Mississippi Park Connection and Mia Offer Masterpieces of Nature

Via a July 14 Press Release from Mississippi Park Connection:

19 museum-worthy views celebrate the Mississippi River’s only national park during the National Park Service Centennial year

SAINT PAUL, MN, July 14, 2016 – As part of the festivities surrounding the National Park Service Centennial year, Mississippi Park Connection and Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) are bringing art to the national park in the heart of the Twin Cities. The partnership is in conjunction with “Seeing Nature: Landscape Masterworks from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection,” a wide-ranging exhibition of 39 spectacular landscape paintings spanning five centuries, which will be on display at Mia through September 18, 2016. 

From July through September, museum-style frames in various sizes will appear at 19 scenic locations throughout the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area to highlight the stunning artistry that exists within these natural landscapes. Each location in the park connects visitors back to one of the thrilling vistas on display at Mia.

“We wanted to engage everyday park visitors in the National Park Service Centennial celebration. By creating visual frames for people to look through, we aim to reveal the grandeur of our river and nurture a greater appreciation for our national park," said Katie Nyberg, executive director, Mississippi Park Connection.

Park visitors are invited to take a picture and to share in social media with the tags #parkconnection and #seeingnature, and images will be available online alongside photos from other park enthusiasts at artsmia.org/seeing-nature/mia-national-park-service, where a map of all locations is available.

“The exhibition reveals the power of landscape to locate the viewer in time and place”, said Kim Huskinson, senior manager, marketing & insights at Mia. “We hope museum goers and park visitors will enjoy the opportunity to record, explore, and understand the natural and manmade world.”

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI PARK CONNECTION 
Mississippi Park Connection is the proud nonprofit partner of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a national park in the Twin Cities. Its mission is to build and strengthen connections between people and the Mississippi River, and build community support for this national treasure. Through education, stewardship and community engagement, Mississippi Park Connection provides opportunities for people to have a national park experience right in the Twin Cities.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL RIVER AND RECREATION AREA
The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area was established as a national park in 1988 to protect, preserve, and enhance the nationally significant resources of the Mississippi River. Starting in the Dayton-Ramsey area and ending just south of Hastings, the Mississippi River changes character more within this 72-mile park boundary than in its entire 2,350-mile course to the Gulf of Mexico.

ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART
Home to more than 89,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) inspires wonder, spurs creativity, and nourishes the imagination. With extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest wide-ranging art collections in the country – Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Monet to Matisse, Asian to African, Mia links the past to the present, enables global conversations, and offers an exceptional setting for inspiration.

General admission to Mia is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee. General admission for “Seeing Nature” is $20. 

City of Minneapolis Invites Public to Attend the Grand Opening of The Commons on Thursday, July 21

On Thursday, July 21, the City of Minneapolis will host a grand opening of The Commons, 424 4th Street S  from 11:30am-1:00pm.

The event will take place on the East Block of the park and feature food trucks, a free yoga class by Core Power Yoga, dance performances by Asian Dance Team, and additional activities.  A brief program with comments provided by Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges; Council Member Jacob Frey; Pat Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ryan Companies US, Inc.; and Mary Margaret Jones, Senior Principal of Hargreaves Associates will take place at 12:00pm.  Following the remarks all event attendees will be invited to participate in a commemorative Frisbee toss.

The Commons is a 4.2 acre, new public green space downtown bounded by Park Avenue and 4th and 5th Streets.  The Commons was designed as a place for respite, everyday activities, and events large and small for residents, workers, and visitors.

Everyone is invited to attend the grand opening celebration.  For more information on The Commons visit http://www.commonsmpls.com/.

