Minneapolis Parks - Free Movies & Music all summer!

Every year, Minneapolis kicks it up a notch! The Minneapolis Park and Rec board puts out tax dollars to good use and helps bring neighborhoods together with their Music & Movies.

This summer, over 250 FREE concerts and movies will be at several parks...

No matter the day, there is always a free concert or movie nearby!

Live music and movies in Minneapolis listed here:
Mondays: Lake Harriet Bandshell or Nicollet Island Pavilion or Bryant Square Park
Tuesdays: Lake Harriet Bandshell or Father Hennepin Bluffs
Wednesdays: Lake Harriet Bandshell or Minnehaha Falls Park
Thursdays: Lake Harriet Bandshell or Bryant Square Park or Minnehaha Falls Park
Fridays: Lake Harriet Bandshell or Minnehaha Falls Park

If you're looking for a film, check it out!  Almost every park has something going on, with movies like Jaws, Bourne Legacy, Toy Story, Life of Pi... There are plenty of things to do!

(Movie List) - and all the parks playing them

UPTOWN MINNEAPOLIS- LAKE HARRIET BANDSHELL

- map - website - schedule
Monday - Saturday @ 7:30pm
Sundays at 2pm and 5:30pm

Here are some nights you should add to your calendar right away!

• June 7: Carnage the Executioner (Hip Hop/Beat Box)
• June 21 - (movie) Psycho 
• July 18: Kenwood Slim and His Back-up Band (Blues/Country)
• July 31: War Poets (Americana/Folk)
• Aug. 2: John Mark Nelson
• Aug. 7: Tortuga (World beats Jazz band)
• Aug 17: Micheal Monroe (folk/reggae)
• Aug 24: The Melvilles (Pop/Folk)
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DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS- NICOLLET ISLAND PAVILION

- map - website - schedule
Mondays @ 7pm

Every Monday, walk over the bridge or ride your bike in from nordeast! Here are some nights you won't want to miss:

• July 1: The Flyin' A's (Americana)
• July 8: Enchanted Ape (blues/roots rock)

FATHER HENNEPIN BLUFFS PARK

- map - website - schedule
Tuesdays @ 7pm

Highlights:

• June 25: Nigel Egg (Folk/Blues) and (Movie) Bourne Legacy
• July 30: Wayne Hamilton (Folk/blues)
• Aug 27: Tall Paul & Chase Manhattan (Hip Hop)

SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS- MINNEHAHA FALLS PARK

- map - website - schedule
Wednesday - Friday: 7pm

Make sure to come real early and get your order in for Sea Salt! And don't forget about the nearby frisbee golf course.  Top picks at this park are:

• July 12: Bethany Larson & the Bee's Knees (singer songwriter)
• Aug 1: Charanga Tropical (Latin)
• Aug. 2: Radio Joe (vintage swing)
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BRYANT SQUARE PARK

- map - website - schedule
Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 6:30PM

• July 30: Elliot Roche (Rock)

Minneapolis Best Patio Bars with Happy Hour

Every summer, we feel it is our duty to inform you of the best places to get a drink! Here at ThriftyHipster, that means Happy Hour, a great patio, and lively people that will make sure you have a good time.

Minneapolis Best Patios & Happy Hours

BEER LOVER'S PATIO @ GRUMPYS NE

The downtown Minneapolis Grumpy's also has quite a nice patio (and even a few free parking spots), but Grumpy's NE is still our go to on a hot summer day. The patio is enclosed with large shrubs and trees. There is also a shaded grassy area for when it's real hot. The best part; all happy hours are valid on the patio.
Best Day: Check out FRIDAY AFTERNOON! Starting at 4pm is "Firkin Friday's" where great breweries are featured each week. A special, rare, cask version of the beer is put out for happy hour, and the owner makes free gourmet grilling part of the whole event.

Brit's Pub & Bocce Ball

Really, almost no patio can beat the one in downtown Minneapolis at Brit's Pub. Their street level patio is always fun, and faces Nicollet Mall, but the real gem is upstairs, where they have a full length Bocce court!

Best Day(s): Sunday is always a good day, where Bocce is only $5/hour and $5 large bloody marys are on special the whole day. Regular late night and afternoon happy hours are good then too. Also check them out for Summer Movies and Yoga Happy Hours on the lawn!

Top Uptown Patios

This one is really a toss up and really depends on what you're looking for. 

Closer to Lake Calhoun you have Amore Victoria, which has a small patio on the street, but put in an amazing rooftop garden in 2012. Although they were barred from having a full bar up there last year, this will be the first year for them to do it full scale!

