New Taste of Minnesota festival to be held in downtown Minneapolis in July
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Updated: 4:18 p.m.
Organizers on Thursday unveiled plans for a new Taste of Minnesota festival to be held in downtown Minneapolis in July.
The event featuring food and music will take place on Nicollet Mall, between Washington Avenue and Fifth Street, on July 2 and 3 — that’s the Sunday and Monday before the Fourth of July.
It’ll run from noon to 8 p.m. each day, and organizers described it as a family event; entry to the festival will be free.
Headlining music acts will be Third Eye Blind on July 2, and Big Boi and Uncle Kracker on the July 3. The main stage will be in the parking lot along Nicollet Mall at Third Street.
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Mayor Jacob Frey was on hand for Thursday’s announcement.
“What this is emblematic of, is a city that’s on the rebound. It’s a city that’s coming back,” he said, in remarks broadcast by KARE 11. “When we rebound, when we get back — this is not getting back to the old normal, we’re attracting new events, new talent, new kinds of experiences — and that's what this Taste of Minnesota is all about.”
Organizers said Thursday that they hope to make a “multi-year commitment” to hold the festival in downtown Minneapolis.
A previous, beloved incarnation of Taste of Minnesota ran for years in St. Paul, around the State Capitol and on Harriet Island, but eventually fell on hard times before relocating to Waconia and fizzling out in 2015.
A bill to provide funding for its revival has been working its way through the legislature this spring.
A budget bill included a provision for a nearly $2 million grant “to the Minneapolis Downtown Council for infrastructure and associated costs for the Taste of Minnesota event, including but not limited to buildout, permits, garbage services, staffing, security, equipment rentals, signage and insurance. This is a onetime appropriation.”
