Arts and Entertainment

If you hear “Minnesota” and think black nights and loon sounds, you’ll have a pleasant surprise waiting for you. The Twin Cities is one of the most happening metropolitans in the nation, renowned for its arts and culture. And don’t just take my word for it, Esquire magazine ranked Minneapolis third in the nation for “Cities that Rock.”

The Theatre District, along Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis’ downtown, is made up of five separate art houses attracting national tours such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Tuesdays with Morrie. I love that these stages also provide intimate musical space for artists like Lyle Lovett, The Indigo Girls, and Vince Gill. Other area venues, such as the Theatre de la June Leune and The Children’s Theatre have recently received Tony Awards and the internationally recognized Guthrie Theatre is moving to über-hip riverside digs in Spring 2006.

Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis

After doubling its size with avant garde galleries and a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, the Walker Art Museum just celebrated its grand reopening this spring. But if art means Rembrandts and Greek sculptures to you, then you’ll be excited by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts’ expansion adding 117,000 square feet. Sometimes the building itself is part of the art as with the striking stainless steel Weisman Art Museum designed by Frank Gehry and located at the University of Minnesota campus. These are just few of the more than 60 museums beloved by Twin Cities residents.

This summer has been particularly exciting in the Capitol city. The paparazzi have been crawling over St. Paul as our Fitzgerald Theatre hosts the filming of Garrison Keillor’s movie, Prairie Home Companion. Stars like Woody Harrelson, Meryl Streep, and Tommy Lee Jones have been spotted at local eateries and nightspots throughout their production schedule confirming we’re not just “fly over land” anymore.

If you think we’re just raising corn and soybeans here in the Midwest, you’ll be surprised to know that Minnesota has been the launch point of many great entertainers like Bob Dylan. Musicians Prince, the Replacements and Soul Asylum all started out performing at Minneapolis’s famed First Avenue Nightclub where you can still go rock away a night. Out of The Brave New Workshop came comic Louie Anderson and a whole, new movement of stand-up comedy. This club, nearly half a century old, continues to mold young performers for grateful Minneapolis audiences.

Lake Harriet Bandshell, Minneapolis

Minnesotans love their festivals – period. Fairs, bandshells and outdoor venues of all types are a huge part of our celebration of summer. Events such as the 16th century gala The Renaissance Festival, the rockin’ Basilica Block Party and the ten-day Aquantennial Celebration are must-attends for many residents. Music has been a long-standing tradition at open-air spots like the Lake Harriet Bandshell providing families with free entertainment and opportunities to picnic in our nationally recognized park system. Street fairs, including the Uptown Art Fair and the Art Car parade, serve to whet our appetite for the mother of all outdoor parties: the Minnesota State Fair. Forget everything you think you know about state fairs and join 1.7 million of your new neighbors at “the great Minnesota Get Together” famous for fried food on a stick, national bands and the likeness of Minnesota royalty carved into butter. It really doesn’t get any better.

Winter, despite what you’ve heard, is not the end to our play - just another stage for our creativity. Honestly, it is one of my favorite seasons with incredible cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing in the Three Rivers Park System with 23 enormous reserves in throughout the metro.

The St. Paul Winter Carnival is over a century old and features a torch-lit parade through magically lit night streets. Ice sculpture competitions, the mythical medallion hunt and, if it’s your lucky year, an ice palace awaits you. And holiday fun isn’t complete without standing along the beautifully decorated Nicollet Mall watching the Holidazzle Parade to bring Santa into the Cities.

If you don’t know it yet, you’ll soon understand why Money magazine’s Bert Sperling named Minneapolis the “most fun city in America.” Shoot me an email at michael@hometwincities.com and I’ll show you a Minneapolis you had no idea existed. If you did, you’d live here already.