- St. Johns celebrates its agricultural heritage with the annual Mint Fest, featuring local vendors and more.
- Due to organizational issues, the rodeo is not part of this year’s lineup, but the festival adapts by bringing a new "theme park" back.
- Watch the full video to experience the setup atmosphere and hear from organizers about this year's Mint Fest highlights.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Mint is a crop celebrated annually here in St. Johns. I'm your neighborhood reporter, Russell Shellberg, taking a look at how Mint Fest is faring this year amidst abrupt changes.
Starting in the 19th century, mint farming became a way of life in St. Johns...
"This is the time of year that we celebrate and really honor those farmers who have brought our agrotourism to the area," said Danielle Schrader, the Director of the St. Johns Mint Festival.
Now, the town celebrates the crop by bringing Mint Fest to town every year, where local shops and vendors sell mint products to remember the roots of farming and cherish memories with friends and family.
"Mint Fest is the place where that happens and rejuvenates St. Johns, bringing back great memories and storytelling that has happened in this city time and time again," said St. Johns Mayor, Scott Dzurka.
But bringing everything back wasn’t an easy task. Due to complications this year, the rodeo was dropped from the scheduled events...
"There were some issues with the organization that hosts that section or activity of the Mint Festival, and we just hope to see it in the future," said Schrader.
Schrader says that despite the loss of the rodeo, a new and improved carnival is taking its place. For their first year at Mint Fest, Wade Shows General Manager Gary Zaitshik says their job is to make every moment memorable.
"It's a tradition for a lot of families. They went when they were kids and now they are bringing their kids. So this is something that I'm very excited to be a part of, and I think people will see that with our staff and our management," said Zaitshik.
Mint Fest is expected to bring in more than 30,000 neighbors over the weekend, generating an estimated 2 million dollars that will go back into the city.
FIND MINT FEST'S SCHEDULE AND MORE BY CLICKING HERE.
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