Monday, August 4
The Vikings might be the worst thing that ever happened to the Minnesota Gophers football program. It's difficult for me to even imagine this, but the Gophers were National Champions in 1960. The Vikings rolled into town the following year and the Gophers have been lousy ever since. They're also attention hogs. Everybody talks about Vikings draft pick this, and Vikings training camp that. Well the Gophers have training camp, too, and you don't have to drive two hours to get there! The Gophers have opened two Fall Camp practices to the public, today and tomorrow only, at 5:15 pm. Football practice may not sound exciting, but I love getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse at just about anything. A jelly bean factory tour? Sure! Check out a sewage treatment plant? Sign me up! If this isn't your scene, the Gophers also host a scrimmage this Saturday at 4:40 pm at TCF Bank Stadium. Just think, if this season turns out to be the one ending our 53-year-football-championship drought, you can say you were there at the beginning.
Tuesday, August 5
Tonight the entire country celebrates National Night Out for the 31st time. The whole country, that is, except for Texas. They decided the first Tuesday in October was the better day for this national event, so they do it then instead. But Texas is National Night Out's top-ranked state, in terms of community participation, special events and media coverage, so we probably need to cut them some slack. But guess who is the top ranked city!? San Antonio! . . . and Minneapolis! I don't know how you end up with a tie for this honor, but that's apparently what happened last year. Anyway, you can search for a block party here, or just walk around with some JELL-O salad until you stumble across one. And, if by chance you don't find a party, maybe you're just the person to chair your local event next year!
Wednesday, August 6
You know how when you're with a bunch of friends trying to decide where to go and everybody's saying, "I don't care, we can go anywhere," but really they just don't want to make the decision? I'm like that today, so I'm going to mention three options and leave the deciding up to you. At 10 am, you can take the Great River Tour for free and learn about the connection between St. Paul and the Mississippi River. I've got a hint - it's called the shore. Wha wha. You have to register for this at 651.292.3237. From noon to 3 o'clock, there's a Beach Party at Bryant Lake in Eden Prairie. The beach part you probably know about. The party part includes an obstacle course, a waterslide, birds of prey and reptiles. This one costs $5 per child. At 2 pm, the Schiffelly Puppets perform a parody of Rapunzel at the Oxboro Library in Bloomington. Actually, looking at the times, I think it's possible to do them all! Wouldn't it be great if it worked that way with restaurants?
Thursday, August 7
The environment in which things happen is important to me. As I mentioned earlier this week, the Gopher football team has struggled the entirety of my lifetime, but I still like going to their games because I love the stadium. An $18 hamburger doesn't bother me too much, as long as it's served to me in a tastefully restored warehouse in the North Loop. And I can even listen to ska music, as long as it's being performed in the ultra-cool Ruins Courtyard during Mill City Live. Today and the next three Wednesdays (this concert was rescheduled to Thursday), $5 opens the door to Mill City Museum from 4-9 pm and a concert from 6-8 pm. That's a discount of over 50%, and I don't see a ska band on the schedule. I honestly can't think of a downside here, except that $18 for a burger isn't looking like such a great deal, no matter where I get to eat it.
Friday, August 8
Have you, at any point over the past few days, suddenly felt like throwing your fist in the air? If so, it might have something to do with this being Rock Week at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. Today is the final day of classes, and the 12-17 year-olds who have been working up their chops on an instrument of choice get to show their stuff live and on stage. Now, normally, I'd probably rather give my cat a bath than attend this recital. Maybe even my neighbor's cat. But, remember, place is important to me. This concert is at the 7th Street Entry. The Entry, in case you're not familiar, is a little club tucked into the corner of First Avenue, the venue that took on legendary status in the 80's thanks to Prince, the Replacements and others. In my opinion, it is still the best place in town to catch some live music. So, given an opportunity to share this spot with my boys? I'm sorry, but the cats will just have to wait.
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