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SAINT PAUL, MN -Bob Long, candidate for Mayor, today proposed a two-prong tourism effort to continue the success of Saint Paul’s flourishing Riverfront. The first part of the proposal calls for a new summertime festival to be held on Saint Paul’s downtown riverfront called Mississippi RiverFest. The second proposal dubbed the "Great Mississippi Trail" would extend a walking and biking trail out from the Riverfront near the Science Museum into the neighborhoods. The Trail would highlight public art, historic places and famous Minnesotans.

Long envisions the festival encompassing both the downtown and Westside banks of the Mississippi River with ferry boats to music and activities on Raspberry and Harriet Islands. "We have made significant progress on our beautiful riverfront. We must keep our Riverfront development moving forward and take it to the next level by putting families and kids right onto the river." Mississippi RiverFest would be patterned after Milwaukee’s Summerfest and Chicagofest with various musical stages, diverse food offerings and fun summertime family activities.

As Mayor, Long will encourage a public-private partnership to launch the festival including strong involvement from the city’s Riverfront Corporation, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Capital City Partnership, which already sponsor the Taste of Minnesota.

The Great Mississippi River Trail would start near the new Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Interpretive Center at the Science Museum and extend in three directions:

• Up toward Cathedral Hill through Rice Park, past the Landmark Center, the Minnesota History Center, the State Capital, and along Summit Avenue;
  
  
• Down the Riverfront Corridor through historic Irvine Park and the West Seventh Neighborhood to Fort Snelling; and
  
  
• Along the River past the Union Depot, Lowertown to the East Side neighborhoods and Indian Mounds Park.

Various stops along the way would highlight the historic homes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis and James J. Hill. Other sites would include the new Charles Schultz memorial and other new public arts projects as well as neighborhoods that showcase the history of new immigrants coming to Saint Paul and the Midwest.

"The Great Mississippi Trail will highlight the history of Saint Paul’s people and create unique public spaces that will make our city the tourism capital of the Upper Midwest," said Long.

To develop the Great Mississippi Trail, Long would form additional public-private partnerships with Public Arts Saint Paul, local foundations that sponsor public art projects and the business community to fund the creation of the Trail.

Both of Long’s tourism initiatives promoting Saint Paul’s Riverfront are part of Long’s commitment to supporting the Grand Excursion in 2004 planned by the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation.