City of Bloomington

Summer Fete 2013 is TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 3rd!  Due to the event taking place on a workday, the event time has been shifted back to be from 5:00 PM - Dusk at Normandale Lake Park.  The Summer Fete webpage has a lot of information that you may find useful about the event.  Check it out to see a line-up of the musicians, a list of the food vendors, a downloadable event map and a list of our generous corporate sponsors.

Here are a couple quick facts that you may not know about the history of Summer Fete!

• It was originally called "Summerfest" and held at Kennedy High School for one year in 1978 and was then moved to Creekside the following year.
• The name was changed to "Summer Fete" in 1981 and was the first year it featured fireworks.
• The event was first held at Normandale Lake Park in 1986.
• In 1989, the event was scaled back to a single-day event on July 3rd.
• The Carnival Area began in 2006 and the 84th Steet Kids' Stage for children's entertainment was added to the corner of 84th St. and Normandale Blvd in 2007.

This year's event features 6 different performing groups on the two stages.  There will also be a total of 13 different food vendors in the two event areas.  Static displays by the following groups will be lined up on 84th Street:

• The Bloomington Police Department
• The Bloomington SWAT Team
• The Bloomington Bomb Squad
• The Bloomington Fire Department
• The Community Emergency Response Team
• The Bloomington Aquettes
• Bloomington Public Schools
• The JHS and KHS Robotics Teams
• The Bloomington Theater and Arts Center

The Carnvial Area will open at 5:00 PM for all sorts of inflatable fun.  All inflatable attractions will require two tickets.  You can purchase Carnival tickets as follows:

• Four Carnival tickets cost $5.00
• An unlimited inflatable wristband for $14.00, which will change to $12.00 after 7:00 PM
• An unlimited pass to ALL attractions, including the non-inflatables will cost $24.00.

 Sales will be open until the Carnival Area closes at 9:00 PM.

We take pride in what we believe is the best fireworks display in the State of Minnesota.  Our lead pyrotechnician promises us that Bloomington is the only city, in the metro area for sure, that is capable of firing 10 inch shells and will have the best show in the state.  So, when you say to yourself, "OOOOooooo... that firework was HUGE!"  You are right!  We plan for the fireworks to shoot off at approximately 10:10 PM.  We'd like to give a special thanks to our "DETONATION SPONSORS," whom without we could not provide such an incredible Independence Day experience:

• CUB FOODS – VALLEY WEST
• FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE OF BLOOMINGTON
• RICHFIELD BLOOMINGTON CREDIT UNION
• URBAN COMMUNICATIONS

There will be a limited amount of handicap parking available in the 84th Street Parking Lot.  Access to the parking lot will be closed by Bloomington Police starting at 6:00 PM, but vehicles with a handicap sticker or plate will have access if there is still space available.  There will also be some spots reserved for handicap parking on the lower level of the closest parking ramp, which is the 8500 Ramp.  Due to the fireworks setup zone, the walking path around the lake will be closed starting at 10:00 AM.

We are excited for our 35th ANNUAL Bloomington Summer Fete and hope to see you there! Happy Independence Day!