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Two ice carved paddleboats at the Winter Carnival kicked off the Grand Excursion year.
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The year 2004 marked the year of the Grand Excursion. Grand Excursion 2004 is an unprecedented grassroots initiative that has built a "community of communities" throughout the upper Mississippi River, showcasing the renaissance of this great national treasure. It commemorates over $5 billion dollars in private and public investment that makes the region a better place to live, work and play. It educates thousands of students about the river and plants the seeds of stewardship through the River Exploration Trunk program. It celebrates the power and beauty of the river with a signature event, the Grand Flotilla from June 25 through July 5, 2004.
The following accomplishments were reached in 2004:
- River Exploration Trunks reached 100,000 students including 100% of all Saint Paul and Minneapolis public schools. The river trunks are an educational tool used to further the current curriculum through the use of Mississippi River related books, CD, artifacts, etc.
- The Saint Paul Winter Carnival kicked off the Grand Excursion with two 24,000 pound ice carved paddleboats on Landmark Plaza sponsored by Subaru.
- The tenth annual Millard Fillmore Dinner was the largest ever attracting over 1,500 guests. Mpls/St. Paul selected it for its "Best of" collection for 2004 parties. The 2nd annual River Work Exhibit attracted 54 exhibitors from organizations and businesses large and small.
- Saint Paul celebrated Grand Flotilla Weekend from July 3-5, 2004. Over 100,000 people were drawn to the riverfront to watch a flotilla of steamboats arrive in Saint Paul.
- Work continued on the Upper Landing including a Grand Opening for the Joseph's Pointe development on Block 7 and a groundbreaking on blocks five and six with Ryan Companies.
- Kicked off Mayor Randy Kelly's StreetBeat initiative on the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. The first of 58 meetings, large and small, that attracted some 1700 people to discuss their ideas for the future of Saint Paul. The Riverfront Corporation helped the Mayor kick off the initiative with a gathering of over 100 people to discuss the future of the riverfront.
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