Down The Block Anthology Featured In Metro Magazine In Minneapolis Minnesota

city bites 1 reports and reconnaissance from the street

100-mile garage sale

Each May, devout trinket-lovers trek to the Mississippi River Valley for their holiest of holidays: the 100-mile Garage Sale. Shops and residences between Red Wing and Winona in Minnesota, and Alma and Bay City in Wisconsin greet these weary pilgrims with their finest Beanie Babies, license plates and other secondhand ephemera. Not into flipping through old copies of Life? Think of this giant treasure hunt as an excuse to explore the cool old towns—Lake City, Minn., Nelson, Wis. (famous for its namesake cheese factory)—that line the river. May 1–2; maps with participating stores and residences available in gas stations and visitor centers in each town; mississippi-river.org

themetro5 What we love, where to find it and sometimes why.

photo: duluth homegrown music fest by richard Narum (www.duluthiscool.com)

2 Down the Block

Everywhere you look, writers are becoming bloggers and bloggers are becoming authors. Minneapolis scribes are no different: Language aficionado and blogger Metrolingua just released an anthology about life in the city called Down the Block. Minneapolis-based writer/blogger Mary O’Regan (who, full disclosure, doubles as METRO’s fashion editor) and Kelly Krantz gave their two cents on Twin Cities livin’ alongside essays about Chicago, L.A. and a dozen other urban locales. metrolingua.wordpress.com

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Duluth Homegrown Music Festival You know what the Twin Cities need? A real music festival. The kind where 150 local bands play in venues all over town for an entire week. The kind that pulls an entire city together, the kind that defines a community, the kind… wait, that already exists; it just happens to be 150 miles to the north. The Duluth Homegrown Music Festival, now in its 11th year, is taking over the port city April 26-May 3, featuring all kinds of crazy talent, including Trampled by Turtles and the Retribution Gospel Choir. Don’t miss the Alrights—D-town’s newest next-big-thing—at Pizza Lucé on May 1. duluthhomegrown.com

Take-a-Mom Fishing Weekend

Show mom the love she deserves this month by getting her out on the lake. On May 9 and 10, to coincide with Mother’s Day and the statewide fishing opener, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will not require mothers to have fishing licenses—in other words, free fishing! (How they plan to verify motherhood, we have no idea.) Nothing says “I love you” like a quiet day on the water with the woman who bore you. Be a sport and bait the hook for her. dnr.state.mn.us

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Lilydale Garden Center

Dying to get your hands dirty planting? Venture off the path­—beaten by the hordes going to the big-box nurseries—and head to Lilydale Garden Center to gather up your beautiful new young’uns. Located at the intersection of I-35E and Highway 13, this cozy spot has a fantastic staff and a great variety of quality plants. It’s the kind of place that makes you happy just to be there. lilydalegardencenter.com 05.09 METRO 019