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Caffeine and camaraderie for members of MCC! This group meets every other Thursday and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going.
Mill City Commons Office, Room 215
Do you look at your neighbor‘s patio or deck and wonder where they got their green thumb? Wonder no more! Join us as we hear from Trish Lundberg and Shannon O‘Halloran of Landcraft Landscaping and Design. They will provide tips and tricks so that you can have the patio of your dreams!
Get to know other MCC members at a casual Saturday morning breakfast mixer inside Elsie’s Restaurant‘s dining room. Hot coffee awaits you when you arrive on foot or by bike or by car - order a full breakfast or simply a beverage. Open seating at tables set for 4 or 5 - great for conversation with friends, old and new. To help the restaurant prepare, please register. NOTE: Breakfasts are outside as long as the temperature is at least 50 degrees. If bad weather, Elsie’s has a secluded indoor space available in the main dining room. This event is limited to 35 to accommodate Elsie‘s staff.
Showplace ICON Theater at the West End
Join our MCC Opera Friends at the at Met Live in HD performance of "La Rondine." Following the performance, let’s walk a half block to CRAVE restaurant for conversation and refreshments. There is free covered parking next to the theater.
Are you looking for a new activity to try out? Tapestry Folkdance offers a gentle movement class called “Joyfully Dancing 55+.”
The class is described as “a dance experience that celebrates many genres of dance and music: American, swing, popular, and international, to name a few.” Dances are taught/reviewed every session. As the name suggests, participants feel a lot of joy (and get some exercise too) while dancing together! No partner is needed, and all levels of ability are welcome.
Joyfully Dancing 55+ is taught at Tapestry Folkdance, 3748 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, and it meets Mondays from 9:30 - 10:30 AM. Cost is $5, payable to the instructor. Participants are asked to bring a pair of inside shoes (in order to keep grit, salt and water off the dance floor). Dancing with just socks is also OK.
If you’d like to carpool, please be at the ARC parking lot ready to leave at 9:10 AM.
Do you find it hard to really get to know members at our large programs … or those featuring a speaker? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join us for a casual conversation at Milwaukee Road Restaurant and Bar at The Depot. Take this opportunity to meet new members and reconnect with some you haven’t seen lately. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office so we can be sure someone is there to meet you.
Join your friends and neighbors at the C.R.E.A.M Cafe for a morning chat. This adventure requires no reservations.
This guided discussion group with professional facilitation supports MCC members and nonmembers who are in a caregiving role.
Mill City Commons Office, Room 215
Eric Schwartz, University of Minnesota Professor of Public Affairs, will talk with us about border migration policies in the context of the political debates in the United States around irregular extralegal migration. The debates are taking place amidst a presidential campaign in which border migration is a key issue. This program will be recorded.
Enjoy this month‘s reading of "Elizabeth is Going Into the Ground," by Emma Watkins.
Four trees in the north Maine woods communicate through an underground network of roots and fungi. Four women, each struggling to come into her own in a nearby rural logging town, pass each other gifts by way of the town’s one-car postal service. By blurring the boundary between human and tree, "Elizabeth is Going Into the Ground" contemplates the communities of our forests, weaving a tale of love, resilience and old growth.
This casual, Dutch-treat lunch at Klassic‘s Kitchen alternates weeks with Men’s Coffee and Conversation. There’s no program, but good conversation happens here! Please register, so we can let the restaurant know how many to expect. If you would like to be added to the Thursday Dutch Lunch list or suggest a topic for discussion, email alburd4057@gmail.com.
The Program Committee meets the fourth Tuesday of each month. If you have a program idea, please feel free to fill out the Program Committee Proposal form and email it to Jane at janestacy@millcitycommons.org. For April only, we will meet on Thursday, April 25 at 1:30 pm.
Giulia (The restaurant in the lobby of the Emery Hotel)
Join us for a rare Thursday Happy Hour at Giulia, the restaurant in the lobby of the Emery Hotel. Hosted by Patty Connelly and David and Sheryl Evelo, this gathering is a time to catch up with friends and neighbors over small bites and Dutch treat drinks. If you‘d like to stay for dinner, please call the restaurant directly for reservations at (612) 215-5450.
Valet Parking or 5th Street Parking ramp. Street meter parking is unavailable from 4:00-6:00pm.
Join us for a fun morning of mixed Mah Jongg. Meet new members, guests and fellow Mah Jongg enthusiasts. All levels welcome from beginners to experienced. This event is limited to 15 participants. Registration closes at Noon on April 25.
