Doors Open Minneapolis

April 11, 2019 by 2 Comments

The city of Minneapolis will be opening up their doors to the public during the weekend of May 18-19. It’s a chance to check out buildings in the city of Minneapolis that are architecturally, culturally, or socially significant. The Doors Open event is free and gives everyone the rare opportunity to see areas and buildings we might not normally see.

I’m excited for this event, first because it’s on a weekend so it means that more people can attend. Secondly, I really enjoy architecture and history. Some of the buildings that will be open for the event include:

  • Hewing Hotel
  • Manhole Entrance – City of Minneapolis Public Works Surface Water and Sewers Division
  • Kingman Studios at Case Beer Warehouse
  • IDS Center
  • Hennepin Island Powerhouse
  • JB Hudson Jewelers
  • K&K Metal Recycling
  • Minneapolis City Hall & Hennepin County Courthouse
  • PLUS sooo many more

The list is long and fascinating.  I want to visit ALL of them and hope this event can be an annual thing or maybe even twice a year.  There are so many great places to visit and just not sure a weekend is long enough to try to fit them all in.  We are sharing this early so you plan accordingly. It’s probably a good idea to make a list of your top places and make sure to visit those first in case they don’t do this again.

Doors Open Minneapolis Event

A few more details and how and why this event is taking place: 

Doors Open Minneapolis is your chance to explore the buildings that tell our city’s story. From theaters to business hubs, sacred spaces to private clubs, sports complexes to engineering wonders, historical gems to not-even-open-yet buildings, Doors Open Minneapolis will give visitors a FREE behind-the-scenes look at over 100 exciting venues.  We’re hoping to enrich experiences by presenting meaningful conversations with many of the people who make these venues the marvels that they are.

Filed Under: Attractions, Events, Minneapolis

Escape The Room Minneapolis – As Low As $21/Person

April 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Need a fun idea for an outing with friends or a group date night? Why not try an escape room? Right now you can get discount admission to Escape The Room Minneapolis with a Groupon offer! Choose from 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 people and Sunday-Thursday or Friday-Saturday. Prices start as low as $21/person, which is at least 25% off what you’ll pay when you book online.

After you purchase your Groupon, you’ll need to make your reservation online. Please note that reservations cannot be rescheduled or canceled. There is a limit of 2 per person.

  • Escape room game: You and your group may join other players to solve puzzles and escape the room.
  • Available rooms: The Agency, The Apartment, and The Dig.
  • Age restrictions: The rooms are designed for adult minds, but all ages are welcomed. If any member is 14 or younger, there must be at least 1 adult accompanying. If any member is 10 or younger, customers have to book a private game.
  • Average length of game: up to 60 minutes

Get your Groupon HERE!

Filed Under: Great Deals, Minneapolis

Tuck Everlasting at Howard Conn Fine Arts Center – Comp and Discount Tickets

April 8, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Enjoy a theater performance with your kids with comp or half-price tickets to Tuck Everlasting! Full price tickets to performances at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center are normally $15, but right now you can get them for either comp or $7.50 tickets via Goldstar, depending on the day and time.

Tickets are available for select shows in May 2019. Comp tickets are limited and have a $4.75 service fee, and half-price tickets have a $3.50 service fee (so $10.50 total).

If you could live forever, would you? Based on the best-selling novel by Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting finds the free-spirited Winnie Foster searching for adventure in the 1890s. She discovers the Tucks, a close-knit family that has discovered the secret to everlasting life. Kidnapped and forced to live with these people from another century, Winnie is confronted with the reality of what it means to be immortal. This show — recommended for those in 3rd grade and up — can be enjoyed at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center in Minneapolis.

Get your discount tickets HERE.

Filed Under: Great Deals, Minneapolis, Theater

Textile Center’s Textile Garage Sale

April 8, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Textile Center's World's Largest Textile Garage Sale

Do you have a job or hobby where you use textiles?  Or perhaps you just have a project that you are looking for something specific? We found the perfect event coming up, the Textile Center’s Textile Garage Sale.  This giant one stop shop for textiles takes place April 11-13th.  The event is taking place in connection with the University of Minnesota’s Reuse it program.  You can find the hours, location and additional information here. 

Some specifics on the sale:

Here’s how it works: Individuals and businesses donate fabric, yarn, thread, notions, kits, patterns, magazines, books, beads, buttons, sewing machines, tools, looms, specialty equipment – filling a warehouse of textile finds! These treasures are then resold at garage sale prices to YOU. Donations are tax deductible and it all benefits Textile Center’s programs.

