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Twin Cities week of July 15, 2026: Mill City Farmers Market, Minnesota Yacht Club Festival on Harriet Island, Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, Lynx at Target Center, Saints vs. Louisville, plus Asia Village, Arch and River, and Minnesota OCM's July 31 petition deadline.
George and Laura round up the week of July 15, 2026 in the Twin Cities — farmers markets, festivals, ballgames, new restaurants, the vegan scene, and a real cannabis-policy update from Minnesota OCM.
In this episode:
Sources:
Subscribe: mplsvegan.com
George: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I walked over the Stone Arch Bridge this morning and it was already warm at seven. SEVEN in the morning.
Laura: George, you say that every July like it's breaking news.
George: Ope, I do, don't I.
Laura: You do. It's mid-July in the Cities. It's supposed to be warm.
George: Fair, fair. But there's something about that first walk when the river's just... glassy, you know?
Laura: Okay, I'll give you glassy. That part's nice.
George: See? See, you get it.
Laura: I get it. I'm just not gonna be poetic about humidity at 7 a.m.
George: Deal.
Laura: So what are we doing today, George?
George: Okay so — patio weather, farmers market weather, ballgame weather. Basically the whole reason we live here.
Laura: The two weeks we earn all winter.
George: Right? Right.
Laura: Speaking of — Mill City is going this Saturday, right? The 18th?
George: Yep, Mill City Farmers Market, eight to one, right there by the museum on South Second. And then again the 25th.
Laura: That's my move. Get there by nine, before it's shoulder-to-shoulder.
George: Nine's smart. Ten and you're just... shuffling.
Laura: Shuffling is generous.
George: And the Lyndale market's rolling all week too — the main Minneapolis Farmers Market has that whole satellite schedule going.
Laura: Which I love, honestly. You don't have to drive across town anymore to get a good tomato.
George: The tomatoes are almost there, Laura. Almost.
Laura: Almost. Not yet. Don't oversell it.
George: I'm not overselling — I'm... previewing.
Laura: Previewing. Sure.
George: Okay, okay.
Laura: While we're on food — did you get over to Asia Village yet?
George: Up at Northtown? Not yet. I know it opened last month, June 13th, big grand opening, like a dozen vendors under one roof.
Laura: A dozen. It's a lot to work through.
George: I'm gonna admit — I don't actually know which stall to hit first. I've been kind of paralyzed.
Laura: George Giebel, defeated by a food hall.
George: Humbled by a food hall.
Laura: My take? Go with somebody, split three things, don't try to be a hero.
George: That's good advice for life, honestly.
Laura: Put it on a shirt.
George: And then the other opening I keep hearing about — Arch and River. Down at Water Works, right on the riverfront.
Laura: Yes! From the B'beri Desserts folks.
George: Which is such a cool local story, right? They start as a dessert brand, and now they're doing a whole bistronomie thing — French technique, Afro-Caribbean flavors, in that Water Works Pavilion.
Laura: That's a Minneapolis story. That's somebody building it up piece by piece.
George: Real founders. Real neighborhood. Right on the river.
Laura: And Water Works... I mean, the location alone. You walk out, you're right there at the Stone Arch.
George: Which brings us BACK to the Stone Arch, which —
Laura: George. No. We are not doing another Stone Arch monologue.
George: I wasn't! I wasn't gonna.
Laura: You were absolutely gonna.
George: I was absolutely gonna.
Laura: Moving on.
George: Moving on. Okay — vegan scene. Because this is the week for it.
Laura: Patio weather, plant-based food, easy.
George: J. Selby's over on the St. Paul side, that's a whole afternoon.
Laura: The Dilla is the move. I don't make the rules.
George: You kinda do, though.
Laura: I kinda do.
George: Herbivorous Butcher in Northeast — that's still my go-to for like, a cookout haul.
Laura: For sure. Load up before you head to somebody's backyard.
George: And then Reverie, Hard Times, Trio Plant-Based —
Laura: Trio's brunch on a Sunday morning, especially if you can sit outside? Perfect.
George: Perfect.
Laura: Hello Pizza too. And The Herbalist. There's a lot right now.
George: There really is. And shout out to our friends at mplsvegan.com — they keep the running list, so if you're new to it or you're visiting, that's where you start.
Laura: Mplsvegan.com, yeah. It's the map.
George: It's the map.
Laura: Okay, cannabis corner.
George: Cannabis corner. So there's actually real news this week, which doesn't always happen.
Laura: Tell me.
George: The OCM — Office of Cannabis Management — their petition window is open right now. Closes 4 p.m. on July 31st.
Laura: Petition window meaning what, exactly?
George: So — and I'm going by what OCM's put out — that's the window where folks can petition to get new cannabinoid products, new categories, new delivery methods approved.
Laura: Okay, so if you're in the industry, this is your moment.
George: This is your moment. July 31st, 4 p.m., don't sleep on it.
Laura: And there's more, right? Something about August 1?
George: Yeah — most of Governor Walz's 2026 cannabis omnibus takes effect August 1st.
Laura: That's next month.
