Wednesday June 30th, 2004
Wednesday June 30th found Dick and David on our home turf once again. David used the morning to head into the office to catch up on email and post some updates to the UMBSN website before going down to the levee to distribute Monitors at the afternoon celebration. Dick spent the morning in Onalaska getting some mechanical repairs done on the camper before heading over to the Riverfest Celebration in La Crosse. The Riverfest celebration drew large crowds of people and Dick was able to distribute lots of Monitors without too much trouble. The La Crosse Tribune booth was kind enough to take a whole bundle of Monitors to put on display.
The Grand Excursion celebration coincided with several events in Winona including the grand opening of Aghaming Park, a natural river bottoms area located on the Wisconsin side of the newly repaired Historic Wagon Bridge across from Latsch Island, and the dedication of a Grand Excursion, 2004 monument at Levee Park. Thousands of people turned out to enjoy the beautiful day as well as the live music, art show, and food being served up by local entrepreneurs. The sense of community was palpable as several people commented that Winona would benefit from a permanent stage for music and events in Levee Park. The evening ended with more than 800 Winonans dancing together and enjoying the unique sound of Those Darn Accordions.
Dancing in Winona: Local Winonans dance and enjoy the music of Those Darn Accordians after an exciting day of Grand Excursion events.
The Celebration Belle gave dinner tours from Winona. The Spirit of Peoria and the Julia Belle Swain passed through earlier in the day, while the Delta Queen passed through Winona at 10:15pm en route to Lake City.
Celebration Belle: The Celebration Belle approaches the Winona levee with a load of passengers enjoying the Grand Excursion Festivities and a dinner cruise.
Dressed for the occasion: A local Winonan shows off a vintage dress and hat for the Grand Excursion crowds.