If you're looking to hook up or party down, Stella's Rooftop is always packed and they have late night specials (though its better deals to cruise downstairs for your drinks and bring them up). You can get a similar party at Uptown Cafeteria, though they do NOT have their typical specials that are served downstairs in the bar.  If you want the specials, best head to the Uptown Tavern, where the drinks are cheaper and the crowd is younger. They have some great late night specials as well (and you can ask for their regulars' card that will give you specials all the time).

Other Notable Patios with Happy Hour

We'

Have a favorite happy hour patio in St. Paul? Let us know... and we'll publish next week!

MN Craft Beer Week 2013

Minnesota's Craft Beer week kicks off around the state with most Craft Brewers Guild members!
Each spot has an event, but there will be lots going on and lots of great beers to try.
Pick up a passport at the MN Craft Beer week site or FB Page.

You can also win tickets to various beer fests, including the hugely popular and most well organized St. Paul Summer Beer Fest.

All week May 13-19!

Here are some events for MN Craft Beer Week 2013 in the Twin Cities

Monday, May 13

• Muddy Waters Lunch, Tapping a Founders KBS, Surly Pentagram... Plus win free tickets to St. Paul Summer Beer Fest!
• Then, after lunch, head to the Republic Uptown where over 20 MN Craft beers will be on tap for Happy Hour.

Tuesday, May 14

• various happy hours and events. Click here for full list.

Wednesday, May 15

• Pat's Tap Happy Hour with a Tap Takeover featuring WTF, Undercover Shutdown Ale... Plus win free tickets to St. Paul Summer Beer Fest!
• various happy hours and events. Click here for full list.

Thursday, May 16

• Nothing like some outside baseball! Help the Beer Dabbler launch their Dabbler Bullpen at the St. Paul Saints! Which will feature Badger Hill and other national and craft taps.

Friday, May 17

• Try the new 612Brew Taproom where they'll have live music, art from Dwitt, and special brews all part of NE Art-A-Whirl.

Saturday, May 18

• It might be a little bit of a haul, but beer lovers will skip Art-a-Whirl and head to Stillwater, where you can ride the riverboat Avalon and drink up some Brau Brothers, RingNeck, Sheepshead & Bancraegie (info)

Sunday, May 19

• Beer-Tasting for charity (Stillwater Rotary Club) on the St. Croix River. $35 gets you 4 hours of sampling over a dozen local breweries (and even some cheeses) on the River. Check it out

Art A Whirl 2013 in Northeast Minneapolis

The 18th Annual Art-a-Whirl kicks of in Northeast Minneapolis, Friday, May 17th at 5pm at the Casket Arts Building and runs through 5pm on Sunday, May 19th.  This event showcases some of Minneapolis' most talented artists, as well as a host of food, snacks, drinks, and concerts a nearby venues. Here is ThriftyHipster's top picks for events during this 2013 Art-A-Whirl Season:

Thursday Night Art-A-Whirl (May 16, 2013)

Honey hosts a Art-A-Whirl pre party with Live Art & Canvas Collaborations and Live Music. It's $5, but lots of artists from the weekend will be there.

Friday Night is the Official Kick Off (May 17, 2013)

And the public reception; Kick off Party/Silent Auction is the place to be to get great art, listen to KFAI DJ's and get a preview of the different studios... The auction opens tonight and ends at 5pm on Sunday (also HINT: Stop in on Sunday to place your last bid!)  At the Northrup King Building #332
We'll for sure be at the Solar Arts Building where Liminal Phase (Adam Levy's experimental band) is teaming up with visual artist Chris Park for a special video installation (711 15th Ave NE).
The Newest party on the block is at 612 Brewery, where they'll feature bands Friday and Staurday, as well as Food Trucks and the art of DWitt.

Saturday, May 18th, 2013 - Art and Parties all Day!

Grumpy's NE is always one of our favorites! The lawn and patio open to an all day party will be their 15th year of Art-a-Whirl shenanigans, this year featuring L'Assassins, Ol' Yeller, Pennyroyal, Seawhores, and more.

Another popular stop off is the 331 Club, where their free concert series keeps getting better each year! Shows start at noon outside, and moves inside after 10pm. Featured acts daytime include Parlour Suite, Marijuana Deathsquads, STNNNG (ep Release) and more. At Night, don't miss the 12am show with Story of the Sea. Prissy Clerks and Sleep Study open.
Dog Lovers should check out Psycho Suzi's for a patio party and puppy kissing booth, including the 1st Annual Puppy Fashion Show (2pm). Costumes for your pets encouraged (register your pet: 612-788-9069)

Check out below for resources, ThriftyHipster's top gallery picks, and more...

