A must see in Twin Cities. It is a small museum that has a wealth of knowledge about American…read moreHistory. The museum is a start up composed of locals who want to share Minnesota's history. The museum is small so it is easy to fit into any schedule. The museum is free and parking is free. It is also on two bus routes and has a bike lane access. It is a 10 minute drive from downtown. Please visit and support their expansion.

I love going to museums and when I heard about this one opening, I added it to my list of places to…read morevisit. This is on the 4th floor of the 1265 building at the corner of Penn & Plymouth. It is FREE of charge but they do accept and run on donations. There's also free parking in the ramp below the building. It's a quaint room that's rich with African American history in Minnesota. I learned so much about black ingenuity, the way the Penn area has changed, and migration of African Americans to this area. There's a photo book that asks for people to identify those in the pictures. There are children's books in the corner, and cool art pieces. My favorite part was sitting down and listening to the documentary/interviews of different people who have lived and seen the changes in this area of town. These stories are so rich and it would be a shame to lose them. Don't let the size of the museum deter you: it's small but packs a punch in cultural information. Highly recommend it! Plus I love the MAAHG stickers!

The Joyful H'Arts Studio led by Gail Kiltie as Owner/Instructor is Awesome! She does a Fabulous job…read moreof demonstrating & guiding each person to help everyone create their own Masterpiece of Art! . She also makes it very fun as includes personal stories & is very respectful & knowledgeable! Very pleased & impressed with My Art pieces & the Venues chosen. Highly Recommend doing this Fun Paint & Sip Adventure

Located right by the MIA...this is a very unique and interesting museum...that I didn't even know…read moreabout until I came here for an art workshop. Came here actually for an interesting art workshop called "Create 'Unexpected Art' with Becka Rahn" which involved creating images and computers and the final product would be a swatch of material from an image that I created!Which is to be mailed to the participant via mail.. which I haven't yet received...I took this workshop with a past participant who was raving about it ... I really did enjoy my experience and I am so looking forward to my finished product! $5 gets you in and also a tour of the museum/mansion.. oh what a deal.. and like Rhonda G. says below... it's really like having a Downtown Abbey right here in Minneapolis! FREE Parking that's connected to the museum, too! Look forward to attending more interesting events here in the future!

If you are a native Minneapolite - or even just a transplant / convert - check this place out. It's…read morekitty-corner from the MIA so you can make a day of museum hopping followed by a meal at one of the many restaurants along nearby Eat Street (Nicollet Ave). For a minimal fee, you'll be able to check out the fantastically-curated exhibits that explore different topics relevant to Hennepin County's history through photographs, textiles, paintings, videos, audio-recordings, sculptures, artifacts, and more. It is a full-sensory experience in a historic mansion that cannot and should not be missed. In addition to traditional exhibitions, they have unique and fun programming - which sounds like it will be more frequent according to an article I read recently about the new director! Plus, the mansion is available as a venue rental. I even considered it for my upcoming wedding! The biggest downsides (and biggest complaints I had while working there) are 1) the fact that the building is not handicap accessible and 2) the lack of air conditioning in the summertime. It's an unfortunate reality about many historic buildings but even more so for HHM...as a non-profit and lesser-known museum, lots of funding is needed to facilitate the appropriate and allowed retrofitting while still protecting the historic integrity. Admittedly, I am a bit biased in my love of this place. When I graduated with my B.A. in cultural studies and comparative literature, I began scouring the Twin Cities for non-profit gigs, especially those in the Arts. I landed my first post-college job as a museum administrator at the Hennepin History Museum despite having never stepped foot in the mansion or even knowing of its existence. It was an amazing experience and I learned a lot, but the most valuable thing I learned was what an exceptional gem HHM is. Please do not miss out on the opportunity to explore!

Visited here to participate in one of their special events...I went on a Sunday to an event called…read more"Family Art Sunday" and had so much fun creating 3D art by making tissue paper flowers and painting the flower pots! A very nice cosy space within a beautiful park. Enjoyed a wonderful time. Thank you!

Currently BLCA is closed to the public for in person visits, but exhibits & programs are offered…read moreonline: banfill-locke.org The one-time Banfill Inn is located in Anoka County Manomin Park. The grounds are beautiful and offers a nice overlook of the Rice Creek empties into the Mississippi River. Worth a stop and a place to catch your breath.

