Covering life, work, and play in the Historic Mill District and Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront neighborhoods. Have an opinion, local news or events to share? Contact us.
A nice size crowd participated in this mornings Twins Territory TC 4K. The race started on 12th Avenue South, headed down 2nd Street South, and took runners thru the North Loop and Warehouse Disctrict to Target Field. The race helped raise money for the Twins Community Fund.
Only 3 1/2 weeks left to vote for the Mill City Farmers Market in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. You can do so by Clicking here. Currently the St. Paul and Eagan Markets are in the lead for Minnesota, but all three are behind the national leaders. It appears Southern and Eastern Market patrons are much more involved in voting for their Markets. What gives?
Friends (new and old), food, drink, music, massages, door prizes and Segways - they all add up to a perfect 2011 National Night Out in our Mill District neighborhood.
Special thanks to everyone who organized, provided refreshments, and helped set up and clean up. Also, thank you to Mill City Commons, Sorella Wine & Spirits, The Doorway, Segway Tours and Mark Stillman.
Visit the Block Party Website for more photos...
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We met Scott Hubers, Lifestyle Director at Mill District City Apartments, at National Night Out. He keeps things hopping at their building, but it's not all party, party, party.
Scott brought to my attention a volunteer opportunity he's promoting for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity this Friday, August 5 (8:00am to 5:00pm). Work is on a new 3+ bedroom two-level, single family house, which is taking the place of a foreclosed home that was beyond repair. If you're looking for something to do this Friday, here's an opportunity to learn about Habitat for Humanity, work with your hands and get some exercise, and meet like-minded people who believe in giving back.
For more information, or to sign up, contact Scott at 507-339-0319 or sjhubers@msn.com.
In remembrance of Sherry Engebretsen - Artemio Trinidad-Mena - Julia Blackhawk - Patrick Holmes - Peter Hausmann - Paul Eickstadt - Greg Jolstad - Scott Sathers - Christina Sacorafas - Hanah Sahal - Sadiya Sahal - Vera Peck - Richard Chit.
Driving rain ended shortly before the 5:00pm Memorial Garden ceremony dedicated to the victims and survivors of the August 1, 2007, 35W bridge collapse.
The Memorial Garden features 13 columns, which bear the names of the individuals lost to the collapse. Names of the survivors are engraved in the black wall behind the columns. Behind the wall is an observation deck for viewing the river and new 35W bridge.
Following speeches by Mayor Rybak and Governor Dayton, loved ones shared sentiments and there was a performance by Christina Baldwin, Jennifer Baldwin Peden and Bradley Greenwald.
Governor Dayton had ordered flags in Minnesota to fly in half-staff in observation of the fourth anniversary of the 35W collapse.
A huge crowd gathered in Chute Square for the July 30 NorthEast Dog Parade. We didn't make it to the Red Stag for "Dogtail Hour" afterwards, but the parade kick off was quite a party by itself.
On our way home from the Mill City Farmers Market yesterday we noticed a table set up under a tree filled with balloon animals, so naturally we had to check it out. Turns out the Great Urban Race was taking place downtown - starting and ending at Huberts' Target Field location.
Amye Scharlau of Cabinets for Wonders assisted contestants with their challenge at the Gold Medal Park stop. Below, Amye demonstrates how to make a balloon dog, which contestants had to display with their picture before qualifying to move on.
You never know what you'll see in our neighborhood - a good reason to get out for a walk as often as possible.
It was packed at the Market today! Great products, demos, music and food - and the weather cooperated this time. :) Click here to view Kare 11's trip to the Market this morning.
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As of this afternoon, the Mill City Farmers Market was still in third place for Minnesota in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. If you haven't voted yet, please take a minute to do so by Clicking here. Voting is open until August 31.
July 30: Taste of Italy with the Italian Cultural Center
The Italian Cultural Center is the home of Italian culture in the Twin Cities. Stop by to learn more about their language and art history classes, travel info, and more.
Celebrate it at the Mill City Farmers Market where we are overwhelmed with the abundance of summer's harvests: sustainable fruits and veggies, pasture-raised meats, poultry, eggs and cheese; artisan chocolates, breads and treats. It's easy to fill your pantry needs at the Market, so don't forget your grocery list!
Produce Planner
Sweet corn is in! Along with currants, raspberries, blueberries, garlic, carrots, beets, onions, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, tomatoes, green beans, peas, radishes, herbs, salad mix, edible flowers, zucchini, summer squash, collards, kale, Swiss chard, and so much more!!!
Mill City Cooks, 10am
Market Chef, Heather Hartman welcomes Lorenzo Terregrossa of Lorenzo's Ovens to the Market. He's bringing an outdoor oven to make authentic Italian pizzas!
Discover You Can!
Canning connoisseur, Liz McMann leads a demo on safe home canning with a recipe for Bruschetta in a Jar.
Art Market, All Day
Featuring Spring Finn & Co., Cracked Clay, Fruits of the Sea , and Old World Cabinet
Live Music, 11 am - 1 pm
Members of Minnesota Opera's vocal training program will sing a sampling of Italian Art Songs. 12:30 -enjoy a preview of Mixed Precipitation's 3rd annual Picnic Operetta touring local Community Gardens.
Naphtalia was this week's Tuesday night Music in the Park artist at Father Hennepin Bluffs. It was the first time Dave and I had a chance to attend one of these performances. Kudos to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board for bringing us this series.
The weather was picture perfect, and the attendees (ranging in age from babies to seniors) looked absolutely contented.
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Minnesota summers are way too short to be exercising indoors.
Jeremy Morris, an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Certified Personal Trainer, and founder of Range of Motion Wellness, is taking his workouts outdoors.
Starting this Thursday, July 28, at 5:00pm, and every following Thursday through September 29, Jeremy is leading a 60-minute "Mill City Ruins Workout" at the Mill City Ruins parking lot (near Lock and Dam 1).
Per Jeremy, "This workout will allow people who feel a little out of shape to make the gradual transition to regular exercise, and will give regular exercisers an exciting break from the gym."
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He added, "I decided to focus one of my initial group workout settings in the Mill Ruins Park because it has a lot of opportunity to deliver both low and high intensity elements by using the great topography, it's close to Gold Medal Park, which is equally flexible, convenient to so many great residences, and it's a beautiful setting. Few outdoor workouts in the local parks have such dynamic elements as the Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the history of the city all setting the backdrop with good landscape features that can help provide a quality full-body workout.
Ten years ago I was living in Marcy Holmes while attending the U, and commuted to the StarTribune by walking across the Stone Arch Bridge. During that time the Mill Ruins were being excavated and redevelopment of the area was underway. I was fascinated by the redevelopment of the Mill District and it just stuck with me. When I started this venture I realized that I needed to find untapped resources for these kinds of events. The river and Mill District area were great opportunities. I'm really looking forward to helping others share the resource in a new way."
Sessions are only $5 each, and will take you on a short warm-up, body-weight strengthening exercises, and a stretching cool down. E-mail reservations are strongly encouraged, but anyone is welcome to attend.
Jeremy also offers Personal Training, Worksite Health and Lifestyle Concierge services. Visit the website, Facebook and Twitter for more information.
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The Mill City Museum will be one of the three downtown Minneapolis venues for the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival, which runs Thursday, August 4 thru Sunday, August 14. The other areas are Upton, the West Bank and St. Paul.
Click here for the Fringe schedule at Mill City Museum.
This is the Fringe's 18th year, with 168 different productions showing on 18 stages throughout the Twin Cities. All shows are 60 minutes or less.
Fringe is an annual performing arts festival in the Twin Cities. For 11 days, over a thousand artists present works in every discipline and genre. No one selects the participating shows - a lottery determines which of nearly 400 applicants win production slots at the festival.
We got a late start to the Farmers Market this morning, arriving shortly after 10am. Upon arriving we found the plaza empty except for the Real Foods stand and the Chef Shack truck. What we missed wasn't just a heavy rain, it was a horrific blast from Mother Nature that tore apart tents, sent products flying and brought nearby condo residents rushing down to help the vendors.
I don't know if KSTP was already on site to get pictures of something in particular, but they captured the chaotic scene. Click here for KSTP's article (and pictures 01-07 in the accompanying slide show).
And just like that, the sun came out - but it was definately not business as usual. Who knows how much product was destroyed, and how many tents and other display items will have to be replaced. What do those things, combined with the loss of a day's sales at a busy Farmers Market, mean for each vendor?
In the train shed, we managed to fill our bag with produce and other items, but I sure did miss my usual weekly stops, such as Tiny Planet Produce and Bramblewood Cottage - to name just a few.
This week's cooking demo was cancelled (Chef Nick Schneider was going to demystify Pesto for us), but the musicians (Gypsy Mania Quartet) found a covered area off to the side of the demo area to play.
And then there was Sonny's. Their ice cream is good for the soul. (FYI - Sonny's ice cream is now available at Mill City Market Grocery and Deli, 1020 Washington Avenue South in the Bridgewater Lofts).
As of this afternoon, the Mill City Farmers Market was still in third place for Minnesota in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. If you haven't voted yet, please take a minute to do so by Clicking here. I can't imagine a cooler Farmers Market than ours!
Real Ghost Tours opened earlier this year. Dave and I went on the 90 minute tour earlier this month, and look forward to returning for the highly anticipated overnight version currently being planned.
Armed with EMF Meters and flashlights, our three guides had us wandering through both common and off-limits areas of the St. Anthony Main complex.
In a basement space, we were given dowsing rods. While holding the rods, I didn't expect anything to happen, but when one of them starting flinging around I narrowly escaped the need for a change of underwear.
Below, Melissa Wolfe monitors her dowsing rods. Our guide called out to spirits, asking that they make themselves known by coercing the rods to move in specific directions.
At one point during the tour we were in a vacated upper floor space where our guide set up a digital audio recorder. He asked if there were spirits present, and a few words did come through (although opinions differed on what those words were). He mentioned that someone allegedly hung themselves in that space, at which point a member of our group blurted out that she had seen him (the hanging person) and pointed to a nearby rafter.
Above, our guide gives some background on the people whose spirits are believed to be occupying St. Anthony Main.
Brianna Tinjum, a member of our group, gave this review, "The Real Ghost Tours was fun! Learning some of the riverfront history, wandering the old buildings (sometimes in the dark, creepy), and getting to use gadgets you see on ghost hunting shows was a fun and interesting way to spend a Saturday evening. I definitely recommend this tour." I concur.
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We learned about City Running Tours through a July 15 Twin Cities Business article.
Similar to The Fit Tourist, which offers out of town bicyclers several guided Minneapolis routes to choose from, City Running Tours is geared toward out of town runners. Local runners should check it out to see if there's a route covering an area of the city they otherwise may not visit.
According to the schedule on their website, City Running Tours offers 5K and 10K versions of each route, including one in our neighborhood called the 'Mill City River District Group Run'. Check out their website and Facebook for details.
While enjoying a cup of Sonny's Toffee ice cream in a shady spot this past weekend at the Mill City Farmers Market, I noticed Andrew Zimmern (of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods fame) was next in line. I hope he wasn't too disappointed to find there were no exotic bugs or animals parts (wink) swirled into any of the flavors. Sonny's ice cream is a product of Crema Cafe.
Below, Fred Golchin of French Nugget with Andrew.
This past Saturday MacPhail Center for Music was alive with joyful noises as parents and their future musicians (some still in diapers) soaked up KidsFest. This action packed 2-hour event gave little ones a chance to experience as many string, brass and percussion instruments as they could handle. They also got to make their own instrument to take home, and enjoy a performance by the Dakota Combo.
Below are two slide shows - one silent (the Sights) and one quite loud (the Sounds), followed by a video of the Dakota Combo. MacPhail's talented Early Childhood Music teachers provided guidance with smiles and ease.
(best viewed in full screen mode)
Tim Mahoney was just finishing his set when we arrived at the 2011 Aquatennial Block Party Friday night - just about the same time the rain gave out.
Having yet to see a Mick Sterling and The Irresistibles performance, we had no idea of the treat we were in for.
For the first time since I started monitoring the progress, Mill City Farmers Market has been knocked out of first place in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. If you haven't voted yet, please take a minute to do so now by Clicking here.
It's not unusual to spot a local celebrity at the MCFM. Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods, Mpls. St. Paul Magazine) was there today.
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We post the monthly Books & Bars gatherings held at the Aster Cafe under the Events section, but as of yet we haven't had the chance to enjoy one. Karen Runyon, a Mill District neighbor, was at the July 12 event and provided us with some pictures and feedback.
From Karen Runyon:
The patio was full, 80+ people to discuss the Harry Potter series. All ages, teens to grandmothers. Some very passionate readers, great food and drink (the Aster made a butter beer for the occasion), and a spirited facilitator.
Passersby stood outside the patio listening for various lengths of time.
Jeff Kamin moderates these events, as seen below.
Thank you for the review and pictures, Karen! We welcome contributions from our readers, it's easy - send us an email with a picture and a short (or long) description or story.
Mill City Times | 35W Bridge Memorial | Mill District Block Party | Mill City Media
Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 11:01AM