🎨 Your Art-A-Whirl guide

What to do at Art-A-Whirl

Our host Sean McPherson informs me that some of you are not, in fact, going to Art-A-Whirl for the art. What?! As a craft market enthusiast, this annual art crawl spanning much of Northeast Minneapolis is my Coachella. Here are my must-dos for May 15–17. [City Cast Twin Cities]

• Yeehaw: Don’t miss the Flux Arts Building, where every artist will have a disco cowboy-themed activity for you to enjoy. You can paint your own bike helmet, bedazzle a pony, and even make your own mixed-media belt buckle. [Flux Arts Building]
• Be an artist: I’m intrigued by the bra screenprinting (bra included, I assume) happening at Studio 119 in Casket Arts Building on Saturday. Or, you can let your dog do the heavy lifting with Make Your Own LICK Art at Logan Park. [NEMAA]
• Go here: You can’t miss the pop-ups at local businesses around Northeast during Art-A-Whirl; it really feels like this entire part of the city is celebrating. If you love curation and vintage, check out Moth Oddities. If you want a good vibe (and to see Dessa), go to Earl-A-Whirl at Earl Giles.

Note: City Cast Twin Cities is a digital sponsor of the 2026 Art-A-Whirl.

Tackling fraud: State lawmakers have passed a bill that would create an independent office to inspect fraud throughout the state. The inspector general would be able to investigate any agency that received public funding. Another measure lawmakers are considering would tax money stolen through fraudulent means. [Minnesota Reformer]

Summertime: Como Park’s Groovin’ in the Garden is back beginning June 10. The concert series features a line-up of local bands, food trucks, and even a climbing wall. [Pioneer Press]

Rise up: R.I.P the Uptown YWCA. I loved taking barre classes there. But thankfully, the former gym is getting a new life as a job training center. The Rise Up Center is “designed to turn low-wage earners in BIPOC communities into middle-class wage earners working union jobs,” writes reporter Clint Combs. Backers say the center will train 3,000 workers a year. [Spokesman-Recorder]

Syringe of vinegar: Anthony Kazmierczak, the man who lunged at Rep. Ilhan Omar and sprayed vinegar at her during a January town hall, pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer. Kazmierczak will spend eight to 14 months in prison. [MPR News]

Mysterious court: Racket’s Jay Boller has a real gem. The hidden tennis court by Minnehaha Creek – and perhaps the oldest clay tennis court in the city – is for sale. The clay part is technically beneath the asphalt, but the ambiance has a mysterious allure. The owner wishes for it to be kept a tennis court, and it seems unlikely there’s room for much else. [Racket]

Monday, May 11

• 🎭 Full Circle Theater: Nourish | Workshop
• 🀄 Pull Up a Chair: Open Play Mahjong | Lake Monster Brewing
• 🐉 Mahjong Spring Fling | Utepils Brewing
• 🎸 Guitar Women: An Evening with Sue Foley, Rory Block & Cindy Cashdollar | Parkway Theater
• 🎤 Red Rum Club with Joan of Profile | 7th St Entry

Tuesday, May 12

• 🆓 Coffee with City Cast + Meet the Artists! | Café Marguerite
• 📚 Dungeon Crawler Carl Book Club | Inkwell Booksellers
• 🎵 Buffalo Show | Bryant Lake Bowl Theater
• 🎼 Lowertown with Micah Preite | 7th St Entry
• 🕺 City of Lakes Community Band: Just Dance | Washburn High School
• 🎸 The Psychedelic Furs with We Are Scientists and DJ Jake Rudh | First Avenue
• 🎛️ King Tuff with Caution | Turf Club

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