Tickets were sold out for an exclusive four-day celebration of concerts, panel discussions and parties at the 65,000 square-foot (6,000 square-meter) Paisley Park complex in Minnesota, the midwestern US state which Prince made his lifelong home despite his global fame.
Throughout the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis and St. Paul, public landmarks were bathed in purple lights for two nights. Prince's iconic "Purple Rain" costume was on display at the Minnesota History Center and Governor Mark Dayton declared April 21 "Prince Day in Minnesota."
Once mythically hermetic but opened since Prince's death to paid tours, Paisley Park drew fans who paid $500 to $1,000 to get inside Friday. Others gathered outside the guarded compound to pay homage to the Purple One.
"I'm a huge Prince fan -- always have been, always will be," said Crystal Meadows, 35, of nearby Columbia Heights.
"I was out here this time last year when we got the news. It's been a year, so I wanted to spread some love -– and give people something to leave behind."
Across from the warehouse-like complex, Meadows handed out white cutout doves and supplied markers so fans could pen tributes on them. It was a nod to "When Doves Cry" from Prince's 1984 movie and soundtrack "Purple Rain."
Meadows urged fellow fans to attach the doves with colorful pipe cleaners to a fence surrounding the compound, where Prince wrote his sexy lyrics, played 27 instruments and threw lavish all-night parties.
