Vikings Hype, Music, And Holiday Crafts Fill The Weekender

Will anyone be out on Sunday with the second coming of Kirk Cousins (KC2) playing for the purple?   You can bet the hype will have thousands of Vikings fans glued to their seats.  There has not been this much Vikings trade excitement since Herschel Walker came to town in 1989.  Remember, his first game was against Green Bay too (yes, I went there).

If you are not a football fan, there is still plenty to do.  You can catch Gutenberg: The Musical at Gnarly Bard Theater in downtown St. Cloud. The Foley Mansion has started its holiday tours if you want to check that out and can get a coveted tour booked. There is also plenty of local hockey with St. Cloud State University's men's and women's teams in action, the Granite City Lumberjacks, and the St. Cloud Norsemen.

The Weekender has even more in store for you with our top five picks below. Check them out and get off the couch and have some weekend fun.

TSM STC

Paul Habstritt, WJON

ROSE CRAFT SHOW - ST. CLOUD

It will begin to look a lot like Christmas in downtown St. Cloud when an annual event makes its return. The 5^th Annual Holiday Craft and Gift Show will take over the River’s Edge Convention Center for three days of holiday shopping fun.  Over 100 vendors will be on hand with handcrafted items, jewelry, clothing, skincare, metal art, woodworking, and, of course, food items. Admission is free.

Friday:  3:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday:  10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday:  10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

SANTA PAWS - ST. CLOUD

Get a one-of-a-kind holiday card with your special friends this weekend. The Tri-County Humane Society is hosting its 41^st Annual Santa Paws fundraiser.  For $55, you get a five-minute professional photo session with Santa, your pet, and a flash drive to take home with your pictures so you can create unique holiday cards or pictures to send to friends and family.  The event is not just limited to dogs and cats; all pets are welcome.  Registration is encouraged to secure your time slot, but walk-ins are welcome.

Thursday:  12:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday:  12:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday:  9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Parker Coffman on Unsplash

FRANKFEST - ST. CLOUD

Take in some great music while remembering a longtime St. Cloud area DJ.  Frankfest at Beaver Island Brewing is a celebration of the life/tribute to longtime KVSC DJ (St. Cloud State University’s radio station) Uncle Frank.  There will be live music from Leon Laudenbach, Sofia Martin, Charlie Roth, Lisa DeGuiseppi, rickie, and Simple Motions.  The event is free, but they will be taking goodwill donations to be given to charities chosen by Uncle Frank’s Family.

Friday:  5:00 p.m. start time

Manny Becerra on Unsplash

STRING QUARTET CONCERT - ST. CLOUD

You can take in some great chamber music by a celebrated string quartet all for free on Saturday.  The Mill City String Quartet will perform its Boundless:  Music Across Borders show as part of its 20^th season at the St. Cloud Library.  The group says Boundless explores music that crosses borders of geography, culture, history, and imagination.  The group will perform four pieces:
Caroline Shaw — Entr’acte
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor — Fantasie-Stücke
Philip Glass — Quartet Satz
Aleksandra Vrebalov — Pannonia Boundless

Saturday:  2:00 p.m.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

MORE ARTS & CRAFTS - SARTELL & ST. CLOUD

If the Rose art and craft show above is not enough craft shopping for you, the Weekender has two more you can check out.  The Sartell Community Center is hosting the Deer Hunting Weekend Craft Show on Saturday.  There will be over 100 booths with handmade crafts, unique gifts, and even some samples, plus some prize giveaways.  And if you want to celebrate Kirk Cousins' return in style, they will have some autographed Vikings jerseys, footballs, photos, and bobbleheads for sale.    Once you are done at Sartell, head over to Crossroads Center, or hit it up beforehand.  Crossroads has another craft and vendor market taking place from Friday – Sunday. The booths will line the hallways so you can check everything out as you stroll from store to store doing some holiday shopping.

Sartell Craft Show:  Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Crossroads Craft Show:  Friday & Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.