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.
The organic gods made sure the rain held off long enough for everyone to enjoy a dry trip to the Market today.
Don't forget to cast your vote for Mill City Farmers Market in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest!
;)
Can't wait to see what's new next week! :)
City Pages named the following spots as the Top 5 Restaurants Near the Guthrie for Dinner Before a Show: Sea Change, Spoonriver, Wasabi, Sanctuary and Spill the Wine.
In 2000 "Coffee Jon" Sherrell, a seasoned coffee shop owner, opened Coffee Gallery in the Open Book building at 1011 Washington Avenue South. Back then our Mill District neighborhood looked nothing like the clean, visitor-packed destination it is today. Liquor Depot stood across the street and Jon took it upon himself to patrol the 1011 building for unsavory characters.
Considering everything that's transpired since then, we're lucky to still have this cozy spot for coffee, tea, juices, beer, wine, sandwiches, sweets, salads and soups.
;)
On April Fool's Day, 2004, Jon was in a motorcycle accident that landed him in a coma and resulted in a severe brain injury. Over the course of the next two years, Jon had to learn how to walk and talk again. He credits employees Jen and Dave with his business' survival during those years of recovery.
Fast forward to today, and business has expanded to serve both a breakfast and lunch crowd. In the past two years Dave has quadrupled the catering menu.
In addition to tasty drinks and fresh food, the space itself also draws you in. Artwork on display changes frequently, and you can spend quite a bit of time taking in the cool structure and features of the historic building. A wall of windows provides plenty of natural light (and apparently the perfect environment for the largest, most healthy Norfolk Pine I've ever seen).
Jon is one of many entrepreneurs and visionaries who were committed to transforming the Mill District from a run down area to be avoided to the vibrant, high profile neighborhood it is today. My husband pops into Coffee Gallery frequently, and we hope both our residential and commerical neighbors check it out if they haven't done so already.
You may recall earlier this year the Pillsbury A Mill being included on the 2011 Preservation Alliance of Minnesota Most Endangered Historic Places List.
Articles were posted on both the StarTrib and MinnPost.com today regarding the Pillsbury A Mill being named one of America’s 2011 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
;)
The "East Downtown Minneapolis - Can You Picture It?" photo contest is seeking photos, videos and other presentations that, through its people, architecture and public space, make the East Downtown district vibrant.
The contest is sponsored by the East Downtown Council, and is open to everyone.
Click here for information on deadlines, rules, prizes and more.
Minneapolis History Pub Crawl: Washington AvenueA variety of breeds zipped across the Stone Arch Bridge during the 2nd Annual Dog Day 5K on June 11.
See the entire set of 167 photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/millcitytimes/sets/72157626939089942/
Don't forget to cast your vote for Mill City Farmers Market in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest!
;)
The pilates program includes private and semi-private trainig, as well as small group classes. Click here to find out more about 501SP1N's Reformer Pilates program and schedule.
;)
For some insight on what keeps Nice Ride running smoothly, click here for Jeremy Zoss' Journal article on the program, "Behind the Bikes - A look at what it takes to run the bike-sharing program Nice Ride".
;)
I noticed this link to vote for the 2011 America's Favorite Farmers Market on the Mill City Farmers Market website, and of course I cast a vote for them.
American Farmland Trust holds the annual America’s Favorite Farmers Markets™ contest to raise national awareness about the importance of buying fresh food from local farms and saving the farmland where it's grown.
From June 1 thru August 31, 2011, market shoppers can vote to support their favorite farmers market.
At the end of the contest, one small, medium, large, and boutique, farmers market will win the title of “America’s Favorite Farmers Market” for 2011. The reward for the winning market in each category will be a feature article on the award winning foodsite Epicurious.com, plus other prizes from American Farmland Trust partners and sponsors.
