Cedar Street Walk

Walking north from downtown and up Cedar Street, it doesn't take long to get to Cass Gilbert Park. With a nice overlook of downtown, it was named in honor of the architect who not only designed the State Capitol one block over, but also some of our most solid looking buildings in downtown like the Gilbert on Wacouta and the Endicott on East 4th. I like wandering around the grounds of the Capitol Mall. The evening walk last night was relatively quiet. Several skateboarders around the police memorial did a quick exit when they heard a nearby siren and a red "Party Hawg" bus allowed a quick stopover for party quests in formal attire to get out and take photos on the Capitol steps. The Minnesota Historical Society website has a nice online walking tour of the Mall so you can read about the area and the memorials before you go. (http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/msc/state_capitol_walkingTour.htm)

Street Art

The street markings for the utility relocation project on the corner of Cedar Avenue and 7th Street are beginning to look like some kind of strange modern art piece. Nearly every color code was represented: red for power lines, blue for water, green for sewers, orange for communication cables. What about yellow markings? Are there no gas lines under there mixed in with everything else? The utilities relocation is of course part of the central corridor light rail project that will connect downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul. Not everyone is excited about it especially during these years of disruption, but in the long run I think it will be well worth the effort. Cities have to find ways to get more drivers off the road and and using public transportation.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there. Yesterday my mother brought a bundle of my old school work to a family barbeque. I suppose she couldn't pitch all those memories so she left it for me to do. I looked through the stack of drawings and workbooks taking a quick smell of the faint mildew. Besides this one, there were drawings of the milkman, a farmer, and a policeman. Dick and Jane were prominent characters in my school life too. I hope my own mom didn't cook in the kitchen with high heels like the ones in my drawing, but it was the early 1960's. This week if you want to return to those times, get into your vintage clothes and head to the Minnesota History Center Thursday evening for the annual RetroRama, a vintage fashion show that includes music, food and drink demos and more.

Picasso Me

Art work by young student artists arrived in downtown this week and are being displayed for a month by various businesses around town. Art Walk, in its 8th year, is an opportunity for schools to showcase the art work of youth in conjunction with the Ordway's Flint Hills International Music Festival. Start at the the Travelers Building across from the Landmark Center. Students were given the assignment of doing a self portrait using Picasso's work as inspiration. I think that would be harder than it sounds and I particularly enjoyed this painting by a student from Leap Academy. Picasso would have too! Continue your walk across the street at the Hamm building and then around the corner and over to Ecolab Plaza. If you have young children don't miss the Flint Hills Music Festival which begins May 31st and goes through Sunday June 6th. The festival, held both in the Ordway and also in Rice Park on the weekend is a wonderful opportunity to bring world music, theater, and interactive art for children and their families. The Ordway does a spectacular job but lots of volunteers are needed. Having done this one myself I can tell you that this volunteer job is a great way to participate in the fun. Go the Ordway's website for an application and I'll see you there.