 

Filed Under: Events, Minneapolis, Thrifty Tips

2019 NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis – Free and Low-Cost Activities All Weekend (April 5th – 8th)

April 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment

NCAA Final Four Minneapolis Logo

The 2019 NCAA Final Four is coming to Minneapolis! Even if you’re not a huge basketball fan, there are a lot of low- to no-cost activities available during Final Four weekend (April 5 – 8). Mark your calendars now!

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s going on:

NCAA Final Four Minneapolis Fan Fest

 

Final Four Fan Fest – Minneapolis Convention Center

Enjoy a sports wonderland of interactive games, special celebrity and athlete appearances, and autograph signings. They’ll have a Home Run Derby, free cheer clinics, a rock wall, and more.

Hours:

Friday, April 5 from 11 am – 7 pm
Saturday, April 6 from 10 am – 7 pm
Sunday, April 7 from 11 am – 6 pm
Monday, April 8 from 11 am – 6 pm

Ticket prices:

Adults: $8 in advance, $10 at the door
Kids 12 and under: FREE
Military (with valid ID): $4 in advance
Seniors (60+ with valid ID) and College Students (with valid ID): $4 in advance, $5 at the door
Capital One Cardholders: FREE entry (limit two) + Priority Access Lane

NCAA Final Four Minneapolis Activities

 

Final Four Friday – US Bank Stadium

On Friday, April 5 you’ll be able to check out each of the Final Four teams in their final open practice before Saturday’s national semifinal games. Admission is FREE and open to the public. You can also stick around for the College All-Star Game in the afternoon and catch an All-Star team autograph session.

NCAA Final Four Minneapolis Ready Set Dribble

 

Ready, Set, Dribble! – Minneapolis Convention Center

Youth ages 18 and under are invited to participate in this unique parade, joining thousands of fans dribbling their way through the heart of downtown Minneapolis. (Hopefully we won’t have an April blizzard!) Date and time is Sunday, April 7 at 2 pm. The first 3000 participants will receive a T-shirt, basketball, and entry into Final Four Fan Fest for participant(s) and accompanying adults.

This event is FREE, but pre-registration is required and must be completed at select local Buick dealerships. **Pre-registration is now closed. If space allows, limited onsite registration will begin at 1:30 pm.

NCAA Final Four Minneapolis March Music Madness Armory

 

*SOLD OUT* March Madness Music Series – The Armory

This FREE music series takes place Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7. Tickets are completely sold out.

  • Friday, April 5 at 7 pm – AT&T Block Party featuring The Chainsmokers
  • Saturday, April 6 at 7 pm – Jonas Brothers presented by Coca-Cola
  • Sunday, April 7 at 7 pm – Capital One Jamfest featuring Katy Perry and Zedd

Tip-Off Tailgate – Nicollet Mall

On your way to or from Final Four Fan Fest or the big games, stop by this FREE event for fun interactives and entertainment.

Check out the full schedule and more details HERE.

Filed Under: Events, freebies, Kids, Minneapolis, Sports

Art in Bloom

April 2, 2019 by Leave a Comment

With our recent days filled with warmer weather, and the vortex behind us we have to think it’s finally spring here in in MN!   Spring also means it’s time for the annual Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  Art in Bloom is a four day festival of fresh floral arrangements inspired by fine art, and it takes place April 11-14.  There’ll be tours, lectures, demonstrations, fashion show, a family event and much more.  Check out the schedule and more specific information here on their website.

For four days the floral arrangements of over 150 designers  are displayed next to the artworks that inspired them throughout the museum. Free tours are available every day of the event. Art in Bloom also includes lectures, luncheons, workshops, parties and children’s activities. Some of these require a ticket and include a fee. See our Events page for a full list.

Art in Bloom raises funds to support Mia including bus transportation for school children, special exhibitions, art acquisition, education and programs throughout the community.

Filed Under: Attractions, Events, Minneapolis

American Swedish Institute Discount Admission – As Low As $5.75/Person

March 27, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Broaden your family’s horizons with Swedish and Nordic culture at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. Shop through Groupon and save up to 52% when you buy one admission for $8, two admissions for $14 ($7/person), or four admissions for $23 ($5.75/person). This deal has a limit of 2 per customer.

Note that children under 6 and free, and children ages 6-18 as well as full-time students with ID normally get in for $6/person, so keep that in mind as you figure out which option to purchase.

