Photo by Brooke Dirtzu

If you're looking for something fun and raunchy to do on Halloween, head over to Bryant-Lake Bowl to see Blacula: Young, Black, and Undead, a new play by Reginald Edmund. The piece, inspired by the 1972 Blaxploitation film, opens concurrently in Minneapolis and Chicago.  More »

Photo by Randy Klauk

​Andy Warhol once said he preferred city life because one could always find bits of forest in the city, but there's never a little bit of city in a forest. This is certainly true for the Twin Cities, where people sometimes even bring the forest into their yards. Or, for a more finely coiffed look, there are gardens.

Mr. Warhol wasn't known for having a green thumb (unless, of course, he had been using that color of paint), but plenty of Minnesotans are, and the annual Victory Neighborhood Garden Tour celebrates these oases within the city limits.More »

​It's a damn shame that Minnesota has been without a public planetarium ever since 2002, when it was torn down along with the public library. Despite there being so many astronomy iPod apps out there, sometimes it still takes a pro to help explain, in person, what's going on in the universe and where to look for it.

There has recently been an exciting innovation to help alleviate this problem of not having a planetarium, however, and it's an honest-to-goodness world's first.

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​Last Thursday marked the start of Visit Saint Paul's Code Green campaign, a city-wide summertime tour promoting exploration of the capitol city.

The name of the promotion comes from its use of QR code, which is similar to a bar code, which can be scanned and read by most smart phones. The technology is definitely having a moment; it's been featured in art shows, on record albums, and even embedded in print advertisements. More »

Photo by Rossaroni

​The Kenwood neighborhood of Minneapolis is kind of haven within the city; its hilly park and tree-lined walkways offer sanctuary and close proximity to Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake. One of the neighborhood's more well-known claims to fame, however, involves a fictional resident who lived at the fictional address of 119 North Weatherly.

For those of you who aren't in the know, that resident was Mary Richards, the main character on the Mary Tyler Moore show. The show's exterior shots of Miss Richards's residence are at a real address: 2104 Kenwood Parkway.

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​Looking to make some cash the old fashioned way (selling your valuables to reality TV stars)? This Sunday the crew from Pawn Stars, the hit History Channel show, will be at Treasure Island Casino looking for people who want to sell their most worldly possessions.

Not only will Rick, Corey, and Chumlee be laying down cash money for your prized possessions, but anyone who sells an item will get $5 in slot play for every $50 cash they receive for their item. This is not a game, people.

With so much potential fortune (and slot play) on the line, you may be thinking to yourself, "I bet I could sell some fake valuables and be set for life!" Not so fast. The Pawn Stars boys aren't playing that game. So before you start trying to get your scam on, check out these three clips about how to spot bootleg shit thanks to the stars of the show. More »

The Minnesota Opera Company may not start their performances with "Reveille," but they are a dedicated and disciplined bunch taking military queues with their latest program, Opera Boot Camp. The event is devoted to people who have no clue about the world of opera, as well as those who love the genre but want to know more about it. A far cry from the world of push ups and drills, this particular boot camp encourages participants to stand at ease.

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No need to turn into Scrooge in order to get a date with the Ghost of Christmas Past: Just keep your holiday cheer firmly in place and let the staff at the James J. Hill house help out with your time travels. They are currently prepared to take you back in time to experience a luxurious yuletide of a bygone era.

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Trilby Busch

This Saturday, architectural history buffs can enjoy an informal walking tour and photo shoot in Lowry Hill. Organized by a couple of researchers who have been studying master builder T.P. Healy, who designed and built houses for Minneapolis's high society in the late 1800s, the tour will take a look at 22 Healy-built houses in the neighborhood, including at least 10 of Healy's own design.

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Bunny Sparber

Ghosts this way.

The city of Anoka has a special relationship with Halloween thanks to the rambunctious children of the town. It was after their rampant Halloween pranks that Anokans decided to create boundaries for their fun. In order to distract them from soaping windows, tipping over outhouses, and that old favorite of releasing cows onto Main Street, the city planned their first official Halloween celebration in 1920. By 1930 the celebration had become an annual success and Anoka was officially proclaimed the Halloween Capital of the world.

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