Like many holidays in the calendar year, Mother’s Day can be over-commercialized. But does it really hurt to get a little reminder to celebrate one of the most important bonds in life? Blood related or otherwise, mothers can make such a difference in everyone’s life, so make some time to show them just how much you love them with these events around the Twin Cities.

Woman Power

This trio of events is all about mom and woman power. Listen To Your Mother (May 10) reflects on the trials and treasures of motherhood with live, onstage readings. Minneapolis’ takes place in the historic Riverview Theater, but these events are also happening across the continent. Two days later, the Minnesota Lynx are taking on the Chicago Sky. Ok, game day is the day before Mother’s Day, and it’s not necessarily Mother’s Day-themed, but we would have egg on our face if we didn’t mention some of the strongest women in the state as they warm up for a run at a fifth championship title in the last eight years. As Mother’s Day wraps up on Sunday, May 13, go to the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant for Soul Women: Three local vocalists are going to bring the house down.

Get Active, Get Outdoors

On Mother’s Day, moms get in free at the Minnesota Zoo, and they are also treated to discounts at the gift store and IMAX Theatre. Como Park Zoo & Conservatory is always free, and while they don’t have long outdoor trails filled with sea otters, farm babies and Asian wild horses or a red panda on their Tropics Trail, they have a special Mother’s Day bonsai show in addition to their polar bear, great apes and spectacular conservatory.

On May 12, you can get your hands dirty with the Three Rivers Park District’s Mother’s Day Weekend Tree Planting. Otherwise, on Mother’s Day, the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary’s special Mother’s Day Wildflower Walks at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. will get you outdoors in nature as will the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s 1,200 acres and vibrant tulip show. For a different change of pace outside, take advantage of the DNR’s Take a Mom Fishing Weekend, where moms can fish without a fishing license all weekend—children under 16 can always fish without a license—or go on one of the first Mississippi River tours of the season at Paradise Charter Cruises. For the really active, run or walk a Mother’s Day 5K together.

Get Artsy

Creators Space in St. Paul has a handful of crafty classes for Mother’s Day the entire weekend you can do with your mother, such as painting a flower still life, making herbal healing salve or even painting a portrait of your pet. If you’re on the west side of the cities on May 13, St. Louis Park’s Pinot’s Palette offers an all ages (13-plus recommended), no-experience-needed, discounted art class with available refreshments—and your mom will get to sip on a free mimosa—while you paint Van Gogh’s “Daisies and Poppies.” If you have a child ages 7 to 15, check out Mother’s Day Tea at Way Cool Cooking School for a morning of baking goodies for a tea with mom.

It’s Showtime

With such a bustling arts and culture scene, check out these performing arts options you can treat your mother to. On May 12, see the decadent and emotional opera Thäis in St. Paul, or see the St. Paul Ballet all weekend in their 1920s adaptation of Bizet’s “Carmen.” At the Guthrie, they’re doing the classic “Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner?” among other shows, and for a whole family affair, consider the Children Theatre Co.’s whimsical “Lorax” or the high energy “Newsies” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. (For a taste of both of the latter, check out our reviews here and here, respectively.) And, of course, who could forget the St. Paul Civic Symphony’s annual free Mother’s Day concert? This year it features Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” at the Landmark Center at 1 p.m. on May 13.

Getting Gifts or Time Together?

The day before Mother’s Day, JB Hudson Jewelers on Nicollet is offering an upstairs children’s beading clinic where they’ll make a bead bracelet for mom with a personalized metal charm, and downstairs in the main area, the Mother’s Day trunk show will be out and glimmering. (In short, the perfect way to either get a last minute Mother’s Day present or bring her along so there’s no guessing what she likes.) Another pre-Mother’s Day event that could either be a gift, bonding or both are the Mother’s Day Arrangement Classes at Block Studios on May 10 where she can take home a vase of flowers specially arranged by you.

Let’s get one thing clear: Hiking is a big deal in Minneapolis. As you probably know, there are many benefits of taking the dirt-trail less traveled. Aside from the obvious peace of mind, tranquility and thigh burn, hiking is a great way to experience the great outdoors while staying close to the city.

