck on the shores of Lake Minnewaska for Heritage Days. There was to be a Queen's brunch, parade and coronation. Most of it outside. It was 95 degrees. OK. We can do this.
Parade went great....a very nice man who works for the local telephone company drove us in his bosses '69 (I think it was a '69) Mustang. Very cool. Lots of candy. Seemed like it was falling from the sky.
Jenna and I with Outgoing Lake Minnewaska Royalty...
Then, we hiked down to the lake shore for coronation. Again, a beautiful setting right in front of Lake Minnewaska. Everyone did a fantastic job and three new young women take over as Lake Minnewaska royalty. And we get ready to welcome another candidate for Queen of the Lakes!Jenna and I with new Lake Minnewaska Royalty
By then, Jenna and I were spent. All day in the sun (following two days in the sun) takes its toll. It was a scorcher in Starbuck. I dropped Jenna back in Paynesville for her trex back to Gibbon and I headed out to I94 for my trek back to St. Louis Park. Little did I know, that would take 3 hours.
I'm not kidding...it seemed like every car in the state was on the road between St. Cloud and Maple Grove. We crawled the whole way home. I know it's nice having a place up north but do you do that every weekend? Ouch. I'm too impatient. I guess that's why people are buying in Wisconsin now.
Anyway, enough of the sidebar....this is a blog, not a rant.
It was a fun weekend and it was nice to see all three of our Aquatennial crowns this weekend....I have been doing a lot with Jenna (and I love every second of it!) but it is fun to see everyone else. We are closing in on Aquatennial (10 days!) and we are all very excited for it. This should be the absolute highlight of the year. More on that next week....this weekend is really the last stretch of events until we start concentrating on Aquatennial so I'll go into some more detail after that.
In our final 10 days, here's what we have coming up....again, please come see us if you're around and start making plans for Aquatennial. We really want to see you there! (Two websites for you....www.aquatennial.com or www.aquatennialambassadors.com for more information)
I'm heading to Isanti on Wednesday fro the Rodeo Jubilee Days Parade with Tzvet, then with Jenna to Clara City for Prairie Fest Days on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend Sunday in Winthrop with a parade and then in Litchfield for a coronation Sunday night.
Here's list of what we have through next week:
Wednesday, July 9th- Lakeville Panorama of Progress Coronation
- Isanti Rodeo Jubilee Days Parade
- White Bear AV Tea Parade and After Party
Thursday, July 10th- Pierre Bottineau Parade in Maple Grove
Friday, July 11th- Maple Grove Days Coronation and Gala
Saturday, July 12th- Litchfield Watercade Parade
- Prairie Fest Days Parade and Coronation in Clara City
Sunday, July 13th- Isanti Rodeo Jubilee Days Coronation
- Litchfield Watercade Coronation
- Monticello Riverfest Parade and Coronation
- Winthrop Farm/Dity Funfest Parade
- Whiz Bang Days Coronation in Robbinsdale
Thursday, July 17th- Hopkins Raspberry Festival Coronation (the whole group will be there)
That's enough for now....see you soon!
Lindsey Peterson
2008 Aquatennial Captain
1 comment:
Hi,
I was just doing a search for Jack and B.A. and found your article. It's no surprise they are still involved with pageants...truly great people who really made a huge impression on me when I was an Aquatennial candidate in 1984 :-) I would love to reconnect with them and catch up over that last 25 years. If you would be so kind, please give them my message.
Thank you~
Lanae (Simonson)
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