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Riham Feshir

Aquatennial condensed to one weekend, activities canceled

The 2006 model
David Heintz created this paddlewheeler out of milk cartons for the 2006 Aquatennial boat race.
Photo courtesy of Minneapolis Aquatennial

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After 75 years, Minneapolis Aquatennial organizers say it's time for new traditions as they cut the festivities down from 10 to four days.

The Beach Bash, which includes the decades-old tradition of the Milk Carton Boat Races, will be canceled this year. It was an unwelcome announcement Thursday by fans and past participants on social media.

But the Minneapolis Downtown Council, which plans and funds the event, concluded it made more sense to condense festivities into a long weekend.

"The landscape has changed so much in 75 years," said Leah Wong, vice president of events and marketing. "It's not realistic that in this day and age that people can reserve two weekends, plus a full week to celebrate Aquatennial."

The July 22-25 event will kick off with the CenterPoint Energy Torchlight Parade and culminate with the Target Fireworks show. The Twin Cities River Rats water ski show is scheduled for July 23.

Wong said attendance has been strong over the years. She doesn't anticipate the changes will impact this year's participation.

"We were able to pretty much move all of the other events within that schedule," she said. "As we continue to announce additions to our calendar, we'll have a couple of new surprises in there as well."

But past participant of the Milk Carton Boat Races Danielle Wojdyla Christensen of Minneapolis wondered: what is an Aquatennial without the celebrations of water? She said the race and sand castle contest are just as important as the larger flagship events.

"I think it's kind of an old-fashioned thing that was still really relevant and it makes me sad to see something like that discontinued," she said. "I think we need to hold onto culturally significant things in Minneapolis."

The Minneapolis Downtown Council also organizes the Holidazzle events. It converted the winter nightly parade into the Holidazzle Village featuring a European-style market.