7a 4th of July EvaluationCITYOF
CHANHASSEN
690 City Center Drive, PO Box 147
Ch~nhassen, Mi~nesota 5531 ?
[)hone 612.937.1900
General £~x 612.937.5739
E~gi~eeri~g Fax 612.937.9152
?~b& 5~0, b~x 612. 934.2524
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MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director
Tracy Petersen, Recreation Supervisor ~
DATE: July 15, 1999
SUB J:
1999 4th of July Evaluation
JULY 3m~
Kiddie Parade
Approximately 600-700 kids participated in this year's Kiddie Parade. Elizabeth
Weber and the playground staff coordinated the logistics of the parade. They did
an excellent job in making sure the parade ran smoothly. Having the additional
CSO's involved in the parade allowed us to keep all participants safe. A "new"
tradition of Rice Krispie bar treats was handed out to all parade finishers.
Trade Fair
The Chanhassen Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair had 21 participants this year.
This year, some of the trade fair exhibitors were moved into middle aisles in the
tent. Overall, I think this worked well for traffic flow. As the trade fair continues
to grow with more vendors and visitors, we will need to evaluate their location at
our celebration.
Kaptain Kirby Train Rides
This is a great event for our young kids and families! The kids seem to have a
wonderful time with this activity. I would recommend having the train rides occur
for next year provided we have the space to run them.
Senior Center Open House & Bake Sale
From all reports, the open house and bake sale were both a success. This is a nice
additional to our celebration and should be continued in the future.
Face Painting
This is a popular activity and all four facepainters were busy all night. The City
retained 20% of all sales with this activity. I think the new location of their tent
helped them with their business as well. I would recommend at least two more
facepainters for next year with the possibility of also adding some new items as
well.
The G0, qf Chanhassen. A grou,ing communio' with clea~ lakes, q~talit~, schools, a cham~ino~ downtown, thrivine bminesses, and beami~d parks. ? ereat /)/ace to lib'e, work, and ~lay.
Carnival Games
The carnival games were a huge hit!! The playground and concession building
staff operated the games. They did a wonderful job and were a huge asset to our
celebration. The Chan/Chaska Hockey Association operated their hockey game.
From all reports, they had a successful and fun night. I would recommend more
family/kid activities like this for next year. The lines were extremely long at times
and it would be nice to have more options available for people to choose from.
Unfortunately, these games are only as good as the number of staff we have
available to run them!
The Medicine Show
This is an entertaining group to have intermingle with the tent and trade fair crowd
before the Street Dance. I would invite them back next year.
Water Wars
What a perfect weekend for this event! Water Wars had two successful days both
at City Center and at Lake Ann. They continue to enjoy coming to Chanhassen
and I would continue to invite them back in the future. The City took in $120.00
for their two days of activity(approximately 10% of their two day sales).
Speedway Racing
The crowds loved this event! The cars were racing around the track until we
closed! This is a great family event and involves minimal setup. The City took in
$125.00 as a 10% portion of the sales. I would invite this event back for next year
if they were interested.
Food and Beer Garden
Overall, I think that the food vendors that participated in our celebration had a
successful night. The lines were a little long so I would possibly recommend one
more additional vendor for next year (It is still important that our vendors have an
ample opportunity to make money). The food selections seemed to be satisfactory
and I would continue with the same types for next year.
The RockaBilly Boys
This teenage band was the talk of the celebration! I think that everyone attending
thought it was great that we had involved our local youth in our event. I
appreciated Casablanca Orchestra's willingness to let us use their sound system for
this group.
Tae Kwon Do Demo
Jeff Engel and his staff provided our audience with two entertaining
demonstrations. I think that his students enjoyed performing for our event and it
was also an opportunity for the City to promote our Tae Kwon Do program at the
Rec Center. I would invite them back for future celebrations if they were
interested.
Street Dance
I think Chanhassen has officially adopted The Casablanca Orchestra as their very
own!!! This is a fantastic group who can keep crowds of any type dancing all
night! They have already been booked for the year 2000.
,JULY 4TM
Adult Fishing Contest
There were a total of 37 participants involved in this year's contest. Those that
participated seemed to have a fun time. Although we do not draw a large number
of participants for this event, it is a nice, low-key activity we can offer our adult
population. I would recommend that we include it in next year's activities but that
we continue to monitor its status.
Kid's Fishing Festival
A total of 130 kids participated in this year's fishing festival. Participants fished
from the fishing pier, the boat access and the rental dock. All kids received a grab
bag of fishing items and candy. We also had a successful prize drawing which the
kids and parents just loved! Our playground staff along with some hardworking
volunteers did a great job in running the event.
Sand Sculpture Contest
There were some creative entries again this year! With the warm weather and
crowded beach area, there was a captive audience for this event. This is a easy
activity to offer and I will include it again in next year's celebration.
Treasure Hunt
The medallion was found at about 12:15 p.m. by a five year old boy. I've never
seen such an excited little winner. This is a fun and simple event and should be
included in next year's event lineup.
Hula Hoop and Limbo Contest
Thanks to our playground staff, these contests were successful again this year. I
think that all who participated had a great time. These activities will continue for
next year.
Music in the Park
Bradley Joseph entertained the 4th of July crowd at Lake Ann Beach! His new age
music seemed to "soothe" all the hot and sunburned beach goers. I would
recommend that we continue to offer this and provide a different type of music
each year.
Fireworks
This year's fireworks were contracted through Melrose Pyrotechnics. Overall, I
was impressed with the display. Based on reports from last year, this year's finale
seemed much better. Dale Nowak, of Melrose Pyrotechnics, does a great job in
coordinating all the details and logistics of the shoot. Based on what I have seen
and some prior background information, I would recommend that the City contract
with Melrose again next year. We can continue to improve and "tweak" the show
as we see warranted.
Suggestions for 2000
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o)
Add a sand volleyball tournament at Lake Ann.
Select and secure food vendors before the first of the year.
Incorporate more volunteers and/or paid personnel to assist with the
celebration.
Continue to look for new and exciting activities.
Add more family oriented games and/or activities.
Continue to seek donations, gift certificates, etc. from sponsors to assist in
keeping the costs of the celebration to a minimum.
Continue to monitor our tent space. There's not much more space for any
additional activity with our one big tent.
Consider using City Center Park area for some activities.
g:Xpark\4~9 9ev aluation