Capital For A Day

This year is Minnesota's sesquicentennial year, and the state is celebrating 150 years by selecting a town from each of its 5 biomes to be named "Capital for a Day." Winona was named capital for the Driftless Area, and Friday was the day of celebration.


The morning started with a speech from our governor, Tim Pawlenty. I didn't come for the speech, and missed many of the day's activities, but I showed up to hear Elizabeth's string quartet play for a luncheon at the river. The crowd was enjoying sitting in the sun listening to the classical music, but their concert was cut slightly short when the steam calliope started playing a little early. I always love hearing the steam calliope and the quartet was almost finished, so I didn't mind the timing. After the concert we went through the Italian buffet line and enjoyed hearing Jim Armstrong read a poem that he wrote for the occasion.

That pretty much concluded our participation in the Capital For A Day celebrations, except for watching the fireworks that night. Elizabeth, Tony and I walked down to Huff street to sit on the lawn for the big display that included funky fireworks like a smiley face. The day was mostly clear, but we got a brief 30-minute shower - - the same 30 minutes as the fireworks display. The 3 of us huddled under a small lawn blanket and stayed warm enough.

The day's activities also included a nice run around the lake, balancing on a slackline and a dance show for Claire; all-in-all a pretty good day. I even managed to learn something.