I want to support my neighborhood and last year was a five-star day, so that's why I went with four…read morestars rather than three. It has soooo much potential since it's not as enormous as the other summer block parties, but this year was more of a three-star experience. I hope they learn some things this year and really knock it out of the park next year. I don't clearly remember the first year of the Lyn Lake Fest, but last year, it was packed, it was easy-ish to get a beer, Har Mar Superstar killed it. This year (year three), it felt kind of empty and nothing grabbed my attention enough to stick around for very long. The beer "garden"/parking lot was full, but not the street, at least not when I was there around 4-5 p.m. Plenty of cute dogs though. The local lineup on the mainstage was awesome this year (Koo Koo Kangaroo, Black Blondie, Peter Wolf Crier, Haley Bonar, Heiruspecs headlining), but I think they could have done without the second stage. One band was playing on that northernmost stage with almost no people paying attention. I felt bad for them. The food options were improved this year, with the Chef Shack and Magic Bus Cafe on-site with the Lyn-Lake restaurants. Heidi's also had some burger specials specifically for the event. Summit had their beer truck out and I also saw someone with a to-go Bloody Mary. I never figured out where it came from though. Damn. Lots of other Lyn-Lake and local businesses had booths, like Nice Ride, Hair Police, The Loft Salon, some crafters selling cute jewelry and other odds and ends. Both salons were doing feather extensions. Maybe that should have been discussed among the salons before go-time, because they were just a couple of tents away from each other. And what was up with the poodles (with NEON-dyed fur, the poor things) being groomed right there in the middle of it all? There were little balls of pink dog fur blowing in the wind blocks away. Gross. Absurdly gross.

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.

Pierohi was stellar! Russian tea cake was ok. Bbq beef sandwich meat was awesome!! However there…read morewasn't too much meat and it was on a wrap. This was a negative. The corn looked really good but unfortunately I didn't have any room left in my stomach for it. Good music, nice assortment of vendors. And super friendly people.

A great day, good food, and very friendly community - and a beautiful church, wow!read more

Enjoyed walking around looking at all of the art. There is so much talent in the Twin Cities!…read moreJumped in on some Zumba too! And of course what's a festival without food. I stuck with the basics of corn, corn dog and churro. Prices seemed high but sadly food costs are on the rise. Can't wait until next year!

6.21.26 If I liked snow and brutally freezing weather, I would move here. All the green spaces…read moreencourages you to get up and move, get outside, smell the roses and get your vitamin D on. From the music to art festivals, everything is FREE. Though....parking is a bit challenging. Nonetheless, I would do it again and again. Weather was perfect 73 degrees People, hmmm...I am impressed on so many levels. For 1 they support the Somalian community and they stand for what is just and fair. Its funny, my friend of 52 years asked me, what are we doing this year, I said Cruise, Jamaica, Mexico...she said how about Minnesota. I said what's in Minnesota? And that's when I went down the rabbit hole and did my research. I can honestly say, I'm glad I was too busy to plan our annual trip this year. She did it all, I just had to send my money. From a ferry down the Mississippi river, to several lakes, downtown Minneapolis, Paisley Park, Mall of America to sooo much more. I would like to come back, but there is so much more on my bucket list to double back. Cheers to Minnesota and all its fabulousness!

As far as I can remember, I have loved street festivals. Growing up in NYC I recall always being…read morepleasantly surprised while walking down a street with no specific intention to check out a street fair but would love the pleasant surprise of bumping into one. I loved the array of food, clothes, music, people. and whatever else would be available at these fairs because I always have fond memories of walking for blocks and blocks of city streets just taking it all in. As I got older I began to seek them out on my own. The NYC Bastille Fair was one of my favorites. Now that I am in Minnesota, I checked out the Bastille Day Block Party and although the size was limited they sure packed a lot into this block! Live performances, fries, ice cream, beer galore, food trucks, wine tasting vendors and more. I came curious and left happier and full. It is definitely a nice summer event to check out if you have the time! -After all, it's only once a year.

This is a really fun event. Cocktails at the castle is one of ASI's big events that both races…read moreFunds for the organization, but also introduces people to the museum. It is a really well done event. The setting itself is gorgeous. If you haven't visited the museum/Turnblad do it now. But there's so much going on at this event that everyone can have fun. The bands were incredible. There were a variety of different art activities that you could participate in both inside and out. I liked that several of them related to the Main exhibit that is taking place there right now. They worked with Du Nord spirits to come up with four signature cocktails. We tried two of the four they were both excellent and the rest looked fantastic. They also had four signature mock tails. The food curated for the event also looked great but we made the mistake of eating before we went. The mood was festive and there were people of all ages from 21 on up there. I went with just one friend. I think it could've been even more fun if we brought a crew but either way I think it is an extraordinary sFriday night out with just a special someone or friends. Big thank you to @mspyelp and the American Swedish Institute for providing me the tickets.

A fun night of wine, cocktails, music and mansion exploration…read more Wine from Chile. Cocktails made with Du Nord spirits and small bites from FIKA were all good. We had shrimp piri piri, preserved mango couscous salad, and the coconut cardamom Basbousa cake. The music was from Obi Original & the Black Atlantics. Nigerian Music. Was great.

You say to-may-toe, I say toe-mah-toe. Regardless, this fruity fight was saucy good time, with room…read morefor improvement. As this was the first for the tomato fest, I'm sure organizers didn't quite know what to expect, but I still think they could have had more entertainment. There was really nothing to do at the tomato fest when you weren't busy flinging tomatoes. There were concession stands, live music, and ONE beer tent (the line got pretty long). They also said they would have stations to rinse off at, but 2 hoses spraying in front of fans was not enough for over 2,000 tomato covered people. Also, a warning that parking was $5 would have been nice, I almost didn't bring any cash. The tomato fight itself was AMAZING! It was so much more fun and juicy than I had ever expected. Be prepared to get DRENCHED in tomato seed, tomato juice, and tomato pulp, so wear old clothes and organizers recommend that you wear white, or be creative and make costumes with some friends. Also, bring goggles! They will save your eyes. I am sure after this first fest, the tomato fest planners will have much more to offer next year, and more entertainment. I hope they read this and 'ketchup' with what they can improve on for next year.

I gave it 4 stars because of the crappy beer!! OMG they had almost nothing good to drink.. out of…read moreall the local beers they had schells..ewwwwwwwwwwww.. the fest was great i went with a friend and we had a great time.. the other issue was the country guy who tried to hard. Gesh if i wanted to listen to country i would of went to country fest. It seemed like the country band played for 5 hours non stop geshhhhh.. The fight was great next year i think i will wear different attire so that i can just throw them away.. the car still smells like tomatoes lol

I have been to both the dabblers this year, winter and highland. This was larger in size, but a…read morelittle poorer planned in my opinion which is why it did not get 4 or 5 stars. The pros - huge area: they did a great job with the locatation. There was lots of room so even though there were a lot of people it didn't feel too congested. The beer tents were spread out nicely helping to keep the lines down. - quick entry lines - divided up international regions - Large beer selection from MN brewers, micro, domestic, and foreign. Similar to the dabblers, but a little more selection. Although I am not a big Sam's guy, kudos to them for bringing a new beer not available locally to the beerfests. In this case it was the Hallerteu IPA. - Good live music throughout. - Lots of parking options in the area Cons - What you think you need for bathrooms double it and add 50% more!!!!! It was terrible. The wait was easily 15 minutes plus. Our group left at 8:15 because we didn't want to have to wait in line again, even though we all would have like to stay for a bit longer. Hopefully they learn from this blunder like the dabbler did after the winter fest. - More food carts. For the number of people there was too few food selections. The Chef Shack is great (love the pork tacos and bacon brats) but the line was constantly long. Same with Buffalo Wild Wings. - I think it is absurd DD's have to pay, but at least you should have some beverage options for them. I felt so bad for our DD. No free pop options we were able to find, only saw 1 non alcoholic beer (may have been more). Respect the DD's a bit more. Overall it was a fun time on a nice fall night. Hopefully they have it again next year and make a few improvements.

The Minneapolis Beer Fest is a bit different than a few of the other beer festivals in the Cities,…read morewhich is pretty noticeable when you look at the list of participating breweries (i.e., many macros, a few regionals and the occasional local brewery). In other words, it's not a place that you're likely to find many diamonds in the rough, but it's still enjoyable when appreciated for what it is. For the event's first year they were actually pretty well organized, with the one exception being the long lines for restrooms (which is a common ailment at such events). The presence of a number of food trucks was a great idea; any time I can get a lobster roll from Smack Shack will always make for a good evening. They also had live music throughout the duration of the event with solid local bands. All-in-all a good event for the non-die hard beer drinker and those looking for a fun night out during the fleeting days of fall in the Twin Cities (though Four Loko should never be present during a beer tasting).