Sure, many cities in America have urban hiking trails, but few have as many trails as Minneapolis. Maybe that’s why Minneapolis has been named one of the best places to live by Outside Magazine time and time again.

We’ve rounded up some of the best hikes in the city and surrounding area that will satisfy your hiking itch. Even better, most of these hikes can be reached by city bus or light rail. While you’re at it, check out our guide to hiking in St Paul. 

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden 

Molly O.

Summer at Eloise Butler

The gold standard of urban hiking, the trails of Eloise Butler take hikers through a web of scenic Minnesota low-land. Park your car at Eloise Butler (or, better yet, take the city bus there), and set off on one of the many trails that meander through untouched ponds and vibrant marsh ecosystems. If you take the hike in the summer, the buzz of the freeway will soon fade away, replaced by the hum of frogs and cicadas.

Minnehaha Falls Regional Park

Kyle Smelter

Minnehaha Falls

Minnehaha Falls Regional Park has something for everyone—including the hikers who want to escape the buzz of the city but also want to end up at a cool urban eatery afterward. Starting at the Minnehaha Falls picnic area, the trail drops visitors into rolling, bucolic wonderland that includes over 10-miles of trails and handsome views of the 53-foot-tall Minnehaha waterfall. Even better, you’ll end up right where you started, at the crux of Minnehaha Falls and the adjacent Sea Salt Eatery. The crawfish po’boy is always worth the wait.

Carver Park Reserve

Allan Tokuda

Carver Park Reserve Canopy

Boasting the most trails in the west metro, Carver Park is a great place to spend an afternoon. If you go at dusk, you’ll no doubt be joined by local swallows and perhaps even a bald eagle or two. Take in Minnesota’s diverse swampland from Carver Park’s boardwalk—a 1,700 foot floating boardwalk that will transport you in the eerie tamarack swamps.

Fort Snelling 

Nature Nerd

Fort Snelling State Park

 Long before Minnesota received its statehood, Fort Snelling was a military outpost. During the Civil War era, it even served as a training ground for Union soldiers. Now, the trails—which traverse through the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers and link up to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge—will immerse you in this history and the decades of conflict between the colonizers and the rivers’ original settlers, the Objibwe people.

Murphy-Hanrehan Park 

Starting at the Old Cedar Bridge, the Murphy-Hanrehan trail system is an oasis for hikers and mountain bikers. You’ll link up with the Wood Duck trail which will lead you through some of the hilliest terrain in the Twin Cities. At 20 miles, Murphy-Hanrehan is one of the most diverse parks in the metro area, providing both hilly forests and flat marshlands. The diversity makes for some of the best bird watching in town. Expect to see blackbirds, blue herons and egrets on this hike.

Get your “awwww”s ready: Spring is here, which means so are baby farm animals. Check out three of our places to see cute, little fuzzy things plus an extra one for those who like their baby animals a little long-necked.

Gale Woods Farm (April 7-May 26)

Rise and shine (or at least swing by before noon) every Saturday morning to meet the baby farm animals, walk in the garden and help out around the working farm. Tip: Wear some farm clothes—you’re going to want to be able to play around in the dirt. If you can’t wait to don the overalls, go to the first event of the season on March 30 called Spring Into Farming.

Minnesota Zoo Farm Babies (March 23-April 30)

Watch as the littlest chicks, goats, piglets, lambs, calves and bunnies grow up on the Wells Fargo Family Farm. Besides walking among the critters and learning about how farms work with exhibits and daily cow milking demonstrations, make sure to check the calendar for other weekend family activities like pony rides, metalsmith demonstrations and square dance lessons and pony rides. Afterward, check out animals from other corners of the world or learn more about the wilder animals in the state on the indoor/outdoor Minnesota Trail.

