Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
Downtown St. Paul and West Side
Summit-University and Mac-Groveland
Come as you are: That’s the attitude around arts and culture in the Twin Cities, whether you’re exploring art galleries and museums or going out for a concert or the theater. Wear a suit, a designer dress, or jeans and a fleece—you will be welcomed.
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
And, while you’re at it, bring the kids! Whether you see it as a pro or a con, you should know that, for the most part, arts institutions from museums to galleries to theaters are very accommodating of children, and you are likely to encounter plenty of families enjoying the arts together. (And, if I may say so myself, Minnesota children tend to know how to behave themselves in these situations.)
Another welcoming aspect is the price. Theater tickets, except for the big Broadway productions that blow through town, can usually be had for $20-40 (although the Guthrie can charge up to $80 for weekend shows). Museum admission—again, except for high-profile touring exhibits—is almost universally under $10, and some of the most worthwhile museums are free. And if you’ve got your heart set on seeing a show but don’t have tickets in hand, rush seats, especially at the Guthrie, are almost always available.
| Downtown Minneapolis |
704 2nd St. S., Minneapolis, 612/341-7582, www.millcitymuseum.org; Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $12 adults, $10 seniors and college students, $6 children 6-17, free for children 5 and under
Minneapolis’s reputation as the mill city was cemented in the 1880s with the development of a revolutionary process for milling flour that maximized quality and output, and it held its place until the flour market shifted to Buffalo and Chicago in the 1930s. The Washburn A. Mill continued to produce flour until 1965, then sat empty on the waterfront until it was mostly destroyed by fire in 1991. The Minnesota Historical Society saw the beauty and potential in the ruins of the structure, transforming it into the Mill City Museum in 2003 but keeping much of the burned-out shell. The museum itself is small, but the two multimedia presentations are must-sees on your visit: the Flour Tower Tour and Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat, a humorous look at local history by beloved Minneapolis writer and comedian Kevin Kling. Kids will especially enjoy the interactive water exhibit, and the gift shop is an excellent place to find local souvenirs and books. Combine your visit with a walking tour organized by the Minnesota Historical Society, many of which leave from the museum itself.
Mill City Museum
90 7th St. S., Minneapolis, 612/667-4210, www.wellsfargohistory.com; Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm; free
The red-and-black Wells Fargo stagecoach in the lobby of the Wells Fargo tower is a landmark for downtown workers. The exhibits are on the skyway level of the stunning art deco building. Displays include the weather ball from the top of the Northwestern Bank (Wells Fargo’s predecessor in the Midwest), which turned green to herald good weather and red when bad weather was coming. Posters, documents, and artifacts trace the bank’s Midwestern history. Tiny kids can ride in a mini stagecoach. In June, July, and August, free half-hour tours are offered at 11am, noon, and 1pm twice per month. Groups can also book free tours.
811 Lasalle Ave., Minneapolis, 651/592-5503, www.gallery13.com; Tues.-Sat. noon-6pm; free
Tucked into the most business-y corner of the downtown business district, Gallery 13 is a surprising little place to take a break, whether from your own workday or from watching other people go about their workdays. The space itself is spare, the better to show off contemporary works, almost exclusively from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Exhibits change monthly, and you’re just as likely to find colossal paintings as tiny mixed-media sculptures.
1011 Washington Ave. S., Ste. 100, Minneapolis, 612/215-2520, www.mnbookarts.org; Mon. and Wed.-Sat. 9:30am-6:30pm, Tues. 9:30am-9pm, Sun. noon-5pm; free
Books are art. Books can be transformed into art. And the skills we use to construct books, like papermaking and binding, can be used in other arts. The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, which shares space with The Loft Literary Center, the independent press Milkweed Editions, and a coffee shop, is dedicated to all these things. There are studios, where you might find someone making paper or setting type, and exhibition spaces, where national and international book artists display their work. The center, open since 1983, is the largest of its kind in the country. Check its website for regular hands-on events.
518 2nd St. SE, Minneapolis, 612/623-9176, www.soapfactory.org; Apr.-Nov. Wed.-Fri. 1pm-7pm, Sun. noon-5pm; free
The Soap Factory is far more than just a venue. The space itself—three cavernous rooms totaling 40,000 square feet in the old National Purity Soap Company—informs the choice of artists and exhibits, as well as the work. The rooms are just as gritty and unfinished as they were when the gallery opened in 1988, so that a visit can feel like an intrepid spelunking trip into a semi-abandoned warehouse. To get around a lack of heating, the Soap Factory programs furiously between April and November and shuts down for the winter. Exhibitions often combine media and artists thematically, exploring questions of identity and perception. Many of the summer “exhibitions” are, in fact, artist-led tours of the surrounding area, with an eye toward its industrial and artistic past.
818 2nd St. S., Minneapolis, 612/377-2224, www.guthrietheater.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
When Sir Tyrone Guthrie decided the country needed a resident repertory theater, Minneapolis won him over. The Guthrie opened in 1963 with Hamlet and has stayed true to its founder’s artistic vision ever since. The company’s bread and butter is classics, from Shakespeare to Noel Coward, but the Guthrie is also known for world premieres from leading contemporary playwrights.
the Guthrie Theater’s “endless bridge”
In 2006, the Guthrie moved from digs it shared with the Walker Art Center into the striking blue building overlooking the Mississippi River. Three stages allow for a wide range of programming, from experimental works by new playwrights in the Dowling Lab to classics on the asymmetrical thrust stage and contemporary American works on the proscenium stage. In 2015, long-time beloved artistic director Joe Dowling stepped down, replaced by acclaimed young director Joe Hajj.
TOP EXPERIENCE
On any given weekend night during the theater season—and even in the summer—somebody with an urge to see a play will have more than 40 shows to choose from. The metro area, in fact, is second only to New York City in per capita attendance at theater and arts events. Which means you’ll find high-quality productions and enthusiastic audiences as well as just plain variety. Don’t expect safe old chestnuts to dominate the playbills, either, with some theaters well known for presenting original scripts or regularly premiering works by internationally known playwrights. Here are some good places to start exploring the Twin Cities’ theater scene:
Guthrie Theater
• Guthrie Theater: This is the crème de la crème of Minnesota theater, with top national performers in classics and contemporary favorites (click here).
• Children’s Theatre Company: See theatrical productions created for kids and teens but sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by anyone—even without a child in tow (click here).
• Mixed Blood Theatre: Mixed Blood expands the boundaries of the theatrical canon, with plays by and about marginalized people, from immigrants to the elderly (click here).
• Penumbra Theatre: The nation’s largest African American theater launched the career of August Wilson, and continues to lead the way (click here).
• Chanhassen Dinner Theatres: Enjoy your stuffed chicken breast with a side of high-quality musical theater—or vice versa (click here).
You don’t need tickets to a show to enjoy the Guthrie. Come for some of the city’s finest seafood at Sea Change or a casual bite at the Level Five restaurant, or walk out over the river on the “endless bridge.” Take a free self-guided, downloadable audio tour (available at the website or on iPods you can rent) or take a backstage tour on Friday or Saturday at 10am ($12 adults, $7 students or seniors). Costume and architectural tours are also offered monthly or can be scheduled in advance for five or more people.
824 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612/332-6620, www.bravenewworkshop.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Brave New Workshop lays claim to the title of longest-running satirical theater company in the United States, with roots that go back to 1958. The company moved to fancy new digs in downtown Minneapolis in 2011, after more than 40 years in a ramshackle storefront in Uptown. Now it’s got a more flexible, sleeker space and occasionally hosts other troupes as well. Nationally known performers got their start here, including Al Franken, who took the political and social satire he learned on to Saturday Night Live and the political arena. Some of the show titles tell you this is a no-holds-barred place: The Lion, the Witch, and the War Hero; or Is McCain Able?, Bushwhacked II: One Nation Under Stress, and Martha Stewart’s Prison Jamboree. In addition to the main shows, the BNW troupe does improv Fridays and Saturdays at 9:45pm ($5).
Brave New Workshop
528 Hennepin Ave., 8th Fl., Minneapolis, 612/339-4944, www.illusiontheater.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Illusion Theater is a kind of nesting ground for new plays and playwrights. It has launched more than 500 plays, developed for its very own stage, in its history and then sent them off into the world, often to find success nationally. Most of the shows tackle contemporary social issues, a complement to Illusion’s educational work in the community. Watch for shows in the Fresh Ink series. These are exciting works by Minnesota artists still in the development stage. And Miss Richfield 1981’s holiday show (call it earnest drag) is a local tradition. The theater is on the top floor of the Hennepin Center for the Arts, which is also home to dozens of dance, theater, and education programs.
