---

What a great Celebration of the Lakes that was.  Tons of people, warm weather, smiles everywhere.  There was a new look, that brought back some classics as well.  Gone were the balloons.  Returning:  the snowmobile radar runs.

I had many people ask me why the balloons were not there.  I bet I answered that question 20 times on Saturday alone.  Okay maybe not 20, but it was a lot.  The reason the balloons were not scheduled this year was simply because of one thing.  Money.  Did they cost too much?  Well, no, not exactly.  If you have been a die hard Celebration of the Lakes attendee, then you know just how many times the balloons took flight compared to the scheduled lift-off.  Not many.  Not many at all.

It seems like if we got them to lift off once during the celebration it was a successful year.  Each year there are scheduled three lift offs.  Many years there were none.  Too windy.  I think the safety regulations does not allow them to fly with winds above seven miles per hour.  Living here in the winter, you know the winds are frequently over seven, more times than not.  So put yourselves in the Chamber of Commerce’s shoes.  Do we (I am part of the Chamber) continue to write huge checks each winter only to see the balloonists never take flight?  Or do we re-direct our focus to a guaranteed (other than thin ice) event that just as many people enjoy and partake in.  The answer is a no-brainer.  For those of you who loved the balloons, I apologize, I loved them too.  But please understand that it just wasn't feasible.  

But, speaking of the radar runs, wow.  What a great turnout we had for the runs.  

There were four lanes for racing and they all were at least 10 snowmobiles deep the entire time.  Thank you so much to the Wild River Snowmobile Club.  It was this great group of people who took on the radar runs from start to finish.  They plowed the track, set up fencing, took care of registration, and ran it flawlessly.  It was great.  There were hundreds watching the races all day long.  What a great event, I hope we can continue this deep into the future.

Thank you also to the NAIFC professional fishing tournament.  Between the organizers and the pros that took part, the entire series was a huge hit.  The pros met with the public on Friday night at Meredee's and The Northern. On Saturday morning, they held a kids’ fishing clinic at the Center City Fire Department.  There was not an open seat in the building.  The kids received fishing poles afterwards and headed to the ice to try them out.  On Sunday, I had the privilege of covering the weigh-in at Frankie's.  There were 40 teams that took part.  The top spot went to Ben and Luke Blegen of Minnesota.  Pretty impressive.  They took home $2,400 plus a slot in the world championship in Finland.  During the weigh-in, Frankie Dusenka told the fishermen that he had big news.  Frankie's was going to kick in an additional $1,500 next year and the Chisago Lakes Area Chamber was also contributing an additional $1,000 to make the grand prize  $5,000, making the tournament one of the largest payouts on the circuit.

Thank you also to the Chisago Lakes Lions Club.  They held their annual fishing tournament for the public.  They had a couple hundred people take part.  Thanks to the Shaleen Team of Edina Realty for sponsoring the kids bikes given away at the tournament.  

There was just a different feel this year at the celebration.  The food trucks were a big hit, and we vow to have many more next year.  Thanks to St. Croix Regional Medical Center for hosting a golf putt-putt on the ice.  Thanks also to Jill Behnke and the Center City Parks Committee for hosting the golf tournament on the ice. So many people to thank, so little space.  

We are putting together our annual Community Visitors Guide here at the Press.  This is our biggest and best advertising piece of the year.  It is 72 pages packed with information about the area, as well as local business listings, contact information, and wonderful advertising from local businesses.  If your business would like to be in the guide, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 651-257-5115.  We will work with you to get your message out in a guide that  is useful  the entire year.

---