Freeloader Friday is your weekly guide to having fun no matter what your budget looks like. Each week we have a list of 100% free events like gallery parties, music, and films in the park, as well as free admission events like special happy hours, markets, and more.
FRIDAY
Gabe Barnett & them Rounders, Anita Velveeta, Theo Langason
21+. 9:30 p.m. 331 Club, 331 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis.
Slam Academy's 10 Year Celebration: Film Friday
Electronic documentary screenings include Modulations (1998), I Dream of Wires (2014), and Ina Vanguard Style (2022). 7 p.m. Slam Academy, 1121 Jackson St. NE, Minneapolis.
Easter Celebration at MGM
Featuring balloon art, kids’ craft table, freebies, egg decorating, a visit from the Easter Bunny, and live music from Robert Everest. 5-7 p.m. Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Minneapolis.
Adult Game Night
Featuring drunk specials, DJ tunes, and games, including giant Jenga, Uno, Connect 4, dominoes, and more. There’s also karaoke every 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. Hyde Kitchen & Cocktails, 24 University Ave. NE, Minneapolis.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Viewing Party
Hosted by B. Louise. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Black Hart of St. Paul, 1415 University Ave. W., St. Paul.
Friday Night Open Mic
21+. 10 p.m. The Comedy Corner Underground, 1501 S. Washington Ave., Minneapolis.
SATURDAY
Neon Nightmares
Neon art demands your attention, and you will give it to “Neon Nightmares,” a gallery show featuring electric art that either has to be plugged in, requires batteries, or just uses hella bright paint. Here neon will fuck you up. It will attack your eyes, turn your stomach, and haunt your dreams. Ten visual artists have contributed pieces for the show. There’s Erik Anarchie, who has repurposed animal skulls, framing them with cool blue neon tubes. Meanwhile, Anna Hoover paints mind-melting artworks that feature purple swamped graveyards filled with crumbling tombstones and oozing skeletons. This is the kind of stuff you put on skateboards, train graffiti, wicked tattoo back pieces, and old school arcade art. Rad. See it in natural lighting first, followed by a turning down of the lights and a DJ set from SYM1 midway through the evening. Free; $10 suggested donation. 7 p.m. Artspace Jackson Flats, 901 18th ½ St. NE, Minneapolis. –Jessica Armbruster
Johnny Sincerely and his Travelling Blues Orchestra, Door 35
White Squirrel Bar, 974 W. Seventh St., St. Paul.
Slam Academy's 10 Year Celebration
Featuring a variety of slam performances from teachers and alumni. 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Slam Academy, 1121 Jackson St. NE, Minneapolis.
Machinery Hill
7-9 p.m. Sociable Cider Werks, 1500 Fillmore St. NE, Minneapolis.
Gabe Barnett & them Rounders, Loser Magnet, Pit Stop
10 p.m. 331 Club, 331 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis.
Supercar Saturday
Check out cool cars every third Saturday of the month. 8-10:30 a.m. Sheraton Bloomington, 5601 W. 78th St., Bloomington.
Victory Neighborhood Candy Grab
Featuring a chill Easter egg hunt, freebies for adults, pics with the Easter Bunny, and more. Dancing Bear Chocolate, 4367 Thomas Ave. N., Minneapolis.
Easter on the Plaza
Featuring balloon animals, kids’ fun, and the Easter Bunny. 12:30-2:30 p.m. Nolan Mains, 3945 Market St., Minneapolis.
Animal's of Capitalism Coloring Book Release Party
Purchase a copy for $14, score a free coloring book, and participate in a coloring contest. 1-6 p.m. LynLake Brewery, 2934 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Hair + Nails
Minneapolis-based artist Rachel Collier works in “not quites.” Her pieces are not quite sculptures, not quite paintings, and not quite textiles. A rug might come with an accompanying painting. A graffiti work is folded, accordion-style, to create a partition of sorts. A piece of nylon had been taped and molded to give the piece a “chunky” texture. Collier celebrates these in-betweens. Here she plays with the subconscious, a part of the mind that is infinitely unknowable. “My paintings and textile works are ecstatic visual analogues of spaces that I believe populate our shared consciousness,” she says of her artwork. Think typography of the mind, with ever-changing possibilities. See her latest work at Hair + Nails. There will be a public reception on Saturday, April 16, from 7-10 p.m. 2222 1⁄2 E. 35th St., Minneapolis. Through May 15 –Jessica Armbruster
Free Saturday Yoga at Union Depot
Bring a yoga mat, water, and towel if you need them. 9 a.m. Union Depot, 214 Fourth St. E., St. Paul.
Neighborhood Roots Winter Market
Vendors from Kingfield, Fulton, and Nokomis farmers’ markets unite for an outdoor food mart. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fulton Farmers Market, 4901 Chowen Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Mill City Farmers’ Market
With local farmers, artisans, ceramics, giftables, food, and more. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mill City Museum, 704 S. Second St., Minneapolis.
SUNDAY
Golden Retriever Meetup
Drink with dogs. Noon to 10 p.m. Lakes & Legends, 1368 Lasalle Ave., Minneapolis.
Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace
Also watch Newcastle United vs. Leicester City and West Ham United vs. Burnley at 8:15 a.m., and A. Bielefeld vs. Bayern Munich at 8:30 a.m. Plus beer specials. 10:30 a.m. Brit’s Pub, 1110 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.
Salsa Sundays
With free lessons with Rene Thompson. 11 a.m. to noon. Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Minneapolis.
Corpse Reviver’s Season Finale
21+. 3 p.m. 331 Club, 331 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis.
Game Night
Chris H. stops by with board games. Or bring your own. Noon to 5 p.m. LynLake Brewery, 2934 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Open Mic Night
Music, poetry, comedy, whatever is welcome. Sign up at 4:30 p.m. The Cave at Keg and Case Market, 928 W. 7th St., St. Paul.