500 6th St. S., Minneapolis, 612/315-3965, www.armorymn.com; hours vary; cost varies depending on event
The Twin Cities’ newest concert venue (2017) is an old Works Progress Administration gem: the National Guard Armory, still sporting its art deco style. After stints as a sporting arena and (yeah) a parking garage, the Armory now holds 8,400 concert-goers on a large general admission floor and two tiers of balconies. The size is just right for attracting midrange touring acts that are too big or just not right for a sit-down theater. Watch for boxing bouts and other sporting events, as well. Be sure to leave extra time, because this 1930s building wasn’t built for 21st-century security checks.
The Armory
528 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612/206-3636, www.thecowlescenter.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
In 1999, Minneapolis’s oldest theater, the Shubert, was picked up and moved a full block to the north. All 3,000 tons of it. The city wanted to redevelop the land under the Shubert (where Mayo Clinic Square now sits), and the artistic community wanted to save the building. And there the theater sat for more than a decade. Finally, in late 2011, The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts opened, with a sleek glass atrium connecting the old Shubert to the equally historic Hennepin Center for the Arts.
The old Shubert Theater has been rechristened the Goodale Theater (but few Minneapolitans will know that, as old names tend to stick) and has been completely refitted. The 500-seat theater has a dramatic rake that allows for excellent sight lines for all ticket holders, and the stage has probably the best acoustics in the area. Whether it’s a choral concert by Cantus, a performance by the Zenon Dance Company, or a visiting opera, it’s worth getting tickets to anything at the Cowles. (It’s pronounced “COALS,” by the way.) The complex is also home to the black box-style JSB Tekbox stage, where the nationally recognized James Sewell Ballet performs, and the Illusion Theater, which hosts independent theater productions.
Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612/673-0404, www.hennepintheatretrust.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Hennepin Theatre Trust comprises four theaters. New Century Theatre (615 Hennepin Ave.) is the place to see modern comedies—often bawdy. The Orpheum (910 Hennepin Ave.) hosts Broadway shows and big names in music, while the Pantages (710 Hennepin Ave.) is a popular concert and comedy venue and the State Theatre (805 Hennepin Ave.) does a little bit of everything. The four share a central box office at the State Theatre and an online booking system.
The Orpheum, Pantages, and State all share a rich history. In the 1910s and 1920s, Hennepin Avenue was the place to see vaudeville in lavish theaters. At the end of the 1920s, vaudeville’s popularity had declined and the theaters embraced movies. By the 1970s, Hennepin Avenue was no longer a safe destination. The buildings sat empty for many years before being refurbished and revived by the Hennepin Theatre Trust. Public tours of the theaters are offered on the second Saturday of the month at 10am or the last Monday of the month at 1pm (612/455-9500, $5/person).
1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612/371-5600, www.minnesotaorchestra.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
With the Minnesota Orchestra, you are as likely to hear Copland and Bernstein as Mahler and Shostakovich. Since 1903 the orchestra has had a history of commissioning original pieces and nurturing new American composers. You’re also likely to hear some Sibelius or other Nordic-influenced work, thanks to music director Osmo Vänskä, who hails from Finland and has found a very receptive audience for the sounds of his homeland here in the Twin Cities. Sommerfest in July and August brings a particularly audience-friendly schedule.
The building itself, with its trademark blue pipes, is a landmark, anchoring the south end of Nicollet Mall. The two-story glass atrium that wraps around the building hosts glittering events and even some chamber music concerts. The seats in the hall are comfortable, and the renowned acoustics are beloved by musicians and audiences alike.
600 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis, 612/673-0900, www.targetcenter.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Home to the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team and the WNBA team the Minnesota Lynx, Target Center is a major landmark in downtown Minneapolis. When it opened in 1990, it was the first entirely nonsmoking arena in the country. Along with St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, this is where you can expect to see major national and international tours when they come to town, including pop stars of all stripes, family shows, wrestling, and even the Cirque du Soleil. The arena seats about 20,000 for basketball games and 13,000-19,000 for concerts. Also in the building, which is connected to the skyway system, is a Lifetime Fitness gym. Call 612/673-1380 to find out if a parents room, where chaperones of event ticket holders can wait during shows, will be available.
| South Minneapolis |
2600 Park Ave., Minneapolis, 612/871-4907, www.asimn.org; Tues. and Thurs.-Fri. noon-5pm, Wed. noon-9pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $9 adults, $7 seniors, $5 children and full-time students, children 5 and under free
In the late 1800s, waves of Swedish immigrants began making their homes in Minnesota, where the terrain, with its lakes, rivers, and gentle rolling fields and forests, reminded them of home. Among them was Swan Turnblad, who rose from typesetter to newspaper publisher and built the massive 33-room mansion (rumored at the time to cost $1 million to build) on Park Avenue. The building, with its turrets and stately portico, was completed in 1903, and in 1929, Turnblad revealed why he had built such a grand house for his small family: He had intended all along to create a museum of Swedish American culture. Today, several rooms display examples of early-20th-century furnishings, including a large and impressive collection of kakelugnar (Swedish tiled stoves), while others host traveling exhibits. The third floor is dedicated to the history of Swedish culture in the Twin Cities.
American Swedish Institute
In 2012, the American Swedish Institute built a 21st-century addition to the 100-plus-year-old mansion. The Nelson Center, with its long, modern lines and weathered gray shingles, is a sharp contrast to the heavy Turnblad house, but together they represent two sides of the Swedish American experience. The Nelson Center houses a small exhibit space, large meeting rooms, a well-curated gift shop, and a café, Fika (Tues. and Thurs.-Sat. 8:30am-5pm, Wed. 8:30am-8pm, Sun. 11am-5pm). Fika, which means “coffee break” in Swedish, serves sweet and savory snacks and light meals in the Nordic tradition.
Most importantly, however, the Nelson Center addition opens up what was once a rather cramped museum, with soaring ceilings, white walls, a rooftop garden (open to the public), and natural light streaming in from every direction. It’s worth a stop even if you don’t have enough time to see the whole museum.
2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/870-3000, www.artsmia.org; Tues.-Wed. and Sat. 10am-5pm, Thurs.-Fri. 10am-9pm, Sun. 11am-5pm; free
A neoclassical surprise in a gentrifying neighborhood, the MIA (say it “Mia” to sound like an insider) welcomes half a million people every year. The museum was founded in 1883 and moved into its present home in 1915. Two additions—a 1974 minimalist wing and a 2006 Michael Graves-designed wing—contrast with the main facade. While the main collection covers nearly every period and area of the globe, the MIA is particularly well known for its Asian art collection.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Families can take a break in the Family Center, where they can read a book, play a game, have a snack, and emerge ready for more art. One Sunday a month, the museum hosts special kid-oriented events. Grown-ups get the run of the museum on third Thursday evenings, with music and drinks (6pm-9pm). A fee is charged for some special exhibitions.
Perhaps the most unusual item in the MIA’s collection is the Purcell-Cutts House (2328 Lake Pl., Minneapolis, 612/870-3000, $5 adults, $4 students and seniors), about a mile away on Lake of the Isles. Tours of the elegant Prairie School home are offered the second weekend of every month.
5500 Stevens Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/821-9045, www.tmora.org; Mon.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm; $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students and children, children 13 and under free
What is one of the finest collections of Russian art doing in a renovated church in a mostly residential neighborhood of South Minneapolis? It all comes down to one man: Minnesota businessman and passionate art collector Ray Johnson, who was among the first Westerners to start poking around in attics, country homes, and artists’ cluttered apartments as the Soviet Union began opening up under glasnost in the late 1980s. He found paintings—officially sanctioned and not—that reflected a side of Russian art most Western eyes would not recognize even today. Beyond Wassily Kandinsky and early Modernist propaganda posters, Soviet realism embraced and encouraged art that was meant to speak even to uneducated peasants. Villages, fields, forests, and other beloved icons of Russian culture are rendered realistically and sympathetically. The gallery space itself, while small, has excellent lighting and an inviting mezzanine.
3537 Zenith Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/926-3878, www.thebakken.org; Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thurs. 10am-8pm; $10 adults, $8 seniors and ages 13-24, $5 ages 5-12, children under 4 free
At the Bakken, visitors can experience electricity in just about every form, starting in the front hall, where cranking a machine from the 1920s delivers a powerful jolt of electricity. Farther along in the museum’s warren of small rooms and hallways, a theremin (one of the first electronic musical instruments) hums and whistles as visitors pass their hands around it, electric fish spark in dark aquariums, and the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein lies on his inventor’s table (the 15-minute Frankenstein show based on the novel—not later movie interpretations—is not to be missed). Visitors can even play Mindball, a game you win by moving a ball with your mind. In 1957, Earl Bakken invented the first wearable pacemaker. His company, Medtronic, went on to become one of Minnesota’s most important companies and a major player in medical electronics. Medtronic’s collection of devices and documents was opened to the public in its current location in 1976.
