Title
Designating the 2011 Winter Carnival as a community festival.
Body
WHEREAS, in 1886, Saint Paul was America's fastest growing city and had also become America's third largest rail center and therefore Saint Paul business leaders produced the inaugural Saint Paul Winter Carnival, which was held during the first two weeks of February in 1886; and
WHEREAS, the business leaders also wanted to disprove a New York newspaper reporter who had descripbe their beloved city as "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter,: and
WHEREAS, the firest Saint Paul Winter Carnival included parades, skiing, snow shoeing, a blanket tossing contest, and push ball, a game played with giant balls and the most successful attractions were its ice castle and six large toboggan slides; and
WHEREAS, throughout its 125-year history, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival has been an integral part of the social fabric of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, the carnival reaches out to the people of the Greater Saint Paul area to weave a tapestry of cultures with educational and cultural programming; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival attracts approximately 350,000 visitors a year; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival has an estimated $3.5 to $5 million in economic activity in the City of Saint Paul; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the City of Saint Paul hereby designates the 2011 Saint Paul Winter Carnival as a community festival.