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Twin Cities Pride takes over Loring Park June 27-28 with 650+ vendors and a Sunday parade down Hennepin. Plus the Beer Dabbler at the Sculpture Garden, Twins vs Rockies with a Buxton bobblehead, Wolfmother at First Ave, and Killen's Irish Pub opens near Target Field.
It's Pride weekend in Minneapolis and the patios are finally open. George and Laura run down the can't-miss events June 26-30, plus where to eat plant-based between sets.
In this episode:
Sources:
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George: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I almost wore shorts to the studio today.
Laura: George. It's June twenty-sixth. You should've worn shorts a month ago.
George: Ope, I know, I know. But you know how I am. I keep a flannel in the car till the Fourth of July just in case.
Laura: That is the most Minneapolis thing you've ever said and we've done... what, fifty episodes?
George: At least. Hey, real quick before we get rolling — patio weather is officially HERE. Like, here here.
Laura: Finally. I sat outside last night with a seltzer and didn't need a jacket. That's the bar.
George: That's the bar! That IS the bar.
Laura: And speaking of bars... Pride weekend, my friend.
George: Oh, it's gonna be wild down at Loring Park.
Laura: Festival Saturday and Sunday. Four stages. I looked it up — like six hundred fifty vendors?
George: Six fifty plus, yeah. That's a LOT of folks.
Laura: And the parade Sunday, down Hennepin, eleven to two. Free. Bring water, bring sunscreen, bring a friend.
George: Bring a friend who knows where to park, is what I'd say.
Laura: Okay that's fair.
George: And then Friday night — tonight, if you're listening day-of — the Beer Dabbler is at the Sculpture Garden.
Laura: Wait, tonight tonight?
George: Six to nine thirty. Like seventy Minnesota breweries and cideries. It's basically the Pride kickoff party.
Laura: Seventy? George. That's not a tasting, that's a commitment.
George: You pace yourself. You're a professional.
Laura: I am NOT a professional. I am a woman who likes one cider and a pretzel.
George: Honestly, same energy.
Laura: Okay so patios, Pride, Dabbler... what about people who actually wanna eat something green this weekend?
George: This is your lane. Take it.
Laura: Okay so — quick shoutout to our sponsor, mplsvegan.com. Real ones. If you're new to the plant-based scene in the Cities, that's where you start.
George: They've got the whole map basically.
Laura: They do. And patio-wise? J. Selby's in St. Paul has been my pick lately.
George: Over on... is that off Grand?
Laura: Snelling. C'mon, George.
George: Snelling. I knew that.
Laura: Sure ya did.
George: Hey now—
Laura: I'm teasing. J. Selby's, the dirty Selby's, you cannot go wrong. And then over here on this side of the river, Herbivorous Butcher in Northeast.
George: I will admit — I'm a meat guy, you know this — but their stuff? It's good. It's REALLY good.
Laura: See, that's growth.
George: That's growth.
Laura: Reverie in South is doing the patio thing. Hard Times, if you wanna feel like you're nineteen again.
George: Hard Times has been around longer than some of our listeners have been ALIVE.
Laura: Probably true. Trio Plant-Based if you want a sit-down. Hello Pizza if you want a slice and don't care that it's vegan.
George: That's the trick with Hello — you don't even clock it.
Laura: Exactly. And The Herbalist if you wanna feel fancy.
George: The Herbalist is spendy though, right?
Laura: It's a treat spot. Anniversary, birthday, "I got the promotion" — that kind of night.
George: Okay. Noted.
Laura: But here's where I push back on you a little, George.
George: Oh?
Laura: You always wanna do the "let's grab a burger and a beer" patio. There is a WHOLE other Twin Cities patio scene that is plant-based and chill and you keep defaulting to the same three spots.
George: Okay, that's... that's a fair hit. That's a fair hit.
Laura: Branch out, neighbor.
George: I'll branch out. I'll go to Reverie this week. Put me on the record.
Laura: On the record. Recorded.