George: That's next month. And then the other date people are watching — the additional license availability, cultivator, manufacturer, retailer, mezzo — that got pulled forward to July 1, 2027.
Laura: Pulled forward. So faster than expected.
George: Faster than expected.
Laura: Do you know what "mezzobusiness" actually means? Because I hear the word and I nod, but...
George: Honestly? I know it's a license tier. I do not know the exact statutory definition off the top of my head.
Laura: Thank you for admitting that.
George: I'm not gonna fake it. That's a mncannabishub.com question.
Laura: Which — shout out to mncannabishub.com. That's where we actually go to get this stuff explained without the legalese.
George: They do the work so we don't have to.
Laura: And on the retail side — Wildflower up in the North Loop is a nice stop.
George: Wildflower's great. Stigma if you're doing the THC beverage thing, which for patio season, hello.
Laura: Hello.
George: Simply Crafted over in Northeast, Green Goods down in Bloomington, Edina Canna if you're on that side of town.
Laura: The map's actually filling in.
George: It really is. Two years ago we couldn't have said that.
Laura: Nope.
George: Okay — weekend vibes. This is a LOADED weekend, Laura.
Laura: It's stacked. Where do we start?
George: Music. Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, July 17 through 19, Harriet Island in St. Paul. Three days, about thirty artists, two stages.
Laura: Harriet Island in July. Come on.
George: Come on. That's a whole thing.
Laura: If you've never done a fest on Harriet Island — the river's right there, the skyline's right there...
George: It's a picture.
Laura: It's a picture. Bring water. Actual water.
George: Yes. Hydrate.
Laura: And then the art fairs — Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, same weekend, 17 through 19.
George: Right at Minnehaha Falls Park. Local artists, live entertainment, food vendors, the falls are RIGHT THERE.
Laura: You can do the fair and then just walk down to the falls.
George: Which if you've got out-of-town people visiting — that's your Saturday.
Laura: That's your Saturday. Done. You look like a genius.
George: You look like a genius.
Laura: And then the following weekend, Loring Park Art Festival — 25th and 26th, over 140 visual artists.
George: 140. That's a lot of art.
Laura: That's a lot of art. Pace yourself.
George: Sports too — Lynx are home Wednesday the 15th and Saturday the 18th at Target Center.
Laura: The Lynx are so fun this year.
George: So fun. And then the league pauses the 23rd through 26th for the All-Star Game down in Chicago.
Laura: Which — a bunch of our players will be there. That's a whole thing.
George: That's a whole thing. Saints are home too, Friday through Sunday, 17 through 19, versus Louisville at CHS Field.
Laura: CHS Field on a summer night is undefeated.
George: Undefeated. Add a beverage, add a sunset —
Laura: Add nothing else. That's the whole meal.
George: That's the whole meal.
Laura: Twins are back the following week — homestand versus the A's, 24 through 26.
George: Friday 7:10, Saturday 6:10, Sunday afternoon at 1:10.
Laura: Sunday day game is my move.
George: Sunday day game, you're out by four, you've still got your whole evening.
Laura: Exactly.
George: And United's home that Saturday the 25th, 7:30 versus Vancouver at Allianz.
Laura: Under the lights at Allianz. That's a vibe.
George: And then Sunday the 26th at 5 p.m., they've got an international friendly versus Liberia.
Laura: Which is cool. That's not something you get every weekend.
George: Not every weekend.
Laura: George, that's a lot to fit in.
George: It's a lot! And that's before we even talk about First Ave.
Laura: Talk to me.
George: Lucero, Wednesday July 22, 7:30. United We Dance on Friday the 24th. Off Campus Night, Saturday the 25th.
Laura: Off Campus Night is FUN.
George: Audrey Hobert, Monday the 27th. And then Hot In Herre, Friday the 31st.
Laura: Hot In Herre on the last day of July is on the nose.
George: It's ON the nose. I love it.
Laura: Okay.
George: Okay so — takeaway. If you only do one thing this weekend, what's it gonna be?
Laura: Hmm. Honest answer?
George: Honest answer.
Laura: Saturday morning, get yourself to Mill City by nine. Walk it with a coffee. Then wander over toward Water Works, peek at what Arch and River's doing on the riverfront, and just... let the day open up.
George: That's a beautiful takeaway.
Laura: You didn't ask for beautiful.
George: I didn't, but I'll take it.
Laura: What about you?
George: Uff da, that's tough. But I think — mine's the Saturday night Saints game. CHS, sunset, easy.
Laura: Easy call.
George: Easy call.
Laura: Look at us. We agreed on the same day and did completely different things.
George: That's a Minneapolis Saturday, though. That's the whole point.
Laura: That IS the whole point.
George: Okay. Wrapping.
Laura: Wrap it up, George.
George: Thank you all for hanging out with us. Big thanks to our sponsors — mplsvegan.com for the plant-based map of the Cities, and mncannabishub.com for keeping us honest on all the cannabis stuff we absolutely would get wrong on our own.
Laura: Speak for yourself.
George: Speak for MYself, fine.
Laura: Get outside this week. The Cities are showing off. Don't miss it.
George: Catch you next time.
Laura: Skol, everybody.
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).