Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of the best events in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and beyond.
WEDNESDAY 6.4
Loons at the Lake Comedy Festival
Crooners Supper Club
First things first: Take a sec and look at this fest’s cartoon loon logo. Sweaty, crazed, possibly dying and/or nutting—what a choice! Moving right along, let’s talk about the festival itself. Now in its third year, it’ll feature 70ish comics across 14 shows over four days at Crooners. The whole shebang is divided into three parts: all-star showcases, the $10K challengers (former large shoe owner Maggie Faris won last year), and the headliners. That last category includes C. Willi "America's Everyday Comedian" Myles and Jason Stuart on Wednesday, hometown fav Mary Mack and Malibu's Most Wanted star Jamie Kennedy on Thursday, the great Emo Phillips and Jimmie “Dy-no-mite!” Walker on Friday, and Don McMillan and Greg Hahn on Saturday. Any of the performers are welcome to shape a tight five around my cartoon loon observations! 6161 Hwy. 65 NE, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through Saturday—Jay Boller
You're Not From Here, Are You?
Black Hart
Well no, I’m not, thanks for asking, and why don’t you people sell pork roll out here? We’re big Bill Lindeke supporters here at Racket, and since 75% of Racket was born far away from Minnesota, we’re especially excited about the urbanist/historian/tour guide’s newest project. Three transplants will offer a short presentation about their hometowns; then Lindeke “will tell obscure and entertaining historical anecdotes about the Twin Cities,” and we know he’s got a mess of them. Think it’s hard to make friends in the Twin Cities? This may just be the event for you. And if (like me) you can’t make this one, don’t fret—it’ll be back on the first Wednesday of every month. Free. 7 p.m. 1415 University Ave. W., St. Paul; find more info here.—Keith Harris
THURSDAY 6.5
Drinking Liberally Feat. Racket’s Nissa Mitchell
331 Club
Racket’s esteemed beer columnist, Nissa Mitchell, has been recommending the best beers around the state for two whole years now. And if you’ve read any of her writing in Doin’ Beers over those years—that’s 24 columns and 120 beer recommendations—you know that this south Minneapolis mom really knows her shit. Nissa is a huge beer nerd (but crucially not a beer snob) who’s been homebrewing since 2009. Tonight, she’ll share some of her insight at the “informal, inclusive weekly progressive social club” Drinking Liberally, which meets Thursdays at 331. You can ask her for brewing advice, or her favorite MN beers and breweries, or perhaps about the history of women in brewing and how the patriarchy ruined beer production. Racket’s Em Cassel (hey, that’s me!) will also be there, providing a perspective that’s a little more, “Hey, have you guys ever had Miller Lite? Pretty good, huh?” Free. 6-9 p.m. 331 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis.—Em Cassel
FRIDAY 6.6
Bleak Week: Minneapolis
Trylon
For four years now, American Cinematheque in L.A. has been programming “Bleak Week,” a selection of seven un-uplifting films to throw a damper on everyone’s summer. And since misery loves company, this year the event is expanding to theaters around the country, including our very own Trylon. The movies themselves? Folks, they are bleak. Two have been on my to-watch list for years—the grueling Russian anti-war film Come and See and a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic Britain, Threads. Somehow I’m just never in the mood for those! In fact, I’ve only seen two of the movies here—Max von Sydow suffers his second most crushing fate at the hands of Ingmar Bergman in The Virgin Spring (I’d put Shame first) and in Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter a bus crash takes out most of a small town’s kids. Rounding out the series is Dogra Magra (an amnesiac is informed that he killed his bride), Natural Enemies (Hal Holbrook snaps), and The Panic in Needle Park (Pacino weathers a heroin shortage). If you can make it through this, the rest of 2025 should be a breeze. Let the bad vibes commence! $8. 2820 E. 33rd St., Minneapolis; find showtimes and more info here. Through June 12—Keith Harris
An Evening with John Cusack
Uptown Theater
Movies are back at the Uptown Theater! Specifically, a 25th anniversary screening of High Fidelity, the rom-dramedy based on Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel. (I’ve not watched or read either in years, but this millennial has fond memories of both.) Making matters more interesting: John Cusack, the film’s leading man, will make “An Evening” of it, which’ll translate as a Q&A moderated by DJ Jake Rudh following the screening. (Racket has Hail-Mary requested a podcast interview with Cusack—don’t hold your breath, we won’t be.) Special shoutout to Cusack, 58, not just for the decades of wonderful acting (Con Air into The Thin Red Line into Being John Malkovich into High Fidelity is a crazy four-year run), but also for his, frankly, brave and outspoken support of Palestinians in addition to dozens of other lefty causes. $92-$280. 6:30-11 p.m. 2900 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller
SATURDAY 6.7
Art in the Hollow
Swede Hollow Park