Get to know other MCC members at a casual Saturday morning breakfast mixer inside Elsie’s Restaurant‘s dining room. Hot coffee awaits you when you arrive on foot or by bike or by car - order a full breakfast or simply a beverage. Open seating at tables set for 4 or 5 - great for conversation with friends, old and new. To help the restaurant prepare, please register. NOTE: Breakfasts are outside as long as the temperature is at least 50 degrees. If bad weather, Elsie’s has a secluded indoor space available in the main dining room. This event is limited to 35 to accommodate Elsie‘s staff.
Do you find it hard to really get to know members at our large programs … or those featuring a speaker? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join us for a casual conversation at Milwaukee Road Restaurant and Bar at The Depot. Take this opportunity to meet new members and reconnect with some you haven’t seen lately. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office so we can be sure someone is there to meet you.
Join us as we embark on a once-a-month culinary experience at different restaurants around the city, and around our neighborhood. This month, we will enjoy a Dutch-treat dinner at EaTo. This event is limited to 12 people. Please register by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 25.
Join your friends and neighbors at the C.R.E.A.M Cafe for a morning chat. This adventure requires no reservations.
All Chairs of the different committees are invited to join us at this monthly meeting.
Join us to discuss this month‘s book, "Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America," by Joy-Ann Reid. You are welcome to join us in conversation whether or not you‘ve read the book.
If you‘d like to read ahead, June‘s book is "100 Years of Solitude," by Gabriel Garcia Márquez.
Caffeine and camaraderie for members of MCC! This group meets every other Thursday and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going.
Do you like to walk and talk with a small group, vs. meeting in a larger group or for a presentation? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join in with others who might also be walking. We‘ll meet on the river side of Owamni restaurant as there are chairs & tables there to use while we wait for walkers. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office (612) 455-3329 so we can be sure someone is there to walk that day.
Join us for this fun birding walk at Roberts Bird Sanctuary with naturalist and bird expert Gregg Severson. We recommend that participants bring their own binoculars and field guides, if you have them. Participant fee: $6.00.
Get to know other MCC members at a casual Saturday morning breakfast mixer inside Elsie’s Restaurant‘s dining room. Hot coffee awaits you when you arrive on foot or by bike or by car - order a full breakfast or simply a beverage. Open seating at tables set for 4 or 5 - great for conversation with friends, old and new. To help the restaurant prepare, please register. NOTE: Breakfasts are outside as long as the temperature is at least 50 degrees. If bad weather, Elsie’s has a secluded indoor space available in the main dining room. This event is limited to 35 to accommodate Elsie‘s staff.
Are you looking for a new activity to try out? Tapestry Folkdance offers a gentle movement class called “Joyfully Dancing 55+.”
The class is described as “a dance experience that celebrates many genres of dance and music: American, swing, popular, and international, to name a few.” Dances are taught/reviewed every session. As the name suggests, participants feel a lot of joy (and get some exercise too) while dancing together! No partner is needed, and all levels of ability are welcome.
Joyfully Dancing 55+ is taught at Tapestry Folkdance, 3748 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, and it meets Mondays from 9:30 - 10:30 AM. Cost is $5, payable to the instructor. Participants are asked to bring a pair of inside shoes (in order to keep grit, salt and water off the dance floor). Dancing with just socks is also OK.
If you’d like to carpool, please be at the ARC parking lot ready to leave at 9:10 AM.
One half of our kids cannot read. That statistic says it all. We face a reading crisis in Minnesota. Everyone can learn to read - but they must be taught. What we have been doing doesn‘t work. Last year for the very first time the state decided that in Minnesota we will use what we have learned from science based research to teach our kids. This program will explore - how did things get so bad, what have we learned from the science of reading, what did the state do, how will things change, how long will it take, what can we expect, and how can we help? We will be joined by two of our state‘s most passionate leaders when it comes to reading. Bobbie Burnham is Minnesota‘s Assistant Commissioner of Education for Teaching and Learning and Kim Gibbons is Director of the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement University of Minnesota.
The Phoenix requires that attendees be registered in advance, so please make sure you register. Walk-ins are not allowed for this program. There will be a short social hour with wine and snack at 4:00 pm, with the program starting promptly at 4:30 pm.
Loft Teaching Artist Patricia Hoolihan is available to guide MCC members in exploring their stories during four 2-hour writing classes in April and May. This class will provide a chance to explore the world around you and within you in new ways through language – whether you are writing for yourself or to share with family and friends. Writing exercises will encourage you to open doors and cross thresholds to find words and stories that have been waiting to be discovered—by you. Writing prompts will invite you to express your unique voice in a variety of creative ways through journaling, poetry, essay, and memoir. Each class includes time for writing exercises, discovery of similar experiences, and optional sharing of written words. Cost for the 4 classes is $120, payable to the instructor on the first day of class.
