Family Fun Day celebrated 100 years of EP Schools

Eden Prairie Schools’ annual Family Fun Day, held on Friday, May 17, celebrated the district’s 100th anniversary with special events and decorations.

The free event, organized by Eden Prairie Schools Community Education and the Eden Prairie Historical Society, took place outside the Historic Gym from 5 to 7 p.m. It drew a large crowd, including many EP Schools staff, students, and families.

Highlights included food trucks, fire trucks, and activities like crafts, face painting, and playground time. The Eden Prairie Lions Club offered free vision exams in the Little Eagles Building. Various community organizations staffed outdoor tables where they shared information about their work and services, and handed out stickers, candy, and other items to attendees.

The star of the event, however, was the Historic Gym, which was bedecked with crêpe paper, balloons, and other decorations put up by the district’s facilities team ahead of the Citywide Prom the following evening.

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The district also unveiled the special photo collage mural created for the 100-year anniversary. It featured images of students, staff, school events, and school buildings from over the past century.

The Historical Society created a large display of historic items and photographs in the bleacher area. The display included several vintage prom and party outfits, many of which were worn by Eden Prairie residents to their own proms and school dances.

Entertainment included a performance by the Eden Prairie Community Choir, a recently formed choral group led by CMS music teacher Adam Petroski. The group had its first performance in the Historic Gym during Family Fun Day and will perform again on June 3 at 7 p.m. at CMS.

Dirk Tedmon, EP School’s executive director of marketing and communications, said he was happy with how the event went and to see the culmination of so much hard work and planning. He credited the district’s partnership with the Historical Society, led by its president, Kathie Case.

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Standing in the Historic Gym as the event drew to a close, Tedmon said, “I get really emotional thinking about it because when we started planning for this, our greatest hope was to bring life back into this space. To see just how full of joy and vibrant it is, and with the choir performing on this stage, it’s really amazing.”

Molly Malone, director of adult and community engagement programs for Eden Prairie Schools Community Education, said, “We are so pleased with the turnout at Family Fun Day and thankful for all the partners who helped make it a successful evening.”

Malone noted that more than two dozen local organizations participated, from non-profits to the newly formed community choir to the vehicle operators and food trucks,  and many volunteers and staff worked together to make the event a success.

“We are especially grateful this year to the Eden Prairie Historical Society, who brought an impressive collection of items from their museum to showcase Eden Prairie Schools’ 100 years of history,” she said. “It was fun to invite attendees into the Historic Gym and preview the decorations for our Citywide Prom event, which was the following evening.”

The event was forced to end slightly early due to lightning and thunder. As the skies later cleared and the sun began to set, the evening ended with a double rainbow spread across the sky over Eden Prairie and all of its schools – hopefully a sign of good luck for the next 100 years.