Mattie's on Main is now open for business!

From Mattie's: Now that the construction dust has settled, we hope you'll come on out to visit Mattie's on Main, right next to the Wilde Roast Cafe. We're open every day: Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm Friday and Saturday 11am-1 am Saturday & Sunday brunch coming soon Enjoy our four-season patio facing Main Street in the Riverplace mall, and inside there’s a small stage for live music and other performances - visit our calendar of events for details. Get a preview of our menus; we have a full bar and specialty items including: 16 local beers on tap and a wide selection of bottle beers Craft Martinis (be careful if you Flirtini with a Black Widow) Signature Cocktails (meet our Jamaican Sailor, it’s Mint-to-Be) Gentleman Choice (created with a smooth Gentleman Jack foundation) Adult Milkshakes (try the Young Grasshopper or our Ginger Snap for a sweet surprise) Wines including sparkling, white, rosé, reds and ports Bourbons, Scotch & Irish Whiskey for the discerning palate Appetizers, Salads, Pizzas, Burgers, Sandwiches and other Entrees A few facts about Mattie's On Main Wilde Roast Cafe co-owners Dean Schlaak and Tom DeGree teamed up with their longtime friend Brian Gilligan to renovate the former Kikugawa sushi restaurant. The restaurant's official name is Mattie St. Clair's House of Spirits on Main Street, named after a well-known brothel owner that operated in the area in the late 1800s. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for news and special offers. And look for the Mattie's Stage at the Stone Arch Bridge Festival.

Week 5 at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market

The first Market of June was a wet one - but thankfully the Mill City Museum opened its doors early so vendors could move inside.  Rain or shine, the farmers and other vendors have an abundance of produce and products available.  So remember - just because the weather isn't perfect on a Saturday morning, please don't let that stop you from visiting the Market.  I made quite a haul today and can't wait to start slicing, dicing, cooking and baking!  :)

Dry inside the Mill City Museum:

Ceramic sporks!

Food Truck Mondays Return to the Mill District

Mark your calendars Mondays from 11:00am-1:00pm for Food Truck Mondays in the Mill District!  The Chef Shack Food Truck will be parked at 709 2nd Street South, across from the Mill City Museum. A sure cure for "a case of the Mondays".  :) 

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #11

Dosha Kitchen Feeds Your Spirit at Northern Spark

A collaboration between Minneapolis artists Jess Hirsch and Ginny Sims, Dosha Kitchen is a mobile camper that helps the public discover Ayurvedic Dosha throughout the night of Northern Spark.

“When we heard that the theme for Northern Spark was Projecting the City we decided to think about internal projections and projections of self. Ayurveda is a method of dividing up the internal self into three dispositions, or Doshas. Everyone is a blend of them,” explains Hirsch.

Doshas stem from Ayurvedic medicine, the oldest healing system in the world, originating in India five thousand years ago. Doshas are the triad of characteristics that dominate an individual: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Dosha Kitchen will reveal the viewer’s disposition through food, drink, and objecthood at their Northern Spark site on West River Parkway. To read more about this project, check out the interview with Hirsch and Sims on the Northern Spark blog.

Aerial Dance and Projection Draw Us beyond the LOOP

What can five collaborators from widely-varied disciplines and a shared poetic vision accomplish? Bill Cottman, Kenna Cottman, Lewis Hill, Kevin Obsatz, and Junauda Petrus invite us to consider this question and more from many angles with beyond the LOOP, a Northern Spark project that combines aerial acrobatics, media manipulation, dance, and social media to explore our dreams of wanting more for our cities.

Located under the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, beyond the LOOP repeats hourly in new combinations of performance improvisation and audio and video projection. During the performance, audience members are encouraged to take photographs and videos while moving around, seeking various vantage points.

June 14 Green Line Festivities Announced

METRO Green Line Opens June 14!

Nine stations along the METRO Green Line will host opening ceremonies and celebration events throughout the day. The official ribbon cutting ceremony will take place outside the St. Paul Union Depot, immediately in front of the Union Depot Station platform. You're invited to attend the METRO Green Line grand opening on Saturday, June 14th!

All Metro Transit services will be free of charge June 14th and June 15th.

Saturday, June 14th – Union Depot Schedule of Events 

9:00AM
Ribbon cutting ceremony at the Union Depot north lawn, immediately in front of Union Depot Station LRT platform.

