THE NATIONAL PEANUTS 50TH CELEBRATION
CAMP SNOOPY -- MALL OF AMERICA
SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 - OCTOBER 2, 2000
The official start to the National Peanuts 50th Celebration on Tuesday, September 26th, began outside the Mall of America on 24th Street which was changed to Charles Schulz Way for the week of the event. Snoopy, Charlie Brown, the Camp Cruisers (the Camp Snoopy band), and Craig Freeman, Camp Snoopy's General Manager, joined the Mayor of Bloomington and a small crowd for the official (temporary) re-naming ceremony.
Then the daily events began. Every day of the event
visitors could walk around the first floor of the Mall of America and enjoy all
of the festivities. The floor was decorated with "paw prints"
provided by 3M. The paw prints made a path around the first floor of the
Mall and through Camp Snoopy. If you followed the paw path, you could see
all of the exhibits and all of the Peanuts on Parade statues that were brought
in from St. Paul. Many of the statues would later be
auctioned.
The Rotunda was the head quarters of the event. Described as the Peanuts back yard, the Rotunda was transformed with green astro turf, park benches, trees, and flowers to resemble a real back yard. A giant bird bath was home to Woodstock and his friends. An information booth that looked suspiciously like Lucy's psychiatry booth was also found in the Rotunda and was located right next to Snoopy's dog house, which did double duty as the entry box for the week long contest.
The contest was to complete and turn in a "Paw Port." Guests picked up Paw Ports in the Rotunda and got a stamp. Then after visiting all the displays for the event and getting stamps at each one, the completed Paw Port could be turned in for a chance to win free rides for life at Camp Snoopy.
Two huge video walls were also in the Rotunda that continually played Peanuts videos throughout the week. Every morning there was a free Peanuts Character breakfast for the kids where they could have cereal and milk with Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and Sally. Every afternoon 1,000 Snoopy ice cream bars were handed out to guests for free. And several times a day, Snoopy and his escort would come to the Rotunda and read a story to the kids.
In
the Sears court there was a large collection of Peanuts collectables on display
for folks to see. The collection was lent to Camp Snoopy by Minnesota collector
Tami Aker. The collection included everything from lunch boxes to imported
china and banks to holiday ornaments. The specially created Peanuts on
Parade "Pop-Up Snoopy" statue by Tom Everhart was also located in the
Sears Court.
In the North Court of Camp Snoopy was the Peanuts themed NASCAR
driven by Jeff
Gordon in the year 2000 racing season. Well, as we found out, there were
several different versions of the same car design, so it is hard to know whether
this car was driven by Gordon in an actual race or not. Either way, fans
of both Peanuts and NASCAR were excited to get a chance to see the vehicle and
take a picture.
In the Nordstrom's court there were Peanuts photo stands, where you could have you're picture taken with cut-outs of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Sally, Linus and Lucy (at her psychiatric booth). Also in the Nordstrom's court was a huge Peanuts Tribute Wall. With images of all the Peanuts characters, Charles Schulz and quotes from such celebrities as President Bill Clinton, the Tribute Wall was a popular site to see.
Project Linus was set up in the Bloomingdale's court. Project Linus is a charity organization that provides security blankets to children at risk and in need. They had an area where families and kids could draw a panel for a quilt that would, when completed, be donated to a child. Folks could also drop off new or nearly new blankets for Project Linus in a specially made toy bed.
Inside
Camp Snoopy, folks could visit the completely remodeled Snoopy Shop and could
also see daily live performances of the original Peanuts character show
"Peanuts LIVE!" in the Wilderness Theater. This great show
featured songs from "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and starred
Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus. It was a real hit with all of the
guests
throughout the summer and especially during the 50th Celebration week.
Also, at the center fountain inside Camp Snoopy, at the bottom of every hour was
a special musical water and light show featuring the Peanuts gang and
celebrating their 50th anniversary with songs from the Peanuts television
specials, the Peanuts movies, the Peanuts musicals and the voices of the Peanuts
characters as well.
On
the weekend, the special events began. On Saturday, a special ceremony was
held in the Rotunda to unveil the United States Post Office Peanuts stamp
design. The Minneapolis area Postmaster spoke, in addition to
Craig Freeman, General Manager of Camp Snoopy, and Monte Schulz. Many members of Charles
Schulz's family were also in attendance. 
The
stamp design was unveiled and features Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace
sitting atop his dog house. The stamp design pictured it as a 33 cent
stamp, but it came out in May of 2001 when the cost of a stamp was 34
cents. Commemorative post cards featuring the stamp design were given away
to all of those in attendance and they could be hand canceled with a special
"Snoopy Station" postmark provided by the US Post Office and their
store at the Mall of America, Postmark America.
