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Update from the Executive Director
Greetings, friends and neighbors! Good news -- sunshine is coming our way for a few days as we start to wrap up the summer and look ahead to fall. Have you swapped out your patio plants for mums yet? Too soon?
I learned that Mill City Commons has an annual tradition of watching a
Twin Cities River Rats waterski show in the summer. It was suggested that we might adopt staffing a booth at the
Mill City Farmers Market as a new MCC tradition. What other traditions do you associate with MCC? Please
send me your thoughts and ideas!
Thanks to all the MCC members who took a shift at the
farmers' market last weekend. And to those of you who stopped by and said hello! It's nice to have an avenue to meet more of our neighbors and feel even more powerfully a part of our community.
Please check out our
volunteer opportunities link, as we have added new options with the
National Park Service, including open house volunteers, habitat restoration crew, field trip service assistants, and more. Or maybe you'd like to serve as a donor ambassador for the
American Red Cross, or a literacy tutor working one-on-one with kindergarten through 3rd grade students through AARP's
Experience Corps.
YouthLink is accepting groups of volunteers if you would like to team up with 2-4 other MCC members (or prospective members!) to prepare and serve a meal or perhaps host a game afternoon, engaging in conversations and connecting with residents.
So many ways to connect and feel part of something larger!
Keep reading...
MILL CITY COMMONS: We learn. We share. We engage. We give.
~ Sara J.B. Foster
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Last Tuesday Happy Hour
Tuesday, August 27, 5:00 - 6:00 pm 
Pracna on Main, 117 Main St SE
Join us for Last Tuesday Happy Hour at Pracna on Main, Minneapolis' oldest tavern and cafe! Hosted by Gerry & Susan Timm, this gathering is a time to catch up with friends and neighbors over drinks and small bites. Dutch treat--no reservations required. We'll meet in the atrium next to Pracna, where Pracna will have "Private Party" signs for our group.
MCC members and guests. No registration required. |
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MCC Evening Book Club
Tuesday, September 3, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
RiverWest Social Room, 401 S 1st St
 Join us to discuss A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi. For two decades, Zeba was a loving wife, patient mother and peaceful villager. But her quiet life is shattered when her husband, Kaml, is found brutally murdered with a hatchet in the courtyard of their home. Nearly catatonic with shock, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of his death. Her children swear their mother could not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal's family is sure she did and demands justice. Zeba is arrested and jailed, and as she awaits trial, she meets a group of women whose own misfortunes have also led them to these bleak cells: 30-year-old Nafisa, imprisoned to protect her from an honor killing; 25-year-old Latifa, who ran away from home with her teenage sister but now stays in the prison because it is safe shelter; and 19-year-old Mezhgan, pregnant and unmarried, waiting for her lover's family to ask for her hand in marriage. For these women, the prison is both a haven and a punishment. Removed from the harsh and unforgiving world outside, they form a lively and indelible sisterhood. Into this closed world comes Yusuf, Zeba's Afghan-born, American-raised lawyer, whose commitment to human rights and desire to help his motherland have brought him back. With the fate of this seemingly ordinary housewife in his hands, Yusuf discovers that, like Afghanistan itself, his client may not be at all what he imagines.
PARKING NOTE: Limited guest parking is available in the RiverWest garage. Register your car in the building lobby. There's also a pay lot on the woonerf between the Abiitan and Mill City Quarter buildings (on the back side of RiverWest) that's available for public parking from 6-10 pm Mon-Fri. Note that the parking meters are not owned by the city and the city parking app can NOT be used with them. Pay at the station in the lot.
The MCC Evening Book Club usually meets on the first Tuesday of every other month. The next gathering is on November 5.
MCC members sign up here. |
Rendezvous Readers' Book Chat
Wednesday, September 4, 10:00 - 11:00 am 
Abiitan's Porter Cafe, 428 2nd St S
Join us to discuss
There There by Tommy Orange, a story of 12 unforgettable characters-Urban Indians living in Oakland, California, who converge and collide on one fateful day. As we learn the reasons that each person is attending the Big Oakland Powwow-some generous, some fearful, some joyful, some violent-momentum builds toward a shocking yet inevitable conclusion that changes everything. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will to perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss.
If you'd like to read ahead, October's book is
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Have a book suggestion for the Book Chat? Email
Marsha Blumenthal.
MCC members and guests. No registration required.
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M
en's Coffee & Conversation
Thursday, September 5, 7:30 - 8:30 am
Elsie's Restaurant, 729 Marshall St NE
 It's caffeine and camaraderie for the male members of MCC and guests! This group meets every other Thursday and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going. Please register by the Monday prior to Men's Coffee and Conversation. This week, MCC member Walt Bailey hosts.
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The Minnesotans Who Brought "Hadestown" to Broadway
Thursday, September 5, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Washburn Common Room, 700 2nd St S 
Join us to hear from Stone Arch Theatricals partners and Riverfront residents Jennifer Melin Miller, Christopher Schout and Frances Wilkinson, co-producers of the 2019 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, "Hadestown" (also winner of seven additional Tonys!) They will share how "Hadestown" made it from concept album to Broadway (a 10-year journey), their involvement in the show, as well as their journeys in commercial theater investing and producing.
