Volunteer Opportunities
Serving the community we represent has been a longstanding value of the Aquatennial Ambassador Organization and our Ambassadors are happy to visit your school, care facility, fundraiser or other community event.
Festivals
The most common appearances for the Crew are festival parades and coronations across the upper Midwest. At coronations a formal presentation is made by the Aquatennial Crew including the Honorary Commodore Award - given to an extraordinary volunteer nominated by the local community.For communities participating in the Aquatennial Ambassador Candidate Program, a Queen's Charm is also presented to the Candidate - her official invitation to participate during Aquatennial Week.
Visiting Dignitaries
Our Ambassadors also travel to communities across North America to act as official Dignitaries of the Aquatennial and Minneapolis. As Dignitaries, the Ambassador Crew focuses on strengthening the relationship between the two communities while experiencing unique opportunities.
Ambassador Crew Appearances
Each year the Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Crew makes as many as 300 appearances traveling to more than 60 communities across North America.
Appearance Requests
To have the Aquatennial Ambassador Crew attend your festival or event, please complete the Appearance Request form.
The AAO will make every effort possible to honor your request, however many events fall on the same date and time and priority given to communities participating in the Aquatennial Ambassador Candidate Program.
Please note: Parade Unit Placement
Due to the numerous requests and the fact that they many times overlap, we would request that our parade placement be in the first 1/3 of the parade. This may allow additional time for us to be able to accommodate another requested appearance. In addition to the information on the attached form, we will also need your parade application and/or coronation invitation, if applicable (or note the mailing date we can expect to receive the information).
Honorary Commodore Award
The Aquatennial Ambassador Organization (AAO) will recognize an outstanding volunteer from each community our ambassadors visit with the Honorary Commodore Award.
The award consists of a certificate and medal presented by the Aquatennial Ambassador Crew during their appearance at a community festival or event. A Community's nomination could be any outstanding volunteer such as a float builder/driver, event coordinator, an individual who seems to "do it all," or is always there when you need an extra hand.
The AAO will then choose one exemplary volunteer from all of the Honorary Commodore Award recipients to be recognized during the Aquatennial Festival.
If you would like to recognize an outstanding volunteer who has exemplified volunteerism in your festival or community, please complete the online nomination form.
Requirements
Nominations must be submitted no later than 2-4 weeks before the festival or an event.
An Appearance Request Form must also be completed and accepted before submitting an Honorary Commodore nomination.