The Parklot to Host WORKDAY AFTERPARTY and FOOD FOR THOUGHT Series, Now thru Sept 2014

From now through September 2014, The Parklot, Minneapolis' new, first-of-its-kind pop-up park, will be the site of Workday Afterparty, a free music/entertainment series on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m.; and Food for Thought, a free lunchtime speaker series on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m., paired with a local food truck. The Parklot is located in the parking lot adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre between 9th and 10th Streets in downtown Minneapolis on Hennepin Avenue. Events are held as weather permits.

The Parklot has uniquely transformed a section of the normally utilitarian Orpheum surface lot into a vibrant and welcoming public oasis with colorfully painted walls and street surfaces, wooden pallet seating, umbrellas, an intimate performance area and greenery such as trees, flowers and other plants. The Parklot is a collaborative project involving businesses and other downtown stakeholders. The Parklot provides a template for future initiatives and is presented by Bank of America with support from The Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Damon Farber, Tangletown Gardens and LOLL Designs.

The Parklot is also the launch site for guided and self-guided tours of Made Here, downtown's new urban walking gallery of storefront windows, the largest initiative of its kind in the country. Free guided tours take place every other Monday from 5:30-7 p.m. starting August 4. Filling empty spaces with Minnesota artwork, there are some 40 window "Showcases" encompassing 15 venues and covering nearly 15 city blocks. Made Here celebrates creativity from across Minnesota and the window displays have been created by more than 50 individual local artists, 11 artist collaborations and a group of local companies including presenting sponsor Andersen Windows. To plan your self-guided tour and get more information about Made Here visit the new website at MadeHereMN.org.

A primary Made Here participant is the Somali Museum of Minnesota now temporarily located in a pop-up storefront gallery at 319 N. 1st Avenue, The Burd Building. With artwork and traditional huts that were shipped from Somalia and reassembled, they are hosting Open Gallery Hours from 1-6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through October 6. On Wednesdays from

1-3 p.m., there will be finger weaving classes and poetry, and on selected Saturdays, there will be storytelling workshops, dance presentations, educational talks and a traditional wedding ceremony. On August 23 from 10 a.m.-noon, a Multicultural Textile Exchange event is planned with the American Swedish Institute and visiting artist Siiri Korhonen.

Made Here and The Parklot are ongoing collaborations activating the downtown Minneapolis Cultural District, a walkable center of arts, culture and economic activity that benefits residents, business and property owners, artists and visitors. The Made Here projects, directed by Joan Vorderbruggen, the Trust's Cultural District Arts Coordinator, highlight the rich diversity of our cultural community. The Cultural District is an initiative with partners including Hennepin Theatre Trust, Walker Art Center, Artspace and the City of Minneapolis.

Now-September 30, 2014 - Workday Afterparty: An Entertainment Series

At The Parklot

Tuesdays, 5 to 6 p.m. (except August 19)

July 29 Katy Vernon, singer/songwriter, ukulele

August:

5 Gilbertson Brothers

12 Daniel Nass, composer/musician

26 Mark Stillman, accordion

September:

2 Cate Jackson, musician

9 Emily Smythe, vocalist/guitarist

16 The Gold Standard Show Choir

23 Mark Stillman, accordion

30 Cate Jackson, musician

Now-September 26, 2014 - Food for Thought: A Lunchtime Speaker Series

At The Parklot

Fridays, Noon to 1 p.m.

Food trucks, one per noontime event, include Gastrotruck, Topolo Tacos, A la Plancha, Hot Indian Foods and Chef Shack

August:

1 Joan Vorberbruggen, Hennepin Theatre Trust Cultural District Coordinator,

Art in Storefronts 101: How do you approach creating public art in privately owned commercial space?

8 Russ Henry, Giving Tree Gardens Owner, Composting 101

15 Julie Ristau, Revisioning the Minneapolis Farmers' Market

22 Jeff Heinrich, Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District

29 Tom Borrup, Creative Community Builders, Creative Placemaking

September:

5 TBD

12 Lyudmyla Petrenko, VOICE: Community Building Initiative

19 Panel presentation by Art Institutes International Minnesota

26 TBD

The Somali Museum of Minnesota Programming Calendar

319 N. 1st Avenue, The Burd Building

Open Gallery Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday through October 6, 1-6 p.m.,

Traditional finger weaving and poetry classes:

Wednesdays through August, 1-3 p.m.

August - On Saturdays

16 Artist led Storytelling workshop, 12-2:30 p.m.

23 Multicultural Textile Exchange event with the American Swedish Institute with visiting artist

Siiri Korhonen hosted at the Made Here Somali Museum of Minnesota Gallery. 10 a.m.-Noon

30 Poetry and Traditional Dance Presentation, 5-7 p.m.

September - On Saturdays

13 Weaving Women's Lives, led by Pamela Gaard, 1-4 p.m.

27 Traditional Wedding Ceremony (by invitation only, space permitting) 7 p.m.-12 a.m.

Made Here Guided Walking Tours:

Every other Monday, 5:30 to- 7 p.m. Starting August 4.

Led by Joan Vorderbruggen

Meet at Parklot (next to Orpheum Theatre on Hennepin Ave.) end at Somali Museum, 319 N. 1st Avenue, The Burd Building) Self-guided tours can be taken at your convenience per route of choice.

August: 4 and 18

September: 8 and 22

Made Here Artists:

· Venus DeMars/Mach Fox' "Space Lounge"; Ta-coumba Aiken and Steven Lang

(930 Hennepin Ave.)

· Sreekishen Nair, Beverly Cottman and Interact Center (811 LaSalle Ave.,

Highland Bank Court)

· Monica Rundquist and Caitlin R. Warner (City Center, 615 Hennepin Ave.)

· Steve Cohen (314 N. 1st. Ave., Cowboy Jacks)

· Michael Dear (327 N. 1st Ave.,, American Surplus)

· Erik Farseth (28 N. 4th St., American Surplus)

· Hannah Quinn Rivenburgh (20 N. 4th St., Happy Days Market)

· Robin Schwartzman's "No Vacancy" (701 Hennepin Ave.-former "Chevy's" Building, 2nd Floor)

· Hal Lovemelt's Playatta and the Pan-Dimensional Face Transmuter; Andrea Carlson

(705 Hennepin Ave., Witt Market Building)

· Super Secret Sewist Society (615 Hennepin Ave., Hennepin Theatre Trust offices/New Century Theatre, City Center)

· Kirk Washington, Jr./Jakari Perry, Camille Gage, Rachel and Doug Limon,

Kevin Scheid (730 Hennepin Ave., City Place Lofts)

Made Here Organizations:

· The Art Institutes International Minnesota, multiple student displays (800 Hennepin Ave.)

· University of Minnesota College of Design, University of Minnesota, Duluth School of Fine

Arts (651 Nicollet Mall, Gaviidae Common, Street Level)

· Andersen Windows, DLR Group, U + B, Dunwoody Institute

(520 Nicollet Mall, Renaissance Square)

· Somali Museum of Minnesota Gallery with Mohamoud Ali and Aziz Osman (319 N. 1st Avenue,

The Burd Building)

· Hennepin Made (119 N. 4th St., Textile Building)

· VEE Corporation, Edward Curtis and the North American Indian, Perkins + Will, (730 Hennepin Ave., City Place Lofts)

· Minnesota Twins All-Star window (7th Street between Hennepin Ave. and Nicollet Mall)