HISTORY OF COON RAPIDS SNOWFLAKE DAYS
The Coon Rapids Snowflake Days began in 1964 as a Jaycee project. It was conceived of the notion that the City of Coon Rapids needed a civic celebration the the entire community could participate in. All of the neighboring communities had summer celebrations so Coon Rapids thought they would try something in the winter so as not to compete with their neighbors.
By 1968, the celebration had grown enough to require broader sponsorship so the Snowflake Association was created. The celebration has had a broad range of civic leaders involved over the years, both as President of the Association and as Marquis. The Marquis currently serves as a sort of celebrity grand puba!
We have had many events over the years, some have come and gone and some left and came back. The Junior Royalty Program has been a part of the celebration since the 1970's, went away for a short time and was revived in the early 1990's. The program is now stronger than ever. The Coon Rapids Rotary Club has been a long time sponsor of Snowflake days and over the years have provided pancake breakfasts, spaghetti dinners, financial support for the annual Sno Ball Dance and in recent years the Children's Carnival.
The Softball in the Snow tournament has been held off and on over the years and we are excited that it will be returning for the 50th anniversary celebration. The Dog Sled Races have been a part of our celebration for the last 25 years or so. The Minnesota Malamute Club always did a marvelous job with these. Matter of fact, in 2003 the City of Coon Rapids built them a new track near the Compost Site which they are able to use year around for practices and events. There have been a few years with no snow or bitterly cold weather so the races had to be cancelled.
Thanks to the generosity of the Coon Rapids Lions Club, the Coon Rapids North Star Lions Club and in recent years the Coon Rapids Professional Firefighters Union, we were able to add a new event a few years ago - the Children's Medallion Hunt. Lion Mike Peterson initiated this event as a member of the Coon Rapids Lions Club and when Mike passed away suddenly prior to the 2004 hunt, the committee named the event after him and it is now known as the Mike Peterson Memorial Children's Medallion Hunt. Now that the word is out that
we have bike's as prizes for the winners we have more participants than ever. One of the winner's last year wanted to go right over to the store and get his bike!! The event has continued to grow over the years and is now sponsored by the Coon Rapids Fire Department and held at Al Flynn Park near Fire Station #1. The fire fighters provide an equipment display, tours and hot chocolate prior to the hunt! There is now a boy's hunt and a girl's hunt for children ages 5-10 and the prize for each hunt is a $200 gift card to Jerry's Schwinn!.
Our Kids Day at the Dam event has changed somewhat over the year due to the unpredictable weather conditions! We now conduct a Children's Carnival which will be held at Sand Creek Elementary School which offers many fun activities for the entire family.
The Snowflake Days parade was normally held the same day as the Dam event followed by many different activities such as bonfires, snowshoeing, children's crafts, hot chocolate, concessions, face painting and story time.
The committee is always working very hard to find new events to add to our lineup. Some possibilities would be Horseshoes in the Snow, Bowling Tournament, Spaghetti Dinner, Chili Feed, Archery Tournament, Ice Fishing Contest, Band Concerts, Cribbage Tournament or Cross Country Ski Tournament.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to incorporate any of these events into future celebrations, we'd love to hear from you. Of course, we would also be interested in finding someone to host the event! Our committee is very small and we are just not able to do it all. Volunteerism is the thread that holds a community together and allows young and old alike to make a difference in other people's lives. I believe the Snowflake Days celebration to be a good tool to allow this to happen.
Diane Buszta
President
Coon Rapids
Snowflake Association
By 1968, the celebration had grown enough to require broader sponsorship so the Snowflake Association was created. The celebration has had a broad range of civic leaders involved over the years, both as President of the Association and as Marquis. The Marquis currently serves as a sort of celebrity grand puba!
We have had many events over the years, some have come and gone and some left and came back. The Junior Royalty Program has been a part of the celebration since the 1970's, went away for a short time and was revived in the early 1990's. The program is now stronger than ever. The Coon Rapids Rotary Club has been a long time sponsor of Snowflake days and over the years have provided pancake breakfasts, spaghetti dinners, financial support for the annual Sno Ball Dance and in recent years the Children's Carnival.
The Softball in the Snow tournament has been held off and on over the years and we are excited that it will be returning for the 50th anniversary celebration. The Dog Sled Races have been a part of our celebration for the last 25 years or so. The Minnesota Malamute Club always did a marvelous job with these. Matter of fact, in 2003 the City of Coon Rapids built them a new track near the Compost Site which they are able to use year around for practices and events. There have been a few years with no snow or bitterly cold weather so the races had to be cancelled.
Thanks to the generosity of the Coon Rapids Lions Club, the Coon Rapids North Star Lions Club and in recent years the Coon Rapids Professional Firefighters Union, we were able to add a new event a few years ago - the Children's Medallion Hunt. Lion Mike Peterson initiated this event as a member of the Coon Rapids Lions Club and when Mike passed away suddenly prior to the 2004 hunt, the committee named the event after him and it is now known as the Mike Peterson Memorial Children's Medallion Hunt. Now that the word is out that
we have bike's as prizes for the winners we have more participants than ever. One of the winner's last year wanted to go right over to the store and get his bike!! The event has continued to grow over the years and is now sponsored by the Coon Rapids Fire Department and held at Al Flynn Park near Fire Station #1. The fire fighters provide an equipment display, tours and hot chocolate prior to the hunt! There is now a boy's hunt and a girl's hunt for children ages 5-10 and the prize for each hunt is a $200 gift card to Jerry's Schwinn!.
Our Kids Day at the Dam event has changed somewhat over the year due to the unpredictable weather conditions! We now conduct a Children's Carnival which will be held at Sand Creek Elementary School which offers many fun activities for the entire family.
The Snowflake Days parade was normally held the same day as the Dam event followed by many different activities such as bonfires, snowshoeing, children's crafts, hot chocolate, concessions, face painting and story time.
The committee is always working very hard to find new events to add to our lineup. Some possibilities would be Horseshoes in the Snow, Bowling Tournament, Spaghetti Dinner, Chili Feed, Archery Tournament, Ice Fishing Contest, Band Concerts, Cribbage Tournament or Cross Country Ski Tournament.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to incorporate any of these events into future celebrations, we'd love to hear from you. Of course, we would also be interested in finding someone to host the event! Our committee is very small and we are just not able to do it all. Volunteerism is the thread that holds a community together and allows young and old alike to make a difference in other people's lives. I believe the Snowflake Days celebration to be a good tool to allow this to happen.
Diane Buszta
President
Coon Rapids
Snowflake Association
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