Sunday, May 19th, 2013 - Parties end at 5pm

Make sure you stop over to the Northrup King Building #332 to put your final bid in, 5pm the Silent Aution Ends!
The 331 Club keeps the party rocking with Sunny Era, Night Moves, and more all day!

Art-A-Whirl Resources

Don't miss the Rivard Art Gallery, which will have custom designed skateboards, $10 prints, and usually is a great scene/party for those looking to enjoy art and a drink. (2205 California St NE building, #514) 

Also, Northrup King Building is hosting the MCAD MFA Thesis Exhibition, with over 20 graduates and their works for a steal!  Open all weekend, but the party goes down at 6pm - 9:30pm Friday night.

At Night, you might plan to head closer to St. Anthony Main, where you can visit the Fox Tax Gallery and then stick around for happy hour at the Red Stag, who will have music Friday and Saturday night

• Download the Art-A-Whirl Map (pdf)
• Art-a-Whirl Artist Directory
• Free Bus Pass (good Sat & Sun) 
• NEMAA - for all the rest of the info

Some of Rivard Gallery's Skateboards

Minneapolis May Day Parade & Kentucky Derby

May 3-5 is going to be one of the best weekends for going out this year, so don't you miss it!

MAY DAY MINNEAPOLIS (39th Annual!)

SUNDAY, May 5, 2013... ALWAYS a good time is the May Day Festival put on by the Heart of the Beast Theater. Its a time to celebrate the coming warmth with hand-built puppets and one of the biggest parades in the Twin Cities! Attended by over 50,000 people of all ages, this is not an event to miss!

This year, See the World. The story this year is inspired by a cantastoria called Hallelujah, created by the venerable Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont. This year is the 50th anniversary for that theater, one of the oldest puppet theaters in the country, and an inspiration for many puppeteers and artists of all stripes!

KENTUCKY DERBY PARTY

SATURDAY, May 3rd 2013... Don your best derby gear and head up to Brits Pub rooftop for a day of derby on the big screen (and multiple other TV's)! This free event will feature live bluegrass music with Pocahontas County, mint juleps a-plenty, and the 1st 50 ladies will get a rose corsage.

DJ Shadow at Mill City

We've been a huge fan of since Entroducing... DJ Shadow will be at Mill City Nights May 2nd for a huge concert, playing some of his best stuff, and in 5 studio albums, you know its going to be a lot.

We'll be giving away a pair of tickets for the show, so try to win them on our Facebook page or Twitter page.

Release Inner-Foodie, Dine Out For Life

Thursday, April 25th should be on your list for dining out in the Twin Cities! It's time to check out those new restaurants you've wanted to try, get together with old friends, and go big for the Aliveness Project! Their organization seeks to empower people living with HIV, and is a huge positive part of the local community.

A huge list of great local restaurants have agreed to donate a portion of the nights sales to the program.  The restaurants contributing the most from the night's dining (35% or more!)

• Al Vento - South Minneapolis 
• BANK - Downtown Minneapolis 
• Birchwood Cafe - South Minneapolis  
• Black Sheep Pizza - N. Loop & St. Paul 
• Blackbird Cafe - South Minneapolis 
• Cafe Ena - South Minneapolis 
• Christos Greek Restaurant - Eat Street
• Eagle/Bolt Bar - Downtown Minneapolis
• FireLake Grill & Cocktail - Downtown Minneapolis
• Great Waters Brewing - St. Paul
• JD Hoyt's - Downtown Minneapolis
• Lowbrow Cafe - South Minneapolis
• Herkimer Pub/Brewery - Uptown Minneapolis
• Pizza Luce - All locations! 
• Senor Wong Bar & Restaurant - St. Paul
• Zen Box Izakaya - Downtown Minneapolis

There are lots of other restaurants as well that are donating (full pdf), as well as some suburban places.  Make sure you eat out this Thursday, April 25th!

New Happy Hour App launches today

That's right! For those of you looking to get updated happy hours when they are out and about in Minneapolis or St. Paul look no further! The ThriftyHipster Happy Hour now app is there!
We've added a few really neat features in to the new version:

1. Better sorting for specials - Find by drink specials or by events! Want to just find karaoke? We've got you covered. Looking for a great trivia night? Look no further. Just click the calendar icon in the BARS home tab.
2. Check-Ins: Perhaps the best feature is we now allow you to check in to your favorite social platform; Foursquare or Facebook? It's all good. Find a happy hour, check in, tell your friends, score double the badges and social cred too!
3. Additional bug fixes

Anyway, we hope you enjoy! If you haven't gotten the app yet, please do, and use it regularly to save tons of money on great food and drink specials around the Twin Cities!

