hot chocolate, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can go back out there. It is so cold, and my feet are frozen.’” But she said the spirit of the weekend outweighed the cold. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. “All of the fans were super nice and fun.” Super Bowl LIVE consisted of a number of events and activities for fans ranging from concerts to zip lines and photos. For her first shift, Blaalid was tasked with helping with the zip line. “A group of us were telling people which Polaris vehicle to get into to go zip lining,” she said. On Saturday, Blaalid took on a job that she had a little previous experience with. “Having a background working at Harold’s Photography for several years, I got to take photos of people,” she said. “That was really easy for me and fun to do because there was an ice sculpture and I would take photos of people with the ice sculptures.” On Super Bowl Sunday, she got to help out with pre-game concerts going on in downtown Minneapolis. When not on duty, Blaalid took some time to enjoy some of the festivities around the game. “The second day, Dave Matthews was playing the Xcel Center in St. Paul, and I had bought tickets — which is kind of a big deal and fun,” she said. “There was a bunch of people from Yankton that were going to that concert, so I saw them before I went to the concert. Then Sunday, I went around and did all of the activities because my sister flew from Colorado to stay with my friend that lives in Minneapolis.” While volunteers such as Blaalid didn’t get to go to the game itself, she said it was still an exciting spectacle to watch. “It was awesome watching it on TV in Minneapolis,” she said. “I stayed up to watch the Jimmy Fallon special and he held up the Bold North mittens that the volunteers all wore, so that was fun and special. It was a really great experience.” Looking Back Blaalid said that even after it was over, volunteers had a chance to have a little more fun. “They had a little party in Sioux Falls for people around the area that were volunteering,” she said. “I actually met someone from Yankton that was volunteering, but I had no idea.” She added that she’s even run across volunteers well outside of the area. “Over Thanksgiving, I was in Steamboat Springs, Colorado,” she said. “As I was eating lunch, I looked out the window and someone was wearing the volunteer Crew 52 jacket.” Blaalid said it was a fantastic experience overall. “It was an incredible experience,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d ever have this opportunity again. Being with all of the other people that were experiencing the same thing was really cool to share with them.” But should the opportunity come again, Blaalid said she’d happily take part again if the opportunity arises. “I’d definitely volunteer again,” she said. n HISVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019v13