A Minneapolis brewery hosts Minni Dazzle to help vendors who were affected by the cancelation of Holidazzle.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – After the Holidazzle event was canceled this year due to a lack of funding, local vendors started asking how they were going to make up for the lost revenue. So, a Minneapolis brewery stepped in to provide a space for them.
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Thursday kicked off the first night of A Dose of Minni Dazzle. With holiday music to set the mood, Fulton Brewing right by Target Field is hoping the four-day event will spread some holiday cheer and fill the void left when the Minneapolis Downtown Council canceled Holidazzle, a popular holiday festival in Loring Park.
“Holidazzle was canceled on pretty short notice,” said Eddie Phillips from Boom Island Woodworking. “It was a very difficult time because as a small independent artisan, I make a significant amount of my annual income during the holiday period.”
Phillips said the cancelation in October left him scrambling to find a place to sell his woodworking designs, but pretty much every other market was full.
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“Fulton Brewing had been one of the [Holidazzle] beer sponsors for the last eight years,” Jill Drum, the taproom general manager at Fulton Brewing, explained.
So, Drum started reaching out to vendors and performers who were scheduled to appear at Holidazzle, asking them if they’d like to use the taproom space to sell their handmade designs.
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“Being Minnesota made and Minneapolis made is really a part of who we are at Fulton and really a part of what these vendors are too,” she said. “Opening up a new market space for them to be a part of, I think, was really important and then, this is just a great different audience, too.”
The four-day Minni Dazzle has between 25 and 30 vendors, everything from woodworking and art to cocktail mixes and other items that would make great gifts, plus visits with Santa and an appearance from the Twin Cities Trapeze.
Holidazzle event organizers said they plan to bring their event back downtown next year.
MINNEAPOLIS — The menu offers plenty of options, but fans of the Red Dragon say they’ll miss how the restaurant really nourished their souls.
“It feels like family,” patron Kathleen Spitzer told WCCO. “Everybody — the servers and bartenders — are so nice. It feels like a home away from home.”
Red Dragon’s current owner, Phil Wong, said the restaurant and bar will shut down on Sunday after nearly 50 years in business; it first opened on Dec. 29, 1976.
“People love this place. They like to come here and drink and hang out,” Wong lamented. “I love them all. They show a lot of love to us and they enjoy our establishment.”
The Red Dragon restaurant on March 18, 1994.
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According to Wong, 73, finances and his longevity were contributing factors. The former engineer took over the business from his brother in 2007.
“It costs a little bit more — the food, the meat, the vegetables,” he added. “Minneapolis, too, the minimum wage went up.”
Still, Wong said he leaves with no regrets.
“I feel good about it. I think it’s time to move on,” he said. “We’re ending on a good note.”
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Red Dragon is the latest of several Twin Cities eateries to shutter in 2024, including the St. Paul staple Tavern on Grand. Even newer restaurants, like Kim’s from award-winning chef Ann Kim, also in Uptown, could not survive.
Jonah Kaplan
Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota’s investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Dozens of flights were delayed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Friday morning.
Dozens of flights delayed
By the numbers: According to MSP Airport’s website, as of 11:51 a.m., two departures were canceled and 36 were delayed. Meanwhile, 11 arrivals were canceled and 16 were delayed.
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FlightAware says there have been more than 19,000 delays and 525 cancelations globally, while there have been more than 3,400 delays and 525 cancelations within, into or out of the United States as of 11:57 a.m. on Thursday.
The weather forecast: This comes as a dense fog advisory is in effect until noon on Friday across Minnesota, and rain is expected for much of Friday and Friday night. There are also storms on the east and west coasts that could cause some travel problems.
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Several airports across the United States have ground delays due to weather, according to the FAA’s website.
Increased travel at MSP Airport
What they’re saying: The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) expected a 6% year-over-year increase in screened passengers between Dec. 20, 2024, and Jan. 6, 2025. Thursday, Dec. 26, was expected to be the busiest day during the stretch, with nearly 50,000 people expected to pass through security at MSP.
This week’s Fab Five photo display includes highlights from Minneapolis South’s 88-84 boys basketball victory over Minneapolis North on Wednesday, December 11.
The photos include two South players who led them with 22 points each (DeAmontre Scott and Eugene Brown), the player who scored 22 points to lead North (JMarion Sanders), North’s point guard who scored 14 points (Allen Hill), and a former Marshall University High School and Augsburg University great officiating the game (Ronnie Henderson).
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader comments to mcdeezy05@gmail.com.
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