Please welcome Ken Hafften as the new volunteer Archivist for the Aquatennial historic collection at the Hennepin History Museum. He has had over 47 years serving the festival, beginning in 1972, bringing his passion for Aquatennial to the public. He has served as: Vice Commodore; Vice Commodore of Skipper Pins; Vice Commodore of Parades; Vice Commodore of the Mississippi Showcase; and General Festival Chairman. For the past seventeen years Pam Albinson (1962 Queen of the Lak

AAO Commemorative pins are for sale in the AAO Shop! Great gift for you or friends and family. Many of these pins are limited quantities so buy today and don't miss out! Each of these pins is only $5 each! Visit https://www.aquatennialambassadors.com/shop Today! The shared friendship and support for the Ambassadors and Volunteers of the Aquatennial Ambassador Organization and Saint Paul Winter Carnival spans far past the banks of the Mississippi River. The "Friendship Pin"

Minneapolis, MN  -  The Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Organization (AAO) held the Aquatennial Ambassador Coronation presented by SPIRE Credit Union at Ted Mann Concert Hall where the 2018 Queen of the Lakes and Aquatennial Princesses were announced on Saturday. Queen of the Lakes Vanessa Gonzalez Vanessa is from the community of Northfield and is currently pursuing a double major in Spanish and Elementary Education at the University of Northwestern. Upon graduation she l

Minneapolis, MN The Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Organization (AAO) revealed the 2018 Minneapolis Aquatennial Commodore and Captains at the Commodore's Dinner Thursday night. The 2018 Commodore is Bill McReavy - President of Washburn-McReavy Funeral & Cremation Services. The Captains are Kenny Devine - Assistant Account Executive at Padilla, and Quentin Moore - Director of Annual Giving at the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities. Aquatennial Commodore Bill McReavy McReavy

The Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Organization kicked off its Ambassador Candidate Program on Tuesday with the Candidate Community Luncheon where two of its annual awards were presented to outstanding community volunteers. This year's recipient of the Minnesota Community Award was the community of Cokato! The award is presented to an ambassador program that has participated in the Aquatennial Ambassador Candidate Program and has developed an outstanding ambassador progr

The AAO is proud to introduce the 53 ambassador candidates for the 2018 Aquatennial Ambassador Crew. View candidates > Photos of the 53 candidates were captured by the Andrew Sonnek of AFSonnek Photography, Partner and Official Photographer of the AAO. Sonnek lives in Minneapolis and started as a landscape and cityscape photographer, "showing off every day places’ understated beauty," states Andrew on his website. Also capturing our Ambassador Crew's official photos, Andrew

Tickets for all AAO Events during the 2017 Aquatennial festival will be made available for purchase Thursday morning. Secure your tickets with 3 easy steps: Register Now, Add to Cart, and Checkout. Event and ticket information will be made available at www.aquatennialambassadors.com/events by 7:00 a.m. on June 1. Registration for ticketed events is not secured until full payment is received and all ticket sales are non-refundable. Proceeds of AAO Aquatennial Events benefit

Pre-sale, portals, tickets and more! As excitement builds for Aqua Week 2017, here is what you need to know to make the most out of the Best Days of Summer. First off, go to www.aquatennialambassadors.com/events for the complete list of AAO events, and how to register and buy tickets. Proceeds of AAO Aquatennial Events benefit the Aquatennial Ambassador Scholarship Program. For information on other Aquatennial events such as CenterPointe Energy Torchlight Parade or Target F

The AAO announced the public events it will host during the 2017 Aquatennial festival via a video posted to its social media outlets on Tuesday. A total of seven events will be offered in July. A notable change this year is the Alumni Boat Cruise sponsored by Paradise Charter Cruises and the Mississippi Queen has moved to Monday to act as a social kick-off for AAO Alumni and will feature a special recognition for Alumni celebrating a milestone anniversary. Another big change

In just 100 days, Aquatennial Candidates from across Minnesota, International Visiting Dignitaries from throughout North America, and Aquatennial festival fans will converge in Minneapolis along with AAO ambassadors, alumni, members, and volunteers to celebrate the Best Days of Summer! However, you don't need to wait until then to plug into the excitement of #Aqua2017. Here are several ways you can prepare and celebrate now: Candidate Registration Deadline Registration for t