George: Now — speaking of new stuff opening — Killen's Irish Pub.
Laura: Oh yeah, this is the one over by Target Field?
George: Old First Draft Tap Haus space. They opened mid-June. Perfect timing because—
Laura: —Twins are home this weekend.
George: Twins are home ALL weekend. Rockies in town. Friday seven ten, Saturday six ten with a Buxton bobblehead—
Laura: Buxton bobblehead?!
George: Buxton bobblehead, Saturday.
Laura: Okay that one's mine. I'm going.
George: And then Sunday day game, one ten. Classic Sunday at Target Field.
Laura: Day game, sunscreen, walk over the Stone Arch after. That's a perfect Sunday.
George: You know what, I'd add — Mill City Farmers Market Saturday morning, eight to one, right there next to the museum.
Laura: That's a stacked Saturday. Market in the morning, game at night.
George: That's a Minneapolis Saturday in June. That's the whole brand.
Laura: That's the brand.
George: Oh and Saints come back home Tuesday the thirtieth. Bisons at CHS, seven oh seven.
Laura: CHS Field at sunset is unbeatable. Just is.
George: West Seventh's whole little walk down to the ballpark — gorgeous.
Laura: Okay, music. Can we talk music?
George: Please.
Laura: First Ave, Friday night, the Klituation Pride party. UNiiQU3, Maria Isa, DJ Keezy. Nine pm.
George: That's gonna be PACKED.
Laura: Oh yeah. And then Sunday — Wolfmother.
George: Wolfmother! At First Ave! Sunday at seven.
Laura: George you just lit up.
George: I have not thought about Wolfmother in a hot minute and I am thrilled they're here.
Laura: Listen to him.
George: And then Tuesday — Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg, eight pm, also First Ave.
Laura: First Ave is just running the whole week.
George: When are they NOT, honestly.
Laura: True.
George: Oh — also Breakaway Festival is going on at Allianz Field tonight and tomorrow.
Laura: Right, the big music fest. That's St. Paul side, by the soccer stadium.
George: Yep. So between Breakaway, the Dabbler, First Ave, and Pride... you cannot say there's nothing to do this weekend.
Laura: If you're bored this weekend, that's a YOU problem.
George: That's a you problem.
Laura: Oh — and quick one for the theater folks — Come From Away is still on at the Guthrie. McGuire Proscenium. Runs through August ninth.
George: I have not seen it. I've heard great things.
Laura: It's a beautiful show. Just is.
George: Adding it to the list.
Laura: And there's a Vintage Clothing and Goods Expo Saturday at the Convention Center. Ten bucks.
George: Ten bucks for vintage shopping? That's a steal even before you buy anything.
Laura: And then if you wanna sweat, Surly's doing their 5K Saturday morning at eleven.
George: At Surly. So you run, you drink. The Minnesota math checks out.
Laura: The math is mathing.
George: Okay. Cannabis corner.
Laura: Cannabis corner. Shoutout to our friends at mncannabishub.com — they keep us honest about what's actually happening in this market.
George: Which is a LOT, honestly.
Laura: Okay so big news — the Office of Cannabis Management is up to two hundred forty licenses issued.
George: Out of how many applicants? Like three thousand five hundred?
Laura: Three thousand five hundred forty one.
George: That is a... that is a long line.
Laura: It's a long line. But there's movement. There's a new omnibus bill — social equity license holders can take outside investment up to thirty-three percent.
George: Across four licenses, right?
Laura: Across four licenses. And there's a new "cannabis macrobusiness" license coming January first, twenty twenty seven.
George: Okay help me out here — macrobusiness, what does that actually mean for a regular person?
Laura: George, honestly? Bigger players. It's a license tier for folks who wanna operate at scale.
George: Got it. So small operators still have their lane, but the state's making room for the bigger ones too.
Laura: That's the read.
George: And then the Osseo thing.
Laura: Oh, Osseo's about to open Minnesota's first CITY-run dispensary.
