Cooking Classes & Cocktail Classes in Minneapolis

Cooks of Crocus Hill

Whether you want to make a rockin’ bowl of ramen, master Middle Eastern spices, or perfect your pizza dough, Cooks of Crocus Hill has a class for you. Classes are held at the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina locations, with specific classes and camps available for kids and teens.

Earl Giles Distillery

Attend one of the Study Hall sessions at Earl Giles, and you’ll learn inside tips and tricks on making a killer cocktail from co-founder Jesse (Earl) Held. You’ll also get pizza and light apps.

France 44

France 44 offers cooking classes (like Steak Grilling 101 or Pasta Making), beverage classes (which guide you on certain styles of wine or those from particular regions), and cheese classes (like Mozzarella Making).

Surdyk's

The Sidebar at Surdyk’s hosts a range of intimate and informal classes on Mondays, where you can learn all about wine regions, beverage pairings, and more. There’s even a class on something called “Zebra Striping,” or alternating between boozy and booze-free beverages in a single session.

O'Shaughnessy Distilling Co.

At O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co., you can take a tour and tasting, or level up your whiskey knowledge with cocktail classes. There’s even a whiskey blending class that lets you leave with your own personal blend.

Glassblowing & Glassmaking Classes in Minneapolis

Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts

At Foci, the glass-related fun doesn’t stop with glassblowing. You can also learn about kilnforming and casting, or make your own neon, or get started with stained glass, or take classes on engraving and etching. There are also youth and teen glass camps for younger glass enthusiasts.

Legacy Glassworks

Did you know Legacy Glassworks has a 10-person glassblowing studio? Legacy’s intro classes will teach you how to make a wine glass, a pendant, a marble, or—ahem—a pipe, and there are intermediate classes that build on those beginner skills.

Potekglass

Potekglass hosts classes and workshops for folks of all skill levels, whether you want to use a kiln, practice stained glass, make your own colorful beads, and a whole lot more.

Drawing, Painting, Crafting & Fine Art Classes in Minneapolis

Minneapolis Institute of Art

At Mia, Studio Sessions give novices and experienced artists alike a chance to hone their skills with projects inspired by Mia’s collection and special exhibitions, while Art In Words classes—a partnership with Loft Literary Center—will teach you to write about art as you experience the museum’s collection. There’s also Vitality Arts, a five-week program for adults 55 and older.

The Atilier

In addition to a full-time program for serious students who want to be professional painters, The Atelier also offers part-time classes and workshops in areas like life drawing and painting and portraiture.

Articulture MN

The folks at Articulture believe art is “a holistic tool for personal and social change,” and we agree! They offer art education for folks of all ages, including creative summer camps for children and teens, and classes include drawing and printmaking but also metalsmithing, needle felting, embroidery, and more.

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Did you know you don’t have to be enrolled at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to take classes there? MCAD’s Continuing Education programming lets folks of all skill levels take classes in everything from oil painting to screen-printing to metalworking. MCAD also offers youth and teen classes and camps.

Simply Creative

You know all those super-cute crafters you see making stuff on TikTok who have you going, “I bet I can make that?” You can, and Simply Creative will show you how, with classes on making polymer clay magnets, resin jewelry, stacker rings, candles, and more.

Upstairs Circus

Part DIY workshop and part bar, Upstairs Circus lets you choose from more than 25 projects—concrete coasters, wine bottle tumblers, a leather card wallet—and then work on your creation while you sip drinks like a Pink Elephant (cosmo) or Trapeze Tea (a boozy Arnold Palmer).

Ingebretsen's

Are you familiar with singlade balls? What about rosemaling? At Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace, you can learn to make these traditional folk crafts, along with braided bracelets, pincushions, and more.

Woodworking, Welding & Metalsmithing Classes in Minneapolis

MPLS Make

Maybe you want to make a chef’s knife with a custom wooden handle perfectly attuned to your grip. Maybe you’ve got your sights set on a bigger project, like a coffee table with a welded base and wooden top. MPLS Make has classes for both, plus lots of other stuff in between.

MN Tool Library

The MN Tool Library rocks: For as low as $65 a year, you can become a member and enjoy access to more than 8,000 rentable tools, along with access to MTL’s 500-square-foot workshops in Northeast Minneapolis and St. Paul and discounts on classes. But you don’t have to take a member to take classes, which will introduce you to workshop tools or teach you to plant a kitchen herb garden. Even workshops on drywall repair are offered.

Twin Cities Maker

At Twin Cities Maker, you can take classes in wood turning, metalworking—and also 3D printing! This is a volunteer-led space, and while memberships are offered, most classes are open to members and non-members alike.

Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center

Welding and metal fabrication, blacksmithing, glasswork, neon, jewelry and small sculpture, stained glass… if there’s a project you’re dreaming up involving heat, spark, or flame, there’s a near certainty that CAFAC can help you bring the vision to life. They’ve also got summer camps for kids and a shop full of work from local artists and artisans.

Leonardo's Basement

Leonardo’s Basement describes itself as “an innovative educational organization for children, adults and their families,” but that only scratches the surface. Maybe you saw them in the news after a group of kids made a 25-foot “Death Star”? That’s the kind of stuff you can get into at this one of a kind makerspace, which teaches about engineering, CAD, metalworking, woodworking, arts, crafts—and generally encourages creativity and play.

