I’m at the carnival, playing midway games and losing my gourd riding thrilling rides.
I’m in the vendor marketplace, perusing neat stuff and ignoring Jenny Craig’s advice on delicious food.
I’m under the big top – the best thing to be under, because beer and bingo are there – and I’m feeling absolutely A-OK.
Where am I? Some sort of heavenly Midwestern fairground? That’s right! I’m at Schooner Days, which returns to Round Lake Park this year on May 30th, May 31st and June 1st.
“Schooner Days is the Eden Prairie Lions’ premier fundraising event,” said Nancy Vest, volunteer. “Every dollar spent at the carnival, vendor marketplace and big top directly benefits our philanthropic efforts.
“The vendor marketplace is the newest addition to Schooner Days. This is only its third year, but it has already become a huge hit with local businesses, which claimed over 80 percent of available spots as of March. Alongside our increased marketing efforts, the marketplace has helped quintuple annual attendance. We welcomed 15,000 last year!”
Arts? Crafts? Toys? Jewelry? Clothing? Henna body art, face painting, and personalized gifts? They’ll all be for sale at the marketplace. I personally like to buy a 3D-printed dragon from War Forged Printing every year. It’s a funny thing to repeatedly claim as a business expense.
Schooner Days has Grandma’s Cookies. Schooner Days has Eggroll Queen. It has Smokestack Express, Rollin Nolen's BBQ, Granite Rock Stone Fired Pizza, Discreetly Greek, Chick-fil-A, Wanna’ Hava Shave Ice, Badger Kettle Corn, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Baja Smoothies, too. Eat something from each in one sitting if you want to feel like the main character in a Zantac commercial, or savor just one or two. You are the boss at Schooner Days.
“We were all pleasantly surprised by Pierogi2Gogi’s breakout popularity last year,” recalled Terry Eggan, Lion. “Clever fairgoers soon realized how well potato pancakes go with beer – one of the two main attractions under the big top, where we serve the ice-coldest by Fat Pants, Unmapped Brewing, Grain Belt and Coors. There’ll be wine, hard seltzer and soft drinks there, too.”
Don’t go far with your beer. Stay and play bingo instead! “The whole thing is a blast, with up to half a thousand players vying for prizes, sharing a laugh at local celebrities’ inspired ball calling, and getting fired up over the high-stakes cover-all games which start at 10:30pm on Friday and Saturday,” said Terry.
“The carnival and midway games provide plenty of wholesome kid-friendly entertainment. But if you want your child to truly have the time of their life, let one of our volunteers give them a vision screening. It’s a free demonstration of the Lions KidSight USA Foundation’s state-of-the-art technology, which takes only two seconds to determine whether a child should see an eye doctor.”
“Helen Keller once dared the Lions to become ‘knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness,’” added Nancy. “They accepted her call, which is why we primarily serve the visually impaired to this day. In addition to Lions KidSight, which helps children avoid serious health issues worldwide, money raised by Schooner Days supports the Minnesota Lions Vision Foundation, the Lions Gift of Sight program, Can Do Canines, Leader Dogs for the Blind, and several other life-changing nonprofits.”
Admission to Schooner Days is free as sunshine. So too is the constant shuttle service which makes parking quick and easy. Visit EPSchoonerDays.com for individual attraction hours, the complete list of vendors, and a map of all the exciting places where you can park your car.