If you’ve never been to Swede Hollow, a teeny and romantic little neighborhood on St. Paul’s East Side, Art in the Hollow is a great reason to check it out. Hosted each year on the first Saturday in June, this grassroots art festival brings more than 100 local painters, ceramicists, jewelry makers, and artists of all kinds to Swede Hollow Park for an outdoor festival. There will be live music and dance performances (find that full lineup here), activities for kids, and food trucks for when all that art works up an appetite. Plus, you’ll be right by Saint Paul Brewing and its perfect patio. Free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 687 Drewry St., St. Paul; more info here.—Em Cassel
Roots, Rock, & Deep Blues XII
Hook & Ladder
For a few years, Covid and its aftermath caused the Hook to scale back its marquee event a bit. But this year it’s a full block party again, with neighbors Moon Palace Books and Arbeiter Brewing Co. joining in the festivities. Both will offer music stages and food; in addition, Moon Palace is teaming up with Bench Pressed to host an art market. Musical highlights include Memphis blues-rocker Cedric Burnside (R.L.’s grandson), Indiana hillbilly punks Left Lane Cruiser, and metal-tinged bluegrass stompers Dig Deep, as well as familiar locals Cornbread Harris, Erin McCawley, and Corey Medina. All in all, there will be nine-and-a-half hours of music spread over seven stages. Whew. $40-$60. 2-9:30 p.m. 3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here —Keith Harris
Train Days
Union Depot
Chugga, chugga, and we can’t stress this last part enough, choo choo. That’s the ballad of the mighty locomotive, and at some point or another it calls to all rail romantics. There’ll be an abundance of foamers (look it up) this weekend for Train Days, the annual tip o’ the conductor’s cap to all things train. We’re talkin’ train equipment tours, model trains galore, kiddo activities, history exhibits, crafts 'n' coloring, DJs, contests, oversized board games (chess, checkers, Jenga, Connect Four), and fleets of food trucks. For those who prefer to fear trains, and, specifically, the modern-day rail barons who make them unsafe: Revisit our harrowing conversation with union rail dudes. Or keep things lighter with Keith’s Borealis Line travelogue. Free. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday & Sunday. 214 Fourth Street E., St. Paul; find more info here.—Jay Boller
Pride Fests
Not Minneapolis!
Target, everyone’s former favorite hometown corporation, is no longer gay, but we assure you that Minnesota is, in fact, still a very gay state. So gay, in fact, that Pride Month isn’t a single gay day in the park, it’s a month-long celebration encompassing our whole-ass gay state. Take this weekend, for example, where there are at least three Pride parties in the ‘burbs and beyond. We’ve got South St. Paul Pride Fest, a pride party in Central Square where folks can enjoy food trucks, vendors, kids’ fun, and live music and performances ending in Transcendence Cabaret, a group featuring BIPOC and trans artists. Anoka Pride Day is a big ol’ block party on Main Street, with organizations, food, live tunes, and more all day. For the road trippers out there, East Central Minnesota Pride has grown from a group of queer friends in a park to a major celebration… in a park. There will be food trucks, family fun, and tunes from the Big Wu. Don’t worry if you can’t get out of town this weekend, however, it’s still gay here too. For example, Sociable Cider Werks is hosting Fruity Fest, which will feature over 40 queer makers, drag bingo, and cider.—Jessica Armbruster
Chalkfest
Main Street
Now in its 10th year, Chalkfest has grown to be the largest chalk festival in the Midwest. So large, in fact, that folks come from around the world to create incredible works that will eventually wash away due to rain, wind, or just time. But the impermanence is part of the magic. For the next two days you can watch artists create chalk art live on the asphalt. Past efforts have yielded wild and varied works, including mind-bending optical illusions, hyper-realistic portraits, and pop-culture references. There will also be plenty of spots for you to create chalk art too, with a kids’ zone, food vendors, live music stages, and a markers’ mart as well. Free. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Downtown Main Street, between Elm Creek Boulevard and one block north of Arbor Lakes Parkway, Maple Grove; find more info here. Through Sunday—Jessica Armbruster
SUNDAY 6.8
Egg Roll Fest
Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church
Man, egg rolls fuckin' rock. Perhaps nobody’s more aware of that than the organizers behind Eggroll Fest, which is set to lure egg roll-heads by the hundreds to a church parking lot for this celebration of all things eggy and rolled. We don’t usually yield to promotional copy (look at my artful lede above—why sacrifice prime rib for hamburger?), but the sixth annual Egg Roll Fest teaser lays things out beautifully, Bubba from Forrest Gump-style:
Join us to celebrate the hard-working history of egg rolls. Do you know that there are more than 40 types of egg rolls? Chinese Egg rolls, Hmong egg rolls, Vietnamese egg rolls, Big Mac egg rolls, Meatball sub egg rolls, Reuben egg rolls, pizza egg rolls, mac & cheese egg rolls, burrito egg rolls, Southwestern egg rolls, breakfast egg rolls. The list goes on and on. And don’t even get us started on egg rolls for dessert. They take normally fussy desserts like cheesecake or pie apple pie egg rolls, etc.
