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PARTY IN THE PARK
LANDMARK PLAZA -- ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2003
On a cloudy, cool Sunday in late September the "Linus Blankets Saint Paul" public art tribute to Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz came to close at Landmark Plaza in St. Paul, Minnesota. During the summer of 2003 over 90 differently designed five foot Linus statues decorated the street of St. Paul, Minnesota. With all the Linus statues gathered in downtown St. Paul, the final celebration was set to take place.
The Party in the Park was actually held in two different parks, Rice Park and Landmark Plaza, which are adjacent to each other. Rice Park is surrounded by St. Paul's Landmark Center, The St. Paul Hotel, The Ordway Center, and the Historic St. Paul Public Library. Landmark Plaza lies just northeast of Rice Park, next to Lankdmark Center, and was a brand new park space to downtown St. Paul.
The party kicked off at 10am. Over in Rice Park there were many food vendors and activities. There were several games for the kids and some for the whole family. Prizes included large Peanuts and Snoopy coloring and activity books and food tokens for Taco Bell. There was a booth set up to create your own Peanuts button. You could cut out pictures of the Peanuts gang, use stickers, and crayons to create your perfect Peanuts pin. Rice Park was also the location of the popular paint-your-own Peanuts Bobblehead station. Blank bobbleheads of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy were given away free of charge (one per person). Then you could take your bobblehead and paint it right away or you could take it home to paint later.
Over in Landmark Plaza, there were more food vendors and there was an entertainment stage that featured kid and adult entertainment throughout the day. One of the entertainers was Grammy Award nominated jazz saxophonist Dave Koz. Free boxes of Peanuts cookies and crackers along with free cartons of milk were available to the crowd. A "Linus Blankets Saint Paul" merchandise booth was also found in Landmark Plaza selling all sorts of stuff, from pins to posters, and blankets to baseball caps.
A very special event, the Bronze Unveilings, took place at 1:00pm at Landmark Plaza. Three permanent bronze sculpture vignettes were unveiled in the park. Jean Schulz, Charles Schulz's wife, three of Charles Schulz's children and their families were on hand along with St. Paul city officials to unveil the sculptures. First unveiled was a wonderful piece featuring Schroeder playing his piano with Lucy looking on. Next was a darling sculpture of Charlie Brown sitting down with Snoopy curled up in his lap. The statue was placed right under a real tree. The last statue unveiled was a matched pair of Linus and Sally. They are standing next to each other and the statues were situated so that they are leaning and looking over a real brick wall, similar to the one seen in the Peanuts comic strip. The bronze statues are all "kid friendly." They were all coated with a material to prevent the statues from getting too hot in the summer sun. They are all about 3 feet high and low to the ground, so if kids climb on them they won't fall. There are no sharp edges at all and no place to get a small hand or foot stuck in. They will be a permanent, lasting tribute to St. Paul native and Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz.
Then at 2pm it was time for the Linus Blankets St. Paul Live auction. Forty different Linus statues were set to be auctioned off inside the Landmark Center. Saxophonist Dave Koz took the stage first and played some familiar Peanuts songs including "Happiness Is," and "Linus and Lucy." Snoopy and Linus took some time off from Camp Snoopy - Mall of America to join Mr. Koz on stage during the final song. Then the stage was set for more than 60 live bidders and their guests, along with 30 internet bidders from 13 different states to start bidding.
The auction was held by Kurt Johnson Auctioneering and was led by Colonel Kurt Johnson. The auctioneer was very professional and quite funny as 40 Linus statues were auctioned off to the highest bidder. The first statue auctioned off was "Circle of Friends" which went for $7,000. The highest bid came in at $8,000 for Sean Mumm's "Picnic 'N' Linus." The lowest bid was $1,400 for "Pearly Whites." For reasons not revealed, a Charlie Brown statue from the 2001 tribute "Charlie Brown Around Town," that had been auctioned at the Mall of America in November of 2001, was put up for auction again. Originally it sold for $8,000, but on this day it would sell for $12,500. In the end five of the Linus statues were sold to on-line bidders from such places as California, Minnesota and New Jersey. For a complete list of the auction results, click here.
Following the auction there was a dessert reception for the bidders and the family and friends of Charles M. Schulz. The Party in the Park continued on until 4:30pm. It was a wonderful day that brought out thousands of Peanuts fans to pay tribute and remember Minnesota native Charles M. Schulz and his unique creation, Linus Van Pelt.
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