2303 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/870-1329, www.hennepinhistory.org; Tues. 10am-2pm, Wed. 1pm-5pm, Thurs. 1pm-8pm, Fri.-Sun. 1pm-5pm; $5 adults, $3 seniors and students, children under 7 free
Sadly often overlooked, the Hennepin History Museum takes advantage of its under-the-radar status to put on creative exhibits that change frequently, drawing on its deep collection of costumes, household artifacts, toys, and Native American items. The permanent exhibit in this 1919 mansion mixes whimsy with some somber truth. The Century of the Child displays children’s toys, books, clothes, and other artifacts from throughout the 20th century, but it also looks hard at darker subjects, like child labor and child trafficking. The museum’s library and collections—with photographs, maps, government documents, and ephemera—are open to researchers and the curious public (Tues. 10am-2pm and Wed.-Sat. 1pm-5pm). The museum is not wheelchair-accessible.
913 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis, 612/871-2211, www.norwayhouse.org; Tues.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. 11am-3pm; $6 adults, $5 seniors, $4 children
About 12 percent of Minnesota’s population identifies as Norwegian, still the second-largest ethnic group in the state, even after a century and a half of continued migration by other groups. Norway House has long been the voice of the Norwegian population, but the organization opened its beautiful, modern new home in 2015. There’s a small gallery space that celebrates traditional and modern Norwegian culture, art, and crafts, as well as a coffee shop, Also (Tues.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. 11am-3pm), run in partnership with Ingebretsen’s, the longtime shopping destination for those seeking Norwegian anything.
912 Lake St. W., Minneapolis, 612/871-1326, www.highpointprintmaking.org; Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat. noon-4pm; free
Highpoint is an artistic oasis in the bustling Lyn-Lake neighborhood. Members of the printing cooperative make art in the studios, and the public is welcome to view their work—and more—in the inviting galleries. The annual summer exhibition features co-op members, while exhibitions throughout the year might highlight guest artists or fellows. Watch the schedule for Free Ink Days, when members of the public are invited into the studios to don aprons and start mixing and rolling inks to make their own prints.
2501 Stevens Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/874-3700, www.mcad.edu; Mon.-Fri. 9am-8pm, Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm; free
The MCAD Gallery is the place to see works by some of Minnesota’s top art students, as well as their teachers—talented working artists themselves. While you’re visiting the galleries, you also get a peek into life on this dynamic urban campus. Keep an eye out for the annual art sale and faculty exhibitions, in the late spring and early fall, respectively.
2424 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis, 612/339-8007, www.northernclaycenter.org; Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat. 10am-6pm, Thurs. 10am-7pm, Sun. noon-4pm; free
The Northern Clay Center celebrates pottery in every form, from functional to fantastical. Cool and inviting in blond wood tones, the two-room gallery hosts 10 exhibitions every year, drawing on works from local, national, and international artists. Programming also includes popular classes and special events. The center’s shop is a great place to find works of art as gifts and souvenirs, especially if you happen to come during the American Pottery Festival in the fall or in time for the special sale around the winter holidays.
2909 Bryant Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/871-2263, www.soovac.org; Wed. 11am-5pm, Thurs.-Fri. 11am-7pm, Sat.-Sun. 11am-4pm; free
For more than a decade, Soovac, as some know it, has brought underrepresented artists—those from communities whose voices are rarely heard in artistic communities and those whose aesthetics many might feel are just too out there—to the fore. The shows are curated with both whimsy and seriousness, launching perhaps from a play on words or from a social mission. Watch for educational programs and performances, as well.
2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/874-0400, www.childrenstheatre.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Children’s Theatre Company was the first children’s theater in the country to win a Regional Theatre Tony Award, in 2003, and that was even before its lush new wing opened to the public and attracted even larger audiences and greater loyalty among Twin Cities fans. No matter what your age, this is a great place to see theater (and there’s no shame in buying a ticket for yourself without a kid in tow). The main proscenium stage holds lavish, sophisticated sets for the big musical productions, and the innovative, welcoming Cargill Stage is the perfect place to introduce the youngest kids to theater. In fact, the Children’s Theatre is a leader in this area: Shows for preschoolers are expertly geared toward tiny attention spans, and actors always introduce themselves and then, like pied pipers, lead the kids personally into the theater. The theater is connected to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, making it easy to combine an afternoon of art with an evening at a show.
Children’s Theatre Company and Minneapolis Institute of Art
810 Lake St. W., Minneapolis, 612/825-8949, www.bryantlakebowl.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
It’s a restaurant! It’s a bowling alley! It’s a cabaret-style theater! Bryant-Lake Bowl is most definitely all three, as well as a South Minneapolis institution—and you never know what you’ll find in the theater. It might be a family-friendly production on a weekend morning. It might be bawdy improv late in the evening. It might be sociopolitical commentary presented by Dykes in Drag. It might be a roundtable discussion on environmental science. It might be hard to hear over the din of bowling balls and restaurant chatter. It might be so mesmerizing that even the bowlers and the diners stop to listen in.
1500 Lake St. E., Minneapolis, 612/721-2535, www.hobt.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Towering, larger-than-life-size puppets, marionettes, hand puppets, and multi-actor dragons interact with live actors on fantastical folk art-inspired sets. In the Heart of the Beast takes social issues like water conservation, immigration—even the Holocaust and the Korean DMZ—and makes them understandable for the whole family. It also stages fun folk tales from around the world and an annual Nativity play. Housed in a 1930s art deco theater, In the Heart of the Beast has been around since 1973 and is also the force behind the annual May Day parade on the first Sunday of May, when massive puppets made and carried by community members wind down to Powderhorn Park.
2951 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/822-7063, www.jungletheater.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Jungle is a snug and intimate theater with just 150 seats and a reputation, since its very first season in 1991, for excellent contemporary plays. A season at the Jungle—which runs January through December, rather than September through June—might include new and commissioned works, revived classics from the early 20th century, and even a musical or two. Whether comedy or drama, you can expect a tight and emotionally charged production with some of the best set design in town. And you are allowed to bring your wine or coffee or cookie from the lobby concession stand into the theater—a friendly touch.
506 24th St. E., Minneapolis, 612/874-6338, www.openeyetheatre.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The intimate Open Eye Theatre seats barely 100 people in a single room that doubles as the lobby, but what happens on the tiny stage seeks to reach beyond the confined space. Performers combine storytelling with music and puppetry, and some of the Twin Cities’ most innovative playwrights and actors, including beloved NPR commentator Kevin Kling, have made Open Eye their local theater home.
3800 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/729-7369, www.riverviewtheater.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The lobby of the Riverview today looks much as it did when it was built in 1948, with mirrored and tiled walls, midcentury sofas and lamps, marble tabletops, and a copper fountain. The screening room is updated, but only for comfort, with modern stadium seating in front of the classic stage. This is one of the last places in the Twin Cities to see second-run Hollywood films for just $3. The theater is also a popular venue for film festivals and special showings.
3258 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis, 612/424-5468, www.trylon.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Film nerds who can appreciate classic Robert Altman as much as the latest Danish auteur, who recognize the importance of schlocky sci-fi as much as films on gender and social issues, who believe in the enduring talent of Jeff Bridges, and who still care about 35mm film—these are the people who love the Trylon. There are just an intimate 50 seats in the theater, but they are posh. Most showings are Mondays and Tuesdays, and most of the time you have just one shot to see a film.
Trylon Microcinema
2906 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612/823-3005, www.landmarktheatres.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Uptown Theatre’s 50-foot-tall marquee is a landmark on Hennepin Avenue. The large single-screen theater—the largest screen in the Twin Cities—shows indie films, often of the lefty documentary sort, as well as fun Saturday midnight showings of cult classics. After a week or two at the Uptown, movies often move on to screens at the larger sister theaters Lagoon Cinema (1320 Lagoon Ave., 612/392-0402) and Edina Cinema (3911 50th St. W., 952/920-8796). The Lagoon and Edina, with five and four screens of their own, also show foreign, independent, and small studio films.
| Nordeast and Dinkytown |
333 E. River Rd., Minneapolis, 612/625-9494, www.weisman.umn.edu; Tues. and Thurs.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Wed. 10am-8pm, Sat.-Sun. 11am-5pm; free
The silver curves and planes of architect Frank Gehry’s Weisman Art Museum float high above the Mississippi River. The Weisman—Gehry’s first and so far only museum design in the United States—looks familiar to those who know his design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. But, in fact, the 1993 Weisman predates the Guggenheim and was where Gehry first started working in this distinctive style. The interior galleries, ingeniously simple and functional, are both a contrast and a complement to the wild exterior, as well as a beautiful backdrop for art. The museum’s permanent collection includes an impressive number of works of American Modernism, including Charles Biederman, Roy Lichtenstein, and Georgia O’Keeffe, as well as an unrivaled collection of traditional Korean furniture.
