FAMILY VACATION 

Move Over Mickey Mouse, Hello Mary Tyler Moore 

LGBT Family Friendly Minneapolis-Saint Paul

By Angeline Acain 

During the next school break I highly recommend a family vacation to Minneapolis-Saint Paul. You are probably thinking "Why Minneapolis-Saint Paul?" Wasn’t Minneapolis the city of the Mary Tyler Moore television show? 

These were my thoughts when Shannon McCarthy of the Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association suggested I come check it out. But I had heard Minneapolis was a progressive city, and I did like the Mary Tyler Moore Show. In August 2004, my partner, Susan, our 8 year-old daughter, Jiana, and I took a two-hour flight from our home in New York City to Minneapolis. We stayed three nights and had a wonderful time. First of all, one of the best organizations in the country for LGBT parents and their children, Rainbow Families, is in Minneapolis (www.rainbowfamilies.org). While there, I met with executive director, Deborah Talen. Talen’s partner of 18 years, Polly, legally changed her last name to Deborah’s so they could all have one family name. The couple have three daughters; Eliza, 14, Lydia, 12, and Grace, 9. According to Talen, Rainbow Families started serving in its present form as an "umbrella organization" in 1997 after it originally began as a conference in 1995. The organization serves as a networking resource for LGBT community building and parent education and empowerment. They can refer you to various local and online support groups including, families of color, gay fathers, single parents, considering parenthood, and children of transsexuals. The organization also provides public education, a speaker’s bureau, and advocacy work on legal and legislative issues. Rainbow Families social activities include a Halloween party, summer family camp, children’s choir, their annual conference and pride activities including a stilt walking program. Also, this year they held a benefit presentation of Debra Chasnoff’s "Let’s Get Real," a documentary about name-calling and bullying. Chasnoff’s other LGBT supportive films are, "It’s Elementary" and "That’s a Family." Target, with headquarters in Minneapolis, has been a major sponsor of Rainbow Families. Talen says Minneapolis has a high percentage of gay and lesbian parents. She says this is due to a large population of lesbian couples and because Minneapolis was rated one of the top five cities for children in a report by a population study group. Drive through south Minneapolis, where many LGBT families have settled and you will see rainbow flags flying from porches and rainbow bumper stickers on parked cars. 

While visiting Minneapolis, a fun place to stay is Marriott’s The Depot, which features an indoor water park, arcade with snack bar, and an indoor ice skating rink – all open to the general public. Originally built as a railroad station 104 years ago, The Depot is now a beautifully restored lodging, meeting, and recreation complex. The water park features a 185-foot waterslide, animated water spouting train, and a hot tub with a waterfall situated nearby so you can relax while keeping an eye on the kids. The Depot also hosts a New Year’s eve celebration tailored for families where in addition to the hotel’s amenities, live animals and other children’s entertainment are brought in. Another family-friendly hotel is the Doubletree. Upon check-in, guests are welcomed with a sample of the hotel’s delicious signature chocolate chip cookies. Doubletree Guest Suites also sponsors an educational outreach initiative called, Teaching Kids to CARE, which encourages children to make conscious decisions about caring about their neighborhoods and getting involved in community service. Both hotels are situated within walking distance of Nicollet Mall, a pedestrian thoroughfare lined with retail outlets, restaurants, and public art. One morning we ate at a mall restaurant called Keys, known for their great breakfasts. My spinach with eggs dish was a bit garlicky but the portions were huge and Susan enjoyed her large veggie omelet. Brits, another eatery located on the mall had great food, a British pub atmosphere, and outside diners can watch the local lawn bowling club in action. Nearby Buca di Beppo, is not located on the mall but is family-friendly and their Italian food is delicious. 

Photos: 
Left - The Talen family (l to r), Grace, Deborah, Eliza, Polly, and Lydia. 
Middle - Bill Neuenschwander of Mobile Entertainment giving Jiana Segway riding instruction. 
Right - The Depot's fabulous indoor water park. 

While strolling Nicollet Mall, I watched artisans putting finishing touches on a sculpture of a flock of flying geese and passed a bronze statue of none other than…Mary Tyler Moore. From Nicollet Mall we hopped onto the Minneapolis RiverCity Trolley Tour where our driver explained how the city built seven miles of climate-controlled glass enclosed bridges called Skyways, which connect 70 blocks of city buildings. So when the temperature drops, you can shop at their three-floor Target, then walk through the Skyway to an arcade called GameWorks located in Block E, a large retail, dining and entertainment complex – without ever wearing your coat.

We rode the trolley to the Mill City Museum, situated next to the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls, and learned that from 1880 to 1930, Minneapolis led the world in flour milling which fueled its rise in becoming a major city. Jiana and Sam, a five-year old boy we met who was visiting with his mother from Michigan, had fun with the hands-on activities of the museum’s Water Lab where visitors learn about waterpower and the Mississippi River’s important role in the milling and logging industry. An interestingly conscientious museum wall display explained how the native Indian Ojibwe tribe was taken advantage of when the waterpower of the St. Anthony Falls was harnessed and diverted and flooded the tribe’s farming and hunting grounds. Monetary restitution was offered the tribe but never fully paid until decades later. The Mill City Museum’s centerpiece is its Flour Tower, an eight-story ride through the flour milling process featuring verbal recordings of former employees who worked in the mill from the 1940s to the mid-1960s when it closed. Combined with historic film and dramatic use of lighting, sound and special effects, the Flour Tower is captivating and ends with a ride to the top of the mill where visitors get a panoramic view of the falls, river, and the James J. Hill Stone Arch Bridge. 

