Two Huge Minnesota Events in Jeopardy of Cancellation

Here in Minnesota we usually look forward to things that are a tradition and also fun.  People generally like to plan ahead and get the family together for annual events.  It's something to look forward to, and when Winter always seems to take so long, it's nice to be able to break it up with some holiday cheer.

STAPLE EVENTS

There is an event that has been going on for years.  It's the Holidazzle  Even though it has gone through some changes in the last ten years or so, it's still a staple in the downtown Minneapolis area.  It's a fun holiday event.  I liked it so much when it was just a fun parade that would stroll down the road every week.  We would perch at something like Brit's Pub and watch the lighted fun go by.  It was a tradition.  Then it did kind of morph into something different the last few years, but still a really fun family event.

MOVING ON

The Minneapolis Downtown Council, who has normally produced the event is trying to focus on other things in the city.  This is also the case with the Aquatennial events.  They said they absolutely don't want either of these events to go away, and they will be happy to promote them.  But they need someone else to take the reigns.

STATEMENT

From KARE 11:

"I want to be clear, the goal here is not to cancel Holidazzle and cancel Aquatennial," said Adam Duininck, CEO of the Downtown Council. "It's more, what is our role in them? To us, foundational safety is a big part of our long range plan. We need to get back to a place where people feel safe and secure. When it comes to these events, we're going to keep playing that promotions role. It's more on the event production side that we're looking for partners to help facilitate these festivals."

With complete understanding of why this is happening, it's still something that hopefully will be figured out sooner than later.  The holidays are not that far away, and I'm sure that a ton of planning will go into this.

There is some other talk of a different type of event.  One that would last all winter long.  Winteropolis.  If/when that gets put together, we will update you.

Get our free mobile app