With more than half a dozen rooms in about 15,000 square feet of space, the Weisman hosts as many as three large exhibitions at a time, as well as pieces from its extensive permanent collection. One space, the Target Studio for Creative Collaboration, is dedicated to bringing together teams of artists from various disciplines to create new works.
1504 7th St. S., Minneapolis, 612/332-3992, www.houseofballs.com; hours change with the sculptor’s whim; free
Sculptor and House of Balls proprietor Allen Christian makes art out of everything he can get his hands on, from old typewriter parts to doll heads to alabaster. After three decades in downtown Minneapolis, Christian moved his collection and his workspace to a larger home, with outdoor space, right on the light rail. While you can’t guarantee the artist will be around or the gallery will be open, it’s worth stopping by and knocking on the door.
2400 2nd St. N., Minneapolis, 612/643-3511, www.mplsphotocenter.com; daily 11:30am-5:30pm; free
The gorgeous renovated warehouse space of the Minneapolis Photo Center is worth a visit in itself. Galleries are located throughout the first and second floors, punctuated by exposed beams and other industrial details. Exhibits include works by Photo Center students and teachers, as well as visiting artists.
861 Hennepin Ave. E., Minneapolis, 612872-0390, www.northlandvisions.com; Mon.-Fri. 10am-6:30pm, Sat. 10am-5pm; free
This is a place to experience fine arts and native crafts by the indigenous peoples of the central plains and northern woodlands. Paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and baskets are for sale, along with supplies for crafters themselves, including a huge selection of beads. This is a great place to pick up the quintessential Minnesota souvenir: hand-harvested, true wild rice.
357 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis, 612/331-4266, www.roguebuddha.com; Wed.-Sat. 3pm-8pm; free
This storefront gallery in Nordeast Minneapolis regularly makes local and national lists of the best places to see and buy art. Owner and artist Nicholas Harper is self-taught and has been making art for more than two decades. As a rule, the artists displayed push the edges of visual arts, with raw images and unusual techniques. Harper himself takes traditional portraiture and distorts it, adding a disturbing emotionality. The gallery space is pure Nordeast: tin ceilings, rough floors, and an ersatz feel.
1400 Van Buren St. NE, Minneapolis, www.rosaluxgallery.com; Sat.-Sun. noon-4pm; free
Twenty well-established artists—including nationally recognized painters, photographers, and sculptors—make up the collective that runs and shares Rosalux. The spare space takes up several rooms in the Van Buren Building, in an industrial part of the city. Look for the “Luck” sign above the door.
3000 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, 612/436-0464, www.textilecentermn.org; Mon.-Thurs. 10am-7pm, Fri.-Sat. 10am-5pm; free
Originally a Ford dealership, the Textile Center has big, beautiful front windows and a wide-open gallery space for works by textile artists of all stripes: knitters, quilters, weavers, and those that defy description. There’s also a small library with a collection of books and periodicals on all fabric arts (open to everyone; members can check books out). The Textile Center is also a great place to connect with its member organizations, such as the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and the Minnesota Quilters.
1501 4th St. S., Minneapolis, 612/338-6131, www.mixedblood.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Founded in 1976 by 22-year-old Jack Reuler, Mixed Blood showcases works by and for groups that are often left out of traditional theater: immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, the elderly, and more. The converted fire station in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood—itself an ever-shifting portrait of the area’s newest immigrant groups—is on the small side and a bit rickety, but the atmosphere is always one of shared discovery and pure joy in the theater. You may feel like everybody but you knows somebody, but grab a glass of wine in the lobby, strike up a conversation, and that will soon change.
Mixed Blood Theatre
345 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis, 612/339-3003, www.latteda.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Nearly two decades old, Theater Latte Da is not just a leader in musical theater in the Twin Cities, it is also an engine pulling the artistic community forward. Latte Da is in the midst of an ambitious plan to commission and stage 20 new musical works by local and national artists over the course of five years, while at the same time expanding and pushing the limits of its core season. Founder and director Peter Rothstein is renowned and beloved not just for ambition but for remarkable musical and creative talent as well. He is the mind behind the annual holiday show All Is Calm, a powerful musical rendition of the Christmas Truce of World War II. Latte Da is the owner and core tenant of Ritz Theater, which also hosts works by other theater troupes.
1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/340-0155, www.southerntheater.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
This spare, dramatic space showcases some of the most innovative music and dance programs in the area. Jazz, funk, modern, and Asian dance styles are all part of a typical season. The Southern doesn’t have its own company; instead, it rents space to dance troupes and musical performers. Its history goes back to the early 20th century, when it was run by Minneapolis’s Swedish community. Just over 200 seats look over a wide-open performance area with no stage.
245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, 612/333-3010, www.theatreintheround.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The words “community theater” don’t have to have negative connotations. At the Theatre in the Round, you’ll see some of the best community theater in the country, performed and staged almost entirely by volunteers. The theater is the second oldest in the Twin Cities, founded in 1952, but it moved into its current home in 1969. The stage, designed by acclaimed Modernist Ralph Rapson’s firm, offers an experience unlike any other in the area: About 250 seats are arranged in a circle around the stage, and because the rows are only seven deep, no one is ever more than 30 feet from the stage.
84 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, 612/624-2345, www.northrop.umn.edu; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
When Northrop Auditorium was built in 1929 on the campus of the University of Minnesota, promoters called it “the Carnegie Hall of the Midwest.” Today the building’s soaring classical pillars are an iconic image. From the very early seasons, when Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and other luminaries made this their Midwest tour stop, the Northrop has attracted the top names in classical music, jazz, dance, and literature. The 4,800-seat auditorium looks much as it did more than eight decades ago, and the Northrop Organ has been recognized for the high quality of its preservation. The massive organ, Æolian-Skinner’s Opus 892, has nearly 7,000 pipes, ranging from the size of a pencil to 32 feet tall. Members of the university community look forward to the free summer concerts on the lawn, held weekdays in June and July and featuring a wide range of music.
1308 4th St. SE, Minneapolis, 612/604-0222, www.varsitytheater.org; opening hours depend on events; tickets vary, generally $15-25
This converted vaudeville theater has been called the best place to hear a concert in the Twin Cities, thanks to 20-foot ceilings, a nearly infinitely reconfigurable space, and a top-notch sound system. In fact, depending on the show, you may have a choice of seating that includes café tables, club chairs, and queen-size air mattresses. This isn’t a music-every-night place, but it is where national touring indie acts, especially those just about to make it big, make their Twin Cities stops. Look for the art deco marquee and you’ll know you’re here.
3951 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis, 763/788-9079, www.heightstheater.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The atmosphere is 100 percent classic—from the heavy velvet drapes to the chandeliers, orchestra pit, and Wurlitzer organ—but the shows are a mix of high-quality first-run Hollywood movies, foreign films, and unforgettable classics. You might even get to hear the organ on Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes before a show, sometimes accompanying a silent film. But don’t expect the usual half-hour lead-up to the main attraction: The Heights shows no advertisements and just a few previews. This is the Twin Cities’ oldest continually operated movie theater, in business since 1926.
115 Main St. SE, Minneapolis, 612/331-4724, www.stanthonymaintheatre.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
This slightly gritty two-screen theater is just as likely to show the latest Hollywood blockbuster as it is an Audrey Hepburn film, often on the same night. And that’s the beauty of independent cinema. Conveniently located just across the river from downtown Minneapolis and in a row of decent pubs and restaurants, it’s a good place for a night on the town. It’s also the hub of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, held each spring.
St. Anthony Main Theater
| Downtown St. Paul and West Side |
75 5th St. W., St. Paul, 651/292-3225 ext. 4, www.landmarkcenter.org; Mon.-Wed. and Fri. 8am-5pm, Thurs. 8am-8pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm; free
The pink granite Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul’s Rice Park is very much a local landmark. The 1902 Romanesque structure is also something of a one-stop shop for unique niche museums. The permanent exhibition, Uncle Sam Worked Here, tells the Landmark’s own story: Built as a post office, it has also served as the federal courthouse where John Dillinger, his girlfriend Billie Frechette, and the St. Paul gangsters Machine Gun Kelly and Baby Face Nelson were tried. The Landmark Center Archive Gallery shows artifacts from 150 years of local postal history, and the Ramsey County Historical Society rotates exhibits, as well. (Those exhibits are all open during normal building hours.)
