What’s New in Minneapolis (June 2023)

If you haven’t seen Minneapolis lately, don’t miss out
Smiling woman in a pink dress dances at a vibrant night festival, surrounded by happy onlookers and glowing city lights.

For immediate release

Minneapolis (June 19, 2023) – Summer goes fast but, in Minneapolis, the list is long: with over 1,800 summer events, newly renovated spaces and new dining spots. If you have not visited lately, you have not seen Minneapolis. And, trust us, you don’t want to miss it. Here is some of the latest news from the City by Nature.

Attractions and Arts

  • More than 1,800 summer events and activities will be held this summer
    in downtown Minneapolis, including some new events:
    • Taste of Minnesota – July 2 and 3, there will be live music, f1rst wrestling, art market, food vendors and more in downtown Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall from noon to 8 p.m. Headliners Third Eye Blind play the music stage July 2 and Big Boi headlines July 3. Tickets are free.
    • TC Summerfest – Target Field—home of the Minnesota Twins MLB baseball club—will host a live music event on July 14 and 15 featuring Imagine Dragons, The Killers, The Flaming Lips and more.
    • Warehouse District Live – New events happening Fridays and Saturdays in downtown Minneapolis featuring an “enhanced pedestrian zone” with food trucks, seating/tables, activities and free public restrooms.
    • Minneapolis Park Markets – Minneapolis has one of the top park systems in the nation. These new events featuring fresh foods, handmade goods and more on various dates at Lake Harriet, Water Works Park, Minnehaha Regional Park and the Commons Park downtown.
  • The Guthrie Theater will produce the world premiere of “For the People” by Ty Defoe (Oneida and Ojibwe Nations) and Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota), from Oct. 7 – Nov. 12, 2023. Commissioned by the Guthrie with funding from The Joyce Foundation, the new play is grounded in Minneapolis’ Native community and draws on its rich Dakota and Ojibwe heritage.
  • Minneapolis Trolley tours began in May, offering hop on/hop off loop tours, ghost tours and old Minneapolis tours in a restored, historic trolley car. The “never-ending” cocktail loop tours on Friday and Saturday nights offer 10 stops at popular night spots.
  • Uptown Theater opened in June in the former movie theater with the iconic “Uptown” sign as a concert and event venue. Featuring 19,000 square feet of flexible space, the Uptown Theater is a multi-level music hall with six bars and lounges that accommodates over 1,600 guests.
  • Norway House recently completed a $19.6 million addition, turning the block into "a home for all things Norwegian.” In addition to the Norwegian Honorary Consulate General, the nonprofit arts, business and cultural center is home to Concordia Language Villages, as well as a business accelerator for Norwegian-based companies. It also houses a cafe, an outpost of Ingebretsen's Nordic Marketplace and an art gallery with rotating shows.
  • Father Hennepin Bluff Park reopened June 15 after a major renovation project including a new performance stage, completely redone paths and park entry plazas, and upgraded lighting and landscaping. Located next to the entrance of the Stone Arch Bridge, it’s a site for concerts and gatherings seasonally.
  • Minnesota passed a bill to rename a stretch of Highway 5 in Chanhassen, Minn., adjacent to Paisley Park after native son, Prince. “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” will boast purple highway signs, mandated in the bill.
  • Getting around couldn’t be easier: Minneapolis has three scooter companies, Lime, Spin and Veo, providing rentals for 2023 and bike share, including class 2 e-bikes, available to use on the 200+ miles of paved paths and protected roadways in the city.

Dining

  • Minneapolis’ Abdirahan Kahin, the owner of four local locations of his Afro Deli and Grill, was named the 2023 National Small Business Person of the Year. Kahin, who came to the U.S. from East Africa in 1996, opened his first of four Afro Deli locations in Cedar-Riverside in 2010. Minneapolis boasts the largest population of Somali residents outside of Somalia.
  • Gai Noi opened in May in Loring Park. Chef Ann Ahmed named it for khao gai noi, is a type of short grain glutinous rice emblematic of the northern Xieng Khouang regions of Laos, where she and her family are from.
  • Hi Flora opened in South Minneapolis on June 18. This plant-based restaurant and temperance bar, serves non-alcoholic and “euphoric” elixirs, including THC-infused drinks. The cocktail program highlights plants, including cannabis, blue lotus, kava, sassafras and sarsaparilla. It also features a house-made switchel and a root beer made with 33 roots, barks and berries. The chef-driven menu features seasonal and regenerative foods, such as wild morels, ramps, smoked juniper and hazelnuts.
  • Maison Margaux is a new multilevel, classic French restaurant in the historic former Ribnick Furs building. Featuring a half-dozen dining rooms and event space and a basement bar, it opened in May and the owners call it, “Paris in the North Loop.”

Airport and Air Service

  • Delta opened its third and biggest lounge at MSP in April. The new, 21,000-square foot Sky Club is in the recently expanded G concourse and includes a 3,000-square foot outdoor patio with views of the tarmac and an indoor-outdoor bar.
  • WestJet launched its first-ever service from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) this month. The airline is operating multiple weekly flights between MSP and Edmonton, Alberta (YEG). WestJet is the 16th airline operating at MSP in 2023.
  • MSP launched a pilot program, MSP Reserve, that allows people flying through Terminal 2 to reserve a time to pass through security as early as a week before one’s flight.
  • The artwork of artist Annie Young is on display at MSP Airport through November 2023. The exhibit, titled "Journey to Rock Bottom," is located in the Concourse C Art Gallery. MSP Airport Foundation rotating exhibits provide visitors with another activity for their time at the award-winning airport.

Hotel News

  • Hotel Indigo Minneapolis Downtown opened this spring and its new Star Bar & Bistro began serving American fare with a French influence and local ingredients this summer.

This is just a sampling of what’s happening in Minneapolis right now. For everything from the Summer Don’t Miss List to how to support our Minneapolis Black community, visit Meet Minneapolis.

More Minneapolis
Minneapolis’ Cultural Districts were identified by the City of Minneapolis to highlight the rich sense of cultural and/or linguistic identity rooted in communities significantly populate by people of color, Indigenous people and/or immigrants. They were designated by the city’s 2040 Plan to support the unique cultural history of the neighborhoods in these areas. To learn more and explore, go here and here. An annual calendar of events
provide seasonal opportunities to explore these areas further.

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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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