Who knew that Minneapolis has a charming historic castle right on Park Avenue? In 1908, Swedish immigrant and newspaper publisher Swan Turnblad constructed a lavish 33-room mansion, complete with rich mahogany woodcarvings by hand-selected artists, imported Swedish porcelain stoves and a stunning stained glass window. In 1929, the Turnblads gave the keys to the castle to the community and laid the groundwork for the museum and cultural center that is now the American Swedish Institute.

Today, the mansion, its grounds and the contemporary Nelson Cultural Center, built in 2012, welcome visitors as a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring links to Sweden. Guides lead regular tours of the historic home and world-class rotating exhibits in the mansion as well as in a modern art gallery, showcasing photographs, paintings and other works of art from Sweden and her Nordic neighbours.

The American Swedish Institute regularly hosts Cocktails at the Castle parties and other performing arts events including an annual Midsommar festival and the famous decorated Jul/holiday rooms. Nordic Table workshops, a family play gallery and educational programs, including Swedish language classes for all levels, offer opportunities for further discovery. To truly get a taste of Swedish culture, take a bite of the seasonal Nordic-inspired cuisine at Fika, the award-winning onsite cafe praised by the New York Times and others. A visit also includes a must-stop at The ASI Museum Store filled with a finely curated selection of goods by Nordic designers, quality Swedish glassware and foot-ware, books, as well as jewelry and textiles by local artists.

Get your Groupon HERE!

Filed Under: Attractions, Great Deals, Minneapolis

Free Ink Day at Highpoint – Saturday, March 23rd

March 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Are you artistic, or perhaps you want to be and keep searching for that creative part of you? Even if you’re not artistic, it’s still fun to try new things. Everyone can be creative!

This Saturday is the chance to do some hand-on printmaking and creative fun. Highpoint Center for Printmaking is located in Minneapolis, and just three times a year offers its “Free Ink Day”. If you’re curious what it is about, the next one is coming up this Saturday, March 23rd from 12 – 4 pm.

Free Ink Day at Highpoint

What is Free Ink Day?

Three times a year Highpoint invites the community to an afternoon of hands-on printmaking and creative fun. At these free, public events visitors of all ages can drop in anytime during the afternoon to make unique, hand-made artwork. All materials for the planned activity are non-toxic and supplied by Highpoint (while supplies last), and no registration is necessary – just drop in, bring your creativity, and be ready to get inky! Staff and volunteers will be able to answer any questions along the way.

Filed Under: Events, Minneapolis

Minneapolis Convention Center Parking Discount

March 16, 2019 by Leave a Comment

minneapolis convention center parking discount

There are so many amazing events that happen downtown in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but I’m a suburb girl and I get squeamish when I think about traffic and parking. Whenever I venture downtown, I try to figure out parking in advance so that’s one less hassle to deal with. Can anyone relate?

Right now you can get a Minneapolis Convention Center Parking Discount when you find your parking ahead of time through Groupon. It uses ParkWhiz so you can reserve your spot in advance and know you at least have that covered.

Minneapolis Convention Center Parking

To get started, visit Groupon and select your date and entry/exit times. The website will show the available parking facilities along with the distance from the Minneapolis Convention Center and any available ratings. When I booked my reservation, they automatically gave me additional hours since they wouldn’t cost any extra!

Once you’ve made your purchase, you’ll just need to scan your parking pass at the entry gate, park in any space not marked “reserved,” and scan your parking pass again at the exit gate when you leave. Easy peasy!

Convention Center Parking Minneapolis

Upcoming events at the Minneapolis Convention Center include:

Filed Under: Events, Great Deals, Minneapolis

Family Fridays at the Wedge and Linden Hills Co-op

March 13, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Bring the kids to one of the upcoming Family Fridays at the Wedge and Linden Hills Co-op.   These fun events take place the third Friday of each month.  The next one takes place March 15th and the one after that is April 19th.  The indoor fun happens from 10-12, it’s FREE and no registration required. Some of the activities include:

  • Crafts
  • Music
  • Dance
  • Activities are tailored to ages 6 and younger, but all ages are welcome.

A little bit more about the March 15th event:

Families with preschoolers & toddlers join us this Friday and let’s sing 🌷Spring🎶 in with Hopewell Music Cooperative-North! Hopewell will be leading music time with singalongs, dance, and simple instruments🥁! And our friends at Minneapolis ECFE will be doing craft activities, like face painting, produce prints and pipe cleaner crafts🎨! So let’s play, dance, create & have fun at Wedge Table from 10 a.m. -12 p.m. this Friday!

Filed Under: Events, Kids, Minneapolis
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