Support your local website, ThriftyHipster.com updates specials and events daily.

-ANDROID APP

-IPHONE APP

Junebug CD Release March 9

We got their new album in the mail the other day, and although I find it hard to listen to them all, I popped this one in the old CD Player.... And I'm still listening 3 days later.

Maybe its because I love the 90's and the old electronic scene. Beck and Foo Fighters are still on my rotation... Junebug's CD was awesome, and we won't be missing the CD release show this Saturday!

Below is the press release. View Ritz | View event on FB | View event link

STUDENT RUN RECORDS PRESENTS JUNEBUG'S "BEARDS, "ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
Celebrating their seventh studio album release, Junebug is playing their album release show on March 9 2013 at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. 

Junebug produced this album with producers Eddie Ciletti (Miles Davis, Rolling Stones, and Joe Jackson), Dik Shopteau (Sara Renner, Bill Isles, and Mary Jane Alm) and Brian Jacoby (Neil Diamond, Soul Asylum, and Thunder in the Valley) on this record culminates their strongest album to date.

Mardi Gras - Fasching Week

Fat Tuesday, Beads, Celebrating and disposing of liquor (by drinking it)... What a way to prepare for the Easter season!  For those non-Christians, we get that all the time, but it doesn't reduce our desire to party it up for a week.  So where are we going?

2010 Menu Design Contest winner M Schwartzbauer

FASCHING (in German, or Mardis Gras)

This 4-day extravagansa at the Black Forest is an Eat Street tradition every year.  Here, they celebrate in truly German-style; with Jelly Doughnuts (Krapfen). You can also get a leg up prior to Fat Tuesday by coming down and making your own masks. Its a great way to spend the weekend; crafts, beer, and sausage!

SATURDAY DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS PUB CRAWL

In what is being hailed as the "biggest bash north of the Bayou" (promoters words, not ours), the Mardi Gras pub crawl will take place this Saturday at 10 downtown Minneapolis bars, including the 508 Bar, Insert Coins, Pourhouse, and more. 

Guests must buy writstbands, but they come with free cover and drink specials including $3 Bud, $4 Vodka, and $5 Vodka Redbull.

The highlight of the evening though, is the finale; guests will collect over at Epic Nightclub for a night with Root City Band, and one of our favorites, Ovation (Prince Tribute with many original members).

As a bonus, a portion of the proceeds to benefit Feeding America Twin Cities.

FAT TUESDAY PARTIES

The clubs in downtown Minneapolis will be having events, beads will be tossed, etc. Great drink specials can be found... Not a bad way to spend the night if you're feeling a shindig, but we will be at Harriet Brewing for their first annual Mardi Gras Party!

People will be masked up, they'll be serving great Belgian beers, and rockin' to the tuneage of Brasszilla and Dick & Jane's Big Brass Band. MORE INFO

Smack Shack Grand Opening

This Friday, Feb. 8th don't miss out on the hottest restaurant opening since the Union last fall!

The Smack Shack became famous, possibly, THE most famous food truck in Minneapolis by serving up amazing coastal-quality seafood in the middle of the Midwest; and roaming around in a truck none-the-less.

Check the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives video:

ThriftyHipster was fortunate enough to go to their pre-opener last weekend and sample some of the faire. This party was one of the best we've been to in a while; all frequented by foodies and lobster lovers.
The restaurant will be serving the truck food, with some new additions. Like Lobster Corn Dogs and a raw bar featuring fresh oysters and clams.  But the best part, expect great prices! Nothing on the menu is over $30, while nearly everything is closer to $10-13. If you've got a seafood craving or just want to check out Minneapolis' newest hotspot, don't miss the opening (and ongoing season and summer patio) at the Smack Shack.

New Century Theater Open - Reefer Madness

Hennepin Theater Trust's Century Theater will be showing Reefer Madness all February!

What timing too, with the Marijuana legalization in Washington this year, it's about time we reflect on the "perils of marijuana" in this tongue-in-cheek musical comedy.  Directed by Steven Meerdink, MMT’s artistic director, it is the first production in the new partnership between Hennepin Theatre Trust and Minneapolis Musical Theatre. Inspired by the original 1936 film, this satirical morality tale is a depiction of clean-cut kids lured into a hysterical downward spiral by the evil weed, jazz, sex and violence.

Shows run Thurs - Sun Feb 1 - 24. Check the site for more info.