Do not get us started! And no, I didn’t know most of that. But you can not only know but also taste most of it at Gustavus Adolphus, where two dozen vendors will assemble to honor egg rolls (see ‘em all here). Free. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1669 Arcade St., St. Paul; find more info here.—Jay Boller
ONGOING
“Embracing Fallibility: A Neon Exhibition”
Foci - Minnesota Center for Glass Arts
Humans are imprecise, messy, and flawed, and Brooklyn-based neon/glass artist James Akers wants us to celebrate this. “In today's era of surveillance and automation to enhance business objectives, human fallibilities are often framed in a negative light, to be replaced by seemingly infallible ‘machine intelligence,’” he says. So while neon work is often clean and precise, Akers creates sculptures that are chaotic, haphazard, and, sometimes, even smudged; an overpacked machine with a giant red button or an electric rat’s nest. It’s an absolute mess, and it’s wonderful. 2213 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis; more info here. Through July 19—Jessica Armbruster
"Creation.Story"
All My Relations Arts
For this group show, artists blend the oral histories of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux Nation’s Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota tribes) with the modern-day people, ideas, and language. Think portraits featuring computer tech flourishes or fluffy felt buffalos rendered as collectible figurines. Co-curated by Keith BraveHeart and David Meyer, this touring exhibition changes with each location, inviting local artists to contribute works that make each event gallery specific. Fourteen artists will be showcased here, including James Star Comes Out, Dyani White Hawk, Jaida Grey Eagle, and others. 1414 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here. Through July 26—Jessica Armbruster
Under the Canopy
Hook and Ladder
The Hook’s summerlong, pandemic-spawned outdoor series returns this week with 15 excuses to enjoy great music and fresh air while avoiding the sun’s poisonous rays. The jazzy, bluesy, and otherwise rootsy Davina and the Vagabonds kicked things off, and the series wraps up in early August with Dr. Mambo’s Combo paying tribute to two funk/soul powerhouses of the ’70s: Sly & the Family Stone and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. Between those two dates you can catch soulful rockers Mae Simpson, astute singer-songwriter Chastity Brown, the THC-fueled dance party Doinks N’ Dubstep, a tribute to the Dead’s storied 1977 set at Cornell, and—you guessed it!—much more. This Friday Racket faves Vial will take the stage. 3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here. Through August 8—Keith Harris
Twin Cities River Rats
Mississippi River
Fresh off their hit 2024 show, Ratagascar, the River Rats return with another spoof, this time of The Office. The cartoon poster appears to depict Dwight Schrute and Michael Scott being pulled behind a speedboat captained by a rat, suggesting at least some high-concept hijinks will be related to the beloved NBC sitcom. Here’s what organizers tease: “With high flying jumpers, towering pyramids, and our ballet ladies there is something for everyone! It’s a show you won’t want to miss.” Hm, sounds a lot like all River Rats shows, but there ain’t a damn thing wrong with that. As always, this team of rivertop tricksters performs for free and for the whole family. Bring some chairs and blankets, buy some concessions, and enjoy a Minneapolis summertime institution. Free. 7 p.m. 1758 West River Rd. N., Minneapolis; find more info here. Thursdays through August—Jay Boller
Skyline Mini Golf
Walker Art Center
Putt putt is all about the challenge of using a stick to control a tiny ball amid quirky chaos. Sometimes you scoot right though without a problem, other times you end up hitting a hot dog too hard and bounce off course. Is that a metaphor for life? Maybe! All I know is that mini golf is back at the Walker, and playing it well requires a mix of patience, a light touch, and preparation for worst-case scenarios. This year’s course is 10 holes, all familiar hits that pay tribute to the Twin Cities and local culture with a few nods to the museum’s collection thrown in. Sometimes the obstacles are a bump in the road, sometimes it's a giant French fry, and sometimes the obstacle is you. Hey, this game really is a metaphor for life! $12. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through October 5—Jessica Armbruster
