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Your Twin Cities Fourth of July playbook: Taste of Minnesota with Poliça, Brother Ali and Dessa, Red White & BOOM fireworks, Saints vs. Buffalo at CHS Field, Mill City Farmers Market, plus vegan patio picks and the Legend Technical cannabis testing shutdown.
George and Laura break down Fourth of July week in the Twin Cities — free festivals, fireworks, Saints baseball, patio-season vegan picks, and a real shakeup in Minnesota's cannabis testing pipeline.
In this episode:
Sources:
Subscribe: mplsvegan.com
George: —and I'm telling you, the second that sun hit my face this morning, I knew. Patio season. Officially.
Laura: George, it's been patio season for like three weeks.
George: Okay but there's patio season and then there's PATIO season, you know?
Laura: Uh huh.
George: The kind where you walk outside and you don't need a hoodie in your bag "just in case."
Laura: See, that's fair. That is fair. I did leave the house today with just... me. Just me and a t-shirt.
George: Bold.
Laura: Bold in the Cities, yeah.
George: And it's Fourth of July week, Laura. The big one.
Laura: Ope, don't remind me. My phone is already blowing up with people wanting plans.
George: Are you a plans person or a porch person this year?
Laura: Honestly? Little of both. I wanna be out but I also wanna be home by ten.
George: That's the most Minnesota answer I've ever heard.
Laura: Skol.
George: Okay so let's actually get into it, because there's a LOT going on this week.
Laura: There really is.
George: Taste of Minnesota is back. Third and fourth, Nicollet Mall, Washington Ave, free.
Laura: Free is the word I heard.
George: Over a hundred local restaurants, food trucks, breweries — and the music lineup, Laura.
Laura: Tell me.
George: Bad Bad Hats. Poliça. Brother Ali. Dessa. Gully Boys. Nur-D. DJ Sophia Eris.
Laura: Wait, all of them? That's not a lineup, that's a family reunion.
George: Dillinger Four too.
Laura: Okay now you're just showing off.
George: I'm just READING, Laura, I'm just reading.
Laura: That's a real Minnesota music document right there.
George: And it's FREE.
Laura: Which... in the Cities, free anything on the Fourth is a gift.
George: Speaking of. Red, White and BOOM! is the same day.
Laura: Water Works Park, right? West River Parkway?
George: Yep. Free daytime programming. Then one of the biggest firework shows in the state.
Laura: George, real talk. Have you ever actually gotten a good spot for BOOM?
George: Honestly? No.
Laura: Thank you.
George: I go every year, I tell myself I'm gonna get there early, and every year I end up watching between two heads and a light pole.
Laura: Between two heads and a light pole. Put that on a shirt.
George: The trick — and I've never actually pulled it off — is Stone Arch Bridge side, way earlier than you think.
Laura: How early we talking?
George: I don't know. Like... four? Five?
Laura: Oh, so real relaxing.
George: Yeah, I don't do it.
Laura: Here's my hot take. And people are gonna come for me for this.
George: Go.
Laura: The best Fourth of July in the Twin Cities is not BOOM. It's the Saints game at CHS Field.
George: Oh?
Laura: Fourth of July, Saints, CHS Field, they always do it up. It is a Twin Cities classic.
George: You know what, I can't argue with that. West 7th, walk over, get a beer, watch some ball...
Laura: They play the Buffalo Bisons that whole stretch. First through the fifth.
George: The whole homestand.
Laura: The whole homestand. Third at 6:07, fourth at 6:07.
George: That is a very civilized start time for a holiday.
Laura: THANK you.
George: Okay speaking of food — Taste of Minnesota is one thing, but our people, our plant-based folks...
Laura: Yes.
George: This is the week to do a patio crawl.
Laura: A hundred percent. And shoutout, real quick, to our friends at mplsvegan.com — that's the map, that's how you plan a day like this.
George: Genuinely the best local vegan resource.
Laura: So where you starting, George?
George: Okay this is where I'm getting nostalgic.
Laura: Oh no. Here we go.
George: J. Selby's. St. Paul.
Laura: Okay, that's not nostalgic, that's just correct.
George: Their patio, a little cold pop, midday sun—
Laura: Wait. Pop?
George: What?
Laura: Nothing. Nothing. Continue.
George: It's pop, Laura.
Laura: I know it's pop, I'm from here, I just like watching you say it.
George: Then Herbivorous Butcher, NE Mpls, grab something to grill later, boom, day made.
Laura: See, that's actually a smart move. Because everybody's doing cookouts this week and if you show up to a cookout with Herbivorous Butcher stuff—
George: —you're the hero of the party.
Laura: You're the hero of the party.
George: What about you? Where you going?
Laura: Reverie. Every time.
George: Reverie Cafe.
Laura: Reverie Cafe. It's just... it's my spot. I know what I'm getting, I know the vibe, and the neighborhood's alive right now.
George: What about Hard Times?
Laura: Hard Times is Hard Times. Always. Forever.
George: That's the review.
Laura: That's the review.
George: I want to throw a couple more out there. Trio Plant-Based. Hello Pizza. The Herbalist.
Laura: Hello Pizza on a summer night is a real thing.
George: It IS a real thing.
Laura: And listen — the farmers markets are POPPING right now.
George: Oh, I meant to bring this up.
Laura: Mill City this Saturday. July fourth, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., right next to the Mill City Museum.
George: A hundred and fifteen plus vendors. Farmers, food makers, artists.
Laura: Rain or shine.
George: You going?
Laura: I'm gonna try. I say that every week.
George: Uh huh.
Laura: And if Mill City's not your neighborhood, there's Kingfield, Linden Hills, Midtown, St. Paul Farmers Market in Lowertown...
George: The St. Paul one is underrated.
Laura: SO underrated.