The main
event of the week was on Sunday, October 1st, 2000 as the official live auction
of many of the statues from the Peanuts on Parade St. Paul art project took
place. The VIP guests and auction guests assembled early for a pre-party
in the Camp Snoopy Playhouse Theater. The Auction was held the Rotunda of
the Mall of America. Before the auction, each of the four Schulz children
in attendance spoke and a special live jazz piano and saxophone performance of
two of Guarldi's Peanuts themes was put on with the Peanuts characters dancing
on stage. Then the action began. 
The
auction was led by one 
of
Sotheby's top celebrity auctioneers. He was very professional and very
humorous as he skillfully kept the auction moving and helped up the bidding
prices. Forty statues were auctioned. The first was "A Symphony
of Snoopy" and it went for $31,000. The priciest statue at the
auction was "Jolly Golfer" which went for $35,000. The lowest
bid was $11,000 for "Memories." For a complete list of the
auction results, click here. After 20
statues were sold there was an intermission that featured one of Charles Schulz'
granddaughters performing "Happiness" from "You're a Good Man,
Charlie Brown" on piano. The final 20 statues were auctioned after
the intermission. Bids were taken over the phone and live 
from
the floor. Several famous faces were in the crowd, including St. Paul
Mayor Norm Coleman, the Schulz kids and the wife of record producer Jimmy Jam
Harris. Following the auction's conclusion, the post party moved back into
Camp Snoopy. Camp Snoopy was closed to regular park visitors at 7pm while
the National Peanuts 50th Celebration VIP's, guests, and volunteers were allowed
to continue enjoying the park's rides, shops and attractions. Root beer
and chocolate chip cookies (Snoopy's favorites) were served under the Kite
Eating Tree ride. At 9pm everyone joined Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy,
Linus and Sally at the Center Fountain for a spectacular indoor fireworks
display featuring a music, light, and water show.
The
last day of the National Peanuts 50th Celebration was held on October 2, 2000,
which was the actual day of the 50th anniversary of the Peanuts comic
strip. In the afternoon, a special ceremony was held to unveil a Charles
Schulz memorial park bench to be placed in Camp Snoopy permanently. Camp
Snoopy General Manager Craig Freeman spoke along with the creators of the basic
Peanuts on Parade statues and the memorial bench, Randi and Hart Johnson from
Tivoli Too. Jill Transki, daughter of Charles Schulz also spoke. 
Then
the bench was unveiled and it was a huge hit. Featuring Snoopy eating a
chocolate chip cookie and offering another cookie to whomever sits next to him,
along with Woodstock, the bench instantly became a photo opportunity. A
plaque on the bench reads: "Charles M. Schulz Memorial Bench.
In honor of Charles M. Schulz, creator of the PEANUTS gang. His work has
brought happiness to millions for 50 years and inspired the creation of Camp
Snoopy. Dedicated October 2, 2000." The bench was placed inside
of Camp Snoopy where it remains for visitors to enjoy to this day.
The final official event of the week was a special live television broadcast of a QVC Peanuts home shopping special the evening of October 2, 2000. This took place on the second level of Camp Snoopy just above the Tree Top Tumbler ride. The special lasted 2 hours and featured many special Peanuts 50th Anniversary items including t-shirts, special Tom Everhart limited edition prints, books and jewelry. A live audience watched attentively and many were seen ordering items on their cell phones.
With the
conclusion of the QVC special, the National Peanuts 50th Celebration was
over. The decorations and banners were already starting to be taken down
before the Mall closed that evening. The Mall of America would later call
the week long event the most successful event ever put on by Camp Snoopy and the
Mall of America in the 8 year history of the Mall. Many folks are
responsible for the success, including over 50 volunteers from Peanuts collector
and fan clubs across the mid-west, the US and Canada. The thousands of
visitors through the week from all parts of the United States and the world had
a great time celebrating 50 years of Peanuts and remembering the great work of
Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.
Please send questions and comments about this web site to EAW Peanuts
EAW Peanuts 2005© is an EAW Productions 2005©
venture and is written and produced by Eric A. Wildgrube.
EAW Peanuts 2005 is a personal home page and has no affiliation and/or
association implied or otherwise with United
Features Syndicate, Creative Associates, or United Media.
Snoopy, the Peanuts characters, and Camp Snoopy are registered trade marks of United
Features Syndicate, Inc.
All images of Snoopy and Peanuts characters on this web site are images of items
from the author's personal collection.
