Minneapolis Urban League 19th Annual Family Day Saturday, August 2, 2008
Saturday, August 2 is Family Day, a day-long, fun-filled festival and parade your entire family will enjoy. Attractions at this year’s FREE festival will include a morning seminar from 9-11:30 a.m. featuring Kelvin Boston, the host of “Moneywise with Kelvin Boston” on PBS and best-selling author of Who’s Afraid to be a Millionaire? and Smart Money Moves for African Americans. Boston, along with several panelists from Freddie Mac, the FDIC and a financial planning firm, will discuss with the audience such issues as wealth building, investing and saving, predatory lending and avoiding foreclosure. The seminar is sponsored by Geico and will be held at the Minneapolis Urban League’s Glover-Sudduth Center, 2100 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis.
At noon following the seminar, guests are encouraged to enjoy an amazing Family Day parade sponsored by ClearWay Minnesota/QUITPLAN Services immediately outside of the Glover-Sudduth Center, at the corner of Penn and Plymouth avenues. Festival and parade-goers will be able to watch our 100-unit parade as it winds through the streets to North Commons Park, where the festival will be taking place. The parade will include beauty queens, zany clowns, antique cars and marching bands that step in time to a rhythmic beat. Within North Commons Park, located at 1801 James Avenue North, the festivities will include an inflatable slide, pony rides, a Double-Dutch competition, and more than 50 local vendors and information booths. On stage throughout the day, local R&B, rap and gospel groups will perform. At 7 p.m., POWER, the evening’s headlining entertainment group will perform their old- and new-school sounds.
The day also includes a 100-unit parade, games and rides, and a headlining live stage performance by POWER
“This year’s Family Day will definitely delight and entertain each person in your family!” said Clarence Hightower, president/CEO of the Minneapolis Urban League, which hosts the event every year. “We initiated Family Day in 1989 to promote the unity and resolve of the inner-city neighborhoods, and provide residents with a FREE event as an alternative to some of the more expensive festivals. This year we’re proud to be able to provide everyone in the community with a truly exciting, entertainment-packed day!” The Minneapolis Urban League Family Day festival, one of the longest- running festivals in north Minneapolis, will be held from 12- 8 pm in North Commons Park at 1801 James Ave N. The Family Day parade, sponsored this year by ClearWay Minnesota/QUITPLAN, is a 100-unit parade and the fourth largest in Minneapolis, is scheduled to begin at 12 pm at Washburn and Plymouth Aves. and will end at Golden Valley Road and James Ave., the entrance to the park.
The following is a list of the Family Day activity highlights:
• Seminar and discussion with Kelvin Boston, host of “Moneywise with Kelvin Boston” on PBS — 9-11:30 am
For the first time, this year’s festival will include a morning seminar featuring best-selling author and financial journalist Kelvin Boston, host of “Moneywise with Kelvin Boston” on PBS. Panelists will include representatives from Freddie Mac, the FDIC and financial planning firms.
• A 100-unit parade — Begins at noon
This year’s parade will feature zany clowns, antique cars, beauty queens, floats and marching bands. The parade will begin at Washburn and Plymouth avenues and end at Golden Valley Road and James Ave, which is the entrance to North Commons Park.
• Main stage entertainment — 12-8 pm
Teen and adults will dance from 12-8 pm to a wide variety of the local rap, R&B, gospel, jazz artists and African dance, which will be featured on this year’s entertainment stage.
Entertainment headlining group POWER—7 pm
Power is a Minneapolis-based vocal group that offers audiences both an old- and new-school feel. Their power-packed stage show and soulful sound is likened to The Temptations, the Whispers, and New Edition, and includes pop, jazz, funk and R&B selections.
• Inflatable rides/games — 12-8 pm
Youth will enjoy jumping and bouncing around in our inflatable obstacle course, bounce castle with slide, and bounce house.
• Double Dutch competition — throughout the day
Double Dutch competitions for ages 8-11, 12-15 and 16-18 will offer prizes to the winning teams of four.
• Pony rides — 1-5 pm
Young children will get a thrill riding ponies around the festival grounds and waving to family and friends.
Each pony ride is FREE.
• Face painting—12– 8 pm
Children from infant to pre-teen can have different designs and shaped painted on their cheeks and nose.
• Food and merchandise vendor and information booths — throughout the day
More than 40 local vendors and community organizations will have booths in the park to sell their products and services, and share their information.
Since 1989, the Minneapolis Urban League has been providing the residents of the north Minneapolis community a safe, fun-filled day that they eagerly anticipate year after year. Today, Family Day attracts nearly 4,000 people who reside not only in north Minneapolis, but are from neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis, as well as St. Paul. For more information about the Family Day parade and festival, please visit the Minneapolis Urban League web site at www.mul.org.
The sponsors for this year’s Family Day festivities include Comcast, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, AstraZeneca, Caterpillar, Prudential and the City of Minneapolis Empowerment Zone.
About Family Day
Family Day is one of the longest-running festivals in north Minneapolis, and the Family Day parade is the fourth largest in Minneapolis. Begun in 1989, by the Minneapolis Urban League, Family Day festival and parade was created to promote the unity and the resolve of the inner-city neighborhoods, and provide the residents with an alternative to the more expensive festivals. The day-long festival, held in North Commons Park, begins with a 100-unit parade, and includes more than 40 local vendors, pony rides for the kids, and entertainment on the main stage. Please visit the Minneapolis Urban League web site at www.mul.org for more information.
About the Minneapolis Urban League
The Minneapolis Urban League is a community-based organization that provides human services and advocacy that will enable African Americans and other people of color to cultivate and develop their individual and group potential on a par with all other Minnesotans. The programs and services that the Minneapolis Urban League offer operate from eight facilities throughout Minneapolis and help approximately 20,000 people each year access quality employment, housing, health care, education and social services. For more information about the Minneapolis Urban League or its programs and services visit www.mul.org.
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