Are You Ready to Holidazzle? The 2019 Season Opens in Loring Park on Friday, November 29

The Minneapolis holiday tradition Holidazzle returns to Loring Park on Friday, November 29 for four weekends of community festivities. This year’s Holidazzle adds new programming and offerings to the favorite weekly activities enjoyed annually at Holidazzle, offering a free outing filled with activities and holiday cheer for all ages and abilities. Holidazzle 2019 Thursdays – Sundays, November 29 – December 22 Thursdays from 5 pm – 9 pm | Fridays from 5 pm – 10 pm Saturdays from 11 am – 10 pm | Sundays from 11 am – 7 pm Loring Park | holidazzle.com | Free & open to the public “Holidazzle welcomes you and yours to Loring Park to celebrate the holiday season and create memories in our downtown Minneapolis community,” said Leah Wong, vice president of external relations, mpls downtown council. “There is a great lineup of activities to enjoy, and each weekend will include different festivities and shopping opportunities making each visit unique and special.” This year’s Holidazzle presents a number of new things to see and do: Lampworking Style Glass blowing demonstrations each Friday from 5-10 pm Story time sessions featuring authors and Santa on Saturdays and Sundays Local adoptable rescue animal visits on Saturdays and Sundays Pop-up ice rink skating performances Most Epic Dog Day featuring events & giveaways on Sunday, Dec. 8 Yeti Day giveaways on Sunday, Dec. 15 Expanded Holidazzle Kids Zone presented by U.S. Bank Performance deck Introduction of the new Yeti illuminated interactive art installation Cooking demos featuring the talented Minneapolis culinary scene New food vendors featuring a variety of styles, tastes, and options (including vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free). Exclusive items on Thursdays & Sundays only. Added offerings from Fulton Beer (the exclusive “Small Talk Stout” Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, as well as “Goodwill Gold” Golden Lager and Lime seltzer) and Sociable Cider Werks Candy Apple cold beverage The Wandering Mug coffee, lattes and hot chocolate Contact: Meredith Kessler mkessler@tunheim.com (651) 308-6224 Marika Kelly (763) 412-2198 mkelly@tunheim.com Mpls Craft Market, hosting makers daily at Holidazzle, providing a rotating mix of holiday shopping options each weekend in addition to nine flagship, full-run Holidazzle gift vendors Plus, annual favorites returning to this year’s Holidazzle include: Holidazzle Fireworks presented by Xcel Energy (Nov. 29, Dec. 7, 14, 21 at 7 pm) Meet Santa and take photos for free during all Holidazzle hours Eight Holidazzle Movie Nights presented by Metro by T-Mobile (featuring Elf, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, The Grinch [2018], Miracle, Polar Express, Smallfoot and Christmas with the Kranks) Free skating with complimentary skates available at Mpls WinterSkate Local Musical Performances • Bonfires & Warming Houses The Thwing, an interactive multi-person swing Photo and Instagram opportunities inside giant snow globes Alpacas from The Abbey Alpacas on site each Sunday Silent disco skating on Thursday nights SolSta Vinyl Night in Fulton Beer Garden on Thursday nights Drag Queen Bingo at the Fulton Beer Garden on the final Friday nights (Dec. 6, 13, 20) Exclusive Holidazzle brunch each Sunday Visit the Holidazzle schedule page for details: www.holidazzle.com/schedule Holidazzle offers an incredible assortment of on-site prepared food and beverages representing Minnesota’s culinary scene, including limited time items: the exclusive Holidazzle sausage (featuring wild rice and cranberries) from Kramarczuk’s, two new Fulton Beers including a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout called Small Talk Stout and Golden Lager called Goodwill Gold, and Sociable Cider Werks’ Fat Bike hot mulled apple cider and a cold Candy Apple cider released first at Holidazzle. Other food offerings in the lineup include: Cinnamon Roasted Almonds Fair Faves Fresco Foods  Gorkha Palace Heavenly Feast Bar-B-Que iPierogi K-Town Street Foods Kramarczuk’s MSP Pretzel Poffertjes (The Littlest Pancake) Root to Rise Kitchen  Tasty Gyros Twin Cities Paella  Complementing the prepared food and beverages, Holidazzle will have an assortment of shopping options including clothing, accessories, ornaments, craft artwork, syrups and more. The Abbey Alpacas The Beer Dabbler Cabin Customs Hippy Feet KCM Woodworks Northern Drift Three Rivers Farms North Shore Apparel MN/Martin’s Simple Trends The Mpls Craft Market will also be bringing makers each day to Holidazzle. Their space will be packed full of local artists and makers selling handmade jewelry, clothing and accessories, woodwork, home decor, prints, fiber art and more. The lineup of artists will be different each day, so visit us throughout the weekend and you’ll always find something new. For daily updates on the full listing of Mpls Craft Market makers, visit Holidazzle.com. Also, of note: lighting and ambiance will be part of the Holidazzle experience, including twinkle lights within Loring Park, and a new illuminated interactive art Yeti exhibit by Christopher Lutter-Gardella, who created the Wolf and Moose found exclusively at Holidazzle from 2016- 2018. Exclusive food items on select days include Thursday Night Bites (including Fresco’s Foods’ beer braised beef pie, Heavenly Feast Bar-B-Que’s burnt mac & cheese with pork or beef, Root To Rise’s butternut squash & cashew ricotta fried veggrolls with maple cream dipping sauce and more) and Sunday Brunch (including K-Town Street Foods’ breakfast burrito, iPierogi’s beer soup, Fresco’s Foods’ sausage gravy and egg pie and more). Pair your brunch offerings with a Mimosa from Sociable Cider Werks or a Bloody Beer at Fulton Beer. When planning a trip to Holidazzle, visitors can enjoy Free Ride Nights courtesy of Metro Transit each Saturday throughout the run. Get there by bus or light rail with a free-ride pass, which can be downloaded at Holidazzle.com. Print or digitally show your pass for each passenger to enjoy your free ride. The free-ride pass is good from 10 am-11 pm each Saturday from Nov. 30 through Dec. 21. Other arrival opportunities include parking for $5 or less during all Holidazzle hours at Minneapolis College’s parking ramp (1420 Hennepin Avenue). A drop-off and pick-up location will be available on the corner of Yale Place and Willow Street includes Uber and Lyft zones, and ADA-accessible parking spots are available along Willow Street. For more information on Holidazzle scheduling, vendors and entertainment, visit www.holidazzle.com and follow along on social media via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #Holidazzle. While at the event, patrons are also encouraged to use Holidazzle’s Snapchat filter. Holidazzle imagery can be found at www.holidazzle.com/media. About Holidazzle: The 2019 Holidazzle is managed and produced by the mpls downtown council. Holidazzle is an annual holiday tradition in downtown Minneapolis that offers free programming and activities for all ages and ability while also highlighting local people, places and products that make our community unique. The 2019 Holidazzle is sponsored by Xcel Energy, Fulton Beer, CenterPoint Energy, Metro by T-Mobile, U.S. Bank, Power Partner Minnesota, Parsons Electric, Comcast, Metro Transit, Mpls St. Paul Magazine, Sociable Cider Werks, Minneapolis College, Minneapolis Recycles and Premium Waters. About the mpls downtown council: Founded in 1955, and one of the most historic central business associations in the nation, the mpls downtown council (mdc) is a membership-based entity that works to create an extraordinary downtown. The mdc’s collaborative developments of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. For more information, please visit www.mplsdowntown.com.