NATIONAL PEANUTS 50TH CELEBRATION

CHARLIE BROWN TOWN

FOR THE LOVE OF LUCY

PARTY IN THE PARK

PARTY IN THE PARK II

CHARLIE BROWN TOWN

CAMP SNOOPY -- MALL OF AMERICA
OCTOBER 29, 2001 - NOVEMBER 4, 2001

Charlie Brown Town was a week long celebration of Charles Schulz's beloved creation Charlie Brown that took place at Camp Snoopy and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.  Special events were held throughout the week, leading up to the much anticipated Charlie Brown Around Town live auction, where over 60 Charlie Brown statues from St. Paul's 2001 tribute to Charles Schulz would be auctioned off.  The week began with "Charlie Brown Day," where anyone with the real name of Charlie Brown was honored in the Mall of America Rotunda and received a free Charlie Brown T-shirt, lunch and free rides at Camp Snoopy for their family for the day.

Then the daily events began.  The Mall of America Rotunda was transformed into Blockhead Stadium with real astro turf (including painted on base lines, bases and pitchers mound), dugouts for Charlie's team and Peppermint Patty's team, outfield bleachers and two giant video screens that played "Peanuts" videos all week long.  Blockhead stadium played host to a daily Character Breakfast where families could have cereal and milk with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and Sally.  On October 30th there was a Halloween costume contest for kids that came to the character breakfast.  Every evening there was a special character show entitled "Snoopy's Rockin' Revue" at Blockhead Stadium that featured Snoopy and the Peanuts gang.  

The main information booth was located at Blockhead Stadium as well.  Visitors to the event could pick up a "Charlie Brown Town" map that indicated where all 63 of the Charlie Brown Around Town statues and all of the special exhibits were around the first floor of the Mall of America.  If guests went around and visited all the exhibits in the court yards of the four corner stores at the Mall, they could get their map stamped at each station.  If they got all four stamps, the completed map could be turned in for a chance to win one of two prizes:  rides for life at Camp Snoopy - Mall of America and a charter membership to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California.  

The theme for the Nordstrom's Court was "Go Fly A Kite, Charlie Brown."  Kites of all kinds and sizes were found hung from the skylights above the court with more than a few kites stuck in the trees in the court.  Also featured in the Nordstrom's Court was the Charles M. Schulz Museum.  Set to open in spring of 2002 in Santa Rosa, California, the museum staff sent several pictures of what the museum will look like and photos of the museum under construction.  Also on display were several of the gifts that Peanuts fans receive once they join the museum as a charter member.  Membership information was available for folks to pick up.  Volunteers staffed the booth to tell guests about the museum and to answer questions.  

The Macy's Court was home to two merchandise carts that featured exclusive "Charlie Brown Around Town" and "Peanuts On Parade" merchandise including posters, videos, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, key chains, and other souvenirs.  Especially popular were the miniature figurines of some of the "Peanuts On Parade" Snoopy statues from the year before.  By the end of the week the much anticipated book entitled "Peanuts On Parade/Charlie Brown Around Town:  St. Paul's Tribute to Charles M. Schulz" was available for purchase.  The 64 page book featured photos of all 111 Snoopy statues and 103 Charlie Brown statues that were on display in St. Paul the summer of 2000 and 2001 respectfully.  Also, every day from 4-6pm, families could come to the Macy's court to paint their own miniature Charlie Brown statue.  After a small donation to the Charles M. Schulz Fund, guests received a 5 inch statue of Charlie Brown that was all white.  Then program leaders would assist folks in painting their very own Charlie Brown Around Town statue.

The Bloomingdale's court featured the non-profit organization Canine Companions for Independence.  The organization enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.  The group usually had live dogs at their display every day for folks to see and enjoy.  Canine Companions for Independence was a favorite charity of "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz and remains an important cause for the Schulz family.

Special events took place toward the end of the week. On Friday, November 2nd, the world premiere of the "Charlie Brown Around Town" video was held at Blockhead Stadium from 5pm to 7pm.  The video was shown on the two big video walls in it's entirety, featuring 102 of the Charlie Brown Around Town statues in their original locations around St. Paul and including interviews from Peanuts fans viewing the statues.  One of the producers of the project was Charles Schulz's son, Craig Schulz.  Craig Schulz was at the premiere and signed copies of the video and other items for those in attendance. 

On Saturday, select "Peanuts On Parade" artists were available at The Snoopy Shop, inside Camp Snoopy - Mall of America, to autograph their miniature statues for guests.  Two different artists were available in two hour blocks, from 12pm - 6pm.  Some of the artists that came included Linda Brant-Malm ("Little Green Booties"), Robyn Berth ("All American Digital Dog"), Carol Holloran ("Bundle of Joy"), and Maria Sokec ("Fun In The Sun").

The culmination of the week long event arrived on Sunday, November 4th, 2001 with the live auction of the "Charlie Brown Around Town" statues.  All 63 statues that were going to be auctioned were at the Mall of America all week to been seen in public for the last time.  VIP guests and auction bidders assembled at the Playhouse Theater in Camp Snoopy for pre-registration and a VIP reception before the auction.  By 3:30pm bidders were taking their seats in the Mall of America rotunda as the Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and Sally were heading to the stage.  Before the auction, Camp Snoopy General Manager Craig Freeman spoke and then introduced St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman.  Coleman spoke about the impact of the "Charlie Brown Around Town" event on St. Paul.  Then pianist David Bennoit took the stage and played three famous "Peanuts" songs from various "Peanuts" television specials, including "Charlie Brown Theme," "Pebble Beach," and "Linus and Lucy."  The Peanuts gang joined Bennoit on stage, dancing as he played the final song.  Bennoit signed  his CD "Here's To You, Charlie Brown:  50 Great Years," following his performance.  Then Coleman introduced Craig Schulz, son of Charles Schulz, who spoke about the family's appreciation of the St. Paul tributes and thanked everyone for coming. 

Then the auction began.  The auction was held by Sotheby's and was led by celebrity auctioneer C. Hugh Hildesley, who was the same auctioneer for the "Peanuts On Parade" auction the previous year.  Once again, the auctioneer was very professional and highly entertaining as 63 Charlie Brown statues were auctioned off to the highest bidder.  The first statue auctioned off was "St. Paul's Man About Town" which went for $15,000.  The highest bid came in at $30,000 for Tom Everhart's "Charlie Brown, Yellow, Purple, Red, and Green in Designer Hat."  The lowest bid was $3,000 for "Imagination and Innovation."  The final statue auctioned was a special Charlie Brown statue created especially for the auction.  Entitled "Patriotic Charlie" the proceeds from this statue were donated to the American Red Cross September 11th relief fund.  Before the bidding began on the final statue, the auctioneer had everyone in the Rotunda and on all four floors above watching stand to sing "God Bless America."  "Patriotic Charlie" sold for $12,000.  For a complete list of the auction results, click here.

Following the auction there was a dinner and reception for the VIP's and auction bidders back in the Playhouse Theater inside Camp Snoopy.  The week long celebration ended at 7pm that night and soon after the 63 Charlie Brown statues at the Mall of America were already being moved out to be shipped to their new owners.  The event was successful on many levels.  Many people were responsible for that success including nearly 30 volunteers from Peanuts collector and fan clubs from 10 different states across America. Most importantly, thousands of visitors had a fun time at the Mall of America celebrating the beloved creation of Minnesota native Charles M. Schulz.