10:00AM
Service on METRO Green Line begins!  Note: Trains will be stationed at all nine celebration events on the morning of June 14th. Trains will begin service simultaneously at 10am.

Entertainment on MPR's The Current Stage:

11:00AM Southwire

12:30PM Koo Koo Kanga Roo

2:00PM Southside Desire

3:30PM The 4onthefloor

5:00PM Doomtree

For more information on bands, performances, vendors and food planned at all nine celebration stations, please visit www.metrotransit.org/greenline or http://www.metrotransit.org/opening-day

Station-specific information can be found at the following links:

• Union Depot Station: Discover Lowertown
• Central Station: The Sky's the Limit
• Western Station: Explore Little Mekong
• Victoria Station: Celebrate Good Times at Victoria
• Hamline Station: The Great 'Midway' Get-Together
• Raymond Station: Creative Enterprise Zone
• Stadium Village Station: Stadium Village Celebration with the Minnesota Vikings
• West Bank Station: West Bank Station Celebration
• Target Field  Station: Catch a Taste of the Warehouse District!

On social media? Use hashtag #metrogreenline

Regular service schedules for the METRO Green Line are available here.

Very large crowds are expected on opening day and trains are unlikely to run on a normal service schedule. Frequent supplemental opening day bus service will operate parallel to the Green Line between LRT stations to provide additional travel options between events.

The METRO Green line was constructed with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of Minnesota, the Counties Transit Improvement Board, Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority, Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, the City of St. Paul and the Metropolitan Council.

METRO Green Line opening day celebrations are funded by a partnership between the Metropolitan Council and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, with generous help from the following sponsors:

AFSCME Council 5
AECOM
Augsburg
Braun Intertec
CenterPoint Energy
Central Corridor Funders Collaborative
East Metro Strong
Ford Foundation
F.R. Bigelow Foundation
Hamline University
Health Partners | Regions Hospital
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Kimley-Horn & Associates
LTK Engineering Services
Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS
Minneapolis Building and Trades Council
Minneapolis Foundation
Minnesota Twins Baseball Club
Minnesota Vikings
MnDOT
PCL Construction
Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Rail Systems Division
Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS
Saint Paul Building and Construction Trades Council
Saint Paul Foundation
University of St. Thomas
Xcel Energy

Lunch Hour Entertainment and Events at the Government Center

Via a June 3 e-newsletter from Hennepin County:

Hennepin County Summer on the Plaza is back! Grab your lunch, soak up some sunshine and enjoy musicians, dancers, educators and more at the Hennepin County Government Center, North Plaza, 300 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis.

This week’s events include:

• June 4: Summer Health and Safety Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come and learn about the many health and safety opportunities the county has to offer.
• June 5: The Auto Body Experience brings a seven piece, horn-driven rock band that plays quirky original music.
• June 6: The Armenian Dance Ensemble (on the skyway level) will perform traditional Armenian folk dances in ethnic costumes, depicting current and historic styles of music and dance.
• June 6: Tower Bell Foundation – bell concert

In the event of bad weather, performances move inside to the skyway level of the Hennepin County Government Center. For more information about Hennepin County Summer on the Plaza, or to see a full performance schedule, visit www.hennepin.us/summerontheplaza.

Also on the plaza, the Tower Bell Foundation (TBF) at Minneapolis City Hall plays the historic tower bells eachFriday. The foundation is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization. The bells, the oldest of which was installed in 1896, have a total weight of nearly 30,000 pounds and can be heard over a large area of downtown Minneapolis.

Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.

June RLife Events at The Depot

A good reason to check out their beautiful patio tucked away from traffic.  :)

  

Week 4 at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market

MN Native Foods/Foraging was the theme of the May 31 Market, highlighted with a performance by the student ambassadors from American Indian Magnet School.  Look for a separate post later this week on our Farmers Market blog for additional pictures and information.

Welcome back, Sonny's!

Music by Hamdog!

Some shoppers started their day with a complimentary 8:00am yoga class on the Guthrie terrace with trained yoga instructor Kylie Salzman of Lakeside Yoga Minneapolis.

The French breakfast radish version of Medusa...

