Top 5 Fests This Weekend

Drink, eat, and be merry in honor of France, Asia, local music, and craft beer at five festivals this weekend

A group of people raising their arms in the air.

photo by Monkey Business – Fotolia


This weekend, you have your choice of five awesome festivals—featuring craft beer, dragons, and French-ness.

Lakefront Music Festival

July 13 and 14

There are two nights: one for rock, the other for country—both at Lakefront Park in Prior Lake. This weekend, the top-tier lineup includes alt-rockers Young the Giant as headliner on July 13 and country-music hit makers Hunter Hayes and Gretchen Wilson headlining on July 14’s country night. Learn more.

Hopped Up Caribou Festival

July 13-15

This seventh-annual craft-beer bash in Lutsen includes a weekend-long package that contains the Friday’s four-course dinner—plus beer pairings—and a ticket to the concert later that night. Check out the 20 local brewers and the beer garden on Saturday afternoon. Learn more.

RiverSong Music Festival

July 13-15

In Hutchinson, a scenic riverside provides the backdrop for both an arts festival and a local-music showcase featuring blues, rock, indie, country, and folk. Along with headliner Blues Traveler, 12 performers take the stage, including Lowland Lakers and Good Morning Bedlam. Look out for educational, all-ages artistic demonstrations, as well. Learn more.

Dragon Festival

July 13 and 14

In St. Paul, pan-Asian communities come together in Lake Phalen Park to show off bright costumes and dances, eat traditional food, and entertain with musical and theatrical performances—culminating in the famous dragon boats scudding across the lake. Learn more.

Bastille Day

July 15

This Sunday, at Irving and Lagoon in Uptown Minneapolis, celebrate the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille—a turning point of the French Revolution—with a block party. Douala Soul Collective, Black Widows, Jour, Jeremy Messersmith, and other local artists perform while an art market unfurls in the streets, with a fire circus and aerial performances, too. Learn more.