Looking for late summer fun? The Twin Cities are chock full of summer outdoor fairs, markets and festivals. Here’s a list of recommended favorites to check out before our beloved season slips away!
July 2019
Art at St. Kate’s
July 13
Bastille Day at Barbette
July 14
Lowertown Blues and Funk Fest
July 19 & 20
Highland Fest
July 19
Minnehaha Falls Art Fair
July 20
Rondo Days
July 20
Event schedule here
Minneapolis Aquatennial
July 24-27
Loring Park Art Festival
July 27 & 28
Minneapolis Vintage Market at ASI
JULY 28
“Minneapolis Vintage Market is a monthly marketplace focused on premium vintage and one-of-a-kind treasures. The market is mobile and pops up at venues throughout the Twin Cities featuring a rotating selection of vendors each month.”
August 2019
Uptown Art Fair
Aug 2-4
Minnesota Fringe Fest
Aug 1-11
Annual theatrical event that “fills 40,000 seats with audiences viewing dozens of works at hundreds of performances by more than 1,000 artists on a variety of stages.”
“Minnesota Fringe remains steadfastly committed to it's core principles: producing opportunities for artists of a wide variety of backgrounds, abilities and experience levels; creating novel ways of engaging with the performing arts; and a continuing commitment to accessibility for artists and audiences.” Full list of 2019 shows here. Online tickets staring July 20.
Powderhorn Art Fair
Aug 3 & 4
Japanese Obon Festival
Aug 18
“The Obon Festival encompasses Japanese tradition—through music, dance, crafts, martial arts and lanterns. Entertainment in the Como Ordway Memorial Japanese Garden and on the main stage will include several taiko drumming groups, koto (Japanese zither), shakuhachis (bamboo flutes), traditional and contemporary dance and singing. Martial arts, Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), origami demonstrations and a host of other cultural exhibits and demonstrations will line several paths through the grounds. Japanese food and dozens of culturally-related items will be for sale.
The day will culminate at dusk with the main event—the lantern lighting. Six stone lanterns and floating paper lanterns throughout the Japanese garden pond and the Frog Pond will create a vision of peacefulness and harmony to commemorate the dead.
Irish Fair
Aug 8-11
“The 40th annual Irish Fair of Minnesota. This family-friendly event is jam-packed with dozens of dance performances, live music, the popular Zero K race (which is exactly what it sounds like—three meters of heart-pumping exercise) Gaelic sports, a Celtic marketplace, cultural area and, of course, Irish food and drinks. Returning this year is The Celtic Kitchen, with food demonstrations, samples and chef competitions. Musical acts include We Banjo 3, Screaming Orphans, Doolin', Aoife Scott, The High Kings and The Fitzgeralds.”
Minnesota State Fair
Aug 22- Sept 2
Ongoing
Music in the MN Zoo
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Open Streets Minneapolis
A “free event series that opens city streets to folks biking, walking, and rolling. These events are hosted by Our Streets Minneapolis, a local nonprofit organization, in partnership with the City of Minneapolis. At each event, “local businesses, artists, community groups, and institutions come out into the street to play.”
Mill City Farmer’s Market
St. Paul Farmer’s Market
Minneapolis Farmer’s Market
Saints games
Twins games
Movie and Music in the Parks
Full schedule of Minneapolis movies/music + locations here.
Chain of Lakes Beaches, Kayaks, Bikes, Paddleboards
Out of Town
Stockholm Art Fair
July 20
Square Lake Film & Music Festival
Aug 10
Franconia Sculpture Park
"Franconia Sculpture Park is a nonprofit arts organization operating a 43-acre outdoor sculpture park, active artist residency, and community arts programming." An "intriguing and exciting place to discover an ever-changing exhibition of monumental sculpture, and the opportunity to meet artists-in-residence who invite you to engage with their creations."
American Players Theater
APT is a professional theater located just outside Spring Green, Wisconsin. Situated on 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows, APT has two theaters, the newly renovated 1089-seat outdoor amphitheater and the 201-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre. From June through November.