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Minneapolis Aquatennial takes over July 18–26 with the Torchlight Parade, Carifest and Loring Park Art Fest hit the calendar, Indígena by Owamni reopens at the Guthrie, and Anoka launches the nation's first city-run cannabis dispensary.
George and Laura walk you through Aquatennial week in Minneapolis, new restaurant openings, live music and sports at Target Field and Allianz, plus the wild story of Anoka's city-run dispensary.
In this episode:
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George: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I walked over the Stone Arch Bridge last night and it hit me. Like, physically hit me. Summer's HERE here.
Laura: George, it's been summer for like two months.
George: No but you know what I mean. That warm-river-smell, the bugs are out, everybody's on a bike...
Laura: Okay, the bug thing is not the sell you think it is.
George: Fair. Fair.
Laura: But yeah. The bridge at golden hour? That's the whole city right there.
George: And Aquatennial's going right now, that's the thing.
Laura: Ope, yeah, it started Saturday.
George: July 18 through the 26. So we are smack in the middle of it as we're talking.
Laura: And it's back under new leadership this year, which... I was curious how that was gonna land.
George: How's it feeling to you so far?
Laura: Honestly? Kinda good. The free lake stuff, the Aquativities... it feels like they're actually leaning into the "civic celebration" thing again.
George: That's the official tagline, right? The city's official civic celebration.
Laura: Yeah. Which sounds stuffy but in practice it just means... go outside, look at the water, wave at your neighbors.
George: Minnesota nice, the festival.
Laura: And the Torchlight Parade is the big one. That's the one where even people who say they don't do parades... show up.
George: I'm one of those people.
Laura: I KNOW you are, George.
George: Called out.
Laura: Every year, "I don't do parades," and every year you're on the curb with a pop.
George: In my defense, it's a very good curb.
Laura: Okay.
George: Speaking of being outside — patio-adjacent, farmers-market-adjacent — Mill City is rolling.
Laura: Saturdays, eight to one, right by the river. Next one's the 25th.
George: 704 South 2nd Street for anybody trying to plug it in.
Laura: And it goes through September, so there's no rush, but... go now. The peak stuff is coming in.
George: The tomatoes are about to be unreasonable.
Laura: The tomatoes ARE about to be unreasonable, yes.
George: Okay so speaking of eating — quick shout to our friends over at mplsvegan.com, who help us keep the plant-based side of this show honest.
Laura: Which we need, because George will absolutely try to sneak in a cheese reference.
George: I would NEVER.
Laura: Sure.
George: Okay, food. Where do we start.
Laura: I mean, I have to start with Indígena.
George: Sean Sherman's new place.
Laura: Well — Indígena by Owamni. It reopened June 23 inside the Guthrie.
George: Inside the Guthrie, that's the part I keep forgetting.
Laura: And it's nearly double the capacity of the old space.
George: Which matters, because you couldn't get in before. Like, at all.
Laura: You'd try in February for August.
George: Exactly.
Laura: So the fact that there's more room now... I don't wanna say it's easier, but it's more possible.
George: Have you been since it reopened?
Laura: Not yet. You?
George: No. I'll admit it, I don't know what the new menu's fully doing. I've heard whispers but I'm not gonna pretend.
Laura: Good. Don't pretend.
George: I will report back.
Laura: On the plant side though — J. Selby's is still the move on West 7th.
George: The J.L.T. is the great equalizer. I've watched skeptics get quiet.
Laura: "Get quiet" is the correct verb.
George: And Herbivorous Butcher up in Northeast, obviously.
Laura: Obviously. And Reverie Cafe is still doing its thing.
George: Hard Times if you want, like, a full sensory experience.
Laura: That's a diplomatic description, George.
George: I stand by it.
Laura: Trio's the easy Sunday brunch. Hello Pizza if you just want a slice that happens to be great.
George: The Herbalist too, don't sleep on that.
Laura: Right. And you can string a patio afternoon out of any two of those.
George: Which — hot take incoming — is what patio season is actually for.
Laura: What, walking between two lunches?
George: Walking between two lunches, yes.
Laura: Okay I'll allow it.
George: Oh — and Asia Village opened up at Northtown in Blaine.
Laura: Yeah, June 13. Grand opening. About a dozen vendors.
George: 85°C is in there, Hokkaido Ramen House is in there...
Laura: It's a real pavilion. Not a food court in the sad-mall sense.
George: I'm gonna push back gently — Blaine's a haul from the Cities.
Laura: It's not THAT far, George.
George: For me it is!
Laura: You live like six blocks from a bus.
George: Guilty.
Laura: Make the drive. It's worth it. Or don't, and I'll go without you.
George: Uff da, ruthless.
Laura: Weekend plans, made.
George: Okay — cannabis corner. Big shout to mncannabishub.com, who keep us grounded on what's actually happening in the market here.
Laura: And there IS stuff happening. The Anoka story is wild.
George: Right? The City of Anoka opened what they're saying is the first, currently only, city-run adult-use dispensary in the country.
Laura: A MUNICIPAL dispensary. Like, the city runs it.
George: The city runs it. Anoka Cannabis Company.
