Mother’s Day 2018

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.