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Committee considers mural themes, children's storyboard and a 'Meet‑the‑Astronaut' appearance
Summary
Members reviewed past Corn Palace themes and discussed future mural ideas — including national parks, movie themes and a storyboard/children's‑book approach with a local author — and confirmed a plaza 'Meet‑the‑Astronaut' appearance by Charles Guimar during the festival.
Committee members revisited possible mural themes and public‑engagement ideas and discussed leveraging local talent and historical events. Speaker 1 reviewed a list of historical Corn Palace themes and proposed pursuing a story‑based mural approach, possibly in collaboration with a local author and students to create a storyboard for children.
Why it matters: The Corn Palace murals are a long‑running cultural attraction; selecting a theme shapes festival programming, educational outreach and marketing for future years.
Theme proposals and community input: Speaker 1 suggested a children's‑book or storyboard approach and proposed contacting Jean Patrick, a library employee and local children's author mentioned in the meeting, to develop a short story that could be illustrated by area students. Members raised a variety of theme ideas including national parks, 'wonders of the world,' movie‑themed murals and a fantasy/kaleidoscope concept.
Innovative ideas: Speaker 9 described a drone storytelling show used in Yankton that depicted the Meridian Bridge anniversary and suggested investigating whether a similar scripted drone presentation could be appropriate for a future festival. The group discussed potential copyright considerations for movie themes and Speaker 1 said organizers have handled permissions before by writing for permission or, when necessary, asking forgiveness later.
Special programming: Separately, Speaker 1 announced a 'Meet the Astronaut' event featuring Charles Guimar on the plaza stage during the festival, scheduled after the kids pedal pull at roughly 4:00 p.m., and said Guimar has returned to South Dakota and will take part in an educational presentation.
Next steps: Speakers agreed to research theme candidates and to follow up with the author and technical partners; the committee will continue theme selection at the next scheduled meeting after Labor Day.
Attributions follow the transcript labels (e.g., "Speaker 1," "Speaker 9") because full names or official roles were not attached to every speaker in the record.
