Grand Old Day 2021 is officially dead, but organizers optimistic about the future

May 24—Grand Old Day, the largest single-day festival in the Upper Midwest and St. Paul's unofficial kickoff to summer, will not return this year due to the pandemic and unrelated organizational difficulties, but organizers are optimistic that the Grand Avenue Business Association and its signature events are on the mend.

Last October, volunteers associated with the Grand Avenue Business Association put out an emergency call for new board members, as the board roster stood empty and finances weren't looking much better.

Five new board members held their first meeting in November as the newly reconstituted leadership of GABA, well aware that planning a parade and street festival known to draw some 250,000 attendees the first Sunday in June would have been tough enough for seasoned organizers even before the pandemic.

On Monday, GABA treasurer Lanai Koep confirmed that 2021, like 2020 before it, would roll out parade-less.

"The short answer is (there's) no way to bring it back this year with the changing regulations and planning," said Koep, in an online message.

CHANGING REGULATIONS FOR OUTDOOR EVENTS

Those changing regulations include touch-and-go federal guidance on outdoor events, updated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 20. The CDC has raised concern about the potential to spread coronavirus at large gatherings that are held for an extended duration, and in which individuals are unlikely to keep social distance of at least six feet apart.

The "CDC continues to recommend avoiding large events and gatherings," reads the latest update, which is followed by a lengthy list of recommended precautions around sanitation and ventilation for events that do choose to move forward.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have both called on businesses to continue to require that patrons don masks indoors, despite the governor's decision not to mandate that level of precaution statewide.

While vaccination numbers have ticked up, vaccinations appear uneven based on factors such as race and income, and they were only just authorized in mid-May for younger adolescents.

Nevertheless, Koep and other board members are optimistic that with vaccination rates climbing, the annual "Paws on Grand" pet stroll will return Aug. 8, followed by the Christmas-themed "Grand Meander" in December.

ORGANZING THE EVENT HAS BEEN TRICKY IN RECENT YEARS

Grand Avenue stretches 26 blocks from the Mississippi River to downtown St. Paul, and the Grand Avenue Business Association has been known to represent more than 185 member businesses. Organizing Grand Old Day — which dates back to 1973 — has proven increasingly difficult, given costs and sponsorship, labor, logistics and security.

In April 2019, board members announced that the association's signature parade would not go on that June in light of budget shortfalls. Tax filings showed annual deficits dating back to 2012. The event was quickly resurrected with the help of business owners and community boosters and held under the working title "Grand Old Day Anyway."

A federal investigation of GABA finances that summer didn't help boost the board's profile, though the investigation, which was triggered by accusations of financial mismanagement, wrapped up without criminal charges.

The backdrop for St. Paul's signature summer festival has also evolved with time, and not necessarily for the better.

OTHER CHALLENGES

Some longtime Grand Avenue businesses have in recent years shuttered their doors or relocated elsewhere, victim to a changing retail landscape in the Internet era.

Others have blamed growing numbers of city regulations, out-of-state property owners with little interest in local small business tenants, and the evolving tastes of a millennial generation more interested in taprooms than hockey bars. The net result is an excess of empty storefronts along St. Paul's premier small-business district, though notable new restaurants and retail ownership changes have in some cases helped soften the blow.

In November, with finances approaching zero and no paid staff or regular meeting space, the new board held its first meeting to pick up the pieces of the association.

The new members are Koep, executive program director of Kinderberry Hill Child Development Center; Deanna Seppanen, director of Macalester College's High Winds Fund; Rianna Matter, a district manager with Caribou Coffee; Minh Dinh, co-owner of Treats ice cream and cereal bar; and Angela Brasel, a branch vice president with Coldwell Banker Realty.