MEA Weekend in Minneapolis: CiderWeen, PopUp Bagels, Twin Cities Film Fest

It's MEA weekend in the Twin Cities and we're running down everything open, opening, and worth hitting from the North Loop to Lowertown. Markets, music, movies, cider, bagels, and an honest sports beat. In this episode: Farmers markets still open: Mill City (Sat 8–1, through Oct 31), Midtown on East Lake, Kingfield at MLK Park through Oct 25, and St. Paul Farmers' Market in Lowertown both weekend days. CiderWeen 2026 at Sociable Cider Werks in NE Minneapolis — Sat Oct 17, noon–6 p.m., with a 50+ artist Halloween market. Twin Cities Film Fest runs through Oct 21 at Marcus West End (St. Louis Park) and the Edina Mann — 70+ in-person films plus 70+ online. First Avenue mainroom stack: Paris Paloma (Oct 14), Zack Fox (Oct 15), Judah & The Lion (Oct 16), Daði Freyr (Oct 17), Medium Build (Oct 18). The Armory: Godsmack with Dorothy on Oct 14, Steve Aoki's "30 Years of Dim Mak" on Oct 17. Guthrie Theater: John Kani's Kunene and the King on the McGuire Proscenium, Oct 10 – Nov 8; Waiting for Godot closed Oct 11. Food openings: PopUp Bagels debuts its first Minnesota shop in the North Loop's Saxon building, and Travail Collective relaunches its NE cocktail bar as an Italian-leaning neighborhood spot with housemade pastas. Cannabis beat: Minnesota's adult-use market hit a record ~$22M monthly in mid-2026 with 100+ licensed retailers, and Anoka Cannabis Company — the state's first municipally-run dispensary — is being studied as a model. Honest sports beat: no Twins (season ended Sept 23), no Vikings or MLS home game, and the Lynx were bounced in round one — the WNBA Finals (Oct 17–31) are Atlanta vs. Golden State, not us. Sources: Mill City Farmers Market Explore Minnesota – Mill City Bring Me The News farmers market guide St. Paul Farmers' Market Visit Saint Paul farmers market guide Twin Cities Film Fest lineup (Mpls.St.Paul Magazine) CiderWeen / MEA weekend guide Meet Minneapolis fall events First Avenue calendar The Armory calendar Palace Theatre calendar Guthrie Theater – What's On Guthrie 2025–2026 season 2026 WNBA playoffs bracket Twins schedule (ESPN) New restaurant openings 2026 Artful Living – Top 8 2026 MJBizDaily – MN adult-use sales MJBizDaily – Anoka municipal dispensary Subscribe: mplsvegan.com Full transcript George: —and I'm telling you, I walked over the Stone Arch this morning and the river just had that... fall LIGHT on it, you know the one. Laura: George, every week you come in here with a Stone Arch Bridge monologue. George: I do not. Laura: You do. You absolutely do. George: Okay, maybe like... every other week. Laura: Every other week. Sure. George: Hey, listen. It's mid-October, the leaves are doing their thing, and I'm allowed one bridge moment per show. House rules. Laura: House rules you just made up. George: Correct. Welcome back to Minneapolis Roundup, by the way. Laura: Ope, there he goes. Finally. George: "Ope, there he goes." That's gonna be the cold open forever now, isn't it. Laura: Pretty much. So — MEA weekend coming up, kids are off school Thursday and Friday... George: Which means the whole metro is either at a hockey tournament or up north at the cabin. Laura: Or they're staying put and actually enjoying the Cities for once. George: Right. Which — honestly — not a bad play this weekend. Laura: Not a bad play at ALL. Let's talk about why. George: Okay so — markets first. Mill City is still going Saturdays, eight to one, down by the Guthrie. Laura: Through the end of the month, yeah. Oct 17, 24, 31 and then they wind it down. George: And Midtown is still open Saturdays over on East Lake, nine to one. Laura: Kingfield too, Sundays at MLK Park, through October 25th. George: Is Kingfield the one at Nicollet and like... 40th? Laura: 4055 Nicollet, yeah. George, you LIVE here. George: I know, I know. I always come in from the north side, so the south-side numbers scramble in my head. Laura: Oh, the north-south divide, deeply confusing. George: Hey. Laura: And St. Paul Farmers' Market in Lowertown is doing both days — Saturday seven to one, Sunday eight to one. George: Which, if you've never done the St. Paul one on a Sunday morning, you're missing out. Laura: It's a vibe. Walk around Lowertown, grab coffee, don't think about Monday. George: Don't think about Monday. That's the whole fall move. Laura: Okay — food. Can I say something? George: Please. Laura: PopUp Bagels is finally opening their first Minnesota shop in the North Loop. Like, this month. George: In the Saxon building, right? Laura: Yes. George: I'm actually hyped about this one. Midwest expansion, we got picked. Laura: We got PICKED, George. George: We got picked. I'll take it. Laura: And Travail Collective is relaunching their NE cocktail bar as more of an Italian-leaning neighborhood spot. Housemade pastas. George: Travail does what Travail does. I trust them. Laura: Same. George: Now — vegan corner. Shout out mplsvegan.com, by the way, one of our sponsors. Laura: The best resource for this stuff, genuinely. George: If you're doing MEA weekend a...