Sunday, June 1, Marathon Road Closure Alert

The following parkways will be temporarily closed June 1, 2014, for the Minneapolis Marathon, Half-Marathon and Relay:

Road Closure Timeline:
- Hennepin and 1st Avenue NE will remain accessible by vehicle.
- The northbound lane of West River Parkway between the Stone Arch Bridge and South 13th Avenue will be closed between 7:00 and 11:00 a.m.
o An access lane will be provided to the residents of The Whitney, The North Star Lofts, and Washburn Lofts along West River Parkway so they can exit onto Portland Avenue.
- West River Parkway between South 13th Avenue and South 36th Avenue will be closed from 7:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m..
- West River Parkway between South 36th Avenue and just south of East 54th Street will be closed from 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

The bulk of the runners pass by your area between 8:00 and 11:15 a.m. Minneapolis Police will open the entire road after the last runner has gone past. Please mark your calendar and share this information with others who may also be impacted in your neighborhood.

Please note that the duration of the closures 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.

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #10

JXTA Kru to Mobilize throughout Northern Spark

Juxtaposition Arts' Northern Spark project, Mobile JXTA, is a small fleet of bike-powed carts that create an oasis of light, sound and play in the public right of way.

Catch one of the carts as they roll through Zones A and B to play a game of illuminated chess or dominos, charge your phone, read #ns_msgboard tweets projected on a community message board, and do an art activity to take away (button making or backpack detailing with glow-in-the-dark ink are just a few of the possibilities.)

The JXTA Kru will pedal through downtown, from the Convention Center to the Hennepin Ave bridge, making stops to interact with the crowds as they go. You can find Mobile JXTA by following Juxtaposition Arts on twitter @JXTA_ARTS, or using their Northern Spark project hashtag #nspkA21.

A-Mill Artist Lofts Reflect Spirit of Northern Spark

The exterior of the historic Pillsbury Flour Mill was a prominent projection site for Northern Spark 2012, and now the beautifully-renovated A-Mill Artist Lofts will welcome artists and cultural workers inside to call these lofts home.

Opening late 2014, A-Mill Artist Lofts will offer affordable artist live/work rentals on the Mississippi riverfront. During Northern Spark, stop by the A-Mill tent, located on the intersection of Portland and West River Parkway, and get info on the lofts plus cool give-aways including glow-in-the-dark helium balloons.

The A-Mill is also featuring talents of local artists at the Northern Spark Chill Space, on the Rooftop of 222 Hennepin Ave. Chill all night with yoga, samples of Korean fusion BBQ and gourmet chocolates, jaw-dropping juggling acts and more.

A-Mill Artist Lofts is a proud sponsor of Northern Spark. It’s owned and managed by Dominium, a Minneapolis-based developer with a 40-year reputation for innovative, creative approaches to urban development.

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Events to Spark Your Interest

Bell Social: An evening of art, science, & music • May 30 • 7pm-10:30pm
Celebrate playful new works by Bell Museum Artist in Residence Andy DuCett. Join the Bell and Gastro Non Grata for food, cash bar, art activities, trivia and prizes, and a mini-Cafe Scientifique presentation, all followed by live local music in the diorama halls.

Northern Spark Volunteer Orientation Option #1 • June 5 • 6:30pm
Get the info you need to volunteer as a Roving Info Guide, a Survey Seeker, or at the Info Hubs. Sign up to volunteer here: VOLUNTEER!

Northern Spark TV Takeover • June 6 • 7:30pm-10:30pm
Join us for a live television experience like nothing you've ever seen before. Part of a 5-episode TV Takeover series. Northern Spark artists take over TPT's air, studio, and web. Drinks and delicious food by Two Gingers, Icehouse Restaurant, & Black Sheep Pizza.

Northern Spark Volunteer Orientation Option #2 • June 7 • 10:30am
Get the info you need to volunteer as a Roving Info Guide, a Survey Seeker, or at the Info Hubs. Sign up to volunteer here: VOLUNTEER!

Northern Spark Volunteer Orientation Option #3 • June 10 • 6:30pm
Get the info you need to volunteer as a Roving Info Guide, a Survey Seeker, or at the Info Hubs. Sign up to volunteer here: VOLUNTEER!

Minneapolis Retains Title as Nation’s Best Park System on The Trust for Public Land’s 2014 ParkScore® Index

Via a May 29 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board:

City edges New York, Boston, Portland and San Francisco for top spot; Minneapolis remains only park system to earn perfect 5 “park bench” rating

May 29, 2014, Minneapolis, MN - Minneapolis took top honors on The Trust for Public Land’s 3^rd annual ParkScore® index, earning a perfect “5-park bench” rating from the nonprofit organization.

