Events

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of May is Wendy Smith.

Meet Wendy and talk with her about her work and approach. Her art will be on display at the visitor center from May 1 through May 31.

Photographer biography: Wendy Smith
Wendy Smith is a Minnesota native who still lives and works in her home state. Wendy calls her style abstract representational with vibrant color. Her expressionistic paintings are filled with wonder, life and light. Her love of nature and unique way of seeing the world, shine through her mixed media works of art. She is currently working on a new body of work that includes animals, flowers and people that represent freedom. She is not only a fine art painter but is also a ceramic artist. Her husband is a potter and together they're creating together on their land in northern Minnesota. Wendy is a graduate of the Milan art institute.

Join us for an open house celebrating the new exhibit at Split Rock Lighthouse!

The evening will include music by Adam Moe, Nathan Frazer, food trucks, beverages, and yard games. 

The new exhibit will be open to the public and the night will end with a beacon lighting at 9:00 pm.

Spend Memorial Day weekend at Historic Fort Snelling and experience how Minnesota celebrated “Decoration Day,” an early style of what we know as Memorial Day today.

Throughout the weekend the site will host programming on the entire 23 acre site from the new prairie landscape, inside the Plank Museum & Visitor Center and of course the historic reconstructed Fort Snelling.

On Saturday we will be rededicating the reconstructed 1820s fort flag pole. Historically the flag pole lasted about 10-15 years before the army had to replace it. A short ceremony on Saturday morning to put up the large garrison flag for the first time since 2021.

On Monday Historic Fort Snelling will host “Decoration Day.” Historic Fort Snelling staff will be dressed in 1890s military costuming to present “Decoration Day” speeches that reflected on past conflicts, especially the American Civil War, commonly heard during the late 1800s.

Schedule:

10:00 - Site opens
10:30 - Music performance
11:00 - Flagpole dedication
11:30 - Music performance
12:00 - Baseball demonstration
12:30 - Music performance
1:00 - Military demonstration
1:30 - Music performance
2:00 - Baseball demonstration
2:30 - Music performance
4:00 - Site closes

Get tickets

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of May is Wendy Smith.

Meet Wendy and talk with her about her work and approach. Her art will be on display at the visitor center from May 1 through May 31.

Photographer biography: Wendy Smith
Wendy Smith is a Minnesota native who still lives and works in her home state. Wendy calls her style abstract representational with vibrant color. Her expressionistic paintings are filled with wonder, life and light. Her love of nature and unique way of seeing the world, shine through her mixed media works of art. She is currently working on a new body of work that includes animals, flowers and people that represent freedom. She is not only a fine art painter but is also a ceramic artist. Her husband is a potter and together they're creating together on their land in northern Minnesota. Wendy is a graduate of the Milan art institute.

CANCELLED

Have you ever wondered what it took to get a team of draft horses ready to work in the field or to head to town?

Check in at the visitor center and then head down to the big yellow barn at Historic Forestville and join John Hill and the draft horse team, Suzie Q and Pumpkin of Doubletree Carriage Company for a draft horse harnessing demonstration, then climb into the wagon and take your seat to experience transportation of the 1800s.

John will talk about various modes of mid-1800s transportation while you enjoy the wide open spaces and fresh, spring prairie grasses – you may even spot a flower or two.

Bring your questions and have an enjoyable ride!

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

CANCELLED 

Join John Hill along with draft horses Pumpkin and Suzie Q from Doubletree Carriage Company for a short, horse-drawn wagon ride around the public square.

Rides will depart from the historic site parking lot within Forestville State Park and are available from 2 to 4 pm. Limited space on the wagon.

Check in at the visitor center. All children must be accompanied by a paying adult.

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Spend Memorial Day weekend at Historic Fort Snelling and experience how Minnesota celebrated “Decoration Day,” an early style of what we know as Memorial Day today.

Throughout the weekend the site will host programming on the entire 23 acre site from the new prairie landscape, inside the Plank Museum & Visitor Center and of course the historic reconstructed Fort Snelling.

On Saturday we will be rededicating the reconstructed 1820s fort flag pole. Historically the flag pole lasted about 10-15 years before the army had to replace it. A short ceremony on Saturday morning to put up the large garrison flag for the first time since 2021.