MCC members sign up here. |
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Spotlight on Native American Community Development
Monday, September 9, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
La Rive Party Room, 110 Bank St SE
 After centuries of colonization and forced assimilation, contemporary Native Americans are increasingly working to reclaim their narrative and make progress based on a foundation of traditional Native values, cultures, languages and practices. Join us to hear Robert Lillegren, President and CEO of the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI), speak about this 10-year old, asset-based community development intermediary located on Franklin Avenue in South Minneapolis. NACDI is focusing on the people-side of community development and is keeper of the community vision of the American Indian Cultural Corridor as a destination and economic engine for the local Native Community. Lillegren also serves as Metropolitan Council Member for District 7, including downtown Minneapolis.
MCC members sign up here.
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Technology Help Desk
Tuesday, September 10, 1:00 - 2:30 pm
MCC office, 125 Main St SE, Ste 339 
Schedule time with a tech support guru and have your nagging technology questions answered during our complimentary Help Desk. Support for both Apple products and PCs is available. After you register, MCC will confirm the time of your 20-minute one-on-one session. Reminder: Installing or upgrading software and creating accounts cannot be included in the Help Desk session, as they exceed the allotted appointment time.
MCC members sign up here.
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MCC Program Calendar
View the full calendar of August events here.
Plan ahead! View the full calendar of September events here.
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News from Members
MCC member Jim Conaway invites members to attend an opening reception of his art exhibit,
Nicollet Island: A Visual History, on Saturday, September 7, 2:00-5:00 pm at the Groveland Gallery (25 Groveland Terrace). The show is a confluence of Jim's research and his impressions of this historically significant landmark. To learn more, click
here.
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Ar
ound Town
Amazing Scavenger Hunt Adventure
September 1, starts at US Bank Stadium, 601 Chicago Ave
Grab your MCC friends or family members and turn Minneapolis into a giant game board with this fun scavenger hunt adventure. Combine the excitement of the Amazing Race with a three-hour city tour. Guided from any smart phone, teams make their way among well-known and overlooked gems of the city, solving clues and completing challenges while learning local history. Start when you want and play at your pace. Learn more
here.
Laughing Waters Bluegrass Festival
September 2, 1:00-6:30 pm, Minnehaha Falls Regional Park, 4801 Minnehaha Ave
Free admission. For information and performance schedule, click
here.
Two Movies and a Book
September 17, 6:00-8:30 pm, Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall
Discuss two movies and a book on the theme of "Things are not what they seem." For the first two meetings, join others to watch the movies (Sept. 17 -
The Matrix and Oct. 15 -
Inception). Read the book (
Dark Matter) before the third meeting (Nov. 19), and then there will be a final discussion about all three. Lending copies of the book may be picked up at the library's first floor prior to the discussion. Learn more
here.
Mill City Times
is a local website devoted specifically to our neighborhood and a place to go to find out what's happening, whether it's a new restaurant opening, a local event, proposed construction, volunteer opportunities and more.
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Volunteer Opportunities
Click
here
for community volunteer opportunities on the MCC website (including new opportunities in our neighborhood)!
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MCC Ongoing Social Opportunities
Dutch Treat
Social Hour
Mondays, 4:00-5:00 pm
Aster Cafe
125 Main St SE
Drop in for an afternoon coffee or drink and a casual chat. No reservations
required.
Rendezvous
Readers' Book Chat
1st Wednesday of the month, 10:00-11:00 am
Abiitan's Porter Cafe
428 2nd St S
No reservations required. The next
book is
Rendezvous on 5
Wednesdays, 9-10 am
Guthrie Theater Level 5 Express
Drop in and join your friends and neighbors for fellowship at this neighborhood haunt. This weekly adventure requires no reservations!
Social Bridge
Men's Coffee and Conversation
Elsie's Restaurant,
729 Marshall Street NE
Caffeine and camaraderie for the male members of MCC! This group meets every other Thursday at 7:30 am and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going.
MCC Women Connect
Join MCC women as they connect and grow, sharing experiences and learning from each other as they adapt to life's changes and transitions. This group meets the third Thursday morning of the month.
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Mill City Commons
Ongoing Fitness Opportunities
G-Werx Fitness,
An exclusive opportunity for members, this weekly class focuses on strength, balance
and stretching to keep you fit and strong.
First time participants, please contact G-Werx Fitness at (612) 767-4415 and arrive 20 minutes early to complete paperwork. Cost varies depending on commitment.
River Walkers
Tuesdays and Thursdays,
7:30-8:30 am
Stone Arch Lofts Riverside Parking Lot
All levels of walkers are welcome for this early morning walk along the banks of the Mississippi River. An MCC volunteer leads each walk.
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Ongoing Member-Led Activities
MCC Caregivers' Support Group
2nd and 4th Wednesdays,
May-August,
10:30 am-12:00 pm
A way to support members and non-members who are in a caregiving role.
Men's Dutch Lunch
Abiitan's Porter Cafe
428 2nd St S
Alternating Thursdays at 11:30 am
August 29 & September 12
This casual, dutch treat lunch alternates weeks with Men's Coffee and Conversation. No reservations required! Questions? Contact
Allan Burdick.
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