Minneapolis launches new winter campaign

This is a massive announcement that we are providing to the hundreds, nay, thousands of people that have decided to attend here today. Minneapolis is an extraordinary city. We do large-scale events exceedingly well. From the NFL Draft to the Super Bowl, from the NCAA Final Four to extraordinary parades. And we knew that when the opportunity to get the WMRC, the World Marshmallow Roasting Championships, right here in our city, we had no excuse but to pursue this tremendous endeavor. The competition was steep. Among the finalists, Tokyo. Beijing, Abu Dhabi, Buenos Aires, London, Paris, and Baltimore. Minneapolis was also in there, and while other cities were providing an extraordinary subsidy to ultimately attract this event, Minneapolis, we knew that we could stand on our own two feet. We could work together with the exceptional partners that we have from the Minneapolis Foundation to Meet Minneapolis to the Downtown Council. We knew that our community would stand up and say there is no city in the entire country that will be able to host. The WMRC, quite like Minneapolis. We knew that we were going to be able to provide the best possible Christmas tree right here on Nicollet Avenue. We knew that we were going to be able to provide something truly special, which will be unveiled shortly. The secret will be unleashed, and we're going to celebrate winter like nobody else can here in our city. And... Ultimately, the big announcement is that the WMRC, the World Marshmallow Roasting Championships, is coming right here to Minneapolis. We won the bid. Starting here on the day after Thanksgiving on November 27th, Black Friday, we are going to do, kick off this tremendous season right here in our city. It's going to be a great opportunity to bring families together, to enjoy the season, and to remind people that there's always something that is happening right here in Minneapolis. And what is going to be known as Shine On. Shine On builds on the work that we've already been doing to bring people to this exceptional street. It builds on the work of... Live music and cultural events of neighborhood association activations through the summer and the fall. And we're going to show the entire world how we do Minneapolis here in our city. Nobody does it better than us. Again, I want to give a huge thank you to everybody that's been part of it. There's a huge unveiling that's going to come shortly here. And whether you're coming downtown for the tree lighting, visiting a neighborhood business, or enjoying a local performance, we want everybody to be part of Shine On right here in Minneapolis. So make plans, bring your family, support local business, and experience everything that Minneapolis has to offer. for. Again, a huge thank you to everybody that had a part in this. From the city of Minneapolis, Eric Hansen and Lisa Goodman, to the incredible local businesses that are all up and down Nicollet. Thank you to the downtown council as well as Meet Minneapolis for pursuing this major event. Thank you. Big thank you to R.T. Ryback, just a constant promoter of Minneapolis and the city. The work that he, along with the Minneapolis Foundation, has done. We could not have gotten this big-scale event. Without him, give it up for R.T. Ryback here. Thank you. Now you've heard from a real mayor. You'll now get one that they took out of mothballs. I still smell a little bit, but I'm really happy to be here. It's kind of weird to be part of a four-person warm-up act for a snowball, but we'll get to that in a minute. There is a long tradition in Minneapolis of the night after Thanksgiving, the town coming downtown to celebrate on Nicollet Mall the beginning of the winter season. That happened years ago when I was a kid and we'd drive up and down Nicollet and look at the new holiday windows. It happened during the holiday parades. Last year we brought that tradition back. with an incredible light-up event in the Crystal Court. This year we're going one better. We're going from the Crystal Court all the way down here to Peavey Plaza where there'll be an incredible tree that we will light up. And along the way there will be a series of events for family, for games and others. It's going to include the first tossing of the first snowball of winter, a bunch of interactive art exhibits, the World Marshmallow Roasting Championships, After the holiday light up of the tree, there's going to be a dance party, and it will really, in a lot of ways, represent the creativity of this city. What we have done over this past year is to recognize there are lots of people who do individual parts of this work. Meet Minneapolis, the downtown council, the park board, the city, all are great players. Also, though, there's a huge creative community in this town, and what we've done is at the Minneapolis Foundation, we funded something called the Activation Lab. Sam Utley and Maggie, Maddie over here, sorry, are the leaders of that. They look like undertakers right now, but they are innovators, and what they do is they put out a call to creatives around the city and say, bring us your great ideas. Downtown is what it is because it's everyone's neighborhood and the creativity of downtown is now being leveraged by all of those players, including the Building Owners Association. Sarah, thank you over there. So what you'll see is a great event on the night after Thanksgiving that will be part of a great winter of shining on, but also an ongoing effort to bring more creativity from this incredibly creative city into the downtown. And with that, I want to introduce Council Member Mike Rainbell. Well, thank you so much, RT. And it's so great to follow a big supporter of winter in Minneapolis. I have some remarks on that, but first looking at the crowd, I want to thank so many organizations that helped out. So city staff, BOMA, Meet Minneapolis, the downtown council. We couldn't do this without a collaborative effort. And the little story I got about winter, and again, it's so much fun to follow RT, such a big supporter of winter. In 1967, Ellis Rainville was president of the council at the time and her mother wanted to do something with her kids during the holiday season, specifically the windows at Dayton's. So she authored an ordinance that once a year you could drive your car down Nicollet Mall. So she'd bundle up all of her kids, my cousins, and get them in the snowsuits and go down Nicollet Mall and just go in awe at the windows of Dayton's. And that's continuing today. So I'm here to invite you to come For all season, all the holiday season in the downtown, whether it's Mitten's Market, which will be in Dayton's, the downtown council's holiday lights. Bear with me because I'm going to read this long list of all the activities that there are to do. The Nordic Soundscapes at Orchestra Hall. Sounds of the Season. It's a City of Minneapolis live music series that our arts department has put together. The Holiday Tree Lot at Orchestra Hall. What a better place to buy a tree than here, right here at Peavy Plaza. The Holiday Tree, which we heard about, was designed by a collection of Minneapolis artists and will be turned on nightly. There's an interactive holiday art installation on Nicollet Mall. And yes, there's more. The Downtown Council Light Projections on Nicollet Mall. The Holiday Markets, including Dayton's. Mitch, again, thanks, Mitch, for your hard work on that. The Holidays on Nicollet. The Minneapolis Christkind Market. The City of 10,000 Flavors Culinary Competition will open up. The Minneapolis Convention Center to all of our local chefs and I hope to eat my way through that. It's going to be quite the event. And then the restaurants with our jingle bars and various holiday activities. And this only underscores that downtown Minneapolis is everybody's neighborhood and that we are the entertainment capital of Minnesota. And with that, I'd like to introduce from the park board, Krista Anderson. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Christina Anderson. I am the recreation supervisor for downtown parks for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It's exciting to be part of Shine On Minneapolis and to celebrate everything that makes our downtown special during the holiday season and extending through the winter months. One of the things I love most about working for the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board with our downtown parks is to create opportunities for people to experience parks in downtown in unexpected ways. We believe our parks don't go to sleep when the temperatures drop. In fact, some of our favorite opportunities to bring people together will happen during the winter months. As part of Shine On Minneapolis, we're bringing a full month of programming activities and opportunities to connect with several different people across our downtown parks. Whether you're looking to get outside and move, try a new creative activity, meet up with friends, or simply just find a reason to get out of the house, we have something for you. We're kicking things off the first weekend of December with a little bit of everything. Saturday, December 5th, we'll be starting the morning with Run the Park's Mitten Madness at Gateway Park. It's a great way to get moving, embrace the season, maybe even work up a little warmth before heading to the Winter Market at the Nicollet Island Pavilion. The Winter Market will run both Saturday and Sunday, 10 to 4, offering a wonderful opportunity to shop, discover local makers, and enjoy the holiday atmosphere. We're not stopping with shopping. On Sunday evening, join us back at Nicollet Island Pavilion for downtown get-down line dancing with Billy. No experience necessary, just bring your dancing shoes and a willingness to have a little bit of fun. Throughout December, we'll also be activating Greco Park with opportunities to connect. We'll have holiday wreath-making, sewing classes, youth art programming, even a winter solstice sound bath event. At Waterworks, we're bringing people together around a shared love of books with our Minnesota Literary Powerhouse Book Club. And because we know winter is better when we embrace it, we'll have another Run the Parks event on December 19th, sweating in our sweaters, because if you can't have a little fun with Minnesota winter, you're probably not doing it right. But here's what I really want people to take away. Downtown parks programming doesn't end when the holiday lights come down. Throughout the month of January, February, March, we're going to continue having reasons to get outside and spend time in parks. Think ice luminary, lantern making, snow benches, igloo bench, or igloo buildings, sewing classes, puzzle competitions, game nights, craft swaps, even s'mores. Cube League, and more opportunities to gather at Waterworks, Gateway Park, the Commons, and Greco Park. We're creating experiences for ages, all ages and all interests. We would love to see people out in our parks in the winter, not just in the summer. The best way to keep up with everything that we're planning in our parks downtown is to follow us on Instagram, MPLS, DT Parks, or find us on Facebook at Minneapolis Downtown Parks We'll be sharing event details, schedules, and all the ways that you can come out and enjoy our parks in the winter. Finally, I'd love to invite everyone to visit MinneapolisParks.org to discover even more winter fun that's happening across our parks in Minneapolis, including special annual events like the Kite Festival at Lake Harriet. Beyond our NPRB-hosted programming, there's some other incredible winter experiences happening in parks throughout the city. Which include events like Art Shanty Projects, Lopet Luminary, and the Great Northern Festival. So please check those out. There's a really special event. There's no There's no such, sorry, there's so much to experience in Minneapolis parks. And we hope that you'll come out and help us make our parks great this winter. Okay, it is now my great honor to invite Mayor Frey to come stand beside me. For generations, the city of Minneapolis has maintained a highly classified strategic snow reserve carefully managed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Its location is so secret that officials can neither confirm nor deny its existence. Each year, snow from this reserve is used to create the official first snowball of winter. On the day after Thanksgiving, the mayor will ceremonially authorize the first official snowball throw, marking the beginning of winter in downtown Minneapolis. Immediately following, the public will be invited to throw their very own first snowballs of the season. But not just any snowball can make the cut. Only the most accurate throws are selected for preservation. Their snow and meltwater are carefully returned to the strategic snow reserve. Much like sourdough starter, ensuring that each new generation of snowballs carries forward the finest qualities of generations past. Through this time-honored process, Minneapolis snowballs have become more refined, more accurate, and quite frankly, more perfect with each passing winter. It's tradition, rooted in science, precision, and a little bit of Minneapolis magic, it's the way we can confidently say Minnesota makes the best snowballs in the world. And now it is my great honor, on behalf of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Downtown Parks team, to present the first official Snowball of Winter to the Mayor of Minneapolis. Mayor Frey, would you please join me in accepting this very important responsibility. The Mayor now has custody of this highly classified winter asset until Friday, November 27th, when he will officially launch the first Snowball of the season and usher in winter in downtown Minneapolis. Thank you so much to the park board. We are really, truly honored to be able to present the very first snowball. Of course, this ball was made with exact specifications of highly classified snow. You will not find snow like this anywhere in the entire world. We take this honor, indeed, this privilege very seriously. You can trust the city of Minneapolis and the park board to be stewards. of this snowball, not just for this year, but for generations to come, as we kick off this truly remarkable event and the very first snowball throws of winter. Thank you so much. We take this honor very seriously.