Minneapolis (April 30, 2024) – When Suni Lee and Simone Biles come to your city to compete for a spot on the Olympic team, you've already got a shot at the best summer ever but add to that the celebration of an iconic film's 40th anniversary, a plethora of new dining options (on top of the countless restaurants in this no-so-hidden gem of the cuisine scene) and amazing summertime weather, and you've got the All-Around Best Summer.

Planning ahead will be wise, as thousands of visitors are expected to descend upon the destination for these main attractions, which are sure to be the hottest tickets of the season.

Additionally, new flights connecting Minneapolis and cities across the globe will draw new visitors at an airport renowned for its on-time departures.

Here are some of the reasons to put Minneapolis on your summer itinerary.  

Events

• Minneapolis will be the final stop on the journey to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 when it hosts the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics, and becomes “Gymnastics City USA 2024,” bringing together four of the sport's most prestigious events over the course of nine days in June. Target Center hosts the country's best artistic gymnasts June 27 - 30 as they vie for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. Reigning Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist Suni Lee, who hails from the Twin Cities, and Simone Biles are expected to compete.
  
  Prior to that, beginning June 22, the Minneapolis Convention Center will be the site of the USA Gymnastics Championships; the USAG National Congress and Trade Show; and the USA Gymnastics for All National Championships & Gymfest.

• Minneapolis celebrates the 40th anniversary of “Purple Rain,” the iconic film made by our own Prince with Paisley Park's annual Celebration 2024, June 20-24, featuring The Revolution at First Avenue on June 21 and 22 (tickets available through Celebration and separately), a special high-definition “Purple Rain” movie screening, other concerts, panel discussions, new exhibits at Paisley Park and more. Year-round, fans can explorePrince's Minneapolis, and plan ahead: the world premiere stage adaptation will happen in Minneapolis in spring 2025.
  
  
• After a $32.5 million renovation and expansion, Minneapolis American Indian Center, one of the oldest Indian centers in the country, will reopen May 1 with a grand opening parade, open house and pow wow. The institution is a centerpiece of Native American food, art, health programs, youth activities and commerce, including Gatherings Cafe. Founded in 1975, it is one of the oldest American Indian centers in the country, where visitors can shop the Woodland Crafts Gift Shopand peruse the Two Rivers Gallery.
  
  
• Taste of Minnesota returns to Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis July 6 and 7 with multiple music stages, and a two-day smorgasbord of food. Tickets are free to jam with headliners Martina McBride and The Wallflowers on July 6 and Morris Day & the Time and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis on July 7.

Air Service

• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has more timely departures than all other global airports according to Cirium. MSP now has 41 active international routes, marking an all-time high for the airport. In 2024, MSP is projected to grow to 161 nonstop destinations, with airlines having announced 16 new domestic routes from MSP this year.
  
  
• Aer Lingus resumed flying between MSP and Dublin four-times weekly on April 29, and will transition to daily flights in the fall.
  
  
• Delta Air Lines is launching direct flights between MSP and Dublin on May 9 and will operate five times per week.
  
  
• Lufthansa is launching it's first-ever service in Minnesota on June 4 with year-round flights five days a week between MSP and Frankfurt (FRA), making it the 18th airline operating at MSP.

Dining + Drinking

• Diane's Place, a Hmong American restaurant by James Beard Best Pastry Chef finalist Diane Moua, opened in Northeast Minneapolis' Food Building this month, bringing together the chef's pastry talents and the comfort foods of her heritage.
  
  
• Bûcheron, which translates to “lumberjack” in French, features French-American cuisine by Adam Ritter, a chef with multiple Michelin-star restaurants on his resume, as well as working at Minneapolis Spoon and Stable and leading menu development at Demi, a James Beard Best New restaurant finalist.
  
  
• Owamni, the James Beard Foundation Best New Restaurant 2022, welcomes the Wakpa Bar May 1 (Wakpa is Dakota for river). The new lower-level outdoor bar serving beer, wine and indigenous food next to the Mississippi River, will provide more opportunities to check out the famous food by Chef Sean Sherman and his team at North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems.
  
  
• Dario, featuring a dozen handmade pastas made fresh daily in a dedicated pasta room, opened recently in the North Loop neighborhood with Instagrammable décor in tropical colors and a Christian Bale in “American Psycho” portrait you have to see.
  
  
• Chef Louross Edralin, known from his appearance on “Hell's Kitchen” season 4 and most recently seen in Las Vegas, is opening Staff Meeting May 4 at Eat Street Crossing, a year-old food hall on “Eat Street” (Nicollet) in south Minneapolis. Edralin recently relocated to Minneapolis.
  
  
• Chilango Mex-Tex opened this month in the Beach Club Residences across from Bde Maka Ska, Minneapolis' largest lake. Yucatan raised, Mexican-born Chef Jorge Guzman (a James Beard Best Chef Midwest finalist) coined the phrase “Mex-Tex” to describe his Mexican-forward version of “Tex-Mex” that's totally unique to this spot.
  
  
• SunBean Coffee opened steps from Minnehaha Falls Regional Park as a place to experience and support community, and they give back 3% of profits to support accessible and affordable mental healthcare. This Black-owned shop features a signature SunBar and providing an exceptional and uplifting experience.
  
  
• Klassics Kitchen + Cocktails and C.R.E.A.M. Café, also Black-owned and operated in the Mill District by the proprietors of Soul Bowl, offer everything from Barista-brewed coffee drinks and flights and shaken teas to a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner options daily, and a weekly Sunday brunch.
  
  
• Yo Monday Café debuted April 15 as a Monday night concept at Kado no Mise in Minneapolis' trendy North Loop, where you can experience Edomae sushi (Wednesday-Sunday), Kaiseki (Tuesday), a daily intimate Japanese whisky bar (Gori Gori Peku) and Japanese-Italian cuisine (Sanjusan) all in one location.
  
  
• A Bar of Their Own opened this spring in the Seward neighborhood of South Minneapolis to exclusively show and promote all women's sports, all the time.
  
  
• Berlin has European-inspired jazz club vibes with music programming to match in the North Loop neighborhood. Cocktails, wine and beer, paired with a variety of seafood plates, desserts and more are served with a variety of experimental music.

In addition, summertime in Minneapolis is synonymous with civic, art and music festivals, and this year is no exception with the Stone Arch Festival, Aquatennial, Twin Cities Pride and the return of the Basilica Block Party (at its new location on Boom Island) to name but a few. Check out what ALL the fuss is about in Minneapolis here. For more information on the Minneapolis Cultural Districts, visit here.

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Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area. Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International.

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