Editor’s note: Walk the Talk is Streets.mn’s carefully curated, highly partisan collection of both serious and fun-loving events, community meetings and opportunities for engagement that we think will interest our readers. Email your ideas to Hawken Habig, one of our daily editors, at [email protected].
Art Shanty Projects — Weekends January 27 to February 11
An immersive art program on a frozen lake in Minneapolis (this year, Lake Harriet), Art Shanty Projects invites adults and “kids of all ages” to gather in the Art Shanty village for three weekends in January and February. This year’s organizers made the wise decision to delay the opening for a week — to Saturday, January 27 — to let the ice on the lake get good and hard.
The performance schedule includes a community sing on ice, yoga for the planet, a queer puppet clash and so much more. This is what we do in Minnesota: have fun while we freeze! Sliding-scale donations are appreciated, and hot food will be plentiful. Organizers urge attendees to take the free shuttle on Kite Festival Day at Lake Harriet, on January 27.
Vote in the 2023 Bridgehunter Awards — Through Saturday, January 20
Minnesota has some fantastic bridges (in this writer’s opinion), and this fact should be recognized and reflected in popular surveys and awards. That is why I encourage you to take a gander at the work of The Bridgehunter’s Chronicles, a column dedicated to all things concerning bridges. And the traditional end-of-the-year Bridgehunter Awards —which highlight the democratically selected greatest of all bridges across 10 categories — is live now through January 20. Take the opportunity to peruse the best bridges of 2023, determine the best for each category and show support for the best bridges Minnesota has to offer, including the recently renovated Third Avenue Bridge in all its glory.
Minneapolis Traffic Safety Cameras Open House — Monday, January 22 and 29
In an effort to fulfil the city’s Vision Zero plan, Minneapolis is pushing for the implementation of traffic safety cameras as part of a pilot program. Details are pending, but officials will present and take questions on the topic at two public meetings this month:
- Monday, January 22, 6 p.m., virtually (join here).
- Monday, January 29, 5 p.m., in person at the Minneapolis Public Service Building, 505 4th Avenue S., Room 100, Minneapolis.
The pilot program would require changes to state law for the allowance of traffic cameras, which can detect various types of unlawful vehicle behaviors, including red light and speeding violations. For more on Vision Zero — a comprehensive program to eliminate traffic deaths in the city — visit this webpage, where you can also sign up for email updates!
Statewide Bicycling Events — Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
From the monthly BikeMN Chapter Roundtable, via Zoom, on Wednesday, January 17 and a national webinar the same day on The Year Ahead in Transportation to the Freezer Burn Fatbike Race in Cambridge on Saturday, January 20, the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota events website offers lots of opportunities to bike outdoors during the winter, stay abreast of advocacy opportunities, and even celebrate BikeMN’s 15th anniversary with a brewpub party and awards.