This Committee fosters connections across the neighborhood through socials, events, and fundraisers. All are welcome!

To join, email info@eastbdemakaska.org

The candlelit Luminary Loppet is the Twin Cities’ most magical evening of winter.

Take part in the ultimate celebration of winter and community at the 22nd Annual Luminary Loppet! Take a candlelit walk around Lake of the Isles, where more than 1,200 glowing luminaries guide you past dazzling ice features like the iconic ice pyramid, glowing enchanted forest, dazzling Luminary hall. Walk amidst giant penguins and polar bears, warm up with hot cocoa and s’mores and be mesmerized with fire dancers all in the heart of Minneapolis. Finish your walk by heading to the Luminary Party where you’ll be greeted with food trucks, Utepils Brewing beer, and live music. Perfect for all ages, The Luminary Loppet is the must attend event in winter!

The Luminary Loppet is the Loppet Foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year – supporting our year-round programs as we live out our mission of connecting people to the outdoors through experiences that grow community. Learn more about the Loppet’s mission here.

The Luminary Loppet is part of the City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival, which includes cross-country ski, fat bike, snowshoe, and skijor races and tours, youth events, and more. The Luminary Loppet is not a race – enjoy a night out with family and friends!

All East Bde Maka Ska residents, business lessees, and neighborhood nonprofit, education, or government representatives are invited to attend. Meetings have resumed in hybrid format:

Dec. Meeting Agenda TBD
St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church: 3450 Irving Ave S, Fireside Room

This Committee is meeting to plan an upcoming fundraiser on 2/21. All are welcome!

Location: Queermunity (3036 Hennepin Ave S)

To join, email info@eastbdemakaska.org

Join your lakeside neighbors at this skating party!

Neighbors from East Bde Maka Ska, Cedar-Isles-Dean, East Isles, Lowry Hill, Kenwood, and West Maka Ska will gather with good cheer, pit fires, hot cocoa and puppy dog tails from Isles Bun & Coffee. Pending ice, there will be ice skating with free rentals available. Join us!

Jan. Social: Winter Ice Skating Party
Saturday, Jan. 31 • 1–3 PM
Lake of the Isles Ice Rink & Warming House: 2500 E Lake of the Isles Pkwy

We’re also looking for volunteers to help keep the event running smoothly—from setup and take down to helping skaters hit the ice. Sign up through the link below!

This event is presented in partnership by East Bde Maka Ska, Cedar-Isles-Dean, East Isles, Kenwood, Lowry Hill, and West Maka Ska Neighborhood Associations. Special thanks to Isles Bun & Coffee!

This committee focuses on ensuring and enhancing a consistent, strong quality of life for East Bde Maka Ska residents. All are welcome! This meeting will be held virtually—please join the Livability email list.

Join us for a discussion of The Seed Keeper, by Diane Wilson.

Join the club!

“In many Asian cultures, fruit festivals are community gatherings—moments to connect while nourishing both body and spirit.

We began planning this festival back in December to coincide with the peak Kishu mandarin harvest. After much reflection, we’re moving forward with it as an opportunity to gather, enjoy something bright, and support one another.

Join us for fresh Kishu tastings, specialty drinks, origami activities, mandarin treats, and space for quiet community reflection. We will also have Kishu for sale.”

The Winter Kite Festival is a beautiful festival that fills the sky with colorful kites, offers winter activities for all, delicious local food trucks and free s’mores by the fire to warm up throughout the day.

https://www.minneapolis.org/calendar/lake-harriet-winter-kite-festival/

“In many Asian cultures, fruit festivals are community gatherings—moments to connect while nourishing both body and spirit.

We began planning this festival back in December to coincide with the peak Kishu mandarin harvest. After much reflection, we’re moving forward with it as an opportunity to gather, enjoy something bright, and support one another.

Join us for fresh Kishu tastings, specialty drinks, origami activities, mandarin treats, and space for quiet community reflection. We will also have Kishu for sale.”

Join neighbors for a casual night of trivia on an East Bde Maka Ska team(s), with food and drinks on your own.

https://www.triviamafia.com/landi

This Committee is meeting to plan an upcoming fundraiser on 2/21. All are welcome!

To join, email info@eastbdemakaska.org

This Committee fosters connections across the neighborhood through socials, events, and fundraisers. All are welcome!

Location: Queermunity (3036 Hennepin Ave S)

To join, email info@eastbdemakaska.org

All East Bde Maka Ska residents, business lessees, and neighborhood nonprofit, education, or government representatives are invited to attend. Meetings have resumed in hybrid format:

St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church: 3450 Irving Ave S, Fireside Room

This Committee is meeting to plan an upcoming fundraiser on 2/21. All are welcome!

Location: Queermunity (3036 Hennepin Ave S)

To join, email info@eastbdemakaska.org

Celebrate the season with an hour of festive caroling as we make our way on a progressive route through East Bde Maka Ska. Carolers will meet at St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church to begin singing their way through the neighborhood!

At around 5 pm, we’ll gather around a cozy backyard bonfire for food, drinks, and community. Chili, bread, hot chocolate, and a little wine will be provided. If you’d like to contribute, please sign up here to bring cheese, appetizers, holiday cookies, treats, or your beverage of choice. If you can only make it to the chili & potluck part, send us an email at info@eastbdemakaska.org for the address!

Know someone who could use a little caroling cheer, or want your home to be a stop on our route for a treat, warm drink, or festive display? Email us at info@eastbdemakaska.org

The folk hero Paul Bunyan, burly, bearded, wielding his big ax, stands astride the story of the upper Midwest - a manly symbol of the labor that cleared vast north woods for the march of industrialization while somehow maintaining an aura of pristine nature.

