In 1995, Bob Fisher pitched a bright yellow North Face tent behind his Wayzata home to see whether he could make it through a winter night outside. According to Wayzata.com's account of his life, he made it through and then moved the tent into his front yard. He had been watching families come to the Interfaith Outreach food shelf and wondered how they would pay for Thanksgiving dinner. He set a goal of $7,000, enough for Thanksgiving meals for 100 families, and told the customers at his shoe repair shop about it.
Fisher died on Oct. 1, 2026, at 78. On Friday, Nov. 20, the week before Thanksgiving, Wayzata holds Light Up the Lake on Lake Street. Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners will be on Panoway Plaza that night collecting food. The tree lighting and the fire truck parade are the headliners. The food drive comes from the same week and the same food shelf as Fisher's first tent, and that makes it the oldest part of the evening.
The Evening, Block by Block
The City of Wayzata's event page has Light Up the Lake running 5 to 7 p.m. on Lake Street. It also notes that the date is a week ahead of the usual one, landing on the Friday before Thanksgiving. The city put the same note on last year's event page, when the celebration fell on Nov. 21, 2025. That makes this the second straight year the lights come on before Thanksgiving instead of after it.
Here's where everything is, according to the city's schedule:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Free glow light wands, handed out only before the parade | Lake Street |
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Llama photo opportunity | Depot Park |
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Hot cider, treats and a reindeer food children's activity | Inside the Historic Wayzata Depot |
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Letters to Santa, Muni refreshments, IOCP food drive | Panoway Plaza |
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Horse-drawn wagon rides, strolling carolers and music | Lake Street |
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Toys for Tots collection | Wayzata PD parade float |
| 5:00 p.m. | Children's candy hunt, ages 5 and under only | Depot Park |
| 5:45 p.m. | Wayzata Firefighter's Parade of Lights | Lake Street, Broadway to Barry Avenue |
| Right after the parade | Town Lighting Ceremony with Mayor Mullin | Panoway Plaza |
If you went last year, you'll notice a few changes. In 2025 the event ran 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., the parade stepped off at 5:15, the lighting happened at 5:45, and the photo animals at Depot Park were reindeer. This year the event window starts and ends half an hour later, though the candy hunt for the youngest kids stays at 5:00. The parade moves to 5:45, and the lighting follows it instead of having its own time slot. Llamas take over the photo spot. Last year Toys for Tots took donations under the tree as well as at the police float. This year the city lists only the Wayzata PD parade float.
The glow wands only go out before the parade, so get to Lake Street early if your kids want one.
A Kid Lights the Town, and This Week Decides Which One
The person who flips the switch next to the mayor gets chosen this week. The fifth annual Winter Medallion Hunt posts clues Nov. 9 through 13 on wayzata.org, wayzatachamber.com and the city's social media. The first child or family to find the medallion gets to light Wayzata on Nov. 20. Winners have to be 12 or under. Questions go to [email protected].
The clue window closes Friday, Nov. 13. Last year's clues give you a sense of the hunt. They came as rhymes, one per day. The second read, in part:
"When you park your canoe The prize is within shot of ear"
According to the city, last year's winner found the 2025 medallion in a hollow of a maple tree in Shaver Park. That spot was a short walk from Lake Street. The hunt sends families looking around the whole town, not just the downtown blocks where the party happens.
The Man Behind the Food Drive Tradition
Fisher's connection to downtown Wayzata started long before the tent. From 1972 to 1980 he ran the shoe repair operation at The Foursome in the old Wayzata Bay Center. In May 1980 he bought the business from the Engel family and opened Bob's Shoe Repair. When the Bay Center was set for demolition in 2008, he moved the shop uphill to Colonial Square. In 2015 he sold it to Dave and Becca Young, and the shop kept his name. He lived in Wayzata's Frog Hollow neighborhood from 1976 on.
That first winter he blew past his goal. Interfaith Outreach founder LaDonna Hoy recalled in 2012 that he raised $10,000, and she encouraged him to do it again the next winter. That time the money went to families facing homelessness. Wayzata.com, citing a 2020 interview, reports that he slept outside about 270 nights over the next 11 years.
The effort grew quickly:
- 2001: U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad later described that year's Sleep Out kickoff in Wayzata. More than 500 supporters showed up, Boy Scouts kept four campfires going along Lake Street, and about 200 young people spent the night outside with Fisher.
- 2002: Speaking on the House floor that April, Ramstad said the sleep outs had raised more than $1 million in their first six years, including $520,000 the winter before.
- Early 2014: The Star Tribune reported that the Sleep Out had raised more than $19 million, including a record $2 million from the 2013 campaign, according to Wayzata.com.
That first $10,000 grew into a single 2013 campaign worth $2 million. Students, families, churches, community groups and businesses started holding their own sleep outs, and tents went up outside homes, schools and places of worship across the western suburbs. In the 2020 interview Wayzata.com quotes, Fisher described driving around and seeing those tents: "I drive around and it feels like I tuck my community in."
At the Oct. 6 City Council meeting, Mayor Andrew Mullin pointed out that the fundraiser "was first called Bob's Sleep Out and now has become a very broad community event," according to the Sun Sailor. The mayor also said, "I don't know a better cheerleader for Wayzata that I've ever met than Bob Fisher." The city's Oct. 23 newsletter, signed by Mullin, mourned "Shoe Bob" and said his legacy "lives on in every act of service across our town." Fisher was grand marshal of the James J. Hill Days Parade in 2024.
What to Carry to Panoway Plaza
That history explains the line in the city's event listing about bringing a non-perishable food item and a toy. IOCP has posted a specific list for this year:
- Brand name boxed cereal, such as Cheerios, Lucky Charms or Frosted Flakes
- Canned tuna
- Toilet paper
- Name brand hearty soup, such as Progresso, Campbell's or Chunky
- Spaghetti sauce in a plastic jar or container
Look again at the last item. The sauce has to be in plastic, so leave the glass jars at home.
The Sleep Out is still running. IOCP's 2026 Sleep Out page calls it a 31-year-old tradition. It also says IOCP clients spend an average of 67% of their household income on housing, and that donations help the organization serve more than 1,500 households in the community. Fisher's family has asked that memorial gifts go to The Sleepout at IOCP.
Getting to Lake Street
Plan for some extra time on the drive downtown. MnDOT's Highway 12 project page has listed Highway 12 as one lane each way between Shoreline Drive and Gleason Lake Road through mid-November, and two lanes each way between Gleason Lake Road and I-494 through November, with intermittent overnight lane and ramp closures. The city's October updates said crews were on track to finish in November. MnDOT notes that its traffic impacts are tentative and depend on the weather, so check 511mn.org before you leave on Nov. 20.
The parade route runs along Lake Street between Broadway and Barry Avenue, and the lighting is at Panoway Plaza. To be in place for both, aim to be on that stretch a little before 5:45.
At Ryan Johnson Group, we've spent years working with families around Lake Minnetonka, and the people who built events like this one are a big part of why the area feels like home. If you have questions about your own place in Wayzata this winter, Contact Us. We're always happy to talk, whether or not a move is on your calendar.