George: Okay. Cannabis corner.
Laura: "Cannabis corner." I love that we have a segment now.
George: We have a segment now.
Laura: And a sponsor. Shoutout mncannabishub.com, that is your one-stop for what's actually happening in the Minnesota cannabis space.
George: Which is important because there is REAL news this week.
Laura: There is.
George: Laura, walk me through it, because honestly, I read the release twice and I want to make sure I'm getting it right.
Laura: Okay so. Middle of June, Legend Technical Services shut down their cannabis testing operations.
George: Which matters because...
Laura: Because Minnesota now has four certified labs. Three fully licensed.
George: Down from five.
Laura: Down from five. And what retailers are saying is shelves are getting thinner, because product is sitting, waiting on test results.
George: So it's a bottleneck.
Laura: It's a bottleneck. Not a shortage of product. A shortage of TESTING.
George: Which is a very different thing.
Laura: Very different thing.
George: What does that mean for somebody who's like, "I want to grab something for the weekend"?
Laura: Honestly? Don't panic. But don't wait til Friday night either.
George: Solid advice for most of life, really.
Laura: Also solid advice for most of life. Hit Wildflower in the North Loop, Simply Crafted in NE Mpls, Green Goods in Bloomington, Edina Canna if you're south...
George: Stigma if you're a beverage person.
Laura: Stigma THC beverages if that's your lane, which — for patio hangs, honestly...
George: A THC seltzer on a porch is a very Minnesota summer.
Laura: Very Minnesota summer 2026.
George: Now here's the other piece, and this is the one I want to make sure we say clearly.
Laura: The Walz omnibus bill.
George: Takes effect August 1st.
Laura: August 1st.
George: What's it do?
Laura: Big picture — it merges the medical and adult-use supply chains.
George: Which is a big deal.
Laura: Big deal. And it lets social-equity licensees take up to 33 percent outside investment across four licenses.
George: Okay so hold on, spell that out for people. Because I'll be honest — I don't fully understand what that means for a small operator on the ground.
Laura: Yeah, I appreciate you saying that, because a lot of people don't.
George: Thank you.
Laura: The short version: social-equity licensees have been building businesses with tight capital rules. Loosening the outside investment cap — that's capital access. That's the ability to actually scale.
George: Got it.
Laura: Whether it works the way it's intended? That's the question. But structurally, it's a real shift.
George: And the medical-adult-use merger side — that just means less duplication in the supply chain?
Laura: In theory. In practice we'll see.
George: You are so measured about this and I appreciate you.
Laura: Somebody has to be.
George: Okay, weekend vibes.
Laura: Weekend vibes.
George: First Ave has stuff coming up too, right?
Laura: July 2nd, Super Diamond. Neil Diamond tribute. 8:30.
George: I love that that exists.
Laura: I love that that exists AND that it's on a Thursday.
George: Then later in the month — Benjamin Tod and Lost Dog Street Band on the 9th. Bouncing Souls on the 11th.
Laura: Paul Oakenfold plus Crystal Method on the 12th.
George: That is a range.
Laura: That is a RANGE. From Neil Diamond tribute to Paul Oakenfold in ten days.
George: Only at First Ave.
Laura: Only at First Ave.
George: What about the Twins?
Laura: Twins are home. Cleveland the 7th, 8th, 9th. Angels the 10th, 11th, 12th.
George: Killen's Irish Pub just opened by Target Field.
Laura: Oh yeah, mid-June, in the old First Draft Tap Haus space.
George: Walkable pre-game stop. That is a very smart location.
Laura: Very smart. Somebody looked at a map.
George: Somebody looked at a map.
Laura: And down the line — Lynx are home the 11th, hosting the Liberty. Whole homestand runs through the 18th before the All-Star break.
George: Lynx at Target Center is one of the best tickets in town right now, genuinely.
Laura: Genuinely.
George: And United's got Vancouver at Allianz Field on the 25th.
Laura: Also — heads up, Lilydale, Maison Rose is coming. French bakery-restaurant. Later this year.
George: I saw that! I'm... cautiously excited.
Laura: Cautiously excited is my whole personality about new restaurants.
George: Same.
Laura: One more thing before we wrap.
George: Go.
Laura: Star Tribune had a piece — Minnesotans are launching businesses in record numbers.
George: Really.
Laura: Record numbers. Their small-business desk has been on it.
George: That's a good sign for the Cities.
Laura: That's a really good sign. And it's not just tech, it's food, it's makers, it's neighborhood stuff.
George: So the vibe on the ground is — people are building.
Laura: People are building.
George: Okay. If somebody's listening right now and they're like, "just tell me what to do this weekend" — one concrete takeaway.
Laura: You want me to go?
George: You go.
Laura: Saturday morning, Mill City Farmers Market, 8 to 1. Grab produce, grab breakfast, walk the Stone Arch Bridge after. That is your morning.
George: That is a perfect morning.
Laura: Then patio lunch at J. Selby's or Reverie, your choice.
George: And then?
Laura: And then you nap. Because it's summer. And you've earned it.
George: The nap is the takeaway.
Laura: The nap is ALWAYS the takeaway.
George: Alright folks, that's our patio-season, Fourth of July, small-business, cannabis-corner, First-Ave-Neil-Diamond-tribute episode.
Laura: Say that three times fast.
George: Big thanks to our sponsors — mplsvegan.com for mapping the plant-based scene in the Cities...
Laura: ...and mncannabishub.com for keeping us honest on everything happening in Minnesota cannabis.
George: Get outside this week. Be nice to your neighbors.
Laura: Tip your servers, tip your budtenders.
George: Ope, that's a good one.
Laura: I try.
George: We'll catch you next time on Minneapolis Roundup.
Laura: Catch you next time.
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).