Minneapolis remains the only city park system to earn the coveted “5 bench” score on the ParkScore Index, as the city held on to the top spot for the second consecutive year. New York, Boston, Portland, and San Francisco rounded out the top five.

“We’re thrilled to receive this prestigious honor from The Trust for Public Land a second time. When residents voted for an independent Park Board in 1883, they most likely didn’t envision a park system that would grow to 6,790 acres of parkland serving more than 21 million visits each year. Today we honor the legacy that created the park system, and continue our work to ensure that parks and park services are accessible to everyone, with a focus on the most diverse, underserved areas of the city. Our strong community relationships, public, private and non-profit partnerships make this possible,” said Jayne Miller, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

ParkScores are based equally on three factors: Park access, which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park (approximately ½-mile); Park size, which is based on a city’s median park size and the percentage of total city area dedicated to parks; and Services and investment, which combines the number of playgrounds per 10,000 city residents and per capita park spending. In addition to the national ranking, each city receives a “park bench” rating on a scale of zero to five.

Minneapolis scored strongly on all ParkScore rating factors. With 94 percent of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park, the city received especially high marks for park access. The city’s strong parks budget also boosted its ParkScore rating. Second-place finisher New York fared slightly better on park access, with 97 percent of residents living with within a 10-minute walk of a park. However, New York was hurt by its low median park size, just 1.1 acres compared to Minneapolis' 7.1-acre median.

“This top rating is a wonderful tribute to all of the individuals who, for the past 131 years, have made the park system what it is today. I want to assure the people of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities region that we’re not done yet. We are committed to opening new public green spaces, and improving parks that already exist,” said Liz Wielinski, President of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

This year, Denver made the biggest upward move in ParkScore rating history, climbing ten places into a tie for 7^th. For 2014, ParkScore included the city’s “Learning Landscapes” school playgrounds as park space, because they are open for public use in evenings and on weekends when school is not in session. These “shared use” arrangements are a relatively easy way for cities to increase park and playground access, especially in fully developed urban areas.

Sacramento was the only city to lose its top-five ranking in 2014, as strong population growth strained its park system and limited access to popular playgrounds. The California capital city earned four park benches, dropping to seventh place in 2014, compared to third last year. Fresno repeated as ParkScore’s last place finisher, earning one park bench.

This year, ParkScore expanded to the 60 largest cities in the United States, up from 50 in 2013. Among the ten new ParkScore entrants, Aurora, CO ranked best, earning four park benches and a 10^th place tie with Virginia Beach. New Orleans earned 3.5 park benches, tying for 18^th position—the second highest score among new ParkScore cities.

“We’re thrilled that Minneapolis defended its ParkScore title for the second consecutive year. We’re a city that loves our parks,” said Susan Schmidt Minnesota State Office Director for The Trust for Public Land. “However, we cannot rest on our laurels. As our city grows and draws families to new neighborhoods, our park system must evolve. At The Trust for Public Land, we’re working especially hard to increase park space downtown, along the riverfront, and in underserved neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis. That’s what it will take to stay number one into the future,” added Schmidt.

ParkScore uses advanced GIS (geographic information system) computer mapping technology to create digital maps evaluating park accessibility, making it the most realistic assessment system available. Instead of simply measuring distance to a local park, ParkScore's GIS technology takes into account the location of park entrances and physical obstacles to access. For example, if residents are separated from a nearby park by a major highway, ParkScore does not count the park as accessible to those residents (unless there is a bridge, underpass, or easy access point across the highway).

In addition to the at-a-glance park bench summary rating, ParkScore features an in-depth website that local leaders can use as a roadmap to guide park improvement efforts. The website, parkscore.tpl.org, provides extensive data and analysis that pinpoints the neighborhoods where parks are needed most critically. The website includes interactive maps of each ParkScore city that allow users to zoom in and study park access on a block-by-block basis. The website is free and open to the public.

“You can't have a great city without great parks,” said Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development for The Trust for Public Land. “Parks provide places for children and adults to be physically active, and they serve as community meeting places where friendships are built and a sense of community is strengthened.”

