Park Ambassadors attended annual Winter Carnival in St. Paul

The Parktacular Ambassadors of St. Louis Park were invited to celebrate with other royalty from across Minnesota at the annual Winter Carnival’s King Boreas Grand Day parade Jan. 26 in St. Paul. The group of ten rode the Parktacular float through the streets of St. Paul, dancing to music and posing for pictures during the festivities.

This year’s parade, themed “Snow Place Like Home,” is followed by the nighttime Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade, a tradition for the Ambassadors who use various lights on their respective floats and participate in the parade despite the darkness.

Parktacular coordinator Marti Biegler said she thought participants enjoyed this year’s festivities.

“We had a lot of fun,” Biegler said. “It’s always a sight when everyone is bundled up like the Michelin man against the cold, but still manage to smile and wave because they’re having a good time.”

This year, the Parktacular Scholarship program sponsored three Park high school students, seniors Abigail Jacobson, Taylor Miles and Morgan MacDonald, five elementary school children and two Senior Ambassadors. They travel together to events such as the Winter Carnival throughout the year to represent St. Louis Park and to encourage those from neighboring cities to attend the Parktacular celebration in June.

Despite the cold temperatures this time of year, Ambassador and senior Taylor Miles said the parades are worth the effort.

“It’s wonderful to be part of the events,” Miles said. “The people you meet are from all over Minnesota, and being able to represent the community in such a public way is really rewarding.”

The opportunities to meet new people and build public speaking skills, Biegler said, are among the various personal rewards Ambassadors gain in their year of representing St. Louis Park. Continuing these skills, the Winter Carnival royalty travel nationwide and represent Minnesota at other states’ major parades and celebrations.

This year’s events are targeted to a wide range of tastes, from the the Klondike Kate Cabaret to the Red Bull Crashed Ice Cross Downhill World championship.

For more details on the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which runs through Feb. 3, visit their website at www.winter-carnival.com. For more information on the Parktacular Ambassador scholarship program, contact Parktacular coordinator Marti Biegler at [email protected] for the 2013-2014 school year.