Rondo Days
Encyclopedia
Rondo Days is an annual weekend festival held in mid-July in Saint Paul, Minnesota
that commemorates the Rondo neighborhood, an African-American community that was split in two by the construction of Interstate 94
in the mid 1960s. The festival has grown since its inception in 1982 to become the second largest African American sponsored festival in Minnesota..
, meet at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium located in downtown Saint Paul's Rivercentre in the evening. These drill teams and drum lines will perform in a somewhat similar manner to speech competitions. Each drill team is allowed only one 9:00 minute session which is then critiqued by a panel of judges, however, a team will be allowed to start over in the case of an unexpected interruption, such as a lighting failure. In 2005, a drum-off was added, where teams in sets of 4 would have 4:00 minutes to showcase their routine. Also in 2005, one of the most popular drill teams from Saint Paul, known as the "Half-Pintz", were forced to take a bye after winning the drill team competition for the previous three consecutive years. The Half-Pintz elected to be an exhibition group in 2006 to avoid criticism from out of state teams that the competition was being "fixed" in the home team's favor.
Auditorium. Not coincidentally, Wilkins was a well-known figure whose roots were also in the Rondo neighborhood. Financial problems forced the competition to return to James Griffin Stadium
in 2006.
drill team's routine, and the team was granted a restart.
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
that commemorates the Rondo neighborhood, an African-American community that was split in two by the construction of Interstate 94
Interstate 94
Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
in the mid 1960s. The festival has grown since its inception in 1982 to become the second largest African American sponsored festival in Minnesota..
Parade
Events that are held include a parade that is located on the old Rondo neighborhood that features a parade in the daytime where a number of drill teams participate prior to the evening's drill team competition.Also people from the community come and join to watch and have a fun time.Drill Team Competition
The drill team competition is a highly anticipated event during the Rondo Days festival as several drill teams and drum lines, all of them having some kind of connection with the Rondo neighborhood, and from different locations across the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, meet at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium located in downtown Saint Paul's Rivercentre in the evening. These drill teams and drum lines will perform in a somewhat similar manner to speech competitions. Each drill team is allowed only one 9:00 minute session which is then critiqued by a panel of judges, however, a team will be allowed to start over in the case of an unexpected interruption, such as a lighting failure. In 2005, a drum-off was added, where teams in sets of 4 would have 4:00 minutes to showcase their routine. Also in 2005, one of the most popular drill teams from Saint Paul, known as the "Half-Pintz", were forced to take a bye after winning the drill team competition for the previous three consecutive years. The Half-Pintz elected to be an exhibition group in 2006 to avoid criticism from out of state teams that the competition was being "fixed" in the home team's favor.
Growth
When the Rondo Days festival began, the drill team competition was held at Saint Paul Central's James Griffin Stadium, Griffin himself becoming a prominent figure that grew up in the Rondo neighborhood. In the late 1990s, after a heavy rainstorm complicated one of the competitions, the event was moved to the Roy WilkinsRoy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was in his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ....
Auditorium. Not coincidentally, Wilkins was a well-known figure whose roots were also in the Rondo neighborhood. Financial problems forced the competition to return to James Griffin Stadium
James Griffin Stadium
James Griffin Stadium is a 4,367-capacity stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Although it is located on the grounds of Saint Paul Central High School, it was also home the Concordia University, Saint Paul's football and women's soccer teams until 2008...
in 2006.
Obstacles
The Rondo Days festival has dealt with some problems in its history. In the 2004 drill team competition, a fight erupted in one of the auditorium's concession stand and ballooned to the point where police used mace to quell the fighting. This nearly led to the cancellation of the event, but the decision was later rescinded by the President of the Rondo Days festival (although he did warn the event would be stopped if another fight were to occur). The fight began in the middle of a Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
drill team's routine, and the team was granted a restart.