"Just 92 days until Statehood Week begins..."
Topics this month:
Updates from the Executive Director Jane Leonard
License Plate
February Events
2nd Round Micro Grants
Calling all choral singers and descendants of MN legislators
Cookbook Update – Help Us Name the Book!
Updates from the Executive Director Jane Leonard
Sesquicentennial Signature Events Taking Shape: Minnesota Statehood Week May 11-18 and the Minnesota State Fair August 21 – September 1. Support them all by investing in Sesquicentennial commemoratives and Sesqui-gear!
We are proud to announce that the First Day of Issue Ceremony has been set for Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial Commemorative postage stamp, issued by the U.S. Postal Service in honor of the 150th anniversary of Minnesota statehood. The date is May 17, at 1 p.m. on the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul, as part of our Statehood Weekend Festival on May 17 and 18. This historic stamp – issued only every 50 years -- depicts the beauty and majesty of the Mississippi River valley at sunset near Winona, evoking both our heritage and our future. It will have a nationwide distribution, bringing Minnesota greetings to people all over the USA.
 Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial postage stamp. |
The stamp issuance ceremony will be one of many highlights during Minnesota Statehood Week, May 11-18, 2008. The Week kicks off on May 11, with Open House activities at the State Capitol in the afternoon on May 11, events at the MN History Center, and the arrival of the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train at 3 p.m., followed by a short ceremony marking the Statehood Day itself at the Capitol steps. The Wagon Train will have begun its journey on May 4, taking several days to reach St. Paul.
Then we are making a 5-day tour across Minnesota to the Honorary Capitals for the Sesquicentennial: Bemidji (May 12), Thief River Falls (May 13), Detroit Lakes (May 14), New Ulm (May 15) and Winona (May 16). Each day is being planned by the Honorary Capital committees and will include a recognition ceremony, town meeting on Minnesota’s future, and various tours and events featuring the Sesquicentennial themes of education, innovation, health & wellness, arts & cultures, and our great outdoors. We want to send a strong message during Statehood Week that the Sesquicentennial Year embraces all of Minnesota, from corner to corner.
We come back to St. Paul on Saturday, May 17 with a vintage airplane flyover at the Capitol at 12 noon and the First Day Issuance Ceremony for the Minnesota Statehood Commemorative Stamp at 1 p.m. followed by various entertainment, demonstrations and exhibits throughout the afternoon on the Capitol Grounds at various state agency and Historical Society venues. These activities will continue Sunday and culminate in the official Statehood Ceremony on Sunday evening at the Capitol, beginning with a National Guard flyover at 18:58 hours (or 6:58 p.m.).
Many local celebrations and projects will be happening throughout the summer. You can check our website for a list of all events. Then the big summer of celebration culminates in a 12-day run at the Minnesota State Fair (August 21 – September 1), with the Old Minnesota: Song of the North Star Big Top Chautauqua & Sesquicentennial Lyceum. It will be located in a large tent –the State Fair’s newest attraction -- near the Grandstand and Heritage Square, with four free shows running daily – the Song of the North Star musical tribute to Minnesota, and time in between for other presentations and exhibits that will help Minnesotans get to know Minnesota’s history, our present day, and a look to the future ahead.
Help Support the Sesqui efforts by investing in Sesqui Gear & Collectibles
|
You can help support of all these activities and take home a bit of history yourself by purchasing the commemorative medallions, flags & banners, and great Sesqui gear. Check our website at www.mn150years.org. Get a whole bunch of Sesqui stuff for the family reunion you are hosting in 2008. You are hosting one, aren’t you? It’s a great time to get everyone home to Minnesota. I’m hosting my cousins back to Minnesota in July for our biennial Camp Barnbarn (Swedish for “grandchildren”). Join me by doing the same in inviting back friends and family to the 150th anniversary of our Great State!
For months, people across the state have been asking if Minnesota will have vehicle license plates for the state’s 150th anniversary of statehood. The hugely popular Wisconsin Sesquicentennial license plates still grace Badger State cars and trucks 10 years after Wisconsin’s 150th birthday.
The Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission has launched a campaign to get special license plates made and ready for purchase by this summer. But your help is crucial.
In order to get the production of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial license plate approved by the Minnesota State Legislature, members of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission are asking the people to express their interest on their website, www.mn150years.org.
Click on the link below and fill out the interest form attached. Don’t worry, you’re not agreeing to purchase a plate yet. You’ll just be adding your voice to the hundreds of others who want a Minnesota Sesquicentennial license plate.
There’s no set price for special license plates yet, but any additional fee will go directly to help fund statewide events and programs for Minnesota’s 150th anniversary. Any excess funds raised will go to help with much-needed restoration projects on the State Capitol.