Schedule of Grand Opening Events:

11:30am
Asian Dance Team
Food Trucks

12:00pm
Program with brief comments by Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, Council Member Jacob Frey, Pat Ryan and Mary Margaret Jones

12:20pm
Commemorative Frisbee Toss

12:20-1:00pm
Asian Dance Team
Food Trucks
Core Power Yoga free class
Free play activities

July 19 is Pre-registration Deadline for Primary Election

Via a July14 Hennepin County e-newsletter:

Contact: Ginny Gelms, Hennepin County elections manager, 612-348-9289
Carolyn Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969

July 19 is pre-registration deadline for primary election

Absentee vote today at Hennepin County Government Center

Hennepin County eligible voters have until Tuesday, July 19, to pre-register for the state primary, which will occur August 9. Save time on election day. Register to vote or check your voter registration status at www.mnvotes.org.

Voters who register to vote after July 19 will be included in the registered voters log for the general election on November 8.

Absentee voting

All eligible voters may now vote using an absentee ballot for the state primary, instead of voting in-person at the polling place on primary day.

All eligible voters in Hennepin County may cast their absentee ballot in person at the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. Sixth Street, Minneapolis. Hours are 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with extra hours on Saturday, August 6, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Absentee in-person voting is also available at most city halls across Hennepin County and at the Early Vote Center in downtown Minneapolis at 217 S. Third Street. Each city location can accommodate voters who live in that particular city.

For information about voting and elections in Hennepin County, visit www.hennepin.us/elections.

Community Keg House is Closing

Via a July 12 e-newsletter from the Community Keg House:

 

Community Keg House is Closing

We wish to announce Community Keg House is closing as of today (Tuesday 7/12). We have loved building Community and all the people who have worked and occupied this space. It saddens us to close the Keg House greatly. We live and work in Northeast. We love Northeast. It meant a great deal to see so many support our efforts.

It is our goal to transfer ownership to another party who can carry on where we have left off. Pass along the message that Community Keg House is looking to sell to the right buyers. We are now actively looking to transfer this space to new ownership. We have a turnkey operation here and we feel confident another party could make this space awesome.

All for now. Thanks for your patronage and we hope to be open again soon!

Please direct all inquiries here: nate@communitykeghouse.com

- - -

Editor's Note:

Their location is 34 13 Avenue NE, in the Grain Belt building complex.

In the Works: People Serving People's Center of Excellence for Resilience (CoE)

People Serving People (PSP) recently announced an expansion. To complement their current shelter at 614 3rd Street S, they are developing a Center of Excellence for Resilience (CoE) at 2400 Park Avenue S. This program will combine early childhood education, school age support, and parental engagement direct services to homeless and at-risk children and their families with research, development, and training to improve the field of family resilience and trauma-informed education and service.

The new Center of Excellence for Resilience will not only advance PSP's work preventing homelessness in the community, it will strengthen their programming and operations at the current shelter.

Get to Know Them! Riverfront Yoga Instructors

By Claudia Kittock

If you happen to walk by Gold Medal Park on Saturday mornings on your way to the Farmers Market, you may have noticed a group of people practicing yoga. It began last summer with a 6-week pilot project, sponsored by the DMNA. This summer the program has expanded to every Saturday through Labor Day and is now sponsored by the Friends of the Mill District.

We are fortunate to have a group of instructors who are working cooperatively to help teach yoga to anyone who is in Gold Medal Park on Saturdays at 9 a.m. The practitioners are a diverse group, attendance averages around 30 each week, with over 100 individuals who have practiced at least once.

Libbie Brand is the leader of the instructors. She does yoga to renew the lease of her body and maintain health of her muscles, to engage and connect with her spirit and mind on a daily basis, and to take a pause in her day for meditation and reflection. Her favorite poses are Eagle Pose and the Dancing Warrior sequence. A quote that guides her practices is “Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul creates the symphony of life,” by BKS Iyengar.

Laurie TeBrake, another of our instructors, does yoga because she desires to go on more adventures, be around good energy, connect with people, learn new things, and grow. Her favorite poses are Warrior II and Camel. Yoga has taught Laurie to honor her body, let go of things that no longer serve her, breathe, to be present and okay with it, and that she can achieve more than she thinks.

