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Minneapolis’ annual Holidazzle and Aquatennial festivals face an uncertain future, as the organization behind them says it won’t plan them anymore.

The Minneapolis Downtown Council is dropping the December holiday celebration and the summer festival. They’re now looking for other organizers to take over planning.

Downtown Council President and CEO Adam Duininck said the council wants to focus more on working with businesses, and putting on major events takes too much time and money away from that.

“For us to think about the best use of those dollars, we think we can have a bigger impact doing other things,” Duininck said. 

Duininck said the two events together typically cost between $1 million and $2 million. Funding from the city and corporate sponsors was down this year, making for a tough fundraising task. 

The announcement comes after a rocky few years for Holidazzle. Last year, the event drew about 65,000 people to Nicollet Mall for a five-day event – a change from its roots as a parade that drew 750,000 in its first year in 1992. Holidazzle moved from Nicollet Mall to Loring Park in 2016, and was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020 and in 2023 due to lack of funds. Last year marked its 

, in an effort to draw shoppers back to downtown.

The Aquatennial started in 1940. It’s seen several changes over the years, too, with different events around the city; the Downtown Council took it over in 2002. 

Duininck said the events themselves are still a valuable boost for downtown’s restaurants and businesses, and the council is hoping other organizations will take over planning.

“We certainly care a lot about downtown as a place, but I think our role in some of these things continues to be explored, and we should think about more of a promotion-and-storytelling role rather than producing events,” Duininck said.

That role focuses on public safety, filling empty space and redesigning Nicollet Mall – goals of the organization’s 

 launched last year. It’s aimed at revitalizing downtown following slumps in business and foot traffic since 2020.

The Downtown Council will still have a hand in holiday events downtown this year, short of a typical Holidazzle. Duininck noted success in past years with a new pop-up market at Dayton’s and said they’re considering more events like bar crawls and ice skating to get people to Nicollet Mall.

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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The Minneapolis Downtown Council says it will no longer organize the city’s Holidazzle and Aquatennial festivals, citing the time and cost of putting on the events. The group hopes other organizations will take over planning as it shifts focus to business development and downtown revitalization.

Minneapolis Downtown Council drops Holidazzle, Aquatennial festivals

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