George: City-run! Like, the municipality of Osseo.
Laura: Old Osseo Press and News building. Seventy-four hundred square feet. Voyageur Cannabis Services is doing the daily ops.
George: I — okay, I gotta be honest. I did NOT know a city could just run a dispensary.
Laura: Well, now ya do.
George: Now I do. Uff da. That's a whole new model.
Laura: It is. And the Star Tribune — Dabney's column this month — was all about how women are shaping Minnesota's cannabis industry.
George: I read that piece.
Laura: From Edina to Moorhead, women-owned dispensaries leaning wellness-forward.
George: And honestly that's where I think the local scene is heading. It's not "head shop" energy, it's...
Laura: It's like a wine bar vibe.
George: Yes. Wildflower up in the North Loop has that feel.
Laura: Wildflower's beautiful. Stigma's killing it on the beverage side—
George: Stigma THC beverages are how I get my mom on board, by the way.
Laura: Stop. Your MOM?
George: My mom likes a low-dose seltzer on the porch. She's a modern woman.
Laura: George's mom out here LIVING.
George: Living her best life. Simply Crafted in Northeast, Green Goods over in Bloomington, Edina Canna — there's options now. Real options.
Laura: That's the thing. Two years ago this conversation didn't exist.
George: Didn't exist. And here's where I'll push back on YOU a little, Laura—
Laura: Ooh, here we go.
George: You're always like "oh it's all hype." It's not all hype. The infrastructure is actually getting built.
Laura: Okay fair. Fair. I will grant you — two forty licenses is real. Osseo is real. The investment rule is real.
George: Thank you.
Laura: But also — three thousand three hundred people still waiting. So.
George: So we keep watching. Agreed.
Laura: Agreed.
George: Okay, weekend vibes. What's YOUR ideal Saturday this weekend, Laura?
Laura: Okay. Mill City Market in the morning. Walk the Stone Arch. Coffee somewhere with a patio. Then Pride festival in the afternoon at Loring.
George: That's a great Saturday.
Laura: Dinner — probably Trio or Reverie. Then maybe the Twins game if I can swing tickets, or just sit on a patio with a Stigma seltzer.
George: That sounds genuinely perfect.
Laura: What about you?
George: Honestly? Bike the Greenway in the morning. Coffee. Beer Dabbler Friday — already locked in.
Laura: Already going.
George: Saturday, Buxton bobblehead game. No question.
Laura: The bobblehead has him in a CHOKEHOLD.
George: It's a bobblehead, Laura. You don't pass on a bobblehead.
Laura: Skol, I guess.
George: That's the wrong team but I appreciate the energy.
Laura: Whatever, you knew what I meant.
George: I knew what you meant.
Laura: Sunday — parade. End of story.
George: Parade and then Wolfmother.
Laura: Big weekend.
George: Huge weekend.
Laura: Okay so — one concrete takeaway for the people.
George: One takeaway. Go ahead.
Laura: If you do ONE thing this weekend... go to the Pride parade Sunday. Eleven to two, Hennepin Ave, totally free. Whether you've been every year or you've never gone — show up.
George: That's the one. That's THE one.
Laura: Bring water. Wear sunscreen. Be kind.
George: Minnesota nice, all weekend long.
Laura: That's how we do it.
George: Alright friends, that's our show.
Laura: Big thank you to mplsvegan.com — your map to the best plant-based eating in the Cities.
George: And to mncannabishub.com — keeping us up to speed on everything Minnesota cannabis.
Laura: Both in the show notes. Both worth bookmarking.
George: Get on a patio. Drink some water. Hug someone you love.
Laura: And we'll catch you next time.
George: Catch you next time. Bye, neighbors.
Laura: Bye!
Three times a week, the Twin Cities in 12 minutes. Real restaurants you should try, real local business news, real events worth your weekend. Sponsored by mplsveganhub.com and mncannabishub.com — for serious Minneapolis business owners, also brought to you by Quiet Coyote (quietcoyotemn.com).