Instructor Nicole Simmons does yoga because it allows her time to check in with herself mentally and physically. It provides her mind with peace and calm, and teaches her ways to cope when things get overwhelming. She also loves yoga for the community of friends she’s made. Her favorite pose is Pigeon. A quote that guides her practice is “Nothing to prove, everything to share.”

Angela Bounds does yoga to connect to herself, others, and to remember to let go of what no longer serves her. Her favorite poses are Dancer and Warrior II. Two quotes that guide her practice are “Be compassionate. Not just to your friends, but to everyone,” and “Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively,” both by the Dalai Lama XIV.

Instructor Elena Machlica does yoga to find gratitude in the everyday, foster self-love, maintain and tune into a healthy body-mind connection, and to connect to something much greater than herself. Her favorite poses are Garland and Reclined Bound Angle. A quote that guide her practice is “A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.”

Join us!  All that is required is a mat or a towel and your presence.  We welcome everyone who is interested for one session, or for every session.

3rd Annual Mississippi Minute Film Festival is Scheduled for Oct 24; Entry Deadline for 60-Second Films is Sept 15

In the midst of the Twin Cities is one of the greatest natural wonders in the world: the Mississippi River and the National Park Service’s only park focused on the river: the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. In celebration of the National Park Service’s Centennial, this year the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership is expanding the Mississippi Minute Film Festival to include the entire 72 miles of this unique riverfront park.

Create and enter your One Minute Film/DVD visual essay about the river. Make a film showing your own vision and appreciation for the Mississippi River; choose your location(s) from anywhere in the entire 72 miles of this unique riverfront park. Do your best to make us laugh, make us cry, astound us - all in 60 seconds!

For the competition, the 72 mile Mississippi River National Park has been divided into four categories:

• Upper Mississippi: Dayton and Ramsey to Minneapolis City Limits

• Minneapolis Riverfront: Minneapolis northern city limits to Ford Dam

• St. Paul Riverfront: Ford Dam to St. Paul southern city limits

• Lower Mississippi: St. Paul southern city limits to Hastings/Point Douglas

The purpose of the Mississippi Minute Film Festival is to inform, energize and inspire how and why the river enlivens our city. Films will be judged by a selected judging panel of experts.  Awards premiered and announced at the Partnership’s annual event, the Minneapolis Riverfront Summit, on Monday, October 24, at the Mill City Museum at 6:00pm. Minneapolis City Council Member Jacob Frey will be the main speaker.

Originality applauded! For full terms and conditions, file formats and “How to Submit,” see www.mississippiminute.org

All entries must be received ONLINE by end of day, 9/15/16.

Awards will be given in each Category/Best of Category and Runner up; plus a Viewer’s Choice Award and Best of Show Award. Judges to be announced. 

Scenes from the July 9 Mill City Farmers Market

Some shoppers started their July 9 trip to the Market in a yoga class with Emma of YogaFit Studios Northeast. It's a donation-based class on the lawn down the stairs from the Market. Monitor the Mill City Farmers Market Calendar page to see when the next yoga class will be.

Others rolled in after competing in the #TourDeNice.  The Minneapolis Foundation and Nice Ride Minnesota teamed up to host #TourDeNice, encouraging people all over Minneapolis-Saint Paul to support local charities simply by hopping on a Nice Ride bike. According to a post-event e-newsletter from The Minneapolis Foundation, local cyclists logged 4,505 bike sharing trips on this Saturday, triggering donations to support community needs.

Following the Mill City Cooks demo was a debut of the Nutrition Corner, a discussion led by the market’s Nutrition Liaison, Mallory (below, left). The July 9 topic was about avoiding food waste, examples of which included blanching, pickling and drying.

Zelda Curti and Susan Griak of me&Z introduced their high quality, small batch almond milks at the July 9 Market. Look for a separate post about this new vendor later this week on our Farmers Market blog.

Nice Market basket!