Oliver Kelley Farm (April 1-May 27)

Stop by on the weekends for hands-on learning about what goes on at the farm. The Kelley Farm has been around since the 1860s and is still functional—with a little help sewing, pumping water and completing animal care chores from visitors like you. Costumed staff will show you the lay of the land and tell you about the farm’s history, and the added Farm Lab where you can see what farming has looked like since the 1900s to modern day.

Once we flip past that February page in the calendar, we consider it springtime which means the season of 5Ks, 10Ks and more has begun. More than 15 races are taking place around the metro area in the next two months alone, and whether you’re running with a family or training for a marathon, there’s a race for you. We understand if you don’t want to wear shorts just yet—it did snow yesterday—but we hope to see you enjoying the fresh air anyway.

Here are 10 upcoming races for you to check out:

March 11: Brewery Running Series Kickoff Event

OK, so this one isn’t a race, but it’s the kickoff event for 36 different brewery runs this spring and summer, so really, we’re giving you even more of a bang for your buck. Score discounts on series registration and merchandise, free beer tastings, raffle prizes and, most importantly, get hyped for the race series that mixes some of the best things in life: running, craft beer and local nonprofit support. The first race of the series is April 7 at Headflyer Brewing in Minneapolis.

March 24: Hot Dash

Get Minnesotan and get flannelled at the annual Hot Dash. Whether you do the 5K or the 10 mile course, you’ll get a hearty sampling of hotdish recipes and other Minnesotan snacks after the race. Just don’t eat too much, otherwise you’ll slip into a food coma—you’ll want to stay awake for the live DJ, activities, beer garden (for those 21-plus), photo booth, mini massages and more.

April 1: Easter Sunday Rise ‘n Shine 5K

The early bird gets the worm at this 5K. After your run at 8:30, head right on down to the Claddagh Irish Pub & Restaurant for breakfast, beer and beverages, all included with the race fee. With such a productive morning, you’ll have plenty of time to go back and hide the Easter eggs for any little ones.

April 8: Goldy’s Run

It’s game day of a different kind: Support the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital and get your feet in gear at Goldy’s Run. Starting at TCF Bank Stadium, home of the Golden Gophers football team, go on a 5K or 10-mile jaunt and have a picture perfect finish by crossing the 50-yard line. As an extra incentive to train for that 10-mile run, you’ll be running not just around campus but along the beautiful Mississippi River, too.

April 14: Allstate Hot Chocolate 15K/5K

Billed as the sweetest race around, the Allstate Hot Chocolate 15K/5K is perfect for folks with a sweet tooth who still want to get off the couch. Besides the delicious chocolate that awaits after the race—and no gluten and nuts are in any ingredients—there are sweet stations throughout the course with tasty nibbles like marshmallows and chocolate chips.

April 14: Y Run

Get the whole family out with this race. Choose your distance with a one mile walk/run, 5K or 10K. Before and after the race, you can keep playing with camp games and activities, pop-up sports clinics, and more.

April 21: ALS SuperHero Dash

We all remember the ice bucket challenge, but ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, has been around a lot longer than that. Luckily events like the ALS SuperHero Dash have been around, too. Use your powers for good to help raise awareness and support for those fighting ALS with the annual 5K and 10K. As they say, old or young, “every SuperHero makes a difference!”

April 21: Bee Run/Walk/River Cleanup

Organized by the Great River Coalition, this race remembers some of the smallest members of our ecosystem—the pollinators. Celebrate Earth Day weekend by breathing in the fresh air of Boom Island during the 5K and then stick around for the river cleanup. Bee costumes, colors and teams are not only encouraged, they’re rewarded, so start getting the buzz out and get your running team together.

April 21: Allina Health Trail Mix Race

For those of you who have been hitting the winter cross training a little more, thaw out your outdoor legs with a trail race across the hills, prairies and woods of the Three Rivers Parks district. If the 25K and 50K distances seem a little daunting, sign up for the 12.5K solo run or sign up as a two- or four-person team to tackle the longer runs together. Proceeds go toward purchasing adapted equipment to make the outdoor lifestyle accessible to everyone.

