Pride Journey Summer Getaway: Minneapolis

Minneapolis adds to its extensive and top-ranked park system with a new 2.8-acre park space and “mill-embedded” pavilion, opening this spring. Water Works/Mill Ruins Park expansion overlooks St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge; it’s located on Dakota homeland and has been sacred to both the Dakota and Anishinaabe people for millennia. It will bring visitor services and recreational and cultural amenities to one of Minnesota’s most highly visited destinations. The park and pavilion are designed to reveal layers of untold stories, in acknowledgement of the location as both the birthplace of the city’s milling past and a spiritual place that has shaped cultural and economic connections for Indigenous people and immigrants.

Inside this new facility, The Sioux Chef, with owner/chef and James Beard Award winner Sean Sherman and partner Dana Thompson, will open Owamni: An Indigenous Kitchen, a four-season dine-in and take-out restaurant, and the first completely de-colonized restaurant in Minnesota. Along with serving Indigenous foods, the Sioux Chef plans to create events and educational opportunities to elevate Indigenous voices as part of its larger mission to promote Native American cultures, honor plants and natural resources, and foster a vibrant Indigenous food movement. The restaurant’s name is derived from “Owamni Yamni,” the Dakota name for what is called St. Anthony Falls in English; it means swirling or laughing waters.

The new facility will open in late Spring 2021 and welcome visitors (pending state COVID guidelines) year-round.

Minnesota Twins welcome fans back to Target Field

After a truncated season with cardboard cut-out fans and piped in cheers, the boys of summer will be welcoming 10,000 fans per game back to Target Field in the urban ballpark’s 12th year in downtown Minneapolis. Whether you’re a Major League fan or you just like the people watching and scoreboard antics, there’s nothing than grabbing a cold, local brew or craft cocktail, a bite from a local eatery’s stand and watching the Minnesota Twins play on a perfect summer day on the Homerun porch. With limited tickets during COVID restrictions, the Twins offer a safe and fun outdoor activity, but plan ahead to ensure your chance to do the 7th inning stretch.

The best way to explore the Mississippi River in Minneapolis

Bike share programs, like Nice Ride in Minneapolis, are well known, but did you know you can rent kayaks and travel the Mississippi River? With Paddle Share, you can explore at your own pace or join a leisurely multi-hour tour of the area above the St. Anthony Falls in the ultimate COVID-safe activity.

The only paddle share program in the Western Hemisphere, means you can simply reserve a kayak on the website, pick it up at one of the stations and hit the water. Choose from multiple different trips depending on your start and end location. They’ll tell you how many miles it is, about how long it will take, and what you might need along the way. And as you paddle, looking up at either bank will show you urban sites rising next to lush, green trees and bald eagles soaring the sky above.