The lovely Talin Spring of Spring, Finn & Co. - you will never see her without a welcoming smile on her face.

The Harvest Social is September 11. You can play the $5 raffle for a chance to win two tickets - see the staff at the Info Booth.

Below, a masterfully crafted bench by Old World Cabinet.

Always love to see parents taking advance of the Power of Produce program with their children. Each week kids get introduced to a new fruit or vegetable, and receive their own $2 token to spend at the Market.

Milly the goat!

Downtown Early Voting Center is Open at 217 South Third Street

Early voting is now open for the primary election in a new location downtown, the Early Vote Center at 217 S. Third St. In-person absentee voting is no longer at City Hall. The new site allows more privacy and easier access for voters than the City Hall Rotunda did.

Early in-person voting is convenient. It especially helps voters who need special accommodations, such as language support, that the extra time, attention and onsite resources of early in-person votingafford more readily than the polls might on Election Day.

Standard hours throughout the absentee voting period are 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. During the final two weeks before each election, these hours will be extended and include weekend times. These hours will be posted on the website (vote.minneapolismn.gov) once they have been set.

People can vote early (by absentee ballot) by mail or in person.

For reasonable accommodations or alternative formats please contact Elections at and Voter Services at 612-673-3870 or elections@minneapolismn.gov. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users can call 612-673-2157 or 612-673-2626.

Para asistencia 612-673-2700
Rau kev pab 612-673-2800
Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 612-673-3500

5 to 10 on Hennepin / 5 to 10 Artist Market - Thursdays, August 18 thru December

Hennepin Theatre Trust, Southwest Airlines Co. and Project for Public Spaces (PPS) are joining together to create and activate public spaces in the WeDo™ MPLS Cultural District. Southwest Airlines’ Heart of the Community program awarded the Trust with a $200,000 grant to bring the 5 to 10 on Hennepin project to life. PPS, a nonprofit pioneer in the global placemaking movement, will provide technical assistance.  The 5 to 10 on Hennepin project will re-imagine a five-block stretch of Hennepin Avenue between 5th and 10th streets as a vibrant destination for everyone to enjoy.

The 5 to 10 Artist Market is a series of weekly pop-up night markets, open to the public from 5:00pm - 10:00pm each Thursday evening from August 18 through December, featuring Minnesota-made fine art and goods. Activating one city block at a time along Hennepin Avenue between 5th and 10th Streets, this Artist Market is part of 5 to 10 on Hennepin. Thousands of people are expected to visit the 5 to 10 Artist Market and enjoy the many placemaking activities along Hennepin Avenue. The market will feature live music, food, games and local beverages.

Between 25-45 Minnesota vendors are planned for each week, positioned along the sidewalk, on surface parking lots and in adjacent alleys.

Do you know an artist who would be interested in participating? Direct them to this link: https://hennepintheatretrust.submittable.com/submit/60514.

Traffic Alert - Open Streets Downtown Update

First Avenue North from Washington Avenue North to Eight Street South, and Washington Avenue North from Eighth Avenue North to First Avenue North will be closed to motorized traffic from 11:00am - 5:00pm on Sunday, July 10 to accommodate Downtown Open Street events.

This is a free event, open to everyone.  It gives people the opportunity to enjoy biking, walking, skating, playing and using wheelchairs on their neighborhood streets without the presence of motorized traffic. For more information on this year’s events, visit the Open Streets Minneapolis website.

To learn more about bicycling in Minneapolis, visit the City’s bicycling website.

Southbound lanes of 3rd Avenue in downtown closed this weekend

Via a July 8 City of Minneapolis e-newsletter:

Southbound lanes of Third Avenue in downtown Minneapolis closed this weekend

Starting Saturday, July 9, the northbound lanes of Third Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis will close for one block as crews continue to work on the street’s redesign. These lanes are expected to reopen to traffic Sunday morning. All cross streets will remain open during the construction. Drivers should follow the marked detours (see “detour routes map”).