Please sign your name today! If you’ve already signed up, pass the petition on to your friends and family. Your support really matters.
Don’t miss Ann Reed’s “Song for Minnesota” concert series. She'll be touring greater Minnesota, performing at six MPR-produced and sesquicentennial-sanctioned concerts from January to May. In the tour’s grand finale at the Fitzgerald Theater on May 3, after gathering ideas on the tour, Reed will debut her new song about Minnesota.
There are two more stops for Ann this February.
Saturday, Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m.
College of St. Benedict, Gorecki Theater
St. Joseph, MN
Thursday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.
Paul Bunyan Playhouse
Bemidji, MN
Visit www.mpr.org for more information and to reserve tickets.
Special Fundraiser
Please join us for a special fundraiser to support the Minnesota Sesquicentennial and our statewide events and programs. Click on the invitation below for more information.
Minnesota's 150th anniversary of statehood promises a year of community celebrations, commemorations of historic events and opportunities to plan and prepare for a thriving and innovative future. Thanks to the hard work, planning and dedication of Minnesotans across the state and seed money from the Minnesota State Legislature, the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission has been a catalyst for grassroots projects and events in every county, with both micro-grants of up to $1000 and legacy grants that average $5000.
Last month, the second and final round of Minnesota Sesquicentennial Micro-Grants was reviewed. Due to budget limitations, the Commission funded 42 of the 114 grant proposals. Still, all 87 counties have been covered now with micro-grant awards. To see the full list of second-round micro-grant winners go to http://www.mn150years.org/microgrant108.html.
"Deciding what to fund and what to leave unfunded turned out to be harder than any of us could have imagined," said Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission Grants Coordinator Megan Jung. "There were so many unique and interesting proposals; I think we all wish we could have funded every single one."
$325,000 of the total $750,000 appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature in 2007 was designated to go directly back into communities and organizations across Minnesota in the form of grants. The Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission divided the grant money into two categories: micro-grants intended for community celebrations and commemorations for the state's 150th anniversary and legacy grants of between $5000 and $7500 for sustaining projects born out of the Sesquicentennial which will live on for years to come.
The first round of micro-grants was awarded last fall (a complete listing of those grants can be found at http://www.mn150years.org/microgrant907.html).
For now, the grant program at the Minnesota Statehood Sesquicentennial Commission is closed, but that's not to say it couldn't be brought back to life. "We know there are a lot of great projects and activities out there that still need funding," said Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission Executive Director Jane Leonard. "We would love to be able to help fund these projects if we can obtain more funding for Sesquicentennial Grants, either from private donors or from the Legislature."
If you like to sing please join us to become the one-time-only Minnesota Statehood Sesquicentennial Chorus, to sing several Minnesota favorites, including Minnesota Hail to Thee, at the Minnesota State Capitol, May 17, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at the official statehood commemoration ceremony, under the direction of conductor Philip Brunelle.
We are trying to gather people of all ages who like to sing from every county in Minnesota. If you would like to join the chorus, send your name, address, email, phone and what part you typically sing (soprano, alto, baritone, bass) to laura@mn150years.org, or write to Laura Baratto at the Mn Sesquicentennial Commission, 240 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55102, with that information.
The Chorus will gather about two hours before the ceremony to practice. Stay tuned for further information. We'd love to have you be a part of this historic moment. We are looking for singers of all ages – so bring the whole family!
WANTED: MINNESOTANS WHO ARE FORMER STATE LEGISLATORS OR CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS OR THEIR DESCENDANTS -- all the way back to Minnesota Territorial Legislature!
Join us on the State Capitol steps on May 11, Statehood Day, at 2:30 p.m. for a historic group picture and help us greet the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train and kickoff Statehood Week festivities. Please rsvp to jane@mn150years.org or write to Jane Leonard, Executive Director of the MN Sesquicentennial Commission, 240 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN 55102 to let us know you are coming and share a little story about your family's service to Minnesota.
The Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission is putting together a cookbook to capture the culinary habits and traditions of Minnesotans at the state’s 150th birthday. The deadline for recipes was January 31st, 2008, but the Sesquicentennial Cookbook Committee is looking for your help one more time before the book goes to print this spring.
Minnesota’s newest cookbook needs a title. So far, the Sesquicentennial Cookbook Committee and staff have thrown around a couple of ideas, Minnesota Cooks and Cook Like a Loon.
Obviously they need your help. If you have an idea for the title of Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial Cookbook please email it to cookbook@mn150years.org. The title will be unveiled in next month’s e-newsletter.
©2008 Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission
James J. Hill House 240 Summit Avenue St. Paul, MN 55102 - (651) 296-1870 info@mn150years.org