On Monday Historic Fort Snelling will host “Decoration Day.” Historic Fort Snelling staff will be dressed in 1890s military costuming to present “Decoration Day” speeches that reflected on past conflicts, especially the American Civil War, commonly heard during the late 1800s.

Schedule:

10:00 - Site opens
10:30 - Laundry demonstration
11:00 - Participatory demonstration
11:30 - Guided tour
12:00 - Baseball game/demonstration
12:30 - Laundry demonstration
1:00 - Guided tour
1:30 - Baseball game/demonstration
2:00 - Participatory demonstration
2:30 - Laundry demonstration
3:00 - Guided tour
4:00 - Site closes

Get tickets

Meet the author and artist of the new MNHS Press book, Star Party.

In Star Party, Polly Carlson-Voiles relates the simple joys of summer star-watching in a tale informed by years of camping and cabin adventures. 

Detailed illustrations by artist Consie Powell feature many night-loving animals of sky, forest, and lake, inviting readers to appreciate the vibrancy of the woods after dark. 

An author’s note highlights nocturnal creatures, constellations, and tips for observing the night sky, encouraging readers to learn more about nearby stargazing opportunities—in dark sky sanctuaries where the deepest nights are filled with the brightest stars.

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Join Art To Change the World for a workshop which will explore the origins of our drinking water. 

Participants will investigate the Mississippi River Pearl’s 21 discovery drawers and participate in experiments and activities focused on water quality. The workshop includes a take away memory from the drawers and four discovery stations. 

For ages 8 and up. The workshop is free but registration is limited.

About the Mississippi River Pearl
The Mississippi River Pearl is a Mississippi Watershed Management Organization-funded project with Art to Change the World. Members executed a two-hour trash pick-up on the Mississippi and created "The Pearl," an Educational Interactive Artwork. Read more about this Art To Change The World project. 

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Spend Memorial Day weekend at Historic Fort Snelling and experience how Minnesota celebrated “Decoration Day,” an early style of what we know as Memorial Day today.

Throughout the weekend the site will host programming on the entire 23 acre site from the new prairie landscape, inside the Plank Museum & Visitor Center and of course the historic reconstructed Fort Snelling.

On Saturday we will be rededicating the reconstructed 1820s fort flag pole. Historically the flag pole lasted about 10-15 years before the army had to replace it. A short ceremony on Saturday morning to put up the large garrison flag for the first time since 2021.

On Monday Historic Fort Snelling will host “Decoration Day.” Historic Fort Snelling staff will be dressed in 1890s military costuming to present “Decoration Day” speeches that reflected on past conflicts, especially the American Civil War, commonly heard during the late 1800s.

Schedule:

10:00 - Site opens
10:30 - Music performance
11:00 - Baseball demonstration
11:30 - Music performance
12:00 - Decoration Day ceremony
12:30 - Music performance
1:00 - Military demonstration
1:30 - Music performance
2:00 - Baseball demonstration
2:30 - Music performance
4:00 - Site closes

Get tickets

Guests, families and community members gather together for a special powwow to remember all the fallen warriors that have fought for this country, as well as honor all current veterans. Enjoy the drumming, singing, and dancing along the shores of Lake Mille Lacs for this annual event.

Join us for a workshop focused on building an understanding that Minnesota shares borders with four Dakota and seven Ojibwe nations who are oftentimes overlooked or underrepresented in non-Native spaces. 

This training is intended to support the work of history organizations across the state. 

Participants will leave the session with a better understanding of how to talk about Native Nations in Minnesota.

Join us for a workshop focused on building an understanding that Minnesota shares borders with four Dakota and seven Ojibwe nations who are oftentimes overlooked or underrepresented in non-Native spaces. 

This training is intended to support the work of history organizations across the state. 

Participants will leave the session with a better understanding of how to talk about Native Nations in Minnesota.

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of June is MaryBeth Kiczenski.

Meet MaryBeth and talk with her about her work and approach. Her photos will be on display at the visitor center from June 1 through June 30.

About MaryBeth Kiczenski
For the past decade, Marybeth has crisscrossed the country working for auto shows. This unique job allowed her to share her love for cars and landscape photography.