From 7 a.m. Saturday July 9 through 6 a.m. Sunday July 10 crews will remove the median on Third Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets. During this time, northbound traffic will be detoured and southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane. 

Starting at 7 a.m. Monday July 11, crews will pave where the median was removed. Third Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction. This work is scheduled to be completed by 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 12.

Southbound Third Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street will continue to have one lane closed for the remainder of the week.

For additional information, visit the project website.

Lumières Françaises: Contemporary French Cinema, presented by the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, July 15-21

Lumières Françaises

Lumières Françaises is a new series of contemporary French cinema, presented by the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul at the St. Anthony Main Theatre. Launching right after Bastille Day, this weeklong festival will showcase a selection of today’s best independent French films and filmmakers. The program highlights an exciting new generation of rising talent on both sides of the camera, from rebellious comedies, to exquisite dramas and vivid documentaries.

Select titles in this series are part of the Young French Cinema program, which is made possible with the support of UniFrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.  All films presented with English subtitles

 

April and the Extraordinary World

Sunday, 7/17, 1:00pm | Wednesday, 7/20, 7:15pm
From the producers of the Academy Award-nominated Persepolis and the mind of renowned graphic novelist Jacques Tardi comes a riveting sci-fi adventure following adventurous scientists’ daughter April and her dear cat Darwin… read more.

Astragal
Sunday, 7/17, 5:15pm | Wednesday, 7/20, 5:00pm
Brigitte Sy’s fiercely intelligent adaptation of the eponymous 1965 semi-autobiographical novel by Algerian-born Albertine Sarrazin-vividly brought to life by Leila Bekhti-depicts the life of a young woman defiantly on the margins… read more.

The Brand New Testament
Thursday, 7/21, 7:00pm
God exists, he lives in Brussels, and he’s a petty tyrant to his wife and daughter. When his daughter spies the right opportunity, she hacks into his computer and leaks to the entire world via text message their inevitable date of death. What follows is Jaco Van Dormael’s witty and eccentric answer to a loaded question: What would you do if you knew exactly how much time you had left to live… read more.

The Last Hammer Blow
Sunday, 7/17, 3:15pm | Tuesday, 7/19, 5:15pm
The eagerly-awaited second film from writer/director Alix Delaporte is a profoundly affecting drama about a young boy determined to change the course of his future. Intimate and emotionally satisfying, and featuring a mesmerizing breakout performance by newcomer Romain Paul, Delaporte’s film is a poetic, neo-realist jewel… read more.

Lolo
Friday, 7/15, 7:30pm | Sunday, 7/17, 7:30pm | Thursday, 7/21, 2:15pm
On holiday in the south of France, chic Parisian sophisticate Violette and life-loving IT geek Jean-René strike up an unlikely, but passionate romance. But there’s trouble in paradise when Lolo, Violette’s ultra-possessive 19-year-old son, swiftly appears to shatter the couple’s idyll… read more.

Neither Heaven Nor Earth
Saturday, 7/16, 5:15pm | Tuesday, 7/19, 7:15pm
Afghanistan 2014. Approaching the withdrawal of troops, Captain Antares Bonassieu and his section are assigned to a control and monitoring mission in a remote valley of the Wakhan, Pakistan border. Despite the determination of Antares and his men, control of this so-called calm sector will gradually crumble. On a September night, some soldiers start to mysteriously disappear in the valley… read more.

Reset
Saturday, 7/16, 3:00pm | Tuesday, 7/19, 3:00pm
Stunningly gorgeous and delicate in both subject and treatment, Reset depicts renowned choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied (best known for choreographing the dance sequences in Black Swan) as he attempts to rejuvenate the Paris Opera Ballet in his new position as director… read more.

Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait
Friday, 7/15, 3:00pm | Thursday, 7/21, 4:45pm
An extraordinary, at times excruciating documentary, Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait bears witness to the atrocities of the civil war that has raged in that country for nearly five years… read more.

