From MinnPost:

Planners for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul soon will announce a giant "nonpartisan" civic celebration to be held during the Sept. 1-4 event.

And they do stress the word nonpartisan. Organizers say 150,000 might attend.

Details aren't available yet, but it will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. (The main venue for the actual convention speeches and votes is the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, but tons of other places will be used for parties and meetings around the entire metro area.)

The event will be produced by Gerard McTernan.

His previous high-profile events include the Salt Lake 2002 Cultural Olympiad — "Discover Navajo: People of the Fourth World," the All-Star Fan Fest for Major League Baseball and the Super Bowl XXX Street Spectacular.

He also produced PoliticalFest for the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia and put together the Carlson 70th anniversary World Gala in February in Las Vegas.

The AP expands a bit more:

The Minneapolis-St. Paul host committee said it has hired Gerard McTernan to stage a 285,000-square foot exhibit on Minnesota and American history, democracy and the U.S. presidency. It will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center during the Republican convention's early September run.

I'm telling you, come September, the Twin Cities will be the place to be.