Now recalled as heroes of wilderness and masculinity, lumberjacks in their own time were despised as amoral transients. In this program, Dr. Willa Hammitt Brown [a EBMS resident] shows that nineteenth-century lumberjacks defined their communities of itinerant workers by metrics of manhood that were abhorrent to the residents of the nearby Northwoods boomtowns, valuing risk-taking and skill rather than restraint and control. Reviewing songs, stories, and firsthand accounts from loggers, Brown’s presentation brings to life the activities and experiences of the lumberjacks as they moved from camp to camp. Anchored in thorough and thoughtful research, this lively talk offers a new way to understand a myth and history that have long captured our collective imagination.

The free event will include a talk, Q&A session, and book signing. Books will be available for purchase. Registration is recommended, but not required. If you're unable to attend, the event is also accessible virtually via Zoom: https://mnhs-org.zoom.us/j/83044151814.

Dr. Willa Hammitt Brown first had her picture taken with Paul Bunyan when she was four years old in Akeley, Minnesota, and she grew up spending summers on Deer Lake in Itasca County in the heart of the Northwoods Vacationland. She is a writer and historian specializing in American cultural, gender, and environmental history and holds a PhD in history from the University of Virginia.

This program is made possible by the Maurice Stans Fund.

Meet with the Social & Engagement Committee and help plan fun events for our neighborhood in 2026! This is a great opportunity to meet neighbors, share ideas, and help shape the activities that bring our community together. Volunteers are always welcome, and as a bonus, enjoy some Pizza Lucé if you join us in person. 

Let’s make this year unforgettable—see you there! Please email Ali to share your interest, and thanks in advance for your support, ideas, and involvement.

Social Committee Meeting (with Pizza!)
Wednesday, Dec. 10 • 6:30–8:00 PM
Artrageous Adventures @ True North Studio
3001 Hennepin Ave Suite 1175, Minneapolis, MN 55408

The Music in the Chapel series showcases an eclectic range of performers and local musicians. Immerse yourself in the acoustic and visual charms of Lakewood’s historic Memorial Chapel as we welcome Sarah Morris for this special performance.

About Sarah Morris

2018 Kerrville New Folk winner Sarah Morris’ endearingly honest, expertly penned songs deliberately miss the forest for the trees. Armed with a poignantly relatable rainy day ache in her sunlit voice, she weaves a winding path of masterful storytelling and timeless Americana melody that invites audiences to join her in celebrating the magic of our everyday minutia. Twice named the Midwest Country Music Organization’s Songwriter of the Year, Sarah has shared stages with greats like JD Souther, earned international airplay, and reached notable positions on the Americana Music Association and Euro Americana charts. Sarah released her fifth album of original material, Here’s To You, on May 5th, 2023.

$15 in advance / $20 at the door

All East Bde Maka Ska residents, business lessees, and neighborhood nonprofit, education, or government representatives are invited to attend. Meetings have resumed in hybrid format:

Dec. Meeting Agenda TBD
St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church: 3450 Irving Ave S, Fireside Room

This committee focuses on ensuring and enhancing a consistent, strong quality of life for East Bde Maka Ska residents. All are welcome! This meeting will be held virtually—please join the Livability email list.

We hope you can join the November bookclub meeting to discuss “Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System―and Pocketed $40 Million.” We'll meet in person at a book club member’s home (RSVP for location).

Please RSVP if you plan to come so we can make the proper arrangements. Some appetizers will be provided. See you there!

P.S. Book club communications will primarily come through the Bookclubs app, so please join us there if you haven't already. In the app, you can see what we're reading, view upcoming meetings, participate in club polls, and get calendar invitations. If you're new, please create your profile and introduce yourself in 'Club Messages.'

This Committee fosters connections across the neighborhood through events, and builds sustainability for our programs, services and operations. All are welcome!

Location: Art Shelf  (1415 W 35th St Suite C)

To join, email info@eastbdemakaska.org

Join us for an evening of conversation, creativity, and connection with local authors from East Bde Maka Ska. Hear excerpts from their recent works, explore themes of love, identity, and humanity and take part in a casual Q&A and book signing afterward.

Authors & Works

• Professor Toni McNaron - Live and Deal with Others Better: The Gift of Shakespeare's Romances

• Carol Dines - This Distance We Call Love

• Todd Otis - Sparks of the Revolution

• Willa Hammitt Brown - Gentlemen of the Woods: Manhood, Myth, and the American Lumberjack

This event will be ASL Interpreted.

This event is in partnership with Queermunity and Magers & Quinn.

Want to get involved? Help us set up, attend the event, and clean up afterwards as needed.

All East Bde Maka Ska residents, business lessees, and neighborhood nonprofit, education, or government representatives are invited to attend. Meetings have resumed in hybrid format:

Nov. Meeting Agenda TBD
St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church: 3450 Irving Ave S, Fireside Room

Election Day has arrived! Don't forget you can still register when you show up to vote with specific identification. If you’ve moved since the last time you voted, you’ll need to update your registration. You also have the right to take paid time off work to vote without using personal leave or vacation time. More at the City's website, including:

• Find your sample ballot

• Learn about ranked-choice voting

• Find your polling place

Election Day 2025
All polling places open 7 AM – 8 PM

This committee focuses on ensuring and enhancing a consistent, strong quality of life for East Bde Maka Ska residents. All are welcome! This meeting will be held virtually—please join the Livability email list.