Minimum of 7 enrollees, and limited to 20 members.
Do you find it hard to really get to know members at our large programs … or those featuring a speaker? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join us for a casual conversation on the patio of the Aster Cafe. Take this opportunity to meet new members and reconnect with some you haven’t seen lately. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office so we can be sure someone is there to meet you.
Join your friends and neighbors at the C.R.E.A.M Cafe for a morning chat. This adventure requires no reservations.
This guided discussion group with professional facilitation supports MCC members and nonmembers who are in a caregiving role.
The next Executive Committee meeting is on May 8, 1:30-3:00 pm at our Mill City Commons Office.
Do you like to walk and talk with a small group, vs. meeting in a larger group or for a presentation? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join in with others who might also be walking. We‘ll meet on the river side of Owamni restaurant as there are chairs & tables there to use while we wait for walkers. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office (612) 455-3329 so we can be sure someone is there to walk that day.
This casual, Dutch-treat lunch at Klassic‘s Kitchen alternates weeks with Men’s Coffee and Conversation. There’s no program, but good conversation happens here! Please register, so we can let the restaurant know how many to expect. If you would like to be added to the Thursday Dutch Lunch list or suggest a topic for discussion, email alburd4057@gmail.com.
Minneapolis and the world shut down in 2020. After four years, has the city made a comeback? Are people traveling to Minneapolis for business or pleasure? Join us as we hear from Bill Deef, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Meet Minneapolis. He will talk about what the city is doing to bring in more tourists and conventions, as well as bringing more people downtown.
Join us for a fun morning of Mah Jongg. Meet new members, guests and fellow Mah Jongg enthusiasts. All levels welcome from beginners to experienced. This event is limited to 15 participants. Registration closes at Noon on May 9.
Get to know other MCC members at a casual Saturday morning breakfast mixer inside Elsie’s Restaurant‘s dining room. Hot coffee awaits you when you arrive on foot or by bike or by car - order a full breakfast or simply a beverage. Open seating at tables set for 4 or 5 - great for conversation with friends, old and new. To help the restaurant prepare, please register. NOTE: Breakfasts are outside as long as the temperature is at least 50 degrees. If bad weather, Elsie’s has a secluded indoor space available in the main dining room. This event is limited to 35 to accommodate Elsie‘s staff.
Showplace ICON Theater at the West End
Join our MCC Opera Friends at the at Met Live in HD performance of "Madama Butterfly." Following the performance, let’s walk a half block to CRAVE restaurant for conversation and refreshments. There is free covered parking next to the theater.
Minneapolis Water Treatment Facility
Just how DO we get our water each day? Did you know that the City of Minneapolis Water Treatment Facility delivers 57 million gallons of water a day to customers in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs? Or that this facility is 150 years old, and is the oldest treatment facility on the Mississippi? Join us as we tour the Minneapolis Water Treatment Facility and learn how they bring water from the Mississippi River to your tap. After the tour, head out to a Dutch Lunch.
The Membership Committee develops new strategies for member recruitment and retention. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Committee Chair Jane Helsing.
Loft Teaching Artist Patricia Hoolihan is available to guide MCC members in exploring their stories during four 2-hour writing classes in April and May. This class will provide a chance to explore the world around you and within you in new ways through language – whether you are writing for yourself or to share with family and friends. Writing exercises will encourage you to open doors and cross thresholds to find words and stories that have been waiting to be discovered—by you. Writing prompts will invite you to express your unique voice in a variety of creative ways through journaling, poetry, essay, and memoir. Each class includes time for writing exercises, discovery of similar experiences, and optional sharing of written words. Cost for the 4 classes is $120, payable to the instructor on the first day of class.
Minimum of 7 enrollees, and limited to 20 members.
Mill City Commons Office, Room 114/115
In January 2023 Minneapolis Police Chief O‘Hara spoke to Mill City Commons members. He will take this opportunity to update us on the progress MPD has made in the last year, as well as the continuing and upcoming challenges he sees for MPD in 2024 and 2025.
Do you find it hard to really get to know members at our large programs … or those featuring a speaker? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join us for a casual conversation on the patio of the Aster Cafe. Take this opportunity to meet new members and reconnect with some you haven’t seen lately. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office so we can be sure someone is there to meet you.
Join your friends and neighbors at the C.R.E.A.M Cafe for a morning chat. This adventure requires no reservations.
Current international news and U.S. foreign policy provide an endless trove of topics for learning and discussion. Retired foreign service officer and MCC member Bill Davnie will identify a topic in advance, although news can always lead us in a fresh direction. There will be both presentation and discussion.
