Fantastic Fourth at The Walker
Celebrate independence day in The Walker sculpture garden with music, art-filled activities (including an Art Bike contest) and hula-hooping lessons.
July 4, 10am-3pm
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at The Walker, 1750 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
FREE

Picnic Time at Mill City Farmers Market
Learn how to create delicious picnic treats with your market produce from the chefs at Mill City Farmers Market. 
July 4, 8am-1pm, cooking demo at 10am
Mill City Farmers Market, 704 2nd Street S, Minneapolis

Concerts in the Park: A Minnesota Summer Tradition
A quintessential Minnesota summer evening involves packing up a picnic, gathering a group of friends and heading over to one of the many local parks that offer free music in the evening.
Throughout the summer in Minneapolis and St Paul

Midtown Farmers’ Market
Starting in July, the Midtown Farmers’ Market is open Saturday and Tuesday, adding one more glorious day of local produce for the pickin’. 
Tuesdays 3:30-7:30pm through October, Saturdays 8am-1pm through October
Midtown Farmers’ Market, Lake Street E & 22nd Ave More...

Cirque du Cycling, the Portland bike parade, came and went like…well…a parade. People lined up and down Mississippi Avenue to witness the spectacle of collected bike groups. Our family rode with a group of cargo/utility bike users. Aside from all being larger bikes, this group shares the belief that bikes are superb vehicles for moving large objects from place to place. James--seen in the photo below with his dog Louie who sits in a custom made box atop his Xtracycle--made our banner, which pretty much summed up our group’s thinking: WeGO Cargo! More...

On Art Mondays we bring you innovative, inspiring examples of artists working with and for the environment.

Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor creates cement figures from models--including students and a BBC presenter-- and then places them underwater as artificial reefs, where sea sponges and worms can collect on the hard surface and attract fish and other underwater residents searching for a stable home. Check out the images of the works changing over time, it's both eerie and beautiful how the sea overtakes the forms.
One more image after the jump. All images courtesy Jason deCaires Taylor. More...

Trotter's Café is Celebrating 20 Years!
Trotter's Café & Bakery is celebrating their 20th anniversary year.  During the month of June, when you use your Trotter's Blue Sky Guide coupon, they will give it back to you to use again! That's a recession friendly anniversary special.  You have just a few days left to take advantage of this offer, so hurry over to Trotter's Cafe!
Throughout June
Trotter's Cafe & Bakery, 232 Cleveland Ave N, St Paul

City of Lakes Tri-Loppet
This weekend watch amateurs and serious athletes canoe (8k), run (5k), and bike (11k) through the heart of Minneapolis. The race is an experience for both spectators and athletes and is a great way to get a new perspective on the city.
June 27, Race starts at 9am
View a course map here

8th Annual People's Choice Flavor Awards at Izzy's Ice Cream
Every other year Izzy's Ice Cream takes submissions from their customers to design new ice cream flavors. On Sunday, four finalist in six categories (Kids, Chocolate, Mix-Ins, Fruit, Specialities, So Local) will go spoon-to-spoon to find the best in show.  Buy a ticket to be part of choosing the Best in Show and the best flavor in each category, which translates to: you get to eat ice cream all afternoon!
June 28, 1-4:30pm
Izzy's Ice Cream Cafe, 2034 Marshall Ave, St Paul More...

Blooming Butterflies
Blooming Butterflies is a seasonal, freestanding butterfly exhibit resembling a caterpillar and encompassing approximately 3,000 square feet of enclosed butterfly ‘garden’ space.  Inside the caterpillar is a variety of tropical annual and perennial flowering nectar plants that sustain hundreds of butterflies.
June 19-Sept 7
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, St Paul

Entomology Day at the Science Museum
Insects account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms on earth and all ages are welcome to the Science Museum to learn about the world they inhabit. We’re especially excited to learn about insect-friendly gardens.
June 20, 1-4pm
Science Museum of MN, 120 W Kellogg Blvd, St Paul

Homegrown Movie Premiere
Homegrown: The 21st Century Family Farm profiles the Dervaes family who run a small organic farm in the heart of urban Pasadena, CA.  On less than a quarter of an acre and while living “off the grid,” the family harvests over 6,000 pounds of produce and makes their own bio diesel.  The Twin Cities premiere will share this intimate portrait of the 21st Century version of the family homestead.
June 20, 5 and 7pm showings
Minnesota College of Art and Design (MCAD) Auditorium, 2501 Stevens Ave, Minneapolis
Cost: $10 Suggested donation More...

By Sara Johnson, Blue Sky Guide Sustainable Business Accounts Manager & Fundraiser Contact

I strongly encourage you to take the two-hour drive to Stockholm, WI some Tuesday night to eat one of the tastiest, freshest, and truly homegrown pizzas you’ve ever tried.  I made the trek with some buddies and by the time we rolled up at 6pm the lawn was packed with people jonesin’ for a slice of pizza from the farm.

Every Tuesday the owners of A to Z turn on their two wood-burning ovens (which they built) and make pizzas to order ($23+). Get this: everything, from the wheat in the dough to the animals that produce the cheese to the veggies topping it off, comes from their farm—talk about local! Bring your own plates, utensils, picnic blanket and wine to accompany some of the best pizza you’ll ever have.  (A tip: show up early around 5pm to avoid the long line of cars and big crowds—anything this good is no secret!).

Address and map after the jump. Image: Flickr/Creative Commons More...

I want to add the phrase “everyday cycling” to our language. I first heard this when I was a guest on the KBOO Bike Show in Portland. Before the show, I head co-host Tori Bortman use everyday cycling, and being the word geek that I am, I asked about the nuances of her phrase. A discussion ensued, and I am now convinced that everyday cycling needs to be part of our language.

There is a sizable group of people who fall under the term everyday cycling, myself included, but my riding habits are usually described as bike commuting. Until now.

Image used with permission of metrofiets.com. Pictured: Ella Ross and Phillip Ross. Picture taken by Maile Leithea. Check out the Metrofiets photostream! More...

After an extended, gray winter, Seattle is now enjoying the kind of summer that reminds us why we live here.

As the long-awaited sunshine pulls us from our fleece cocoons and recharges our vitamin D levels, THIS SPACE is here to remind you that sunshine also offers one of the simplest, low-investment opportunities for saving electricity -- the solar clothes dryer. You might recognize this energy-efficient technology better as a clothesline.

Hanging clothes to dry used to be a commonplace event, but largely disappeared with the arrival of affordable, convenient appliances.

That convenience comes with a cost, which you can turn into a savings. More...