Spring in Minnesota is where impatience and optimism converge.  For every sunny, seventy-degree day, there is a cold and rainy (not snow if we’re lucky) day to keep us from getting too familiar with good weather too quickly.

But along with the change in season comes a myriad of ways to enjoy our parks and connect with others who share that passion.  This year the Minneapolis Parks Foundation and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board are following suit in that we’ve created more ways to come out to the parks in spring and early summer. 

This Saturday, people are invited to help tidy up our parks of all the litter and debris left behind in the Park Board’s annual Earth Day Clean Up.  With more than 40 locations to pick from, this community event is the perfect way to visit a park new to you and work alongside others. The Parks Foundation is hosting the clean-up site at Minnehaha Falls again this year and hopes to see you there. 

And on Friday, April 28, the Park Board is hosting their annual Arbor Day celebration at Windom Park. It is an annual celebration of the trees that keep our city cool – in many ways.

On May 4, we are hosting José González as part of the Next Generation of Parks series.  José is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation while engaging in different artistic endeavors with art and messaging—often exploring the intersection of the environment and culture. Weaving through the roles of Conservationist/Environmentalist, Chicano, and Educator, José is a national leader advocating for cultural healing and restoration through land.  Please join us for an engaging conversation at the Mill City Museum to be inspired.

And the fun is just getting started – in June we restart our Walk and Talk series – look for announcements to come soon, and on June 22, we’re excited to host our first annual Sunset in the Parks pop-up event.  Guests can buy a seat at a table, bring a picnic (or buy one from us), and enjoy an evening with other park lovers in a Minneapolis Park.  The location is secret at first.  This event will be a fundraiser for the Minneapolis Parks Foundation and our People for Parks Fund.

These are just a few of the countless events – formal and informal, planned and impromptu, big and small – occurring in our glorious parks.  As you join any of these – please look around and take a moment to meet someone new, see the city from a slightly different angle, and feel gratitude that we have a city so blessed in parks and full of people to care for them.

Happy Spring!

—

Featured images (L to R): Arbor Day in Minneapolis parks (MPRB); Earth Day Clean Up; pollinator Walk & Talk