The weekend may be over, but that doesn't mean Detroit Lakes' 85th Northwest Water Carnival is slowing down: Monday night at the City Park, Beach and Pavilion brought nice crowds for a full evening of activities that included a Junior Water Carnival Pageant, 'Xtreme' Tippy Cup competition, beach soccer and trivia contest.
Fourteen candidates between ages 5-7 threw their hats in the ring to be crowned this year's water carnival prince and princess, with 7-year-old Ashtin Wilson and 5-year-old Laney Martin taking home the crowns. A crowd of proud parents, siblings and assorted well-wishers gathered in the Pavilion to cheer on the contestants throughout, then all enjoyed a post-pageant snack of cupcakes and lemonade.
Meanwhile, in the City Park, eight teams fought their way through a double-elimination 'X-Treme' Tippy Cup Competition, with the foursome known as the Tipsters — former NDSU classmates Nick and Jessica Edwards, Vanessa Heil and Shelby Foltz — taking home the title.
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"We just made it up on the way (to register for the competition)," said Heil of the team's name.
In addition to regular rounds of tippy cup, each four-person team also had to work their way through "X-treme" challenges, such as rolling giant dice to come up with four pairs of the same number; diving into a pile of whipped cream on a plate to secure a gummy worm in their teeth; and blowing up, then popping balloons through teamwork, without using their hands.
The tippy cup winners took home some nice prizes, including VIP tickets to WE Fest (two) and Moondance Jam (two), along with four tickets to a Minnesota Twins home game and tickets to this weekend's Bash on the Beach.
Local nonprofit Stomp that Stigma was also a beneficiary of the tippy cup action; $400 in proceeds from the event went to support the organization.
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Meanwhile, over on the City Beach, dozens of soccer players kicked up some dust with a little Beach Soccer, and trivia enthusiasts competed for fun and prizes inside the Pavilion.
The Northwest Water Carnival continues tonight (Tuesday) with the Junior Tug-O-War and adult Tug-O-War, starting at 7 p.m. on the City Beach (registration is at 6 p.m.). Also at 7 p.m., over in the City Park Bandshell, Doc & the Scrubs will be playing some big band dance music for the water carnival's annual Dance on Detroit, which doubles as this week's Tuesdays in the Park performance. The local chapter of Fuller Center for Housing (formerly Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity) will also be grilling up some hamburgers, brats and hot dogs starting at 5:30 p.m. in the city park shelter, with proceeds going to support local building projects.
A complete schedule of Northwest Water Carnival activities can be found at dljaycees.com .
