Minnesota at 150A Sesquicentennial Program Overview

Landmark & Legacy Opportunity

•year of commemoration to reflect on & learn from our past

•year of statewide celebration to rediscover our state, showcase our people and achievements, and connect us as Minnesotans

•once-in-a-lifetime catalyst to unite us, to re-dedicate ourselves to creating a thriving and innovative future

Commission Mission •The Sesquicentennial Commission is the

official Statehood Sesquicentennial coordinating body, created by the State Legislature and appointed by the Legislature and Governor to plan statewide activities and coordinate with other entities all activities to commemorate and celebrate Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial in 2008

Goals

The Sesquicentennial Commission and its staff & volunteers will strive to increase pride in our state by:

• Achieving broad participation of the people of Minnesota, visitors, local communities, institutions and organizations in activities across the state;

• Raising awareness and educating Minnesotans by telling the stories of our past, recognizing the indigenous people of Minnesota, and learning from them and the many ethnic groups that have come and continue to come to Minnesota;

• Developing a shared vision for the state’s future, by engaging Minnesotans in civic dialogue;

• Leaving a lasting legacy through print, visual, musical, and other reminders, as well as media documentation;

• So that all might have a meaningful perspective on the impact our state has had in the past and will have on the future for Minnesotans, the nation, and the world.

Sesquicentennial Themes

•Arts & Culture

•Education

•Health & Wellness

•Innovation

•Natural Resources & Our Great Outdoors

Key Commemorations & Celebrations• Commemorative Medallion October 3, 2007

• United States Postal Service Minnesota Commemorative Stamp Unveiling Day Oct 6, 2007 and Issuance Day in May 2008

• MN150 Exhibit opened October 13, 2007

• Sesquicentennial Song premièred January 12, 2008 – “Shines for All to See”

• Ann Reed Song for Minnesota Tour – January 12 – May 3 (Duluth, Morris, St. Joseph, Winona, Bemidji, St. Paul)

• Sesquicentennial Wagon Train – May 4 -11, 2008

• Statehood Week, May 11 – 18, 2008 – Statehood Festival & Ceremony

• Capitals for a Day week May 12-16

• Regional Sesquicentennial Spotlight Tours June through September

• Orlin Ostby and Ox Walk the Pembina Trail – July – August

• Minnesota State Fair, August 2008

• Old Minnesota Song of the North Star Chautauqua tent show

• All-County Minnesota Commemorative Mosaic/Tile creation – “Greetings from Minnesota”“Greetings from Minnesota”

• Hundreds of community and organizational events & celebrations across the state led by local, regional, and state entities

2008 Minnesota State FairOld Minnesota

Song of the North Star

All County Mosaic

Community Engagement Catalyst

•Micro Grant and Legacy Grant program began in July 2007

•100+ micro grants across the state

•25 legacy grants

•Community Spirit & Spruce Up program began Sept 18, 2007 in Stillwater

•Banners, flags, street graphics

Plan for Our Future

Sesquicentennial Plan for Our Future

Snapshot of Minnesotans

hopes, dreams, and

commitments to and for the

future.

Conversations across the state

and online.

www.mn150years.org -- info@mn150years.org

Capitals for a Day

regions

Tall grass aspen

parklands Coniferous forest

Deciduous forest

Driftless area

Prairie grasslands

Bemidji * Thief River Falls * Detroit Lakes

New Ulm * Winona

Ambassadors Council

•Each county represented

•Liaison to the Commission

•Help engage citizens in their county

•Help keep the Commission informed of events and programs to help promote

Opportunities• Capitals for a Day

tour

• Statehood Week May 11-18

• Sesquicentennial Spotlight Tours June - September

• State Fair 08

• Special contests in photography, cake decorating, quilting

• Sister city, homecomings, reunions

• Mpls, Gully, Pengilly, Bloomington, others celebrating their big anniversaries

• 150 programs at State Parks

• Signature events at each historic site/once per month

Sesqui promotion

• Print, radio, television & web

• Sesquicentennial spirit kit: street graphics for communities, organizations & businesses

• Sesquicentennial Minutes

• Sesqui blog & weekly features on history, culture, counties, communities, organizations & businesses

• Sesqui-What? video contest

• This day in history & calendar of events

• Sesquicentennial Lottery game & Highway signs & license plates

Website•Blog•Grants•Logo•Events•Sponsors•Sesqui stuff

www.mn150years.org

U. S. Postal Stamp

Ox-Cart JourneyWalking the Pembina Trail

Sesquicentennial Stroll St. Vincent to Saint Paul

Beginning July 1, 2008 Orlin Ostby of Gatzke, Minnesota, will set out with his family and a sturdy pair of oxen to recreate Delmar Hagen’s 1958 trek down the historic Pembina Trail to Saint Paul. The Pembina Trail is one of the main historic oxcart trail routes from St. Paul to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The trails were pioneered in the 1600’s and most heavily traveled between 1849 and 1901. Primarily used for fur trading, the oxcart trail routes helped establish St. Paul as a central commerce point in the Midwest. 400 miles in 40 days.

State Entry Signs

Cookbook

•Recipes needed from every county!

License plates

Flags for our troops

www.mn150years.org -- info@mn150years.org

Contact Info

Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission

James J. Hill House

240 Summit Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55102

651-296-1870

www.mn150years.org