Vincent
Saturday, 7/16, 7:30pm | Monday, 7/18, 5:00pm
Director and cowriter Thomas Salvador stars in the title role of this modest, extremely charming superhero movie. Tall, lean, slightly awkward, and unassuming, Vincent leads a quiet life as a construction worker. But whenever he comes into contact with water, this beanpole of a man transforms into a being with unsurpassed strength and speed… read more.

Young French Cinema Shorts
Saturday, 7/16, 1:00pm | Wednesday, 7/20, 3:00pm
A selection of shorts from UniFrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy’s Young French Cinema program. Featuring the work of Yulia Aronova, Hadrien Bichet, Maïmouna Doucouré, Paul Wenninger, and Just Philippot… read more.

MPRB Seeks Volunteer Coaches for Youth Football, Soccer and Volleyball for the 2016 Fall Season

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is seeking enthusiastic volunteer coaches for youth football, soccer and volleyball for the 2016 fall season.

• Practices and games start in August for football and soccer, October for volleyball
• Athletes range from 5–18 years old
• Teams practice 1–2 times per week
• Games are scheduled for a weeknight and/or Saturdays
• MPRB will provide orientation for all new coaches

Learn More

Contact
Phone: 612-230-6493
Email: recvolunteers@minneapolisparks.org 

Everything You Need to Know to Start Planning Your 2016 Minnesota Fringe Festival Experience!

It’s time to get adventurous!  Here's everything you need to know to start planning your 2016 Minnesota Fringe experience (August 4 - 14). The 2016 Minnesota Fringe website is live now, which means 1) you can start browsing all 169 shows and deciding how to cram them into your festival schedule and 2) your Friday just got that much less productive. You’re welcome. Also? There are a few major upgrades that we’ve made to the website to make exploring the Fringe easier and more enjoyable than ever. Schedule Grid Listen up, planning enthusiasts! We heard you and made you a schedule grid that is interactive and….drum roll, please…printable! To use the schedule to its full schedule-y potential, log into your account on fringefestival.org. You can then start favorite-ing and locking in shows to create your own customized itinerary. When you’re ready to head out to the festival, you can easily access your personalized schedule on your phone or print it out at home ahead of time. Either way, you’ll be prepared for whatever a day at the Fringe throws your way. Advance Ticket Sales With the switch to day passes, it’s super simple to save a seat at that show you’re just dying to see. There are two options: “Reserve” and “Reserve with a wristband.” For your first show of the day, we’d suggest the “Reserve with a wristband” option to save your seat and purchase your day pass all at once. It'll save you a trip to the box office at the festival, which is pretty snazzy. Then you can use plain old “Reserve” for everything else. Button Deals You don’t have to buy a 2016 Fringe button, but you might just want to. Your $4 button gets you awesome deals at a bunch of local bars and restaurants during the 11 days of the festival. You’ll be able to buy 2016 Fringe buttons at Fringe Preview events and at any Fringe venue during the festival. Donate Do you love our website? Do you love how it connects you to shows and artists you’ve never heard of before? Do you love that printable schedule grid? If you do, consider making a gift to the Fringe today. All of the improvements we’ve made to the website, in addition to all the services we provide for our artists, don’t happen without the support of Fringe fans like you. BONUS: Our Donate page has been beautifully re-designed to make it easier for you to make a gift to the Fringe. Take a gander while you give.

If Walls Could Talk: The Sample Room Cocktails & Eats

Story and photos by Julie Craven

If ever there was an “if walls could talk” establishment, The Sample Room is it. The address on Marshall Street - that's mile 856.2 on the Mississippi River for the boaters - is a quintessential Northeast story.

The structure that housed the Theis Hotel and Sample Room was a hard working business back in the 1890’s. Upstairs were rooms that were rented out and the main floor was a saloon. The Gluek Brewery rolled kegs over for sampling, hence the very practical and descriptive name.