Join the MCC Board of Directors for an Open Forum from 4:00-4:30 pm at the MCC Offices, Room 215.
Caffeine and camaraderie for members of MCC! This group meets every other Thursday and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going.
Do you like to walk and talk with a small group, vs. meeting in a larger group or for a presentation? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join in with others who might also be walking. We‘ll meet on the river side of Owamni restaurant as there are chairs & tables there to use while we wait for walkers. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office (612) 455-3329 so we can be sure someone is there to walk that day.
According to a 2022 report from the Minnesota Department of Health, Black men ages 15 to 24 had a drowning rate three times higher than other young men in the same age group. V3 Sports Center in North Minneapolis is trying to change that, by combating black historical trauma around the water. Join us as Luke Day, Facilities Director at V3 takes us on a tour of not only the pool, but their new hydrotherapy pool and more.
Julie Ayer is a professional violinist, arts advocate, historian, and author. A passionate lifelong musician, she spent her thirty-six-year professional career in the Minnesota Orchestra, including their ground-breaking tour to Cuba in
2015. Julie was also a member of the Houston Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Throughout her career, Ayer was involved in many orchestra committees, including labor negotiations. Julie has written two books about her experiences with orchestra labor negotiations. Her second book, Defying the Silence, A Chronicle of Resilience That Saved the World-Renowned Minnesota Orchestra, documents the 16 month lockout beginning in October, 2012. It is a story of incredible unity of the musicians and model of survival, the community that stood with them, the challenging resolution and recovery, and pandemic resilience.
Julie will play a short violin piece by Fritz Kreisler, and books will be available.
There will be a short social reception at 6:30 pm with the program starting at 7:00 pm.
There is limited guest parking available, as well as metered on-street parking.
Join us for this fun birding walk on Nicollet Island with naturalist and bird expert Gregg Severson. We recommend that participants bring their own binoculars and field guides, if you have them. Participant fee: $6.00.
Get to know other MCC members at a casual Saturday morning breakfast mixer inside Elsie’s Restaurant‘s dining room. Hot coffee awaits you when you arrive on foot or by bike or by car - order a full breakfast or simply a beverage. Open seating at tables set for 4 or 5 - great for conversation with friends, old and new. To help the restaurant prepare, please register. NOTE: Breakfasts are outside as long as the temperature is at least 50 degrees. If bad weather, Elsie’s has a secluded indoor space available in the main dining room. This event is limited to 35 to accommodate Elsie‘s staff.
Join your friends and neighbors for the Sunday Soiree, hosted by your friends at La Rive. Please contribute to the potluck by bringing a salad, hot dish, bread, dessert or beverage to serve at least 8. You are welcome to bring your own beer and wine to share. Limited guest parking and metered on-street parking is available. Carpooling is recommended.
Are you looking for a new activity to try out? Tapestry Folkdance offers a gentle movement class called “Joyfully Dancing 55+.”
The class is described as “a dance experience that celebrates many genres of dance and music: American, swing, popular, and international, to name a few.” Dances are taught/reviewed every session. As the name suggests, participants feel a lot of joy (and get some exercise too) while dancing together! No partner is needed, and all levels of ability are welcome.
Joyfully Dancing 55+ is taught at Tapestry Folkdance, 3748 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, and it meets Mondays from 9:30 - 10:30 AM. Cost is $5, payable to the instructor. Participants are asked to bring a pair of inside shoes (in order to keep grit, salt and water off the dance floor). Dancing with just socks is also OK.
If you’d like to carpool, please be at the ARC parking lot ready to leave at 9:10 AM.
Will the United States and China, with other powerful countries following suit, approach current and future climate initiatives with an increased commitment to trade protectionism and nationalism, by various measures including trade restrictions? Or could a growing spirit of international accord develop to confront the “common enemy” of climate change?
The Program Committee meets the fourth Tuesday of each month. If you have a program idea, please feel free to fill out the Program Committee Proposal form and email it to Jane at janestacy@millcitycommons.org. For May only, we will meet on Tuesday, May 21 at 1:30 pm.
Day Block Brewing Company
Join us for next-to-Last Tuesday Happy Hour at Day Block Brewing Company. Hosted by Carol Hovey and your friends at River West, this gathering is a time to catch up with friends and neighbors over small bites and Dutch treat drinks. If you would like to make dinner reservations, please call the restaurant directly at (612) 617-7793, or visit their website at https://www.dayblockbrewing.com/reservations/.
Join your friends and neighbors at the C.R.E.A.M Cafe for a morning chat. This adventure requires no reservations.
