Please Join Us
You are warmly invited to join us Thursday, June 24, for the Water Connects Us Celebration, our live virtual fundraiser in support of healthy water for future generations including all Minnesotans and communities downstream.
Healthy water is the lifeblood of our communities. Join us for stories, speakers, auction shopping, and community giving to protect the lakes, streams and drinking water we value.
✨Our Silent Auction is Open!✨
Head to our online giving center to browse a wide array of fabulous packages. We have something for everyone! Find a spa package, outdoor recreation, arts, food and beverage, and more! You can find the perfect item or experience and feel good knowing you're supporting clean water.
About This Event
6:30 pm, preshow 💧 7 pm, main event 💧 7:30 pm, post-show fun
Water Connects Us is a live virtual fundraising benefit charged with raising the financial resources our work for water requires. Join us as sponsors, donors, and community members from across the state come together to celebrate Minnesota's incredible water heritage and the role we each play in protecting it.
Water Connects Us has replaced Freshwater's annual Ice Out, Loon In in-person gala due to COVID-19 public health guidelines for the second year in a row. Thank you for your ongoing flexibility and support propelling our mission forward.
Tickets
Join us with a complimentary ticket. This event is free to attend and all are welcome!
If you'd like to support Freshwater even more, consider choosing a host ticket. This premium ticket is $150 and includes an exclusive swag bag and access to our VIP pre-show Zoom. It's a great way to make an even bigger splash for the water you value!
Event Details
6:30 pm—Tune in for pre-show fun!
Beth Dooley, a James Beard Award-winning food writer who has authored and co-authored over a dozen books, is creating a virtual mixology lesson for our event.
Using locally sourced and water-friendly ingredients, Beth will demonstrate a signature Freshwater cocktail/mocktail recipe for viewers to make at home if they wish. Guests will get an ingredients list ahead of time.
7 pm—the LIVE main show begins!
Join us for live remarks from Freshwater Executive Director John Linc Stine, inspiring stories of Freshwater's programs in action, and a live Community Giving Moment in which viewers will have an opportunity to make a donation of support.
Our emcee for the evening is KARE 11 meteorologist Laura Betker!
Laura joined the KARE 11 weather team in February 2012. Previously she worked in Lima, Ohio at WLIO as the morning meteorologist. She has also worked in radio and with the American Heart Association.
Laura was born and raised in Corcoran on the western edge of the Minneapolis suburbs. She is a meteorologist by trade, but as an amateur, enjoys gardening, cooking and sewing.
7:30 pm—stay tuned in for the post-show FUN!
Tune in for a message and music from the Grammy Award winning Okee Dokee Brothers!
Ways to Participate in Water Connects Us from Home
Host a watch party for your friends and neighbors!
Track your water interactions for one day using our water drop tracker
Bid in our online auction from 9 am Monday, June 21 to 7:30 pm Thursday, June 24.
Donate anytime between now and the event to ensure healthy water for future generations. Give online, over the phone by calling Tera at 651-313-5800, or send a check made payable to Freshwater to 2550 University Ave W, Suite 212N, St. Paul, MN 55114. Or learn about other ways to give, like through a gift of stock, a donor advised fund, an IRA charitable rollover, and more.
Make a cocktail (or mocktail) with renowned Beth Dooley during her pre-show segment the night of the event. Then share on social media!
Speaking of social media, we'd love to see what makes fresh water (and everything it supports—recreation, wildlife, plants, and more!) important to you. Follow along and share photos of yourself or your family interacting with water or the great outdoors with #Freshwater #WaterConnectsUs #ProtectWater on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Engage kids in seeing the water that flows around them with activity books from Project Wet: Clean and Conserve and Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization's Junior Watershed Explorer or check out Hamline University's Center for Global Environmental Education Big River Journey Online.
Have a Summer Solstice Bonfire on Sunday June 20, 2021. Learn more about the solstice!
💧 Dress the part! You and your party can wear something blue and send us a photo! We'll put the pics together and post a photo collage on our social channels to show your support for Freshwater. 💧
Thank You to Our Sponsors and Hosts
ONE WATER
CONFLUENCE
RIVER KEEPER
Dr. Ed Ehlinger
Peter Gove
Phyllis & Roger Sherman
University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences
WAVE MAKER
HOSTS
Peter Albrecht
Teresa & Doug Andrys, SunLeaf Naturals
Molly & Mark Biedenfeld
Todd Bolin
Blyth Brookman & Ben Jaffray
Beth Carreño
Jeremy & Elizabeth Duehr
Don Davies & Mary Rice
Susan Denuccio
Randy Ellingboe
Barb & Steve Goodspeed
Jay Guthy, The Toro Company
Mike & Shelly Hanson
Jen Kader
Jill Lucas
Corey Lohmiller
Vicki McLellan
Darby & Geri Nelson
Lynn Olson
Charles Oltman
Bruce Pigott
Faith Ralston
Mary & Justin Salisbury
Tom & Gai Skramstad
John Linc & Deb Stine
Kay Verros
Wallace Wadd
Steve & Susan Woods
✨Sponsor Water Connects Us✨
Add your name to the list of sponsors and hosts by contacting Development Officer Mary Salisbury at msalisbury@freshwater.org or 612-619-7136.
Thank You to Our Event Steering Committee
Molly Biedenfeld, 2021 chair
Todd Bolin, Renée Willette, Kate Pearce, Corey Lohmiller, Lili McMillan, Tom Skramstad, Blyth Brookman, Joan Nephew, Beth Carreño, Jill Lucas, John Linc Stine