Siblings sell lemonade for RAGBRAI | Mason City & North Iowa

Sitting on the sidewalk west of East Park on Wednesday was a little lemonade stand run by Addi and Gus.

Addi and Gus each have their own half of the stand to learn about sales firsthand. They began by finding a place to set up that was on the RAGBRAI route, at their aunt’s house. Each made their own poster promoting lemonade. Addi also had peanut butter and honey sandwiches for sale, while Gus sold his own snacks. 

Each sat in their chair, one pitcher on each end. Their first customer of the day was a city worker, who helped Addi earn her first dollar. The two were excited for the day, both to see thousands of bicycles ride by and to earn some cash.

When asked why they were out selling lemonade, Gus replied, “to make money.” His mother laughed, and when asked what he was making money for, Gus replied again, “to buy toys.” Gus said he wanted to spend his earnings on a radio controlled car, and Addi wanted to buy a Nintendo Switch. Their mother, on the other hand, had said the two were raising money to buy tickets to Adventureland for vacation, an idea they’d forgotten about in their quest to sell lemonade.