According to The Trust for Public Land, the 10 highest-ranking city park systems in the United States are:

1.	Minneapolis	5.0 park benches
2.	New York	4.5 park benches
3.	Boston (tie)	4.0 park benches
3.	Portland (tie)	4.0 park benches
3.	San Francisco (tie)	4.0 park benches
6.	Washington, DC	4.0 park benches
7.	Denver (tie)	4.0 park benches
7.	Sacramento (tie)	4.0 park benches
9.	San Diego	4.0 park benches
10.	Virginia Beach (tie)	4.0 park benches
10.	Aurora, CO (tie)	4.0 park benches - DEBUT CITY

The 10 lowest-ranking city park systems are:

51.	Jacksonville	2.0 park benches
52.	Santa Ana	1.5 park benches - DEBUT CITY
53.	San Antonio (tie)	1.5 park benches
53.	Memphis (tie)	1.5 park benches
55.	Oklahoma City	1.5 park benches
56.	Mesa, AZ	1.5 park benches
57.	Charlotte	1.0 park benches
58.	Indianapolis (tie)	1.0 park benches
58.	Louisville (tie)	1.0 park benches
60.	Fresno	1.0 park benches

For more information about ParkScore, visit parkscore.tpl.org. Join the discussion on Twitter @TPL_org #ParkScore.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. Learn more at www.tpl.org.

Urban Agriculture Activity Plan Update

Via a May 28 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Planning Committee held a public hearing for the Urban Agriculture activity plan last Wednesday evening, May 21^st at 6:30 p.m.  Thank you to the many individuals and community organizations who spoke to the Committee during the public hearing.  The entire MPRB meeting is rebroadcast on Minneapolis 79, or can be watched online.  

The Planning Committee asked staff to revise the plan to address requests for specific racial equity considerations, and to present a modified activity plan to the Planning Committee at a future meeting date.  The Board of Commissioners  meets on the first and third Wednesday evening of each month.  Updates on the progress of the activity plan will be posted to this email list, media outlets, and the Project Page on the MPRB website. 

The Urban Agriculture activity plan was developed through an extensive community engagement process and contains recommendations related to policy, facility, program, and service improvements to better support urban agriculture within the Minneapolis park system. Activity plans define the MPRB’s service delivery goals for a particular recreation activity city-wide. These plans determine the resources required to successfully achieve plan goals in service to residents and park visitors.

Community outreach and research, trend analysis, program analysis, and infrastructure assessment are used to develop service delivery goals for all MPRB Activity Plans. The development of the Urban Agriculture activity plan is supported by the Board of Commissioners and directly linked to the goals of the MPRB Comprehensive Plan.

I-35W / Fourth Street Ramp Construction Traffic Updates

Traffic Impacts - Lane and Ramp Closures
 
May 28 through early June
- The Johnson Street exit from northbound I-35W will close while crews construct a temporary bypass that will allow motorists to access Johnson Street. Motorists should use the New Brighton Boulevard/Stinson Boulevard exit during the temporary closure.
 
June through October
- Eastbound traffic on 4th Street South will be rerouted to 3rd Street South, resulting in head-to-head traffic.
- 3rd Street South traffic will be shifted periodically 
- Southbound I-35W impacts will be limited to shoulder closures and nighttime lane closures.

June through November
- The three lanes of northbound I-35W between University Ave Northeast and the Johnson Street exit will remain open, but will shift toward the center median.
- The northbound ramp from University Avenue Southeast/4th Street Southeast to I-35W will close for 21 days
- The northbound I-35W ramp to Hennepin Avenue East will close for seven days
 
September through November
- Northbound I-35W traffic will shift to the newly constructed outside areas to maximize the available working area on the inside.

About
This project is a collaborative effort of Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The purpose of the project is to relieve congestion on Washington Avenue, improve access to northbound I-35W from downtown Minneapolis, reduce the traffic that diverts through Northeast Minneapolis to access northbound I-35W, and to improve access to northbound I-35W. This project also proposes the possibility of erecting noise walls in southeast and northeast Minneapolis along the I-35W corridor.

Summary of Work
- Build a new ramp from 4th Street South to northbound I-35W
- Construct an auxiliary lane from University Avenue to the Johnson Street exit
- Reconfigure Johnson Street exit to serve Johnson Street, New Brighton Boulevard and Stinson Boulevard

Cost
$15.4 million (state and local taxes)

Minnesota’s Nicest Spice

Article by Rachel Kahn, MCT Contributor

My introduction to Minnesota Nice Spice began in a very non-traditional way.

This story begins in an elevator. One day while entering my condo lobby to begin the ascent to my little apartment in the sky, I found myself face to face with joyful eyes and purple hair. What comes along with the purple and joy is where the kindness begins.