Before you start spring cleaning, donate your pieces of Aquatennial & AAO history to the Aquatennial Archive at the Hennepin History Museum - they may be worth more than you think. For decades the Hennepin History Museum (HHM) has been collecting memorabilia, newspaper articles, uniforms, photographs, publications and other items related to both the Aquatennial Festival and AAO. Much of this work has been collected and archived by former Queen of the Lakes and HHM Historian,

The AAO Membership voted to reinstate the role of Vice Commodore and the Festival Planning Divisions at the AAO Annual Meeting on Wednesday. First appearing in the 1960s, the Vice Commodores (VCs) acted not only as official representatives of the Aquatennial, but primarily to lead the planning divisions of the festival and execute the programs and events that took place leading up to and during the Aquatennial festival. However, after the Minneapolis Aquatennial Association

Commodore Dan Stoltz and SPIRE Credit Union recognized AAO volunteers and Timberwolves leadership for their contributions to the Twin Cities at Target Center on Saturday. A reception sponsored by SPIRE took place at the new Mayo Clinic Square Experience Center prior to the Timberwolves game versus the Utah Jazz. During a brief program, Stoltz (CEO of SPIRE Credit Union) gave his Commodore Medal to good friend Chris Wright, President of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Ethan C

Are you an Aquatennial Ambassador Alumni, Member, Sponsor or past Volunteer or Candidate and have a LinkedIn profile? You are invited to add the AAO and your experience to your personal profile. Including your involvement and support of the AAO not only looks good on a resume, but will expose your LinkedIn connections to the AAO and its Mission. Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn provides a way to connect and network with people based on the companies and organizations

The AAO announced candidate registration for the 2018 Aquatennial Ambassador Crew will open February 15, 2017 via a video posted to its Vimeo channel and Facebook page on Monday. The video features photos of past candidates participating in the Aquatennial Ambassador Candidate Program and of the 2017 Aquatennial Ambassador Crew set to the song "Do or Die" by Afrojack and Thirty Seconds to Mars. The theme of the video emphasizes how "the story goes on" with memories that you'

As a former Aquatennial Princess (1992), Vice Commodore (1999 Arts & Entertainment Division) and Captain (2009), Natalka's dedication to the Aquatennial and AAO has earned her the nickname of "Capcess." She has also served as President of the Past Princess Association, member of the Visiting Dignitaries committee and plans to increase her involvement in 2017. Which Community/Festival were you from? Northeast Minneapolis How did you benefit from your scholarship? It provided m

A Memorial service for 1941 Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes Eva (Brunson) Steiner took place on Tuesday in Minneapolis. As the first Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes to reign over the festival, she embodied the Aquatennial spirit; being both regal and graceful. A Minneapolis resident, she continued to serve the community over the years as a member and volunteer of several organizations including the Jones-Harrison Residence, the Woman's Club of Minneapolis and Golden Valley Fed

To celebrate Aquatennial's 75th Anniversary in 2014, Former Queen of the Lakes Pam Albinson authored the nostalgic, Seventy-five Years of the Minneapolis Aquatennial. As the description reads on Amazon.com, the book is "...lavishly illustrated with more than 300 vintage photographs, author Pam Albinson chronicles the festival's history and describes the myriad activities associated with it, including rodeos, celebrity appearances, parades, athletic competitions, aeronautical

As a first-time volunteer in 2016, Wayne Ellingson remembers seeing the Aquatennial represented in a parade when he was a kid back home is Southwestern Minnesota, "From that moment, I wanted to know more about what the Aquatennial and what Minneapolis was all about." Since then he has enjoyed watching the parades and Aquatennial events over the years. When his good friend, Brian Thomas May, became Captain in 2015, Wayne became interested in learning more about what is involv

Minneapolis Aquatennial Commodore Dan Stolz and Queen of the Lakes Carolyn Meyer attended the MATTER event held at the Cambria Showroom in Downtown Minneapolis Monday night. Many very notable and distinguished guests attended to help provide access to health for all. Quenton Marty CEO/President of MATTER invited the Aquatennial Ambassadors to attend the event and Commodore Dan presented him with a Commodore bobblehead. During the program, they had the opportunity to recogniz