Behind the Scenes at the CH Jamboree

Columbia Heights’ annual summer celebration has gone under a few different names in its nearly 100 years of existence. 

It was considered a “Jubilee” in 1934, in its first official iteration. The Columbia Heights Action Committee took over organizing the event in 1950 and settled on “Jamboree.” The name stuck but the committee disbanded in 1974 and the Lions Club stepped in. 

Fifty years later, they still sit at the helm of the city’s biggest summer event, which this year runs from Wednesday, June 26 until Sunday, June 30. 

Current Columbia Heights Lions Club President Joe Macko is the de facto person in charge of the Jamboree. Sitting down with him and his son Andy, a former Lions Club president, and Joe Clerkin, long-time Lions member and Tasty Pizza co-owner, it becomes clear that while the Lions are responsible for a great deal of the planning and hands-on work that facilitates the functioning of the Jamboree, they don’t do it alone.

“There’s a lot of people in the community who step up, between organizations and local businesses that help out,” said Clerkin. And it’s a year-long process.

“We have what’s called beer, brats and bocce ball,” said Macko Sr., as the first meeting after the Jamboree. It serves the dual purpose of thanking members for their service at the just completed Jamboree and acts as a recruitment tool for attracting new members. 

At subsequent meetings the conversations start, figuring out what worked, what didn’t. “Should we get different beers … did the bands work … should we do a different night,” he said. He will be playing his accordion for the beer garden patrons on Saturday night of the Jamboree. 

The Parade

The parade is an integral part of the Jamboree now and has been since its inception. 

In 1934, when the “Jubilee” took place that fall, before becoming a summer event in 1935, it was considered a celebration of the paving and completion of Central Ave. and it is where floats and fire trucks were joined by children marching along on the new pavement. The north-south portion of the parade has since moved to Quincy St. 

This year there are 57 units scheduled to participate. Lions Club member Christie Bauck, under the tutelage of long-time Lion and past parade organizer Sean Clerkin (one of three Clerkin brothers in the Lions fold, along with Brian, who handles the beer garden) said she started recruiting participants last February.

She estimated that she’d already put in upwards of 60 hours when she was interviewed for this article, but it was clear she was still fielding calls and working to finalize the list. It may be her first year in charge of the parade but she proudly listed some of the new units she brought in for this year’s parade, which includes art cars, bikes and Goldy Gopher. 

The Carnival

Family Fun Shows Inc. out of Mankato will provide the carnival rides, games and food again this year. They’ve been at the Columbia Heights Jamboree for close to 30 years and they’re currently in year two of a five-year contract with the Lions Club. 

The Columbia Heights Athletic Boosters are the one “outside” food service allowed on the carnival grounds, according to Macko Sr., and their members are tasked with the hot dog stand’s operation. 

In order to keep the crowds moving through the gates (a few years ago the decision was made to put up a perimeter fence and charge a nominal fee — $2 this year — at one of two gates to get in to the carnival), Macko Jr. estimates 300 hours of volunteer service hours just to oversee that one Jamboree function, largely handled by Lions members. If three people representing another nonprofit organization sign up to volunteer three hours of time at the Jamboree, the Lions donate $100 to their organization.

Partnering with others

Dan O’Brien, Columbia Heights assistant fire chief, said the “vast majority” of the city’s firefighters will end up working Jamboree hours in some capacity. For some paid on-call members it may be just to ride in the parade; for others it may be to serve on safety teams for the Saturday evening fireworks show. The fireworks are one of the Jamboree’s few regular activities that are not handled by Lions members. 

Kyle Hall, Columbia Heights firefighter and former Fire Explorer himself, added that one favorite job for the Columbia Heights Fire Explorer Post #3778 members is to assist with the cleanup of the firework show aftermath. The local Fire Explorer program is a joint offering of Scouting America and the fire department and is for young people between the ages of 14 and 20. Their group also assists with the annual pancake breakfast fundraiser for the Columbia Heights Firefighters’ Association, which this year will be from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 30 at Murzyn Hall. 

The Columbia Heights Police Department is consulted on parade routes and the Lions maintain open communication lines with them during the Jamboree. Kevin Hansen, Columbia Heights interim city manager, listed a few jobs that the city’s public works department handles such as fencing, parade cleanup and road closures. Other groups listed as helping in the past were the Key Club, Rotary Club and members of the Firehouse Gym, who will provide some security staffing assistance again this year.

Jackie Miller of Miller’s Corner Bar & Grill and Roman Miernicki of Roman’s Café are two business owners with locations on the parade route. They, like many area businesses, are purveyors of discounted carnival ride tickets, an annual offering of Family Fun Shows and the Lions Club. When asked about their participation in the Jamboree festivities (both appear in the Friday parade) they each offered similar responses, pride in both their community and their own roles in it.

The future

The dwindling membership that affects many of the nation’s service organizations is a concern in Columbia Heights as well. “We have some members who are definitely on the older side of things,” noted Macko Jr., stating that the average age of the Lions members here in Columbia Heights is nearly 60. Replacing folks as they age out is clearly an issue of concern. They are “always” looking for new members and it is their sincere hope that people, especially younger people, will continue to feel the urge to serve in civic organizations like the Lions Club.