Celebrating six decades of Schooner Days

On June 6, 1964, the Eden Prairie Lions Club hosted the town’s first Schooner Days, aiming to raise the small farm community’s profile.

The one-day event, held in a pasture owned by Lions Club member Larry Wilson on Riverview Road, featured a parade, skydiving, carnival rides, horse exhibits, hootenanny music and barbecued beef.

“Not many people know where Eden Prairie is,” Wilson told the Minneapolis Star in a June 4, 1964, article. “We’re trying to put it on the map.”

While it’s hard to measure the event’s impact in putting Eden Prairie on the map, its legacy is undeniable. Now a three-day festival at Round Lake Park, Schooner Days has become an early-summer tradition for generations of residents.

This year, it celebrates its 60th anniversary, marking six decades of community spirit and festivities. Event hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Activities include bingo, rides and a market fair with new food trucks and vendors.

Nostalgic memories

Merrianne Nesbitt, who was 10 years old when she attended the first Schooner Days, or Schooner Day as it was called, recalls the excitement and wonder of that inaugural event.

Her family, the Nesbitts, has long-standing roots in Eden Prairie. In the early 1970s, her parents, Ralph and Marian, along with Ralph’s brother Stanley and his wife, Irene, sold part of their farm to The Preserve. Nesbitt Park is named in their honor.

“The first one was so spectacular,” Nesbitt said.

She remembers the cowboy theme, the horses and the ponies – a thrilling sight for a “horse-crazy” young girl, as she described herself.

“They had an actual covered wagon,” she said. “They had people on horses and ponies that were either cowboys or Indians. And it was such a wonderful experience to see this take place. They had a speaker out there who was talking about what the guys were doing at the time. That was what I would call the first big production for Schooner Days.”

Symbol of community spirit

Bob Brown, then president of the Lions Club, explained years later in the Eden Prairie News that the prairie schooner was chosen as the celebration’s symbol because “back then, that’s how the young people got here.” Today, the familiar schooner still welcomes visitors to the event.

In a 1986 article, Brown recounted that the Lions had no idea the first Schooner Day would be so successful. In fact, several issues arose during the preparation stages.

“A group of men who had never set up a tent before put their skills to the test, only to find that the borrowed tent from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church had a large section ripped and needed to be quickly sewn by a Chaska shoemaker,” the article stated. “And Lions members Al Brekke and Bill Riegert were up at the crack of dawn to start roasting the 1,000-pound steer that needed to be barbecued by noon.”

Brown noted that everyone at the celebration knew each other, describing it as “like one big neighborhood gathering.” Due to the success of the first Schooner Day, the event was moved to the Flying Cloud Drive-In Theatre in its second year.

Evolution of Schooner Days

Over the decades, Schooner Days has evolved. Now held at Round Lake Park, the event continues to unite the community and raise money for local causes.

The Eden Prairie Lions Club donates all event proceeds to charity. Beneficiaries include the MN Lions Gift of Sight Eye Bank, the MN Lions Hearing Foundation, Can Do Canines (service dogs), and True Friends Camp Eden Wood (a camp for children with special needs).

Lions Club member Gary Stevens, a member since 1999, said Schooner Days is the club’s largest fundraiser of the year.

“There are a lot of hours put into planning and then execution, but at the end of Sunday, when everything is put away for another year, there are lots of satisfied Lions who are proud of our motto: ‘We Serve,'” Stevens said.

Cherished tradition

Curt Connaughty, a longtime Lions Club member, attended the first Schooner Days.

“It’s amazing that it’s been that long,” he said. “Time passes by fast.”

In a 1986 Eden Prairie News article, Connaughty called Schooner Days “a family affair.”

“There was nothing at all like it when it started, and we needed a big social event for the community,” he stated then. “Prior to that, we had ice cream socials, but this was the first big event that brought in outsiders as well.”

In a 1994 Eden Prairie News article, Connaughty said the first Schooner Day had a cowboy theme “since we had the highest density of horses of any Twin Cities suburb.”

“Lots of people came up to the bluffs on their horses,” Connaughty added, “and neighbors came out to just have a good time.”

Connaughty notes that the event has expanded significantly over the years. As in past years, he will be at Schooner Days this weekend.

“It’s become a tradition,” he said of Schooner Days. “A lot of the things that the Lions have done have become traditions in Eden Prairie. The Corn Feed and Pancake Breakfast, too.”

Nesbitt, now 70, has attended many Schooner Days, but the first one remains vivid in her mind.

The Eden Prairie Historical Society’s Facebook page, Eden Prairie Remembers, has posted photos, newspaper articles and a video from that first Schooner Day.

“Schooner Days has meant the gathering of the community,” said Nesbitt, who will be volunteering at this weekend’s event. “It has meant an outdoor space to have fun. In recent years, they started to bring in rides and things of that nature. Some of those earlier ones would be centered around baseball games. My recollection is that we went consistently, and sometimes we lent equipment, maybe a tractor or a wagon, hay bales. But the first one is the one that’s most current in my mind.”

A signature event

Stevens said every town and city has its signature event that residents anticipate. “In our case, it’s Schooner Days,” he said.

According to Stevens, Schooner Days has been around so long that multiple generations attend.

“I’ll have 50- and 60-year-olds come up and introduce their grandchildren to me,” he said. “Typically, they relate to them a remembrance of what they experienced on the midway or how they won bingo or almost won a large bingo. It’s an event where you see lots and lots of smiling faces.”

In recent years, Schooner Days has introduced a quirky twist: bingo winners go bananas – literally! The club has added a unique element to its bingo games by giving out bananas along with the usual prizes.

“Kowalski’s has been generous in providing us with bananas over the past several years,” Stevens said. “On occasion, we run out, but generally, we have one for each winner.”

Lisa Toomey, who has been calling bingo at Schooner Days for more than 15 years, explained that the bananas as a prize have been around for a few years. “They are given out along with a cash prize,” she said. “If people come to play, they won’t just get bananas when they win.”

Toomey, who also serves on the Eden Prairie City Council, said there’s a unique thrill in giving out bananas and cash as bingo prizes.

“The combination of a quirky, lighthearted reward with a practical one adds a lot of fun and laughter, making Schooner Days even more enjoyable,” she said.

---

For a closer look at this year’s Schooner Days, including new attractions and classic favorites, read our preview of the event.