Introducing Lucy. Ms. Purple and Joy. Lucy is a happy adult, diagnosed with development delays and is the inspiration for all that you are about to read.

Lucy’s sister Debb Masterson is the founder of Minnesota Nice Spice and a local downtown Mill City resident. Debb, a former restaurant owner and organic gardener, began many years ago harvesting and drying her homegrown herbs. She would combine them together into creative blends using a recipe passed along by her grandmother. Her friends and family were often the lucky recipients of her creative blends.

As the story unfolds, Debb and Lucy’s mother passed away twelve years ago. Debb, and her supportive husband Jim became the guardian of Ms. Lucy and moved to downtown Minneapolis where years later they would become my neighbors. In her new role as guardian, Debb wanted to provide only the best for Lucy. She speaks of her concern that Lucy could only get very basic janitorial jobs and the lack of social stimuli had her desiring only to watch daytime TV. Lucy was surviving, not thriving.  Debb set her intentions to change that and the universe intervened. One day in 2009 while walking in her new downtown neighborhood, she was introduced to Interact, a Minneapolis arts program for the disabled.  An introduction that would soon change both their lives.

Lucy was accepted to Interact and excelled! It turns out this lovely happy lady is also a fantastic artist.  She attends Interact three days a week. Debb describes Lucy’s new self-confidence. She tells me how the art center ‘transformed’ Lucy’s life and has made her a part of a community. “I am the lucky one” Debb states with joyful tears in her eyes.

So what does this have to do with spice, you ask? Well… one day in 2011 Lucy came home and announced to Debb that they needed to go shopping for bottled water. After a perplexed Debb asked her why, Lucy told her sister that the arts center could no longer afford the water cooler so everyone had to start bringing their own water. Such a statement immediately sprung Debb into action. How could such an incredible place be in such dire financial circumstances? How could she help, Debb wondered? A light bulb went off. Her spice creations that everyone loved! Could she sell them to benefit Interact she wondered? Yes! She could and she did!

With no background in this very complicated wholesale food business, she began researching all the avenues to bring her spice blends to market. Labeling, sourcing, licensing, marketing…. The list is endless. Yet, somehow she knew she would make it work. Her debut came in late 2011 at the Do It Green gift fair. She didn’t even have a website, yet she had a product and a goal.

It is now three years later and Debb’s spices can be found in a plethora of fabulous places. In downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota Nice Spice is at Whole Foods, the Mill City Museum Store, and Local D’Lish along with on-line sales and many other great locations.

While spending time together, Debb showed me her latest creations, Minnesota Nice Spice gift boxes. This summer she is featuring a grilling kit, complete with recipes and a cedar plank. Minnesota Nice Spice gift boxes are so cool that many corporate clients are reaching out to her so they can provide the organic, local, healthy products to their lucky clients and employees.

Guess what? It doesn’t stop there…. Drum roll please! Are you ready?! Debb gives all her profits to Interact!! She doesn’t take a check. Really. Smile with amazement. It is true.

Thank you Debb. I think we are the lucky ones.

Minnesota Nice Spice can be found at http://www.mnnicespice.com/ and on Facebook.

LoveSelf note: We have created two recipes using Debb’s spice blends. Check out…

Ginger Asparagus Soup

Peach Flax Muffins

You can reach Rachel at rachel@loveself.org, www.loveselfmagazine.com

Tonight - Music in the Park at Nicollet Island Amphitheater

Time - 7:00 PM

Performer - Socaholix

With the fury of a tropical hurricane, the Socaholix have burst onto the Minneapolis music scene. Comprised of former members of long-time Minneapolis favorite Shangoya, the band has familiar faces and fresh new singers. From Trinidad, Jamaica, The Congo, Tanzania, America and St. Croix, the line-up is truly international. Drawing from their vast musical backgrounds, the band delivers crowd pumping rhythms and energy sure to bring people to their feet for an all night soca party.

The ever present drum and bass combo of Lance Pollonais and Onesmo Kibira, provides the backbone for the Socaholix and is the foundation upon which the rest of the music is built. With the searing west African guitar of Siami and the percussive accents of Chico, the band bubbles wildly causing fans to dance about. Chilly uses his keyboards to enhance the sound with horn lines and accompaniment throughout. Jabba’s compelling vocals and performance antics along with the energetic dynamics of the band on stage creates a must see show.