Landmark Center
The American Association of Woodturners Gallery (651/484-9094, www.woodturners.org, Tues.-Fri. 11am-4pm, Sun. noon-3pm) features exhibitions of some of the nation’s finest examples of woodturning. The Schubert Club Museum (651/292-3267, www.schubert.org, Sun.-Fri. noon-4pm) displays musical instruments in the basement gallery space and manuscripts on the second floor.
The Landmark Center’s interior is worth a quick stop and look even if you don’t have time to tour the museums. Concerts and special events are held in the building’s five-story central atrium. Free public tours leave from the information desk by the 5th Street entrance on Thursday at 11am and Sunday at noon. Or you can book the private Gangster Tour for $6 per person ($75 minimum) with two weeks’ notice. Guides take on the personas of infamous gangsters tried in the courthouse.
265 Exchange St. S., St. Paul, 651/296-8760, www.mnhs.org; public tours summer Sat. 10am-3pm on the hour, Christmas season tours Thurs.-Sat. 10am-4:30pm and Sun. noon-3pm every 15 min.; tours $10 adults, $8 seniors and college students, $6 ages 5-17, under 5 free (Christmas tours $8-12)
Alexander Ramsey’s elegant three-story home in St. Paul has been called one of the best-preserved Victorian houses in the country. Ramsey served as an appointed territorial governor of Minnesota and later as the state of Minnesota’s second elected governor, and he held a host of other public offices. Costumed guides dressed as his wife, Anna, and servants lead tours through the home and offer insight into the upstairs/downstairs lives of the period.
240 Summit Ave., St. Paul, 651/297-2555, www.mnhs.org; summer and fall tours Wed.-Sat. 10am-3:30pm, Sun. 1pm-3:30pm; art gallery Mon.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. 1pm-4pm; $10 adults, $8 seniors and students, $6 children, children 5 and under free
Railroad baron James J. Hill personifies Minnesota’s Gilded Age, when cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul were exploding in population and wealth, and grand stone homes lined St. Paul’s Summit Avenue. His private home, now owned by the Minnesota Historical Society, is a shining example of the excesses of that time. Completed in 1891, the house cost nearly $1 million to build—all 36,000 square feet of it—with five floors and more than 40 rooms and intricate carving on nearly every wooden surface. It was also something of a technological marvel for its time, with modern conveniences like a security system and a telecom. Visitors need to take a 75-minute tour to see most of the house (tours leave on the half hour), but three rooms in the art gallery, with changing exhibitions, are open without a tour.
10 7th St. W., St. Paul, 651/225-6000, www.mcm.org; Sun.-Thurs. 9am-5pm, Fri.-Sat. 9am-8pm; $12.95
Kids need room to move and to explore the world on their own terms—and that is exactly what the popular Minnesota Children’s Museum gives them. The fun spreads across three floors that have a good mix of standing and traveling exhibits. The tiniest visitors can hang out in Sprouts, a soft environment where kids under four can climb, slide, and play with puppets. Kids can also climb four stories up through the Scramble, build their environment in Imaginopolis, run a play carwash, and do crafts in the Studio. Everything is built with children in mind, such as the kid-level handrail on the stairs. At midmorning and midafternoon, an announcement invites everyone to gather on the mezzanine for story time or Big Fun—when the parachutes, carpet skates, stilts, and other big-motor toys come out. The museum is closed Mondays Labor Day through Memorial Day.
141 4th St. E., St. Paul, 651/797-2571, www.mmaa.org; Wed. 11am-5pm, Thurs. 11am-8pm, Fri.-Sun. 11am-5pm; free
This mighty collection, with more than 4,500 works of American art from the 19th century on, has finally settled into a permanent home in the Pioneer Endicott Building. Its peripatetic existence, living in various historical buildings around St. Paul, kept the museum from getting the attention and accolades it deserves. The collection includes works by Native American artists, contemporary photographers, leaders in the crafts movement, and beloved American painters and sculptors. In particular, look for wooden pieces by George Morrison and photographs by Alec Soth, both Minnesotans.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are, in general, very kid-friendly. Unless you’ve chosen one of the poshest restaurants in town, it’s not hard to find booster seats, kids’ menus, and crayons. Arts venues, too, welcome kids, although you should note that some, including the Guthrie Theater, have a minimum age for most of their shows.
The must-see list for families visiting the Twin Cities is long: The Minnesota Children’s Museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Minnesota History Center, the Mill City Museum, Historic Fort Snelling, and the Minnesota Zoo and Como Park Zoo and Conservatory are all good bets.
Minnesota Children’s Museum
Keep an eye out for monthly special deals: Admission to the Minnesota Children’s Museum is free on the third Sunday of the month. The Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden hosts an all-out family-oriented bash on the first Saturday of the month, free of charge. The joint is hopping as families work on two crafts projects, rock out at the dance party in the auditorium, and watch offbeat films and live performances. (Note to those traveling without children: This is not a good day to try to enjoy the exhibits.) And admission to the Minneapolis Institute of Art is always free, but the museum hosts Target Family Day one Sunday a month, with art projects, performers, and special tours for families.
If you’re traveling with toddlers, you need somewhere for them to get their wiggles out. You’ll find great playgrounds in downtown Minneapolis’s Loring Park, on the shores of Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun) and Lake Harriet in South Minneapolis, and in St. Paul’s Como Park. Inclement weather? Run the kids ragged in the empty hallways of the Mall of America in the hours after the doors open at 7am and before the stores open at 10am.
Got older kids who have to move, move, move all the time? Take them to 3rd Lair skate park, rent them a board and a helmet, and say, “See you in three hours.”
120 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, 651/221-9444, www.smm.org; Tues.-Wed. 9:30am-5pm, Thurs.-Sat. 9:30am-9pm, Sun. 9:30am-5pm; museum $18.95 adults, $12.95 seniors and children; additional cost for Omnitheater and special exhibitions
Try your hand at piloting a river barge, see real human tissue through a microscope, handle dinosaur fossils, explore the science behind magnetism, whip up a tornado, and walk through a traditional Hmong house. These exhibits attract more than a million visitors a year (on weekends it can feel like they’re all in line, waiting to buy tickets). A favorite exhibit includes the artifacts from Minneapolis’s beloved Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, a small private museum that donated its collections when it closed. See a phrenology machine, which divines a person’s personality from the bumps on his or her head, and all manner of vibrating and electricity-conducting “medical cures.” The museum is open extended hours during the summer, the winter holidays, and school vacation periods. It is closed Mondays during the fall.
Science Museum of Minnesota
The lobby is home to the Mississippi River Visitor Center (651/293-0200, www.nps.gov), where you can learn about the river, buy maps and souvenirs, and talk to National Park Service rangers about outdoor activities in the area. Check its website for the most current hours of operation.
And before you enter the museum itself, take in views of the Mississippi River—along with the Wabasha, Robert, and Smith street bridges—from the public patio directly to the left of the front door.
308 Prince St., St. Paul, 651/224-3757, www.theazgallery.org; Thurs.-Fri. 5pm-8pm., Sat.-Sun. 9am-3pm; free
St. Paul’s Lowertown is home to one of the highest concentrations of working artists in the country. And the AZ Gallery, which opened in 1997, is one of the area’s longtime anchors. Ten Twin Cities artists are members of the cooperative, running the space and showing their work. They include photographers, painters, and sculptors at various stages of their careers. The wide-open warehouse space is well suited for exhibits of all types. Shows tend to change every month. Gifts@AZ, the gallery’s shop, sells works by 20 local artists, from jewelry to pottery and more.
30 10th St. E., St. Paul, 651/292-4323, www.historytheatre.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Minnesota History Theatre’s bland name doesn’t do it justice. Far from a high school field trip destination, the theater has built a nationwide reputation for supporting new work and staging world premieres. As the theater itself describes it, these are “real plays about real people”: from the infamous Duluth lynchings to the founding of Minneapolis’s Guthrie Theater to Wellstone!, about the late progressive senator from Minnesota. A single season might explore several decades or even centuries of Minnesota’s past from the points of view of all of the state’s myriad ethnic groups. A mix of newcomers and longtime stalwarts in the Twin Cities theater scene take on the roles, always admirably.
20 7th Pl. W., St. Paul, 651/291-7005, www.parksquaretheatre.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
When it was founded in 1974, the Park Square Theatre set out to bring the classics to St. Paul. But after a couple of decades of Shakespeare and Wilde, the theater decided to go bolder—and more professional at the same time—with more new and contemporary plays each season. The Park Square is still more staid and traditional than other theaters you might find in the Twin Cities, and the venue itself feels a little anonymous, but the draw is the extraordinary level of talent on stage. The majority of the cast in any show is likely to be made up of Actor’s Equity members, many on a break from the Guthrie or bigger shows on the coasts. With a 350-seat proscenium stage and a 200-seat thrust stage, Park Square is able to put on more than a dozen shows every season.
Park Square Theatre
10 Exchange St. E., St. Paul, 651/290-1200, http://fitzgeraldtheater.publicradio.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The Fitz, as it’s affectionately known, was once the home of the quintessentially Minnesotan radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Now operated by the talented and connected impresarios at First Avenue and 7th St. Entry, the well-preserved Gilded Age theater hosts musical and comedy acts, speakers, story slams, and other cultural events.
Fitzgerald Theater
345 Washington St., St. Paul, 651/224-4222, www.ordway.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
On any given day on the Ordway stage, you’re likely to find a nationally known modern dance troupe, the beloved local ensemble VocalEssence, a big Broadway show, or the musicians from one of the three major musical organizations that make their home here (the Minnesota Opera, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Schubert Club). In fact, the massive glass-fronted building facing St. Paul’s lovely Rice Park hosts more than 500 varied performances a year in the 1,900-seat Music Theater and 1,100-seat Concert Hall, with acoustics especially designed for a chamber orchestra. Although the building, funded by local arts-lover Sally Ordway Irvine, opened in 1985, the plush two-story lobby with its thick carpet and dazzling chandeliers has a certain forgotten elegance.
17 7th Pl. W., St. Paul, 612/338-8388, www.palacestpaul.com; check calendar for hours, cost varies depending on event
A hundred years after it first opened as a vaudeville theater, in 1916, the Palace was given a second lease on life—and the neighborhood has welcomed it back with open arms. The venue hosts midsize touring acts in a restored hall that was purposefully left a little rough around the edges, to give it a little character. The space holds about 2,500 concert-goers, with the vast majority of these tickets being general admission on the open floor and the rest for seats in the balcony.
199 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, 651/265-4800, www.xcelenergycenter.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Home of the Minnesota Wild hockey team, the Xcel Energy Center opened in St. Paul in 2000 to give Minneapolis’s Target Center a run for its money. And it has, selling out nearly every hockey game, snagging major international acts of all stripes, and attracting the 2008 Republican National Convention as well as 2008 Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama’s first speech as the presumptive nominee. The arena seats around 20,000 and offers dozens of concession stands and two large restaurants. During some events, a family room is available, where chaperones of ticket holders can hang out for free. Call in advance to find out if this is the case.
| Summit-University and Mac-Groveland |
270 Kent St. N., St. Paul, 651/224-3180, www.penumbratheatre.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Penumbra Theatre, founded in 1976, is proud to be one of just three African American theaters in the United States to offer a full season of plays. The theater, founded by Twin Cities theater-scene stalwart Lou Bellamy, who passed the reins to his daughter Sarah Bellamy, helped launch the career of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. In addition to plays and performances, Penumbra hosts regular community discussions—Let’s Talk with Sarah Bellamy, and Reel Talk, inspired by films. Each December, the popular Black Nativity show combines gospel music, storytelling, and dance.
55 Victoria St. N., St. Paul, 651/225-9265, www.steppingstonetheatre.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
SteppingStone, in a beautiful performance space in a converted neoclassical church, offers yet another superb place to introduce young audiences to theater. The theater seats 430 and offers an awe-inspiring first theater experience. The kids on stage may be young (actors are 8-18 years old), but their training, professionalism, and talent show in plays with themes from around the world. During the holiday season, watch for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, 651/690-6700, www.oshag.stkate.edu; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
The College of St. Catherine’s impressive theater, fully overhauled in 2003, attracts big-name national acts in its Women of Substance Series (this is a respected women’s college, after all). Over the past decade or so, Allison Kraus, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Maya Angelou, Madeleine Albright, and many, many more have played and addressed packed houses. The venue itself is conducive to a great show: Steeply raked, comfortable seats bring audience members even closer to the performers on stage.
| Como and St. Anthony |
2088 Larpenteur Ave. W., St. Paul, 612/626-9660, www.bellmuseum.umn.edu; daily 10am-5pm; museum admission $12 adults, $10 seniors, $9 youth 21 and under, 2 and under free; planetarium shows $8 adults, $7 seniors, $6 youth 21 and under; discounts for combo tickets
The Bell Museum walks nature-lovers of all ages and scientific bents through the story of life, from its origins at the formation of the universe, through the evolutionary process, to today’s complex ecosystems and into what tomorrow might look like, with and without human influence. In its stunning new home on the edge of the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, the Bell Museum combines classic dioramas (including the beloved wooly mammoth) with unique interactive exhibits. The planetarium hosts four shows a day.
Bell Museum of Natural History
2097 Larpenteur Ave. W., St. Paul, 651/646-8629, www.rchs.com; Memorial Day-Oct. Sat.-Sun. 10am-4pm; $8 adults, $7 seniors, $5 children
Young newlyweds Jane and Herman Gibbs moved to this spot in 1849 and built a dugout sod hut. They later built a one-room cabin and then expanded it to an elegant Victorian farmhouse. Their Dakota neighbors, childhood friends of Jane, would often pass through the farm while traveling between their summer and winter homes. Because of this long and rich history, the small Gibbs homestead offers a varied look at the lives of both the early pioneers and their Native American neighbors. Visitors are free to walk through the buildings—including the farmhouse, sod house, school, bark lodge, and tepees—without guides, but costumed interpreters are on hand to answer questions and tell stories.
364 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, 612/624-7434, http://goldstein.design.umn.edu; Tues.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sat.-Sun. 1:30pm-4:30pm; free
A Christian LaCroix dress, an Eames chair, a high-concept magazine, a Turkish woven towel: All are examples of design and the way it interacts with our everyday life. This intersection of art and life was the passion of two sisters, Harriet and Vetta Goldstein, who taught at the University of Minnesota and built the foundation of what is now the Goldstein Museum. The permanent collection is not on display but can be viewed by appointment (call 612/625-2737). The museum’s temporary exhibitions run the gamut from housing to fashion to surface design, and may focus on a single item—the chair—or a single designer—Russel Wright—or look boldly and broadly into the future. A smaller gallery with temporary exhibitions is also open in the lobby of Rapson Hall, on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus (89 Church St., Minneapolis, Mon.-Thurs. 9am-9pm, Fri. 9am-6pm, Sat.-Sun. 1pm-5pm).
668 Transfer Rd., St. Paul, 651/647-9628, www.tcmrm.org; Mon.-Tues. 10am-3pm, Fri. 10am-3pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm; $10, children 4 and under free
Although the museum is small, it is situated in a wonderful and expansive old rail foundry building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The O-scale layout will delight train buffs, history buffs, and kids. Volunteer train enthusiasts run up to six trains at a time on the scale two-mile track. The train table is expansive and easily viewed by kids as young as three years old. Trains from many eras, along with a few streetcars, run through a scaled historical Minneapolis riverfront, the Great Northern rail terminal, a fictitious rural town, and along the bluffs of the Mississippi (including a painstakingly detailed steamboat). The museum sells a full range of model train equipment, historical photos, and train paraphernalia—and is quite happy to let the littlest ones run wild on the toy train tables in front.
| Greater Twin Cities |
2187 Hwy. 101 E., Shakopee, 763/694-7784, www.threeriversparkdistrict.org; Apr.-Oct. Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm; Nov.-Dec. Mon.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. 11am-4pm; Jan.-Mar. Mon.-Fri. 10am-4pm; $8 adults, $5 seniors and children, children under 2 free, additional $5 for guided tours
In the tiny village of Eagle Creek, tucked in a bend in the Minnesota River, it is still 1890. A blacksmith shapes nails and door hinges, women in long dresses cook at woodstoves, and the village schoolteacher rings an enormous bell to call students to the one-room schoolhouse. Two draft horses bring a trolley full of guests to a small settlement of original 1840s cabins or all the way to Eagle Creek’s town square, surrounded by houses, a church, and a general store. On weekends in the summer and in December, most of the buildings are open and staffed by costumed interpreters. On summer weekdays and throughout the week in the early fall, guided and self-tours are available, but without the interpreters to bring it to life. December weekends bring a merry re-creation of 19th-century Christmas traditions. A mile-long hiking trail hugs the river.
