Twin Cities weekend guide: Collectors Day, book festival
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A collector shows off their "Dead Things" collection in 2022. Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Karnas
Got a passion for vintage PEZ dispensers, plastic animal figurines or 19th-century one-room schoolhouse items? You might enjoy Collectors Day, the Bell Museum's annual showcase of Minnesotans' unique personal collections.
The big picture: St. Paul's natural history museum will host a wide variety of collections from community members, local organizations and its own archives.
- Exhibitions change each year, but previous events have featured troll dolls, Lake Superior agates, vintage MAD Magazine paperbacks and axolotl memorabilia.
- Collectors are on site to show off their passion and answer questions about their gathering process.
📍 Details: Saturday from 10am to 3pm. Included with museum admission ($12 for ages 3-21, $15 for ages 22 and up).
More things to do…
📚 Find your winter read at Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Book Festival Saturday in Union Depot. Over 150 book-related exhibitors and 35+ authors will be on site, including this year's featured authors Kate DiCamillo and U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze.
- Audrey's tip: Don't skip the used books and records sale. I nabbed a dozen paperbacks for less than $20 last year. Saturday, 10am-5pm. Free.
🫶 Volunteer with the whole family at Saturday's Festival of Giving, an all-ages event in Minneapolis hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities.
- The nonprofit has set up eight "kindness project" stations with kid-friendly activities, including snowflake making for seniors, building hygiene kits and decorating reusable tote bags. Saturday, 10am-12pm. Free, registration requested.
🎃 Are your pumpkins rotting on your porch? Bring them to Richfield's Pumpkin Smash, where visitors can "drop, splat and smash" them before volunteers collect the remains for composting.
- Note: Pumpkins with paint, glitter, candle wax or stickers are not allowed. Saturday, 10am-12pm. Free.
🎲 Roll for (monetary) damage at Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative's Fall Tabletop Market. Over 20 vendors will sell their personal wares ranging from classic board games to trading cards to niche RPGs. Saturday, 1-4pm. Free entry.
🚦Get a first look at the new Nicollet Avenue at Reconnecting Nicollet, a celebration hosted by the city of Minneapolis at Eat Street Crossing. The road will be open at the north end for biking, strolling and dancing to music from Transmission DJ Jake Rudh.
- Audrey's tip: The area has almost no parking. If you drive, expect to walk at least three blocks to the event. Sunday, 1am-4:30pm. Free.