From Soca standards to original compositions, the band consistently delivers professional, fun filled performances. While soca is the mainstay, it is not unusual to have reggae songs interspersed throughout the set.

Watch them perform on MN Original:

Vikings Stadium Construction - Week 26

Work continues on footings...

We're attempting to publish a photo with this same view each week from the start of construction through the first game played at the new Minnesota Vikings Stadium in Downtown Minneapolis.

Week 3 at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market

For a 4th consecutive year, KBEM 88.5 FM broadcast live for Bluegrass Saturday Morningfrom the Market, featuring interviews with vendors such as Pam from Prairie Hollow, and music with The Eddies. 

Kids were drawn like magnates to demonstrations at the Northern Clay Art Center Community Booth.

The goat. Always the goat.  :)

Minneapolis #3 in Nation on List of Best Cities for Cyclists According to NerdWallet Number Crunchers

Chris Rein of NerdWallet filled me in on how they determined Minneapolis ranks 3rd in the nation on the list of Best Cities for Cyclists.  NerdWallet is a consumer advocacy site whose staff crunches massive amounts of data to arm consumers with facts needed to help make good money choices.

Since 2000, the number of bicycle commuters in the U.S. has increased by 61%. As the number of cyclists continues to grow, NerdWallet wanted to pinpoint the most cyclist-friendly cities, and they created their rankings by analyzing the following factors:

•Percentage of bicycle commuters
•Bicyclist fatalities per 10,000 biking commuters
•Federal transportation funds allocated to bike and pedestrian projects per capita
•Miles of bicycle lanes, paths and routes per square mile

In addition to providing the rankings, they also provide cost of living information for each of the cities on the list. If your passion is to live in a very bicycle-friendly city, you can easily determine which of them are practical from a financial stand point. 

There's a wealth of interesting data on the site, including finding the right credit card, mortgage and insurance.

June Lineup from The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul

Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been hailed by The Times as ‘a phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle’. Winner of 7 Olivier Awards in 2013, including Best New Play.

- - -

The Forgotten Kingdom

MSPIFF 2014 Audience Choice Award: Best Narrative Feature.
 
Atang Mokoeyna (mid-20s) is an unemployed, aimless young man who spends his days idling in the slums of Johannesburg. When his father dies, Atang must give up his selfish ways and fulfill his father’s humble last wishes: to be buried in the rural, mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho, a place they left fifteen years earlier in hopes of a better life.

- - -

Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case

In this intimate and powerful encounter with one of today's most politically influential artists, world-renowned Ai Weiwei is under house arrest and restricted by the Chinese authorities in everything he does. But he does it anyway.

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #9

See the City in a New Dimension through Minneapolis³

Minneapolis³ is an interdisciplinary performance site that utilizes music, puppetry, dance, song, poetry, and interaction to create a unique experience of the city. Performances take place inside a large cube temporarily installed on the Minneapolis Convention Center Plaza. Participants randomly select what they will see and hear, enter the cube, and are immersed for three minutes in sound and visuals that explore Minneapolis and our relationships to it.

Minneapolis³ is conceived and directed by multi-discplinary artist and puppeteer Eric F. Avery, working with a group of collaborating artists including composers Ted Moore and Laura Leffler-McCabe, and performers Blake Bolan, Mason Mahoney, and Lindsey Cacich. Their collective take on Northern Spark’s theme “Projecting the City” is based in the collaboration's emotional experience of Minneapolis: "We want to break down the city to its essential elements—natural, human-made, personal, and public—and expose the difference between what makes the city and what we make it into."

Mizna Projects the Euphrates over the Mississippi for Northern Spark

Mizna plays with this year's Northern Spark festival theme of "Projecting the City" by projecting a river onto the city in Confluent. All night long, the Euphrates River will flow above the Mississippi River, at a special site on the riverfront under the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.

“Confluence” means the meeting of two rivers. During the night of Northern Spark, one of the Arab world’s major waterways meets one of North America’s under the Hennepin Avenue bridge in a poetic and visual dialogue. Viewers can sit at the banks of a strange confluence of the here-and-now and the there-and-now and contemplate the many layers of meaning and metaphor between two flowing bodies of water half a globe apart.

Mizna’s rivers project also plays on the idea of “fluency” in communication and communing. When it comes to Arab and American worlds and the people who straddle both, the concepts of confluence and fluency are very alive, literally and metaphorically. To read more, and to learn more about Mizna's mission and programs, visit mizna.org.