Later the building operated as the Polish Palace, from all reports a windowless dive bar, before it was transformed into the current restaurant in 2002. The renovation revealed layers of paint and there were plenty of earlier renovations to plow through. Quite a transformation for a space that is now known for good craft beers and a scratch kitchen.

Today, you can drive by and not immediately notice the building, it is a bit nondescript. Cookie Coleman and Bob Hest first took us to The Sample Room, and it was great fun to bring Austin friends Steve and Deb Thorson on this night.

Trista took care of our group  and was very helpful narrowing down a choice of wine flights. I enjoy Malbecs, and with that information she pointed me towards the Euro Red Flights. She walked us through the menu, highlighted  items that are made in-house and gave a nod to the list of local suppliers partners.

The Roasted Beets are truly something special. A great combination of beets with orange and mango segments, goat cheese and sunflower seeds that could easily be an entree. Three Meat Meatloaf with grass-fed beef, pork and bison is always Doug's pick.

My Buttermilk Fried Chicken was a bone-in quarter with dirty rice and beans and creamed kale. I had the Fried Brussels Sprouts as well. My photo doesn't nearly do it justice. I'm always amazed how wonderful fried and roasted Brussels sprouts can be. Tell me again why I didn't like them as a child?!

Seared Scallops with nettle pesto, quinoa, and purple ninja radish were Steve's choice and he even agreed to be a hand model for this article. 

What do people come back for again and again?  “The meatloaf and the Reuben sandwich,” according to Trista, although she has another fairly recent favorite. “Chef Dewey Sulouff just nailed it with one item on the new menu. I just love the mussels.”

The Chef's Select Cheese plate.

The headline desserts are perennial favorites - Dark Chocolate Mousse and a Lemon Panna Cotta. Tempting, but two orders of the Rhubarb Crumble rounded out the evening for our group.

Between the vintage prints and Dan Raphael art, there's a framed Gluek’s shipping label that says, “Never lay the bottles directly on the ice, it kills the creamy effect.” Good to know some things don't change!

Location:  2124 Marshall Street NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418

Website:  the-sample-room.com

 Julie Craven can be reached at julie@millcitymedia.org.

Friends of the Mill District Secures Grant for Mill City Choir

By Claudia Kittock

On June 29th, the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) approved an Arts Activities Support grant in the amount of $8,000 to Friends of the Mill District.  This grant will be used to fund the Mill City Emanuel Singers which is sponsored by the Friends of the Mill District.

Our choir began on a run. A group of Mill District neighbors formed a running group and invited residents from Emanuel Housing to be part of that group at its inception. We discovered the commonality of running was a means to become friends.  On these runs we talked about running, the neighborhood, and our diverse backgrounds.  During one of these runs, a runner brought up music and asked the question, “Why isn’t there more music in the neighborhood . . . you know, like a choir?” The simple answer to that question was, “I don’t know, but I will find out.” When I asked a MacPhail Center for Music employee the same question, she promised to do some research.  Within a week, she suggested MacPhail might be willing to help us set up a pilot project to see if we could make a choir a reality and offered us J.D. Steele as the director.

The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (DMNA) agreed to provide the seed money for the pilot project and with word-of-mouth and posters put up in residences around the Mill District, we began our first rehearsal with 42 people! It was immediately evident that a neighborhood choir, directed by J.D. Steele, was going to be as unique as our neighborhood and as the genius of J.D.  While we love singing together, we also discovered another purpose, building community and developing personal connections through singing together.

J.D. Steele is as talented as he is unique in the world of music. Rehearsals begin with a ‘call’ from J.D. He loudly sings, “Day-Oh!” and the singers echo back. J.D. continues to go up the scale by half steps until we are warmed up and ready to sing.  We do not use printed music.  J.D. never learned to read music and teaches us using a music technique known as ‘lining out’.  Lining has a long and storied tradition in American music.  J.D. sings every vocal part by lining, teaching the singers the words, the music, and each part of harmony.

Our hope is to make this choir a permanent part of our neighborhood.  At present we have 85 members, most of which are 55 and over. We would like to extend our outreach even further into the homeless community and people living in low income housing, particularly to People Serving People, a family shelter in our neighborhood.

We will rehearse in three 8-week sessions of rehearsals every year.  Our goal is to perform at community events at least twice each session. The Guthrie Theater, American Academy of Neurology, and First Covenant Church have already partnered with us to provide rehearsal space. We would like to add neighborhood venues for rehearsals to increase visibility.

The choir has already performed at Holidazzle, the MacPhail Music Matters Luncheon, and will be singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at the August 11^th Minnesota Twins game.  Look for the upcoming schedule of rehearsals.  We welcome you to join us for one rehearsal or for everyone. However, be very careful.  After one rehearsal, the chances of being ‘hooked’ are very high!

Contact Claudia for more details & how to participate at cjkittock@gmail.com

Scenes from the July 2 Mill City Farmers Market

July 2 was Bike to the Market day, and the boulevard was lined with Minneapolis bicycle groups providing shoppers with all the information needed to get the most out of enjoying our city on two wheels. Bicycle mechanics even on site to provide on the spot tune-ups, and Chef Heather Hartman even made her entrance to the Mill City Cooks demo on her bike.

The aromas wafting from the Northern Fires pizza oven aroused appetites from blocks away.

Real Foods has a new tent that affords them more room, plus protects their gorgeous produce from the sun.

Milly the goat!

July 9 Tour de Nice - Cyclists Compete to Raise Funds for Local Charities

The July 9 Tour de Nice kicks off in downtown Minneapolis, where a dozen cyclists representing local charities will ride in a challenge designed around the Nice Ride network. These nonprofit riders will start and finish at Gold Medal Park, competing to see who can visit the most Nice Ride stations between 9:00am and 11:00am.

Bikers around the world know that France has the Tour de France, and even Australia has the Tour Down Under. Well, now Minneapolis — one of the country’s top bike cities — has the #TourDeNice. The Minneapolis Foundation and Nice Ride Minnesota are challenging a small group of cyclists from local charities to ride around the city to see who can visit the most Nice Ride stations in just two hours.

On Saturday, July 9, people all over Minneapolis-St. Paul can raise money to support community needs simply by hopping on a Nice Ride bike. Riders 18 and up — from first-time Nice Ride users to seasoned cyclists — are all encouraged to participate in this community-wide event. During July 9, the Minneapolis Foundation will donate $1 — up to $5,000 — for every Nice Ride trip taken around the Twin Cities. Each dollar will go toward a pot to be donated to the nonprofits of the top three bikers.

I'm putting my money on our neighbor Max Erickson, riding for MacPhail Center for Music.

July 4 Parkway Closures for Red, White & Boom 5K, TC Half Marathon and Fireworks Celebration

Parkway Closures July 4 for Red, White & Boom 5K, TC Half Marathon and Fireworks Celebration

Red, White & Boom 5K, TC Half Marathon
Monday, July 4 - Closed 6:00am - Noon
- Main Street SE, West River Parkway, Victory Memorial Parkway, Webber Parkway, Stone Arch Bridge
More Info

Red, White & Boom Fireworks Celebration
Monday, July 4 - Closed 2:00pm - 10:30pm
- Main Street SE from Merriam Avenue to 6th Avenue SE - 2:00pm-11:00pm
- 3rd Avenue SE from Main Street SE to 2nd Street SE – 2:00pm-11:00pm
- West River Pkwy from N 4th Avenue to 11th Avenue S – 4:30pm-11:00pm
- 3rd Avenue S Bridge (Central Avenue SE): Closed to pedestrians - 9:15pm-10:30pm
- Closed to Vehicles - 9:15pm-10:30pm
- Stone Arch Bridge -  closed to cyclists from 9:30-10:30pm
More Info