Laura: And meanwhile Osseo was gonna do the same thing —
George: And paused it.
Laura: Paused it after resident pushback. Even though they'd already spent, what, seven hundred and twenty-five thousand on a building?
George: Seven-twenty-five on the building. Whole plan was around four million.
Laura: That's a lot of money to pause on.
George: Yeah, that's the part that got me. The building's just... sitting.
Laura: I mean, I get why residents push back. It's a big swing for a small city.
George: But Anoka's actually doing it.
Laura: Anoka's doing it. Which — if you'd told me five years ago that Anoka was gonna be the cannabis-policy story of the year, I would've laughed.
George: Me too. Genuinely.
Laura: The other cannabis thing people should know — and this affects what's on shelves right now — Legend Technical Services shut down in June.
George: The testing lab.
Laura: The testing lab. So Minnesota is down to three certified cannabis testing labs.
George: Three. For the whole state.
Laura: For the whole state. Which means...
George: Narrower selection? Higher prices?
Laura: Both. Both are the expectation this summer. If your usual thing isn't on the shelf at your usual spot, that's probably why.
George: That's a real thing to know before you walk into Wildflower up in the North Loop and get grumpy.
Laura: Or Stigma if beverages are your lane.
George: Simply Crafted over in Northeast.
Laura: Green Goods down in Bloomington, Edina Canna if you're on that side.
George: And the vibe I'm getting from talking to people at those spots — everybody's just being patient with each other.
Laura: Which is very Minnesota of us.
George: Doncha know.
Laura: Okay you get one of those per episode.
George: I'll take it.
Laura: Weekend. What are we doing.
George: Okay so, big weekend. Friday to Sunday is stacked.
Laura: Twins are home. Oakland's in town. Friday 7:10, Saturday 6:10, Sunday afternoon at 1:10.
George: And if you want the more human-scale version, Saints are home too — the homestand runs through the 26th at CHS Field.
Laura: CHS on a summer night is one of the best things this metro area does.
George: Genuinely top three.
Laura: What are the other two?
George: I said what I said.
Laura: Okay, fine, keep your list.
George: Soccer's big this weekend too. Minnesota United's home Saturday, 7:30, against Vancouver at Allianz.
Laura: And then — this is the one — Sunday they've got an international friendly against Liberia. 5 p.m.
George: A friendly against a NATIONAL team, at Allianz, on a Sunday in July.
Laura: That's a rare one. That doesn't happen a lot here.
George: I'm gonna try to go to that.
Laura: I might join you actually.
George: Skol! ...wait, wrong sport.
Laura: Very wrong sport, George.
George: I panicked!
Laura: Lynx are home tonight and Wednesday, by the way, at Target Center.
George: And then they're off for the All-Star break — league pauses the 23rd through the 26th.
Laura: All-Star's in Chicago this year, so we lose them for a minute.
George: Come back rested, please.
Laura: Festival-wise — Carifest is Saturday the 25th on the North Minneapolis riverfront.
George: Caribbean culture, music, food, the whole thing.
Laura: And Loring Park Art Festival is the same weekend, 25th and 26th. Free.
George: Fine art, jewelry, ceramics, that whole scene. In Loring, which is just... a good park to be in in July.
Laura: And Sunday the 26th is Northside Jazz Festival on West Broadway. Free, eleven to seven.
George: You could genuinely just... move through the city all weekend and never pay a cover.
Laura: Which, in a summer where things are spendy —
George: Very spendy.
Laura: — matters. That matters.
George: Music-wise, First Ave is doing First Ave things.
Laura: Lucero was Wednesday, that already happened.
George: United We Dance on Friday night, 9 p.m.
Laura: Off Campus Night Saturday, also 9.
George: And then Monday, Audrey Hobert, 7:30. Kind of a soft landing after the weekend.
Laura: A Monday show is a commitment though.
George: It IS a commitment.
Laura: Respect to Monday show people.
George: Okay so if I'm somebody listening to this on a Tuesday going "what do I DO with all that" — Laura, give 'em the one thing.
Laura: Okay. One thing.
George: One thing.
Laura: Saturday morning, Mill City Farmers Market. Walk over. Grab breakfast, grab produce, grab a coffee.
George: Mm. Then?
Laura: Then wander toward Aquatennial stuff on the riverfront. It's RIGHT there.
George: You've basically built a free morning.
Laura: Free morning. Then you pick your Saturday night — Twins, Saints, United, Carifest, First Ave... you cannot lose.
George: That's the takeaway. Anchor to Mill City on Saturday, let the day unfold.
Laura: And if you want the plant-based lunch version, hit J. Selby's on West 7th on your way over to CHS.
George: That's a full day, right there.
Laura: That IS a full day.
George: Okay, we should wrap.
Laura: We should wrap.
George: Thank you again to mplsvegan.com — they are the reason we know where the good plant-based patio is.
Laura: And mncannabishub.com, who keep us honest on stories like the Anoka one, the testing lab crunch, all of it.
George: Go outside this week. It's a good one.
Laura: Wave at your neighbors. Tip your farmers market people.
George: Tip everybody.
Laura: Tip everybody.
George: Catch you next time.
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).