Want to try an unusual way to tour Minneapolis? Ride a Segway, a gyroscopically self-balancing futuristic-looking transportation device. Although Segway operation is restricted to ages 13 and up, Jiana was allowed – and very eager - to ride the Segway for a few minutes. Jiana did well balancing, as she is an expert rollerblader. And Rollerblades were invented in Minneapolis, as were Post-it notes, Spam, Cheerios, HMOs, VCRs, the pacemaker, and the black box flight recorder. 

One of my favorite places to discover was the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the largest urban sculpture garden in the country, located directly across from the Walker Art Center. The city maintains the garden and the art center cares for more than 40 sculptures displayed on the grounds. Unfortunately, the Walker Art Center was closed due to expansion but will reopen April 2005. The new design will double its existing size and create an Urban Campus where visitors can participate in making and learning about art. The expansion will also include a performance space for dance, music and theater, an expanded teen center, and the creation of a new public park. The Walker Art Center is committed to children and offers the first Saturday of each month free for families with kids. During the summer, free Saturday events are held at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and feature live music, performers, a treasure hunt, and art making activities. 

Located in Saint Paul is the wonderful Minnesota Children’s Museum. This is one of the best children’s museums I’ve visited, their permanent exhibits are highly interactive, featuring costumes for dress-up, simple machinery, sensory exploration, and infants and toddlers can freely roam in their Habitot Gallery. In Our World Gallery, Jiana had fun pretending to be a mail carrier, then a cashier in a store that featured a display of various ethnic foods. During the warm seasons children can play with sand or dip their hands in a rooftop streambed in the museum’s new Rooftop ArtPark. The Minnesota Science Museum is also located in Saint Paul on the bluffs of the Mississippi River and is one of the city’s top attractions and like many in the twin cities, it is large. This massive museum offers a dramatic riverfront view through 37,000 square feet of windows and their Omnitheater was the first convertible IMAX dome theater in the United States. The museum also has four floors full of hands-on learning activities and a riverside ten-acre outdoor park with a miniature golf course. 

If you love live theater, Minneapolis ranks second to New York City in number of live theater seats per capita and has its own theater district. And every summer, Minneapolis hosts the nation’s largest Fringe Festival, a ten-day indoor performance and visual arts festival with ticket prices ranging from $5 - $12. The event also features Kids’ Fringe, performances by and for young children and teens. The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis won the 2003 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and is currently adding a second theatre to their venue that will use natural lighting. This is the company that produced three-time Tony Award nominee, "A Year With Frog and Toad," which Susan, Jiana and I loved when it came to Broadway in 2003. Another theatre company for children is Stages, located in a suburb called Hopkins. While we were there we enjoyed their production of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit which featured a large cast of talented kids. Minneapolis is also home to Sesame Street Live, the longest-running children’s touring show. 

Photos:
Left - Sam and Jiana learn about water power at the Mill City Museum.
Middle - Sam, Evan, and Jiana at Camp Snoopy theme park inside the Mall of America.
Right - Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claus Oldenburg and Coosie van Bruggen at the Minneapolis Sculpture Park.

Our Minneapolis trip would not be complete without a visit to the Mall of America, the nation’s largest shopping and entertainment complex in the country covering 4.2 million square feet. The Mall of America boasts over 500 retail stores and Camp Snoopy, the nation’s largest enclosed theme park featuring 28 different rides. Laura McCarthy of the Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association and her 5 year old son Evan, accompanied Jiana on several rides including the new roller coaster ride, Timberland Twister, and the Log Chute. After the rides, we visited the mall’s underground aquarium, Underwater Adventures, which of course is the largest in the nation. The aquarium leads visitors down a path depicting Minnesota’s forest and wildlife, then right into a 1.2 million gallon tank tunnel where fish, turtles, manta rays, and sharks swim right over you as you walk through. You can also stand or rest your stroller on the tunnel conveyor belt -– and the mall conveniently rents strollers for tired little legs. Although the mall is located in Bloomington about a 20 minute drive from Minneapolis, by the end of this year in time for holiday shopping, the newly built Hiawatha Line, Minnesota’s first light-rail train, will take riders from downtown Minneapolis directly to the Mall of America. The light-rail will continue to expand with connections to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and beyond. With 25 eateries to choose from, at the mall we ate at the lively Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., where the food was good and the atmosphere fun. And for just $9.95 you can purchase a Mall of America Super Savings Coupon Book, featuring discount coupons from mall merchants.

I must add that the twin cities rivals any seacoast with its abundant lakes (more than 10,000) and numerous parks. We relaxed at scenic Lake Calhoun which had sail boats and a pretty white sand beach with lifeguard after visiting the annual Uptown Art Fair, where you can buy artwork by local kids and artisans. Actually located south of Minneapolis, the Uptown area is funky, artsy, and fun and where Laura and Shannon introduced us to Sonny’s Cremo Café. In addition to the usual café faire, Sonny’s serves great homemade ice cream and features live jazz music, creating a unique atmosphere which was both a sophisticated venue for adults and fun for kids.

For a great family vacation in a progressive city, visit Minneapolis-Saint Paul. To help plan your trip, visit www.glbtminneapolis.org. Rainbow Families recently coveted the 2004 Brian Coyle Leadership Award. Says Talen, "Twin Cities Human Rights Campaign will be presenting the award at their annual fundraising dinner, which is one of the largest dinners in the country – if not the largest."