This guided discussion group with professional facilitation supports MCC members and nonmembers who are in a caregiving role.
Enjoy this month‘s reading of "The Spitfire Grill," by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley, based on the 1996 film of the same name by Lee David Zlotoff.
Percy Talbot has just been released from a five year prison sentence for manslaughter. She is trying to find a place for a fresh start, and based on a page from an old travel book, travels to the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. The local sheriff, Joe Sutter, who is also Percy’s parole officer, finds her a job at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill – the only eatery in this struggling town. The Spitfire Grill is for sale. But with no interested buyers, Hannah decides to raffle it off. Entry fees are one hundred dollars and the best essay on why you want the grill wins. Soon, mail is arriving by the wheelbarrow full and things are definitely getting hot at the Spitfire Grill. This musical triumph is an inspiring celebration of fresh starts and the power of what one person can do.
Do you like to walk and talk with a small group, vs. meeting in a larger group or for a presentation? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join in with others who might also be walking. We‘ll meet on the river side of Owamni restaurant as there are chairs & tables there to use while we wait for walkers. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office (612) 455-3329 so we can be sure someone is there to walk that day.
This casual, Dutch-treat lunch at Klassic‘s Kitchen alternates weeks with Men’s Coffee and Conversation. There’s no program, but good conversation happens here! Please register, so we can let the restaurant know how many to expect. If you would like to be added to the Thursday Dutch Lunch list or suggest a topic for discussion, email alburd4057@gmail.com.
Mill City Commons Office, Room 215
Michele Garnett McKenzie, Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, will talk about U.S. immigration policies past and present, the legal obligation to provide asylum, and the opportunity for investing in communities to welcome new immigrants.
Join us for a fun morning of Mah Jongg. Meet new members, guests and fellow Mah Jongg enthusiasts. All levels welcome from beginners to experienced. This event is limited to 15 participants. Registration closes at Noon on May 23.
Get to know other MCC members at a casual Saturday morning breakfast mixer inside Elsie’s Restaurant‘s dining room. Hot coffee awaits you when you arrive on foot or by bike or by car - order a full breakfast or simply a beverage. Open seating at tables set for 4 or 5 - great for conversation with friends, old and new. To help the restaurant prepare, please register. NOTE: Breakfasts are outside as long as the temperature is at least 50 degrees. If bad weather, Elsie’s has a secluded indoor space available in the main dining room. This event is limited to 35 to accommodate Elsie‘s staff.
Do you like to walk and talk with a small group, vs. meeting in a larger group or for a presentation? This spontaneous event might be just right for you! Join in with others who might also be walking. We‘ll meet on the river side of Owamni restaurant as there are chairs & tables there to use while we wait for walkers. If you are attending for the first time, please contact the MCC office (612) 455-3329 so we can be sure someone is there to walk that day.
Qigong, often referred to as “chee gong” or “energy work,” is a Chinese practice with roots dating back thousands of years. It revolves around the concept of Qi, the vital life force that flows through our bodies, and Gong, which means skill or cultivation. Qigong is, essentially, the art of cultivating one’s vital energy for enhanced health and wellness Join us as we hear from Birgit Kraus, the Qigong instructor at Minnesota Integrative Health Studio, as she explains how Qigong is practiced as well as some of the many benefits of Qigong, including managing persistent pain and coping with physical limitations.
Join us as we embark on a once-a-month culinary experience at different restaurants around the city, and around our neighborhood. This month, we will enjoy a Dutch-treat dinner at Borough. This event is limited to 12 people. Please register by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 23.
The United States and Middle East are at a crossroads. In spite of a reduced presence in the Middle East, the U.S. still has significant national interests there and the area is a key arena for global power politics. Can the U.S. continue to defend its interests in the Middle East and globally with a lower level of military and political involvement, or should it recommit to a leading role in the region?
Take me out to the Ballgame! Join MCC Member Will Craig for fun in the sun as the Minnesota Twins take on the Tampa Bay Rays at this matinee home game. Will has purchased 20 tickets to the game. Our seats are in the upper deck behind Home Plate: section 319, rows 2 and 3. Tickets are $20 per person, payable to Will Craig. Tickets are electronic now. You will need MLB‘s Ballpark app on your phone to receive and use tickets at the park. Get the app from either the Apple Store for iPhones or Google Store for Android phones. You must register yourself and any guest you are bringing to let us know that you‘re attending. After you‘ve registered on our website, set up your MLB account, then contact Will to purchase the tickets directly from him, and he will transfer your tickets to your phone. Send Will an email at wcraig@umn.edu with "MN Twins" as the subject line.