April 28: The Great Inflatable Race

You won’t be able to help but giggle as you run your way through this 5K. The Great Inflatable Race is putting obstacles in your path, sure, but they’re nothing but fun. Fight your way through the giant obstacle courses, slides and more, and bounce your way to the finish line.

As is par for the course, the Olympics have shone the spotlight on some of our ski hills thanks to star athletes like Lindsay Vonn, but this Saturday at Hyland Hills in Bloomington, a different downhill sport will be taking over a slope: ice cross. You probably know it best from the Red Bull Crashed Ice international annual tours, but another part of the season are the Riders Cups, which are skater-run and skater-made, right down to icing the track.

A core group of about six athletes, with the help of about 20 volunteers, are putting on the Riders Cup 2018 at Hyland Hills, including Cameron Naasz. Naasz, the only ice cross athlete to win back-to-back championships, grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, and I won’t lie: The Minnesota-proud side of me wants to say that growing up in the state of hockey didn’t hurt his skills going into the sport.

Naasz been helping plan Minnesota’s Riders Cups since 2015, and while he hasn’t been able to see the track yet—going on a three-week Eurotrip to race is a pretty good excuse—he knows this year is going to be a great one. Here’s a snippet of our conversation:

Ryan Taylor Visual

We have the annual Red Bull Crashed Ice in St. Paul—what’s the difference at the Riders Cup?

This will be different because it will be natural ice. We call Red Bull Crashed ice artificial because it’s made on a coolant system just like how a hockey rink is, whereas the track at Hyland Hills is all snow and all natural terrain. The weather definitely plays a part in it. If it’s too warm, obviously the track is going to get soft; it’s going to melt. Too cold, the ice is going to be brittle, and the ice chips away faster, and it’s rougher and harder to ride as well. Also, there aren’t full boards down the Riders Cup track. The courses are built more on a budget because it’s us putting these on for our riders, not some big extravagant project like you see in St. Paul.

It’s open to anyone to come and participate and earn their way onto the Red Bull Crashed Ice circuit, where years ago, you would just go to a flat ice hockey rink and Red Bull would put on qualifiers where they would just time all the athletes on a flat ice course. Now you have to show up to these rider cups and earn enough points to get into the tour.

Is that how you got into the sport? At one of the flat-rink, timed qualifiers?

I actually had a very weird entry into the sport. I had a friend, and he and I grew up playing hockey and all sorts of other sports. He and I were going to college in St. Cloud, where he became a student brand manager for Red Bull. At the same time, this was the first time that Red Bull Crashed Ice came to St. Paul in 2012, and so student brand managers were given golden tickets they could give to two people thought they would be decent at the sport. I ended up being the top-ranked American at that event, and I’ve just done it ever since.

I was looking at the Riders Cup information and saw that you have a Kids Cross event Sunday where kids can try their hand at ice cross. Is that a new feature?

We’ve done it in the past. The kids haven’t raced on the track; it’d be a pretty crazy track to be on. When I saw it in the past, the kids get to skate on the track and a few of the top guys are out there, teaching them. I think most adults would think, “Oh, they’re going to die; there’s no way they could to this.” Two runs and they’re just going down the track full speed. It’s incredible.

Since all of the tracks are rider-designed and -created, how do they vary?

They’re all unique. It depends on who the athlete is creating the course. I was just in Saariselkӓ, in Finland—it’s the absolute North Pole, it’s crazy up there—and Arttu Pihlainen built the track. He was the world champion a few years ago, and his skating style, it shows in the track. It had a skating start and then you didn’t take another stride. It was almost like skiing. If I designed a track, I would have put a lot of jumps. For the Riders Cup at Hyland, Eli Krieter has put in a lot of skating, a lot of turns, tricky turns in it.

So we’ve been talking all about the logistics of ice cross, but what do you love about it? What do you think about as you’re going down the track?

Obviously the adrenaline of it. I did sports, and this one incorporates a little bit of everything I enjoyed growing up—hockey, rollerblading, I was a huge snowboarder, this puts all those things together. And in 2012, it gave me a chance to be competitive again when I was only going to school with recreational sports. I’ve met incredible friends all over the world, and I’ve had travel experience that I never would have been able to have.

