Coon Rapids Students Race The Clock to Shape The Face of The City’s 62nd Snowflake Days Celebration

COON RAPIDS, Minn.
As winter settles across central Minnesota, the City of Coon Rapids is preparing for one of its most enduring civic traditions. The 62nd annual Coon Rapids Snowflake Days will run from January 30 through February 8, 2026, continuing a community celebration that traces its roots back to 1964, when local Jaycees launched the festival to give the city a distinct winter identity separate from its summer events.

That legacy is now in the hands of young artists. With the submission deadline fast approaching, the Coon Rapids Snowflake Association is issuing a final call for entries to its 2026 Snowflake Days Button Design Contest, a competition open to Coon Rapids students in grades 5 through 12, including those attending public, private, and home schools.

The button contest is more than a symbolic gesture. For decades, the winning designs have become the official Snowflake Days buttons, which function as a pass for several major festival events. Most notably, participants must possess the official button to claim prizes in the popular Community Medallion Hunt, one of the city’s most anticipated winter traditions.

Design rules, deadline, and prizes

Contest organizers outline clear creative guidelines. Designs must be hand drawn, not computer generated, and created on an 8.5 by 11 inch white sheet of paper using the official template. Artists may use no more than three colors, with white as the background. Each design must prominently include the words “Coon Rapids Snowflake Days” along with the festival dates January 30 to February 8, 2026.

A required visual element is Rocky the Raccoon, the city’s official mascot. Students are also encouraged to incorporate winter activities commonly associated with life in Coon Rapids, such as hockey, ice skating, sledding, and disc golf.

All entries must be submitted by Friday, January 9, 2026. Two winning designs will be selected. The first place winner will receive $100, and the second place winner will receive $75. City officials have announced that the winning designs will be unveiled during the Coon Rapids City Council meeting on January 20, 2026.

Rocky the Raccoon and civic identity

Rocky the Raccoon has become inseparable from Snowflake Days and from the city’s public image. The mascot draws its name and identity from Coon Creek, where early settlers observed large raccoon populations that helped inspire the city’s name. Rocky received a modern refresh in 2023 and is now a familiar presence at community events, frequently appearing in winter attire during Snowflake Days festivities.

City leaders say the mascot requirement reinforces civic identity while giving students a shared cultural reference point that connects local history with contemporary celebration.

What the button unlocks in 2026

Once produced, the student designed buttons will grant access to several hallmark events during the 2026 festival:

• Community Medallion Hunt: A citywide scavenger hunt conducted on public property. The finder of the medallion can win $500, but only if they possess an official 2026 Snowflake Days button.
• Guns and Hoses Hockey Game: A charity matchup between the Coon Rapids Police and Fire Departments, scheduled for February 1 at the Coon Rapids Ice Center.
• Snow Sculpture Contest: Residents compete to build winter displays in their front yards, with judging set for February 3.
• Waffle Breakfast: A closing day tradition on February 8, where the Medallion Hunt winner is formally recognized and the community gathers to conclude the festival.

A tradition shaped by youth

More than six decades after its founding, Snowflake Days continues to rely on community participation to remain vibrant. By placing the visual identity of the festival in the hands of local students, organizers say the button contest reinforces the idea that Snowflake Days is not simply a schedule of events, but a shared civic story passed from one generation to the next.

For students with markers and pencils still in hand, the clock is ticking. The design they submit by January 9 could soon be worn across the city, unlocking winter traditions and marking another chapter in Coon Rapids’ long running celebration of community in the coldest season.

MinneapoliMedia