She enjoys finding the "little scenes." A bulk of her work features wide and low angle scenes, giving an up and close view of a smaller setting within a larger one. She is also a nightscape fanatic and uses a variety of tools to bring out the detail that can be hidden in the the night sky.

As an automotive enthusiast, outside of work she enjoys racing her 1995 Eagle Talon TSI AWD. This car she built taught her invaluable lessons in patience and perseverance. These traits are helpful when waiting all night for that elusive aurora borealis to show.

She has a degree in Creative Studies in Animation and Digital Media, but she found that photography is where her heart belongs with astrophotography being her absolute favorite.

Celebrate the opening of Going Out, Coming In: LGBTQ+ Spaces in Downtown Minneapolis. The exhibit details queer resistance, love, and identity formation amid the evolution of downtown through the 20th century.

The exhibit features sites where queer people found or created community while addressing the systemic challenges of legal and extralegal discrimination, urban renewal, and HIV/AIDS. It is part of an ongoing partnership between Twin Cities Pride and the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). It is inspired by the Twin Cities LGBTQ+ History Tours developed by TC Pride and MNHS in 2022.

A cash bar will be available and free appetizers. Musical experience will be curated by DJ Michel.Be. The event and exhibit will be located in the museum’s central Mill Commons, and the exhibit is free and open to the public during regular museum hours through October 8, 2023. The opening event is free but please register.

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of June is MaryBeth Kiczenski.

Meet MaryBeth and talk with her about her work and approach. Her photos will be on display at the visitor center from June 1 through June 30.

About MaryBeth Kiczenski
For the past decade, Marybeth has crisscrossed the country working for auto shows. This unique job allowed her to share her love for cars and landscape photography.

She enjoys finding the "little scenes." A bulk of her work features wide and low angle scenes, giving an up and close view of a smaller setting within a larger one. She is also a nightscape fanatic and uses a variety of tools to bring out the detail that can be hidden in the the night sky.

As an automotive enthusiast, outside of work she enjoys racing her 1995 Eagle Talon TSI AWD. This car she built taught her invaluable lessons in patience and perseverance. These traits are helpful when waiting all night for that elusive aurora borealis to show.

She has a degree in Creative Studies in Animation and Digital Media, but she found that photography is where her heart belongs with astrophotography being her absolute favorite.

Join us for a day of family fun, sponsored by Paul Bunyan Communications and supported by Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital and Ardent Bike!

There's so much to do:

• Drawings for two $200 bike vouchers, redeemable at Ace Hardware
• Youth helmet giveaways
• Bike Fleet available to use free bikes for the day
• Ardent Bicycles will be on hand to adjust your bike
• Bike rodeo course for youth
• Easy group rides to explore our trails
• Food trucks Bobcat’s Lunchbox Rolling Cones, and Heroes Rise available for delicious food, ice cream, and coffee

Enjoy free admission. All ages are welcome.

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of June is MaryBeth Kiczenski.

Meet MaryBeth and talk with her about her work and approach. Her photos will be on display at the visitor center from June 1 through June 30.

About MaryBeth Kiczenski
For the past decade, Marybeth has crisscrossed the country working for auto shows. This unique job allowed her to share her love for cars and landscape photography.

She enjoys finding the "little scenes." A bulk of her work features wide and low angle scenes, giving an up and close view of a smaller setting within a larger one. She is also a nightscape fanatic and uses a variety of tools to bring out the detail that can be hidden in the the night sky.

As an automotive enthusiast, outside of work she enjoys racing her 1995 Eagle Talon TSI AWD. This car she built taught her invaluable lessons in patience and perseverance. These traits are helpful when waiting all night for that elusive aurora borealis to show.

She has a degree in Creative Studies in Animation and Digital Media, but she found that photography is where her heart belongs with astrophotography being her absolute favorite.

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Have you ever wanted to learn to shoot a bow and arrow? Let certified archery instructors on staff at Mille Lacs Indian Museum teach you how!

You don't have to have any prior experience with archery to participate. Please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes.

Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Take part in planting beans, corn, and squash—known as the three sisters because they are frequently grown together in the same mound. This practice provides long-term soil fertility and helps the plants to thrive.

Guests will mound soil and plant seeds while learning about the archeology and the ethnohistoric background of the early horticultural and agricultural people of the Upper Midwest and prairies.

In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled.