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Grand Excursion Flotilla
This past summer, the Grand Excursion brought together the communities of the upper Mississippi River for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. The largest riverboat and steamboat flotilla in over a century followed the 1854 Grand Excursion’s route up the Mississippi River, from the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Because of the tremendous support of so many people, the Grand Excursion 2004 initiative was truly a history-making success! Whatever your role – ticket buyer, volunteer, local planner, funder or educator - we can’t say thank you enough for your contribution
The Grand Flotilla from June 25 – July 5th was the signature event. While all the figures continue to stream in, the results of the Grand Excursion are so positive that they sound a bit staggering:
More than 1 million attendees experienced the Grand Excursion throughout the region
2,000 positive news articles reached 74 million people
500 television and radio stories touched 37 million people
Nearly 40,000 tickets were sold with a 99% satisfaction rate
There were 41 million web site hits
300 new river events were launched
92% of passengers plan to come back to the Mississippi River
We invite you to view and download a more comprehensive Grand Excursion 2004 regional report HERE.
But, we believe that proof of the Grand Excursion’s success is not in the pages of any final report but rather in the “intangibles” that could never be completely captured or quantified: the swell of local pride and anticipation as the boats turned the corner into every town along the upper Mississippi; the seeds of river stewardship planted in 50,000 students by way of the River Exploration Trunks; the new network of communities and organizations rebuilding this region's relationship to the Mississippi River.
Thank you for your contribution to the success of the Grand Excursion 2004.
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