Hopkins Readies for a Busy Weekend

It’s not exactly a secret that is taking place Saturday, but that’s just one event in a weekend that Hopkins organizers crammed chock-full of activities.

Hopkins has no less than eight events scheduled for the weekend. Residents can hit a lawn concert and rugby game Friday, enjoy Mainstreet Days activities (and a bit of volunteering) Saturday and then finish up with a block party and another concert Sunday. And unless otherwise mentioned, entrance to all events is free.

Patch has put together a weekend guide to make planning a bit easier. We also invite you to upload your images as you're out and about. Just click "Upload Photos and Videos" above the article.

And if you happen to see a Patch ballcap in the crowd, be sure to stop and say, "Hi."

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• When: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday
• Where:

The Main Street School of Performing Arts is hosting its annual front-lawn concert featuring the extensive talents and musical styles of MSSPA students. There will be music, food, raffle tickets and plenty of fun.

• When: JV match starts at 6 p.m. Friday, varsity starts at 7 p.m.
• Where: stadium

Hopkins faces the tough South Metro Club, a great opportunity to check out what rugby is all about. Vintage t-shirts and classic jerseys will be available for sale

• When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
• Where:

The Master Gardeners will be selling more than 7,000 plants they’ve grown. There will be a wide variety of plants available—“perennials, ornamentals, natives and more.” For the first time, the Master Gardeners will offer vegetable seedlings that have passed Master Gardener Program Trials. The vegetables are both tasty and hardy enough for Minnesota winters. Only cash and checks will be accepted.

• When: Saturday
  • 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Race registration
  • 2 p.m.: 5K Run/Walk Start (click here for route)
  • 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Family fun events, including various games for kids, live band, and food trucks.
• Where:
• Cost: Runners, $40; non-runners, suggested donation of $10 per person; kids 5 and younger, free

This 5K run and walk raises money for GiGi’s Playhouse, an organization whose mission is to increase positive awareness of Down syndrome. The friends expect Cody’s Dash to raise $15,000 through activities that appeal to both runners and non-runners. There will be live music, face painting, balloon animals, games and food trucks. The event will also provide educational opportunities. Signage will be posted along the course with facts about Down syndrome, and GiGi’s Playhouse will have a tent.

• When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Mainstreet between Eighth Avenue and 11th Avenue

This annual event, sponsored by the Hopkins Area Jaycees, brings out more than 70 arts and crafts vendors, along with several food vendors. There will also be family entertainment—including train rides, face painting, a balloon twister, mechanical bull, pony rides and children’s activities. Sheltered Reality, a choreographed drum line, will perform at 11:30 a.m.

• When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
• Where: Locations throughout the west metro.

is an annual event organized and led by local faith communities in Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park to help area schools, city parks and charitable community organizations. Projects include sorting food at STEP in St. Louis Park, organizing supplies at ResourceWest in Hopkins and cleaning at Sojourners Shelter in Minnetonka. In all, there are more than three dozen volunteer opportunities. Most opportunities are already full. But this year, the event will also have a booth at , where attendees can stop by to make placemats for nursing homes or write a letter to a service member.

• When: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
• Where:

The block party brings neighbors together to celebrate spring. There will be inflatable games for children, food and beverages and music by Minneapolis rock band Concentual. There will also be a raffle to win a 2012 Ford Focus SE, 46-inch Sony LED HD Television or a Toro 22-inch Personal Pace Electric Start Lawn Mower. Tickets cost $50 each.

• When: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday
• Where:

The group’s spring concert pays tribute to composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Concert offerings will range from the Overture to Candide, to a medley from the Broadway hit West Side Story, with stops along the way for the rowdy Slava! and the lyric Simple Song. The concert also includes Norman Leyden’s Serenade for a Picket Fence, featuring its mallet percussion players, and the Billboard March, by John Klohr. Call 952‐979‐1111 to reserve free tickets.

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