According to the announcers at the 2011 Minneapolis MarathonFinish Line, 4,800 runners participated in yesterday's race. (According to Team Ortho's website, there were 3,576 finishers.) 500 volunteers were on hand to keep things running smoothly. The race started at the Depot and ended at the Guthrie.
The Guthrie's Endless Bridge provided a birds eye view of the finish line:
Below, coming up on the finish line - runners pass the 35W Memorial construction site.
Above, the vertical flags list each state represented by participating runners.
GrazeFest was the theme of this Saturday's Mill City Farmers Market.
More produce is appearing each week.
The Blackberry Sorbet from Sonnys hit the spot after meandering around in the sun for an hour...
The animal babies are back!
See you there next week - rain or shine (but hopefully shine)! :)
People Serving People (PSP) located at 614 South 3rd Street, provides emergency housing and community services that assist families experiencing homelessness in becoming self-sufficient and reconnected with the community.
Though often near capacity, PSP is providing shelter to a few families with special needs who were displaced when a tornado tore through North Minneapolis on May 22.
They also delivered clothing and diapers to the Francis Drake Hotel, where the majority of families are sheltered.
Additionally, PSP has supplied pallets of food to the Salvation Army where families are able to go for assistance.
;)
Scenario: You find an open parking spot and absentmindedly start feeding quarters into the meter, only to discover the meter is out of service. Do you:
A) Curse, kick the meter, and then drive off in search of another parking spot.
B) Park there anyway, with the assumption that if the meter is broken, you won't get a ticket (and besides, you already put money in, so you're entitled, right?).
If you've been in this situation and chose "B", chances are you're $42 poorer thanks to Minneapolis' extremely diligent parking enforcement.
You can dispute this type of ticket by contacting the City of Minneapolis Parking Services to report the issue. During business hours (8A-4P, Monday-Friday), call 612-348-2040, Option 4 for Defective Meters, and follow the directions. Make sure you have the Parking Meter ID (which should also be listed on the citation).
;)
The Northern Spark gets under way at 8:55pm this coming Saturday night (June 4) with two simultaneous world premiere fanfares:
In Minneapolis, Chris Kallmyer's commissioned composition, for dawn or dusk // homeward for 100+ local musicians playing trumpet, trombone/baritone, percussion and piccolo along the Stone Arch Bridge will kick things off. Afterwards, there are numerous projects to experience in Zone A of the Festival.
Car Horn Fanfareby Philip Blackburn in collaboration with ArtCars of Minnesota will take place in Saint Paul along the Upper Landing Park across from Harriet Island. Immediately following the fanfare, Jim Campbell's Scattered Light will illuminate, Andrea Stanislav's Nightmare will gallop past, the Jonathan Paddleford will have already left with its Mississippi Megalops – A Floating Chautauqua organized by Works Progress, and, if all goes according to plan, the searchlights along Wabasha Bridge will be switched on for the second time in a decade.
At first the notion of trying to take in this Minneapolis to St. Paul riverfront festival seemed a little daunting. However, a thorough review of the website brought things into perspective.
For example, there are 5 Zones - our neighborhood is Zone A: Minneapolis Riverfront Central Avenue and Stone Arch Bridge. The website shows events, food vendors, etc., for each Zone. There's also a Getting Aroundpage from which you can download a pdf of the guide book prior to the event. There will also be guide books available at the festival. For those who want to take in both Minneapolis and St. Paul projects, free buses will be running a continuous loop between the two cities.
Although they have multiple routes in both St. Paul and Minneapolis, I first saw a PedalPub when we moved downtown. It's the perfect invention for multi-taskers - happy hour and exercise rolled into one. Now that warm weather has returned, you'll be seeing a lot of them in our neighborhood.
These crazy revelers zoomed by so fast we barely got a picture (I've never seen one roll that fast, but they were heading down a long hill):
Check out Lori Storm's May 4 article about PedalPub in The Line - very informative.
Mill City Times | 35W Bridge Memorial | Mill District Block Party | Mill City Media
Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 7:19PM
