He’s wacky. He wears fishnet stockings. He has multiple personalities.
Confused drag queen? Nope. He’s Tasker the Multi-Tasking Fan, the new mismatched mascot of the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
Concocted by St. Paul advertising firm M.R. Danielson, Tasker was enlisted to turn heads and to tease folks into clicking on the carnival Web site, www.winter-carnival.com, to learn about the festival’s folklore and personalities.
Sporting wardrobe items culled from various characters of carnival legend, Tasker will appear at the teen dance on Friday and the Grande Day Parade on Saturday. He’s also featured in the festival’s button brochure.
In real life, Tasker is East Side native Joe Vogel, 43, a downtown post office mechanic and a resident of North St. Paul. The former Marine and Vulcan alumnus chatted recently with the Pioneer Press about his antics. Here is an excerpt, edited for clarity.
Pioneer Press: I see you’re the official Winter Carnival mascot.
Tasker: Icon.
PP: That’s funny.
T: What’s funny is I’ve signed 70 stinking button brochures. Have you ever seen a toenail shark-fin right through a set of fishnet stockings? (Laughs.) They’re not made for men’s toenails. (Simulates ripping sound.)
PP: What is your mission?
T: The mission is that it’s not necessary for one person to carry the (carnival) message; all these people are doing it. I’m kind of like the pimped-out Hummer going through the crowd. It’s attention grabbing. When you see something like that, it’s going to want to make people say, “What the heck are you?”
PP: How did you get roped into this?
T: (Advertising guy Mike Danielson, a fellow Vulcan) came up with the concept. He was like, “Who the hell is going to wear this thing?” I was like, “I’ll wear it.” Once you’ve ridden a fire truck at 25 below zero, everything else is pretty stinking tame. I’ve hung out on helicopters in foreign countries shooting .50-caliber machine guns. You know what? Whoop-de-do.
PP: Why does Tasker get to carry a gun?
T: I don’t. It’s in the brochure because it represents the West Wind. The West Wind carries a gun. However, I don’t have a carry permit. Also, if I had a permit, I probably wouldn’t. I wouldn’t even carry the sword. If some kid cut himself on the sword, there’s a liability with that. It’s irresponsible enough being me.
PP: What’s the one thing you wish people would learn about Winter Carnival?
T: The legend is more than a story, and every year it comes alive in the spirit of the people who choose to continue it. The uniform groups have to find people every year to step up and donate their time, energy and money. And those are the people who stepped up this year when (officials) said there wasn’t going to be a Grande Day Parade. Those are the people who said, “We’ll give you $65,000.”
That’s the spirit of Winter Carnival, and that’s what people need to know. There’s more to it than just a guy drinking here, a treasure hunt there, or a party on Harriet Island. This is something that St. Paul needs to take pride in.
PP: Have you gotten any feedback on your costume?
T: A few people have said they liked it, a few people have said it’s a bit much, and a few people have accused me of being a cross-dresser. But a lot of folks say they found the right guy to do it.
Copyriught 2007 Pioneer Press.