Sewing & Textile Classes in Minneapolis

Minnesota Textile Center

Stitching, felting, dyeing, weaving, rug hooking, surface design—Textile Center’s mission is “to honor textile traditions, promote excellence and innovation, nurture appreciation, and inspire widespread participation in fiber art,” which they do in alllll kinds of ways.

Lakes Makerie

The only thing more satisfying than getting a compliment on your cute tote bag at the farmers market? Getting a compliment on your cute tote bag at the farmers market and being able to respond, “Thanks, I made it.” But that’s just one of dozens of classes you can take at Lakes Makerie—if you want to learn to make your own clothing and accessories, this is the place to go.

Fiber Works MPLS

Want to learn to knit? Already know how to knit but want to learn to spin your own yarn? You can do both at Fiber Works, along with learning to crochet, hand sew, and repurpose old clothes from your wardrobe. Kids classes and workshops are also available.

Soapmaking Classes in Minneapolis

Longfellow Soap Company

Longfellow Soap Company sells soaps, bug repellent, and body moisturizers at local co-ops and markets, but you can also take their soapmaking classes at a number of venues around town.

Sebesta Apothecary

Don’t worry: Soap making isn’t nearly as scary and intense as they make it look in Fight Club. At Sebesta Apothecary, located in the heart of the NE Minneapolis Arts District, it’s a very peaceful (and great-smelling) process.

Clay Classes & Workshops in Minneapolis

Mudluck Pottery

“Working on clay is a moment to let go,” Mudluk’s website explains, and doesn’t that sound nice? You can practice letting go with classes in sculpting, handbuilding, and wheel throwing, and Mudluk offers summer camps for kids and clay dates for families.

Forma Clay

Forma offers adult classes and classes for kids and teens, all with the goal of letting your imagination flourish. Both single-session workshops and multi-week programs are offered, so there’s something that fits everyone’s schedule.

Northern Clay Center

With everything from wheel throwing to teapot making classes to raku firing, Northern Clay Center is a go-to spot for those who want to start working with clay. They also offer summer clay camps for kiddos ages 6 and up.

The Clay Pit

This “queer and accessible” clay studio on Minnehaha Avenue offers fun workshops both small (making pins and charms) and large (windchimes, trinket wall shelves).

The Workshop MPLS

In addition to wheel throwing and other pottery basics, The Workshop MPLS offers an array of whimsical Clay Camps where you can make a fairy house, or hand build clay food. There are lots of kid- and teen-friendly classes, and “Pottery Pop Ins” give you an hour to play with clay, no experience necessary.

Writing Classes & Book Workshops in Minneapolis

Minnesota Center for Book Arts

Minnesota Center for Book Arts describes itself as “the largest, most comprehensive center of its kind in the world,” with more than 200 workshops, 10 gallery exhibitions, and five artist fellowships held here each year. Screenprinting, letterpress, book binding, papermaking—there’s so much to do at this Washington Avenue arts center.

The Loft Literary Center

At The Loft, single-session and multi-week classes can teach you everything from writing fiction to poetry to your very first screenplay. There are classes for writers of color and Indigenous writers, as well as classes for kids.

Language & Cultural Classes in Minneapolis

Alliance Française Mpls / St. Paul

Parlez-vous français? No? Well can you cook a quiche lorraine? If not, you can learn how to speak and cook with French flair at Alliance Française, where they have classes and camps for little ones all the way up to fluent French speakers.

Cultural Wellness Center

The Cultural Wellness Center is a place to rediscover identity and connect with community, and in addition to classes like African Cultural Reconnection through Cultural Rituals & Ceremonies they also offer classes in zumba, yoga, and meditation.

American Swedish Institute

Thanks to the American Swedish Institute, you can take virtual and in-person language classes to learn Swedish, Finnish, and North Sámi, as well as Nordic handcraft classes and cooking classes. ASI also offers classes and workshops for kids and families.

Dance Classes in Minneapolis

Minneapolis Salsa Bachata Dance Studio

“Fun meets community” at Minneapolis Salsa Bachata Dance, where some beginner classes are even offered for free.

Threads Dance Project

Threads Dance Project is a contemporary dance company and studio where novices and professionals alike are welcome. Threads also offers classes for children and youth.

TC Swing

Hey cool cats, ready to start swing dancing? TC Swing offers beginner and intermediate classes that’ll teach you the basics and then teach you to pair those moves together into cool combo sequences. Some classes are even offered on a drop-in basis.

Tapestry Folkdance Center

Contra, ballroom, Nordic social dance—any way you want to move, there’s a program for it at Tapestry Folkdance Center.

Still not seeing a class for you?

While many of the spaces listed above specialize in a specific area of education, there are lots of places in Minneapolis that will teach you a wide array of new skills.

MPS Community Education’s lifelong learning classes for youth and adults run the gamut from computers and technology to cooking to gardening to auto maintenance and so much more. Check out the latest catalog—available in English, Hmong, Somali, and Spanish.

Check out your local Hennepin County Library branch to find totally free workshops and events including designing your own tote bag, creating with cardboard, and learning chess. Many events are kid-friendly.

The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board hosts activities and educational events from foraging to birding to fitness to skateboarding to ceramics, with lots of youth programming available. Find more info here.

It might take you a bit outside of Minneapolis, but the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offers a series of “I Can!” programming for kids including “I Can Paddle!” and “I Can Mountain Bike!” The programs are designed for families and range from “free to unbelievable affordable.”