Somewhere between 75,000-100,000 people jammed into downtown Minneapolis for the Aquatennial Block Party in 1998, when a height-of-fame Smashing Pumpkins played what would go down as the biggest concert in Twin Cities history. Flash forward 14 years, and nobody will attend the party this year.
Like the Pumpkins themselves, the Aquatennial's annual free kick-off bash slid in stature in recent years, with Tonic, the Gin Blossoms and Night Ranger among its headliners. Yes, that Night Ranger. Hardly anybody seemed to notice that organizers pulled the plug on the party this year (it would have been this Friday). Aquatennial director Leah Wong said the decision was based on changed priorities on not on down attendance.
"The block party was started as a way to bring live music into downtown Minneapolis, and now there's no shortage of that," she said.
Wong did not rule out the block party returning in future years. This year, though, time invested in block party planning is being spent on new events, such as the Stand-Up Paddle Day at Lake Calhoun and the Global Smoothie Smackdown at Midtown Global Market.
Still, a free concert is a free concert, and there unfortunately seems to be less and less of them as potential sponsors' budgets get tighter and tighter. The Dakota Street Fest, which the Dakota Jazz Club has put on the past two years concurrently with the Aquatennial, is also not happening. And let's not forget the sorely missed Day of Music at Orchestra Hall/Peavey Plaza, which was sidelined in 2009. There's plenty of live music in downtown Minneapolis, yes, but not much of it is free anymore.
