Minneapolis (May 15, 2025) – Minneapolis was ranked recently as one of the World’s Happiest Cities by the Institute for Quality of Life, and it’s no wonder why, with spring weather going full summer early, too many things to do and a constant string of new places to eat and drink.

Check this list of what’s new in Minneapolis and make space for all the things; you won’t want to miss any of it!

Make Time on your Calendar: Don’t Miss Many New Things to Do

• Art-A-Whirl, Northeast Minneapolis' festival spanning more than 100 locations with 1,400 artists, music, local food and more, celebrates its 30th anniversary May 16-18. This annual event—the largest open artist studio tour in the nation—kicks off the summer art fair season in Minneapolis.
  
• Prince: Celebration 2025 will take place at both Paisley Park and downtown Minneapolis honoring 1985, the year Prince & the Revolution released the album “Around the World in a Day,” Prince won three Grammys and an Oscar and broke ground for Paisley Park in Chanhassen. Live performances, tours, listening sessions and a block party are among the planned festivities happening June 5-8.
  
• Just announced, Farm Aid will celebrate its year-long 40th anniversary with a full day of music and festivities at Minneapolis’ Huntington Bank Stadium on Sept. 20. Headliners are Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews and Margo Price. The festival will include HOMEGROWN food and agricultural experiences.
• The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is presenting Transcendent Clay: The Kondō Family’s Path of Porcelain Innovations, a landmark exhibition celebrating nearly a century of artistry by the renowned Kondō family of Kyoto, Japan. On view through Sept. 7, this exhibition explores the groundbreaking legacy of three generations of master ceramicists, from Kondō Yūzō (1902–1985) to his grandson Kondō Takahiro (b. 1958).
• PLOT Gallery opened this spring near George Floyd Square at 38th & Chicago with exhibitions, a photography studio, lecture space and immersive learning environments.
• The Hennepin History Museum exhibit In Memoriam: Residents of Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery features the oldest cemetery in Minneapolis, and the National Park Service has just designated it as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. A ceremony will honor this designation on June 7.
• In a city with a growing reputation for women’s sports, another new women’s professional sports team joins the fold in the Minneapolis area: TC Gemini are part of the original six teams in Women’s Elite Rugby. They’ll take on teams from Chicago, Boston, New York, Denver and San Francisco with home games at TCO Stadium.
• Moona Moono coffee shop and general store opened in the Uptown neighborhood, promising if you come for the espresso, boba and matcha, you’ll leave with the best K-beauty, kawaii, stationery and housewares.
• Inkwell Booksellers opened in Northeast Minneapolis with literature and lattes – they serve Wesley Andrews espresso, Inkwell-branded drip coffee and Rose Street Patisserie baked goods with books for adults and kids and a welcome to hang out and read a while.
• Valleyfair Amusement Park will hold a Juicy Lucy Festival over two weekends, July 12–13 and 19–20, with a variety of burger options, local beers and local bands. Juicy (or Jucy) Lucys are a Minneapolis-conceived burger with the molten cheese in the middle of two sealed beef patties.

Wear Your Stretchy Pants and Take in the Numerous New Spots to Eat and Drink

• Instagram-ready and with its “sky bar” Ferris wheel spinning again in Northeast Minneapolis, the Hey Y’all Tipsy Taco Bar opened May 3 in all its pink, neon kitschy glory, with a dozen taco varieties, guac as big as Texas and more.
• Café Yoto, a fast-casual Japanese spot in the North Loop, makes fresh udon noodles, donburi and temaki for lunch and dinner.
• St. Pierre Steak & Seafood opened beneath Bar La Grassa (also owned by James Beard Best Chef: Midwest winner Isaac Becker and Nancy St. Pierre) in the North Loop.
• Graze by Travail food hall now has seven culinary concepts representing five James Beard-nominated chefs under one roof, including Umami by Travail (who also serve dumplings by Saturday Dumpling Co), Tixtli by Nixta, and Caja Fried Chicken by the chefs of Alma and Brasa.
• ie by Travail opened near Lake Nokomis in South Minneapolis, with Italian cuisine in a favorite community spot with a welcoming patio.
• Cabana Club is now open in a prime Mississippi riverfront location on historic Main Street with elevated comfort foods, global classics and a weekend brunch.
• Trópico Sweets & Bar—a “little piece of Colombia in Minnesota”—opened in the Warehouse District’s Kickernick Building.
• Vern’s Tiki Bar is newly opened behind Public Domain in the North Loop, serving up snacks, cocktails and slushies with all the bamboo and tropical touches to take you away to the islands.
• Hikari Handroll Bar and El Sazon Tacos & More moved into Eat Street Crossing food hall in March.
  

New Hotels to Add to Your Where-to-Stay List

• Sheraton Minneapolis Downtown Convention Center opens its newly renovated spaces, including all the hotel’s 321 guestrooms and suites, and refreshed pool and fitness center next week. Its Iconic Dome—the only venue of its kind in the Twin Cities—offers sweeping, 360-degree views of downtown Minneapolis from 14 stories above.
• For the first time in 100 years, a new hotel opened on Lake Minnetonka. The Shoreline Hotel has 27 guest rooms, a coastal themed restaurant named Cabana Anna’s, a 32-slip marina and a sandy beach. They’ll even offer wakeboard lessons.
  

New International Nonstop Flights Begin This Month

• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) welcomes new nonstop flights on Delta including a first-ever route to/from Copenhagen and a nonstop to/from Rome this month. Also, Discover Airlines is taking over the nonstop flights between MSP and Frankfurt, Germany, from Lufthansa. They’ll run four times per week.

The Minneapolis Summer Don’t Miss List is the spot online to keep up with the summertime essentials.

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ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS
Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area. Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International.

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