Como Park Zoo and Conservatory

Lilies in bloom at Como Park

The Como Park Zoo and Conservatory is a great place to visit any time of year! Where else can you get a glimpse of a polar bear after seeing an orchid in full bloom, then go for a ride at Como Town or stroll around picturesque Como Park? 

In the Conservatory's Sunken Garden, the Fall Flower begins October 6th, featuring chrysanthemums in shades of purple, pink and yellow. The annual kid-friendly ZooBoo takes over Como Zoo the two weekends before Halloween (Oct 20, 21, 26, 27, & 28). 

Winter hours (October-March) are 10am-4pm. Admission is free but a $2/person donation is encouraged.

Historic Fort Snelling

Fort Snelling State Park is a historic, beautiful exploratorium located in the heart of the Twin Cities, just off of Highway 5 and Post Road. The colors along the mighty Mississippi River are ever changing from late September into mid-October, and provide for a stunning backdrop for walkers, hikers, bicyclists and paddlers.

With history dating back to the 1600s, there's a never ending supply of information to read and learn about the people who called this land home where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers meet. By the 1820s, historic Fort Snelling was built on the bluff above the two historic rivers to control the exploration, trade, and settlement on these waterways.

Despite this park being mere miles from the international airport, there's a plethora of wildlife that call Fort Snelling home, including bald eagles, deer, fox, woodchucks, wood ducks, and painted turtles.

Getting outside is a fabulous breath of fresh air, not only for the body but also for the mind and soul. A short drive from downtown St Paul, a visit to Fort Snelling's day-use only facilities can be a welcome respite from a full day of learning inside an energetic convention center.

For more information, visit http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/fort_snelling/index.html

Minnesota RollerGirls

Minnesota RollerGirls (MNRG) is an all-women amateur flat-track roller derby league based in Saint Paul. Founded in August 2004, it is the first flat-track roller derby league in the state's history and since 2005, the league has played and practiced at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. The Minnesota RollerGirls are made up of four “home teams” comprised of up to twenty active skaters each. These are the Atomic Bombshells, Dagger Dolls, Garda Belts, and Rockits. Home season play means that each of these teams plays against each other in two matchups per night. The Minnesota RollerGirls also has an all-star interleague team composed of skaters from the four home teams. This team competes against other WFTDA and non-WFTDA leagues across the United States

What is Roller Derby?

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups ("jams") in which both teams designate a scoring player (the "jammer") who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The teams attempt to assist their own jammer while hindering the opposing jammer — in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously.  Modern roller derby is an international sport dominated by all-female amateur teams.

If you are staying in St. Paul the weekend after the conference and would like to see a bout, you are in luck.  Saturday, October 6, there is ahome bout at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

All Conference Welcome

Make sure you stop by the welcome reception at 5pm the first night of the conference for free appetizers, a cash bar, and a live performance by this awesome local bluegrass band!

Cathedral of Saint Paul

The Cathedral of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of St. Paul. Along with the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, it is the Co-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Construction began in 1906 and opened in 1915.  A distinctive cathedral in the United States, it sits on Cathedral Hill overlooking downtown St. Paul and features a distinctive copper-clad dome. It is the third largest completed church in the United States, and the fourth tallest.

Each year, the Cathedral of Saint Paul welcomes over 200,000 guests and visitors. The Cathedral is recognized as a historical landmark, one of the most prominent buildings in the city and as a center of spiritual worship. Guided tours are available to the public Monday through Friday at 1 p.m. If you can’t make it over there to see it yourself, you can take a virtual tour.

History in a Palace

Okay, so a lot of states have historical societies. But where else but Minnesota can you find history housed in a modern, 427,000-square-foot palace of local granite and limestone, not to mention gleaming Minnesota maple and oak wood? How about one with a sky mural, glass etchings, and 36,000 cubic feet of manuscripts?

The Minnesota History Center, built in 1992, is an easy walk from the Minnesota Library Association convention — about half a mile — and it would be worth the trip from any distance. In addition to interactive, family-friendly museum exhibits and a gracious cafeteria, you’ll find a spacious research area with (yes) amazing librarians, plus a collection that will support just about any historical project you can dream up. For starters, you could exercise your microfilm skills to read back issues of your favorite outstate Minnesota newspaper (they have 4,000 periodical titles). So if you’re dying to know what was playing in your local movie theater during the week of, say, October 3, 1912, now’s your chance to find out.

History Center exhibits during MLA’s Oct. 3 to 5 conference include “Weather Permitting,” “Minnesota’s Greatest Generation,” and “The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.” Admission is $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6 to 17, and free to younger children and MHS members. Hours for Wednesdays through Saturdays are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (They’re open till 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.) See http://www.minnesotahistorycenter.org/ for more.

(Photo is from events.mnhs.org .)