3517 Raleigh Ave., St. Louis Park, 952/926-8198, www.pavekmuseum.org; Wed.-Sat. 10am-5pm; $8 adults, $6 students
As the story goes, Joe Pavek was an instructor at the Dunwoody College of Technology who couldn’t bear to see his students tear up beautiful old radios. So he took one home. With the help of other radio enthusiasts, including the inventor of the implantable pacemaker, Earl Bakken, that one radio has now grown into a collection of broadcasting and recording equipment that fills more than 12,000 square feet. Visitors can create their own radio broadcasts in a 1960s studio, try their hand at operating a ham radio, and watch and listen to vintage television and radio programs.
501 W. 78th St., Chanhassen, 952/314-5085, www.chanhassendt.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
When was the last time you had a brandy Alexander or a grasshopper? When was the last time you had one while you applauded—or even clapped and sang along with—a show-stopping Broadway number? That’s the kind of nearly lost pleasure the Chan is keeping alive. Minnesota’s only true dinner theater stages two blockbuster shows per year on the main stage, with comedy and concerts on its two smaller stages. Chanhassen is also the home of the area’s beloved Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret improv show. Dinner (or lunch) is served just before the curtain goes up, with a menu of classics like stuffed chicken breasts. The performers are among the area’s best, and the shows are chosen to be crowd-pleasing commercial successes. Tables for two are in high demand, so bring a friendly foursome or expect to be seated with another couple.
5185 Meadville St., Greenwood, 952/474-5951, www.oldlog.com; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Seeing a show at the Old Log is a little like going to a classy summer camp. Near Lake Minnetonka, the grounds do in fact include an old log cabin. The season, which runs year-round, includes new comedies and musicals that appeal across generations, and the annual holiday show is especially popular. Arrive with plenty of time to enjoy the fireplace in the lobby and some time on the broad porch. Or combine your show with dinner beforehand at Cast and Cru (Wed. 4pm-10pm, Thurs.-Sat. 4pm-11pm, Sun. 10am-8:30pm), which serves upscale steaks and seafood. The restaurant is inside the theater.
1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins, 952/979-1111, www.stagestheatre.org; check calendar for hours; cost varies depending on event
Children’s literature staged by kids and for kids comes to life in Hopkins. While some of the plays are obvious choices for the stage (Seussical, The Wizard of Oz), others are delightful surprises, like children’s classics Goodnight Moon and The Paper Bag Princess. Young audiences relate well to the actors on stage, all ages 10-21, and many will be inspired to join the Stages’ theater classes.
TOP EXPERIENCE
Downtown St. Paul and West Side: Rice Park, St. Paul, 651/223-4700, www.winter-carnival.com; Jan.; free
A fateful insult in the late 1800s launched a Winter Carnival that now draws about 350,000 visitors a year. That’s when a New York newspaper reporter called St. Paul, then the fastest-growing city in America, “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter.” St. Paulites took up the challenge and, since 1886, have spent much of the month of January thoroughly enjoying the winter weather. While the Ice Palace is the biggest draw, it isn’t built every year, for economic and weather reasons. The entire city of St. Paul bustles with ice skating, ice-carving contests, and a 5K run and half marathon (yes, outside). Warm up in the Hotdish Tent with Minnesotans’ favorite comfort food: hot dish (that’s casserole to the rest of the country). Most of the action centers around Rice Park and the Landmark Center, but events are also held at other locations.
South Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/870-3000, www.mpr.org; Jan.; free
One Sunday in January, a rocking party takes over the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the adjacent Children’s Theatre. But, in this case, the raucous guests are toddling tots and their families, dancing at the kids’ disco, going on air with DJs from Minnesota Public Radio’s hip music station The Current, and exploring their musical future at the “instrument petting zoo.” Rock the Cradle, sponsored by MPR, stretches from morning nap time to dinner, and given South Minneapolis’s family-heavy demographics, it’s wall-to-wall kids the whole time.
Downtown Minneapolis: Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/371-5800, www.foodwineshow.com; Feb.; $75, $80 at the door
For one long weekend in February, when nearly everyone is sick of winter’s outdoor pursuits but nobody is yet ready to start dreaming of outdoor grilling and beachwear, the Minneapolis Convention Center becomes foodie central. Everyone connected with food in the Twin Cities—from restaurateurs to wine suppliers to critics to serious eaters—finds their way to the Food and Wine Experience. While eating, drinking, and socializing are the order of the day, seminars and learning lunches are also popular. Tickets to these and to the main event all sell out fast.
Nordeast and Dinkytown: www.mspfilmfest.org; late Apr.; $14 per ticket
When an 80-something curmudgeonly film buff puts together an international film festival for over two decades—not quite singlehandedly but certainly infusing his own unique spirit—you get a great depth of film choices and a whole lot of quirk. M-SPIFF, as it’s known, has been curated by local fixture Al Milgrom for nearly as long as it’s been around. This festival, which some years includes as many as 150 films from 50 countries, has a good mix of international Oscar nominees and long shots from obscure Baltic countries. (Actually, given Minnesota’s history and the artistic proclivities of the audience, there’s always a good selection from Scandinavia and the Baltics.)
The Childish Film Festival, which runs concurrently, is a refreshingly unexpected selection of films, many suited for children as young as preschoolers, showing a quieter, funnier, more independent sort of childhood.
Downtown St. Paul and West Side: Rivercentre, 175 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, 651/647-0191, www.festivalofnations.com; early May; $11 adults, $8 children, children under 6 free
The Latvian children’s dance troupe takes the stage after the Japanese drums and sometime before the Karen dancers. Somebody wanders by with a Finnish rice pie in one hand and a Somali sambusa (savory triangular stuffed pastry) in the other. This is St. Paul’s Rivercentre for four days in early May. And although the festival has changed and grown a great deal as Minnesota has grown and its ethnic makeup has changed, this happy fusion has been going on in some form since the first Festival of Nations in 1932, sponsored by the International Institute of Minnesota. More than 90 ethnic groups are represented, with food booths, dance and musical performances, and craft demonstrations. Come hungry and ready to see something you’ve never seen before, no matter where you’re from.
Downtown St. Paul and West Side: Cesar Chavez St., St. Paul, 651/222-6347, www.districtdelsol.com; first weekend in May; free
The roots of the Latino population on St. Paul’s West Side, an area also called District del Sol, go back well over 100 years, and a strong community is still centered on the area around Cesar Chavez Street. That is undoubtedly the place to be during the first weekend in May, when over 100,000 people show up to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the historic celebration of the 1962 Battle of Puebla, when the Mexican army defeated the invading French. Music, art, sports, and children’s activities fill Cesar Chavez between Wabasha and Anita Streets on Friday evening and all day Saturday during this decidedly family-oriented event. And food—of course there’s food and plenty of it, from a salsa-tasting contest to street vendors.
Nordeast and Dinkytown: 612/788-1679, www.nemaa.org; third weekend in May; free
If ever an art event could be said to fill a neighborhood, this is it. Art-A-Whirl, held the third weekend in May, takes over northeast Minneapolis, where much of the city’s art scene fled after condo developers discovered downtown’s Warehouse District. Each year, 500 artists—sculptors, painters, photographers, glass artists, and even musicians—open their studios and galleries to the public. Other local businesses get in on the fun, and area bars book local bands through much of the weekend. To get your bearings, start at the welcome booth at 13th and Marshall or on Quincy Street NE. Trolleys run periodically around the main sites.
Greater Twin Cities: 50th St. and France Ave., Edina, 952/922-1524, www.edinaartfair.com; first weekend in June; free
For some in South Minneapolis, the Edina Art Fair, generally held the first weekend of June, signals that, yes, summer really is coming and it is time to start shoehorning in all the outdoor activities, bratwurst, and kettle corn that the brief, intense warm weather demands. More than 400 artists bring their paintings, pottery, quilts, and more to the juried sale, squeezed onto the intersection of 50th Street and France Avenue in this decidedly upscale shopping district. Live music, cooking demonstrations, fashion shows, and food vendors help visitors make a real day of it, although there isn’t much to keep antsy kids satisfied. This is a good time to watch for real deals at the 50th and France boutiques, many of which hold sidewalk sales.
TOP EXPERIENCE
Summit-University and Mac-Groveland: 651/699-0029, www.grandave.com/grandoldday; early June; free
How much fun can one neighborhood pack into one day? On Grand Avenue, on a Saturday in early June, this neighborhood can pack in more than you ever thought possible: more than three dozen outdoor concerts on nine stages (some free, some for a nominal ticket price), four footraces, an art fair, a parade, and, oh, yeah, a quarter of a million people—all in the space of 20 city blocks. The beer flows freely on some blocks, while others are given over to petting zoos and bouncy castles. Devotees of the Grand Old Day plan far in advance to cope with the exhaustion that inevitably follows. Grand Avenue is known as St. Paul’s favorite shopping district, and with the purchase of a $5 “grandee” button, you get discounts for most of the summer at retailers all up and down Grand Avenue.
Downtown St. Paul: www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com; June; free
Outside of jazz circles, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival doesn’t get a whole lot of attention—it competes with milk carton boat races, after all—but thousands of jazz lovers gather for free outdoor concerts at Mears Park in St. Paul, then hit the local clubs for more show.
Downtown Minneapolis: 612/305-6900, www.tcpride.org; June; free
Every June, the Twin Cities Pride festival kicks off with a picnic in Como Park in St. Paul and culminates in a concert, daylong festival, and parade in Minneapolis. In the 10 days in between, look for a full schedule of concerts, readings, and get-togethers throughout the cities. Most of the activity is centered around Loring Park, where the Twin Cities’ first LGBT march took place in 1972. Revelers fill downtown bars and nightclubs during the final weekend, so you’re likely to get swept up in the celebration even if it’s not what you came here for.
Downtown Minneapolis: www.northernspark.org; second Sat. June; free
This weekend in mid-June is your chance to stay up all night and experience Minneapolis as you never see it during the day. Dancers, musicians, visual artists, and performers of all uncategorizable stripes take over the city. Some museums stay open into the wee hours, and unexpected experiences abound during the Northern Spark.
Downtown Minneapolis: www.stonearchbridgefestival.com; mid-June; free
On Father’s Day weekend, the Stone Arch Bridge Festival takes over the waterfront in downtown Minneapolis. The bridge itself is festival central, but it’s grown to encompass St. Anthony Main and the park on the river’s west side, with free concerts, artists from Minnesota and beyond, vendors, food, food, and more food.
Nordeast and Dinkytown: 612/238-3733, www.juneteenthminnesota.org; June 19; free
The day kicks off with a free community breakfast, followed by a parade with drum corps and community leaders, and then turns into something resembling the biggest family reunion you’ve ever seen. Theodore Wirth Park is filled with music, games, dancing, reminiscences, and the telling of shared histories as 60,000 people gather for the day. Juneteenth—June 19th—marks the day in 1865 when federal troops rode into Texas to enforce the emancipation of slaves, nearly three years after the Emancipation Proclamation. While it is primarily an African American celebration, all are welcome.
Various locations: 612/376-7669, www.aquatennial.org; July; free
This is how you know summer in Minnesota is at its peak: The Torchlight Parade winds through downtown Minneapolis, fireworks explode over the river, the River Rats perform feats of waterskiing derring-do on the Mississippi, and the Aquatennial crowns its royalty. The 75-year-old festival was long known as the 10 best days of summer. Now the fun is compacted into a third of that time, but it’s still a landmark on the calendar.
Downtown Minneapolis: Basilica of St. Mary, 88 17th St. N., Minneapolis, 612/317-3428, www.basilicablockparty.org; July; $50-125
Party at the Catholic Church? You bet. This is one of the biggest parties of the summer. Every July, about 25,000 people pack into the area around the Basilica of St. Mary for two days of music. The good-natured crowds and party atmosphere—as well as the traffic and the music itself—spill over into the rest of downtown and even beyond. In the past, headliners have included Ziggy Marley and the Jayhawks. Buy your tickets early; they tend to sell out.
Various locations: second weekend in July; free
Art lovers in the Twin Cities once faced a problem: art-fair fatigue. The Uptown Art Fair (Lake St. and Hennepin Ave., 612/823-4581, www.uptownartfair.com), by far the biggest of the summer, had its considerable charms. And they wanted to enjoy the edgier Loring Park Art Fair (Loring Park, 612/203-9911, www.loringparkartfestival.com) and the small, community-oriented Powderhorn Art Fair (Powderhorn Park, 612/722-4817, www.powderhornartfair.org). But three art-fair weekends in one summer was enough to put them off the experience of wandering from one pottery-filled booth to the next. The solution? Combine forces. Now all three art fairs are held the second weekend in July, although they remain separate events with separate identities. Metro Transit provides free bus service for all three art fairs. And art lovers can sate themselves on paintings, photographs, sculptures, and more, while cherry-picking the best of the musical offerings (probably Uptown) and food (definitely Loring Park).
Greater Twin Cities: Phalen Regional Park, St. Paul, www.dragonfestival.org; mid-July; free
St. Paul’s Phalen Regional Park is a beautiful backdrop for this annual pan-Asian celebration, which began in 1996 and now attracts more than 10,000 visitors. The highlight of the two-day Dragon Festival is the dragon boat races. Two dozen 20-person teams—many of which have never paddled a dragon boat before—race the long, skinny boats across the lake. Each boat is 40 feet long and just 4 feet wide and glides swiftly across the water, as dragon boats have done for two and a half millennia. The entire festival is free and includes Japanese taiko drumming, dragon dancing, martial arts, and plenty of children’s activities.
Various locations: www.fringefestival.org; late July-early Aug.; $10-15
The Minnesota Fringe Festival is among the largest of its kind in the nation. More than 150 productions in 14 locations go on during the 11-day festival. Up to 50,000 tickets sell each year. You’ll find comedy, drama, and the truly uncategorizable, but keep in mind that this is potluck: Productions are chosen by lottery rather than jury, so to say you’ll find some gems and some duds is a wild understatement. Die-hard Fringe fans hit dozens of shows, so don’t be surprised if everybody waiting in line seems to know each other already. In recent years, a limited number of shows for kids and teens have been added.
Como and St. Anthony: State Fairgrounds, 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul, 651/288-4400, www.mnstatefair.org; late Aug.-early Sept. daily 6am-midnight, gate closes at 10pm; $14 adults, $12 seniors and children 5-12, children under 5 free
If you are anywhere near St. Paul during the 12 days leading up to Labor Day, the Minnesota State Fair is not to be missed. The 320-acre fairgrounds becomes the third-largest city in Minnesota, with more than 100,000 visitors each day. What began as an agricultural fair in 1855 has evolved to include more than 100 musical acts, a massive midway, butter carving, daily marching band parades (at 2pm), and nightly fireworks (around 10pm). Fuel up with a gut-bedeviling array of foods, including more than 60 served on a stick.
Minnesota State Fair
With all that going on and only 9,000 parking spaces at the fair itself, driving and parking in the northwest corner of St. Paul is pretty tight. You’re better off using one of the dozens of park-and-ride lots around the Twin Cities (many are free, and buses operate daily 8am-10pm). Call 651/603-6808 after August 1 for park-and-ride information.
In Minnesota, you know summer is over when you have eaten your last deep-fried cheese curd.
Greater Twin Cities: 12364 Chestnut Blvd., Shakopee, 952/445-7361, www.renaissancefest.com; late Aug.-Sept. Sat.-Sun. 9am-7pm, Labor Day 9am-7pm; $24.95 adults, $22.95 seniors, $15.95 children
For a half dozen weekends a year, a medieval village emerges in the southern suburb of Shakopee. Minstrels and maidens wander the streets. Jugglers, clowns, and fire-eaters perform. Potters, jewelers, and tailors hawk their wares. Giant turkey legs and funnel cake are consumed. In fact, a lot of turkey legs are consumed: This is the largest Renaissance festival in the United States, and it attracts about 275,000 people every year. And, as medieval villages go, this is a pretty big one, with 275 craft booths, 120 food sellers, and about 700 costumed entertainers wandering around, most of them remarkably faithful to the festival’s demands for period dress and staying in character. Watch for themed weekends each year celebrating Irish, Scottish, and Italian heritage, and more. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is also open on Labor Day itself.
Various locations: www.tcmevents.org; Oct.; free
The Twin Cities Marathon has been called “the most beautiful urban marathon in America”—albeit by the organizers, who have a considerable stake in the matter. But there’s undoubtedly something to the claim. The course starts on the eastern side downtown Minneapolis and then winds its way around four lakes in South Minneapolis before heading back north along the Mississippi to St. Paul, where it ends at the State Capitol. The flat and shady course attracts top runners from all over the world and is an Olympic qualifying race. Every year the race is booked to its full capacity of 10,500 runners, and a quarter million spectators cheer them on. Family events and 1-mile, 10-mile, and 5K races are also held. Out-of-towners shouldn’t worry about the weather: Minnesota is beautiful in October, with highs in the mid-60s. Perfect for running. Or watching.
Como and St. Anthony: http://www.raintaxi.com/twin-cities-book-festival; Oct.; free
For one day in October, 6,000 writers, publishers and booklovers take over the Minnesota State Fair Grounds (well, a couple of large exhibit halls, anyway). Shop, schmooze, attend readings and talks, get your stack of new books signed and generally revel in the company of others who love the printed page. Bring the kids for special story hours.