The Week Ahead in Mill City

Each week we provide an easy to reference list of events and activities for the week ahead in the Historic Mill District and Minneapolis Riverfront Neighborhoods.  Have an event to share?  Submit your events here...

Monday, April 21

• April 21, 2014, Monday - Mill District Neighborhood Assoc Meeting at the Mill City Museum

Tuesday, April 22

• April 22, 2014, Tuesday - Holy Cow Publication Launch with Jane Yolen, Kate Green, and Susan Deborah King at The Loft
• April 22, 2014, Tuesday - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Opens at Guthrie Theater

Wednesday, April 23

• April 23, 2014, Wednesday - Write Bloody Showcase at The Loft

Thursday, April 24

• April 24, 2014, Thursday - Dining Out For Life at Local Restaurants
• April 24, 2014, Thursday - THE THREEPENNY OPERA at the Southern Theater (4 nights)
• April 24, 2014, Thursday - City Pages Best of the Twin Cities® Party at Muse Event Center

Friday, April 25

• April 25, 2014, Friday - Live Music at Crooked Pint
• April 25, 2014, Friday - Who's Afraid of a Children's Story? at The Loft at Open Book
• April 25, 2014, Friday - Live Music at Aster Cafe
• April 25, 2014, Friday - 4th Annual Downtown Greening Awards at Central Library

Saturday, April 26

• April 26, 2014, Saturday - Spotlight Series at MacPhail
• April 26, 2014, Saturday - Cracked Walnut Literary Festival: Urbanization at Mill City Museum
• April 26, 2014, Saturday - 20th Annual Minneapolis Earth Day Clean-Up
• April 26, 2014, Saturday - Teen Job Fair at Central Library
• April 26, 2014, Saturday - April Showers = May Flowers Family Workshop at MCBA
• April 26, 2014, Saturday - Bluegrass Brunch at Aster Cafe
• April 26, 2014, Saturday - 13th Annual Marcy Arts Gala at The Soap Factory

Sunday, April 27

• April 27, 2014, Sunday - Baking Memories: Tunnel of Fudge Cake at Mill City Museum
• April 27, 2104, Sunday - Midwest Photo Safari "Minneapolis Nights" on St. Anthony Main
• April 27, 2014, Sunday - A Choice of Weapons: A Living Legacy Docent Tour at Mill City Museum

What do the Pillsbury Doughboy and Grain Belt have in Common?

Recently seen together at the Mill City Museum - Pillsbury Doughboy and Grain Belt.  You'll just have to visit the museum and find out for yourself.  :)

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #4

Your Public Acts of Drawing Projected onto the City

Public Acts of Drawing is a real-time art-making event that merges free-form collaboration with large-scale urban spectacle.
 
Participants put pen to paper alongside local artists, dignitaries, and a few hundred friends. Drawers of all ages, skill levels, and styles are welcome. Special contributors will help steer and energize the proceedings, but the results are delightfully unpredictable.
 
A spacious drawing table with a hand crank provides participants a gradual feed of fresh paper, lit by energy-efficient LEDs. The draw-a-thon is simulcast several stories tall on the exterior of a building near the Minneapolis Convention Center, turning each small gesture into a heroic act.
 
Public Acts of Drawing is a project of MakeSh!t, a free-form collective founded in 2010 with a mission to explore the social and process-based aspects of art—in other words, collaborative making. Current members include Lucas Alm, Justin Heideman, Aaron Marx, Jake Nassif, Craig Phillips, Paul Schmelzer, and Witt Siasoco.

David Luke Animates Poems from Upstream Arts

Interdisciplinary artist David Luke is collaborating with Upstream Arts to create a quartet of unique animated movies to be shown at Northern Spark. Upstream Arts provides arts programming for youth and adults with disabilities. They employ artists to teach theatre, dance, visual arts and poetry activities designed to develop social and communication skills central to success in school, work, and life.
 
Taking poems written by UA teaching artists and program participants as base text, Luke is transforming them into videos that make visual the vibrant voices of program participants, expanding the creative process from the UA programs into a new realm of public engagement. Projected large-scale near the Minneapolis Convention Center, viewers are invited to choose, by way of assistive technology often used by UA participants, which poem/movie they would like to watch.
 
A preview showing of Upstream Animated will be held as part of Upstream Art's first Annual Meeting and Fundraiser on May 17. The event will include specially-created performances by UA participants to accompany Luke's animations of their words.

Target Field Station May 17 Grand Opening Event

You're invited to celebrate a new community connection at the Target Field Station Grand Opening Saturday, May 17.

Come at 1 p.m. and stay through a Twins win! Overview of festivities:
1-5:30 p.m.   Music and activities
   3:00 p.m.   Ribbon cutting and program
   6:10 p.m.   Twins vs. Mariners game
Food and beverages available for purchase.

Take the METRO Blue Line, the Northstar commuter rail, walk or bike to the station.

Located in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis at 5th Avenue N. and 5th Street N. Click for directions.

For help planning your trip on Metro Transit, call 612-373-3333 to speak to a transit expert or use the online Trip Planner at http://www.metrotransit.org/. There will be regular Saturday METRO Blue Line service and special Twins game service on the Northstar commuter rail.

Volunteers Needed for Minneapolis Bike Week

Via an April 18 City of Minneapolis e-newsletter:

Spring is (nearly) upon us and Minneapolis Bike Week is just around the corner. May 4 - 11, Minneapolis Bike Week is a series of events and activities that promote and encourage bicycling. Bike Week is hosted by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition in partnership with the City of Minneapolis.

Bike Week is powered by volunteers like you. We are currently looking for volunteers for two events: Mayday Parade and Festival Bike Corral and the Commuter Pit Stops. Both events are a fun, easy-going way to promote bicycling in your community and have fun while doing it. Check out the details at Bike Week's volunteer page where you can fill out the form to participate.

Like giving away free, fun stuff? Enjoy encouraging and celebrating bicycling? Need an excuse to knock off work early on a beautiful spring day? Consider volunteering for Bike Week!

Thanks so much to all of our volunteers. Contact Nick Ray with any questions at nickray@mplsbike.org or 612.968.0722.

West River Parkway Temporarily Closed April 19

West River Parkway will be closed 8:00am – 11:00am April 19 for the Hot Chocolate Run 15K & 5K.  Please note that the duration of the closure is subject to change based on the event's start and finish times. 

A complete list of current and upcoming parkway closures is available online.