I can see the dome of the Baroque Basilica from my apartment. Saturday morning I walked the mile…read moreto explore the Basilica. I arrived at 2.05pm to the sound of Beethoven's piano concerto #4 in g major, opus 58. Free entry. Donations appreciated... WOW! A building built by people with faith for celebration and giving thanks, artists who's skills must take years of dedication, and an audience of everyone and anyone. Truly humanity at it's absolute best. I took a pew. A man who looked homeless slept in a pew nearby. A child in a red satin dress decorated with a large velvet bow tugged at her fathers arm as they took their seats. People dressed-up for this special pccassion, tourists, rich people, poor people. I closed my eyes and let the music run round my mind. I donated more than I would have paid for a classical concert, BECAUSE this was free. Because this was about sharing. I can't judge the quality of the music as a connoisseur. I can judge the quality of the event. Superb, feeding the heart of the community, people. Fantastic .

Beautifully preserved prairie school style home. MIA manages this property and the guide was…read moreincredibly knowledgeable and thorough in helping bring the home alive. Our tour had about 10 people which was a good amount. I had a fun time trying to find the subtle differences in the stained glass windows. On street parking was easy. I will have to come back in the summer to see more of the outside and gardens. I'd also like to walk around the neighborhood. Beautiful area. Enjoyed this tour very much.

The Purcell-Cutts house is owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and is open for tours the…read moresecond weekend of every month. It was built in the early 1900s, and has been preserved (with the replacement of some of the original furniture with look-alikes) almost entirely as it was back then. The tours are very informative, and cheap too; $5 for non-members, free if you're a member of the MIA. Being that it's a turn-of-the-century house, it wasn't built to accommodate wheelchairs, unfortunately. Also, you should call ahead if someone in your party has trouble walking up stairs or standing for long periods of time.

Any art fair without a cover automatically gets five stars. Plus this particular one is massive,…read more second biggest to Minnesota state fair. It's also by lake of the Isles / up town area, which one can argue is the nicest part of town. Modern art is often a minimalist canvas that I'm supposed to draw meaning- 99% of the time, I don't get it. The Art here is easier to consume. Nothing to interpret for the most part. It's less snooty. Also food truck are present here and there. The fair also has food and drink give aways - it's a great way to spend your August - folks soon enough Winter is coming!

I love art. Stopped…read moreby to check out some art & get some inspiration!!! In the past I feel like the uptown art fair was much bigger & crowded. I went on the first day (Friday) and there was a lot of empty space on Hennepin. The fair did extend down a street going closer down to the lake. Friday was gloomy & had rain in the forecast, might be the reason people didn't come out. Back to the art. Seen a lot of dope pieces by a lot of dope artist from all over the US. It was amazing to see the things people come up with. Hopefully someday I'll be able to afford a nice 2k-3k piece. This year they had a really cool vendor, Studio Ink (Hallmark) where you could pick out greeting cards, fill them out, address them & they send them out! I love writing to people. Not as popular these days. Glad they are attempting to make a comeback. Indeed brewery was the drink vendor for this years event. They had 3 or 4 options to offer. I'm not wild about wheat juice (beer) but it's uptown, bars & restaurants everywhere which is nice. They also had a few familiar food trucks like Fro Yo Soul- Yum.

I took a group class at Northern Clay center and it was amazing! We had 11 brand new students…read morelearning about throwing pottery for the first time (so we all needed individual attention) and the instructor was so friendly and able to help us all! I thought maybe we would each make one piece, but we each got to make 4 or 5 bowl-like objects (you got to pick) and to paint them. We also used the break room to order food, since pottery in the morning was hungry work. Northern Clay is giant inside- I had not idea looking at it from the street. There is a parking lot right by the building, so you don't have to worry about street parking. We had a great time, and will be back to pick up or art in 3 weeks! I definitely recommend the group classes or private parties, which came out to ~$50 per person.

I came here to buy a couple gifts and was not disappointed. I'd browsed some of their selection…read moreonline and saw all the pieces they'd advertised on display in their showroom. The pottery is grouped by artist, which made it easy to limit my browsing to only the styles I liked. I will note that (at least on the day I visited) they very heavily feature artists whose style is natural and rustic, which isn't bad, but for the prices they charge I was looking for something more sophisticated. I know all pottery takes a lot of work, but I'm not going to spend $80 on a misshapen mug. The items do focus pretty heavily on dishes and cups/mugs, which made gift shopping a little difficult, since I wasn't about to buy a surprise dinnerware set for someone. The person manning the front desk was very helpful and brought out more pieces from the back room of artists I liked. She was also able to share with me which pieces were and were not dishwasher safe. I left with a good selection of gifts and would definitely come back again.