(When you’re on the track,) you have to try to have a plan, so when you’re training (on the practice runs beforehand), the main goal is to remember where every bump, every crack in the ice, every feature is, so when you’re racing, you let your body take over, that muscle memory, that instinct take over, so all you have to think about is, “Where are the other guys on the track?”

Ryan Taylor Visual

For my first year doing a snow sculpture for the Vulcan Snow Park, open through Feb. 11, I didn’t want to be in danger of sawing the snow so fervently I fell off my ladder. Not that any of the 18 teams that competed for the 2018 state competition (Jan. 27-29) did, but still. Those champs were working with 8-foot tall blocks. For the Amateur Snow Sculpting Contest (a one-day whirlwind Feb. 3), my team, aptly named Wingin’ It, had a block that was a tame 6 feet tall, but even with that downscaled height, I needed a step stool to work on the top of what would be our baby dragon.

I’ll let you know now: We got last place out of four teams. (“Ice Age”‘s Scrat, Minnesota inventions and an octopus with a Rubik’s cube make for formidable competition.) But we did have a steady stream of passersby proclaiming it was a dragon hatching out of an egg before we told them, and we had some children even want to touch it (we let them, of course), so I think we can count it as a win in the books.

Jeff Matt

I know we’ve mentioned the Vulcan Snow Park (part of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival) and told you to check out the snow sculptures, but let me tell you, it’s a whole lot of fun making them, too.

Robert McLernon, Cassie Bauman and I started the day at almost 8 a.m. sharp, and right from the get-go, the Vulcan Snow Park volunteers spoiled us with coffee, doughnuts and other refreshments before we got to work. At 18º and no wind, the weather was perfect, and although I scrooge-ishly grumbled that the gently falling snow would ruin our carved lines, we couldn’t have asked for a better day to be outside.

As we found out, you can’t just dig out the packed snow, nor can you peel it like you would a linoleum block. Smarter teams than we brought saws, but Bauman and I ended up doing a lot of hacking until McLernon showed up and proved to be a god with the ice scraper, resulting in huge cleared out spaces and clean edges. Pat Mogren, one of the lead volunteers at the Snow Park, came by multiple times with metal curry combs and scrapers to arm us in our artistic plight—they proved to be a necessity for the egg shape and dragon anatomy—and Kendra Myers, the Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition coordinator was always nearby with encouragement, too.

By the time noon rolled around, I was in that intense, one-track frame of mind where my friends can’t tell if I’m having fun anymore and I don’t want to break for the generously provided lunch because, hello, we have a sculpture to make. Still, a sloppy joe, chips, vegetables and a water bottle later (again, all provided by the Snow Park) I ended up taking an extra five-minute break with McLernon to look at the State Competition sculptures while Bauman continued to work on detailing more of the wings, arms and head. What an overachiever she is.

In the end, we finished our baby dragon at about 3:15 p.m. with 45 minutes to spare and, at least for me, a nice pile of soaking wet mittens. I had lost count of the adults pointing out the dragon to their kids (each time it happened, my heart sang a little bit), and I felt very flattered by the adults who told us good job and who jokingly asked whether the three of us were University of Minnesota art majors.

It was a good day full of simple pleasures: fresh air, creativity, exercise and really, really nice people. Myers, Mogren and the other volunteers are some of the most easy going and kind-hearted people you’ll meet, and they know how to immediately make you feel at home. Everyone was excited to be there and to help out at the Snow Park, and the day was filled with people looking at the sculptures, giving it a try themselves (Mogren had put out the rest of his metal curry comb supply and miniature cubic foot blocks for people) and going down the Vulcans’ giant snow slide.

As Winter Carnival lore goes, the Vulcans bring in spring, and I can’t think of any better way to end winter than stopping by the Vulcan Snow Park and checking out the sculptures and snowtastic activities. And hey, if you’re around next year, sign up for the Amateur Snow Sculpting Contest. I know I will.  

Check out the winners of the Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition: