Twin Cities Oct 16: Saint Paul Art Crawl, Front Porch Pies, Spark MN & Stelline

George and Laura break down the Twin Cities weekend of October 16–18, 2026: art crawls, horror fest, a vegan bakery finally getting a storefront, Travail's new pasta spot, Somali diaspora fine dining, and a cannabis milestone up in Mille Lacs County. In this episode: Saint Paul Art Crawl Fri–Sun across 31 venues, billed as the longest-running art crawl in the U.S. Twin Cities Horror Festival XV opens Fri Oct 16 at 6pm at The Crane Theater in NE Minneapolis. Front Porch Pies, the vegan bakery, opens its first retail shop at 3008 36th Ave S (former Savory Bake House space). Stelline Italian Kitchen — Travail Collective's new NE Minneapolis spot at 1304 NE 2nd St, pasta-forward with grilled salmon and duck confit. Martiya, Abdirahman Kahin's first full-service halal restaurant serving Somali diaspora cuisine, soft-opened Oct 1 with a Nov 1 grand opening. Spark MN in Milaca opened Oct 10 as Mille Lacs County's first adult-use rec dispensary; Minnesota's licensed market has topped $250M in year one per the Office of Cannabis Management. Live music at First Avenue: Judah & The Lion (Fri), Daði Freyr (Sat), Medium Build (Sun); Minnesota United FC hosts St. Louis City SC Sat at Allianz Field. Guthrie's "Kunene and the King" through Nov 8; Children's Theatre "Pinocchio" closes Oct 18; Mill City, Midtown, Kingfield and St. Paul Lowertown farmers markets all open this weekend. Sources: Saint Paul Art Crawl guide Twin Cities Weekend Family Guide (Horror Fest, Great Pumpkin Fest) Zombie Pub Crawl Minneapolis First Avenue JamBase: First Avenue listings Guthrie Theater Children's Theatre Company MPR News Shortlist Minnesota United vs. St. Louis City SC Minnesota Wild schedule Vikings vs. Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium Stelline & Front Porch Pies openings Star Tribune: Martiya soft opening MJBizDaily: Minnesota cannabis market Spark MN opens in Milaca Mill City Farmers Market St. Paul Farmers' Market Midtown Farmers Market Kingfield Farmers Market Subscribe: mplsvegan.com Full transcript George: ...and I'm telling you, I walked down Nicollet this morning, Laura, and the trees are just GOING. Laura: Going how? Peak going or past-peak going? George: Peak. Like, that stop-you-on-the-sidewalk peak. Laura: Okay, George, you say that every October. George: I do NOT say that every October. Laura: You absolutely do. George: Okay... maybe I do. But this year it's for real. Laura: Uff da. Here we go. George: Don't uff da me. The light hits the Stone Arch and it's just... I don't know. Painted. Laura: It is nice down there. I'll give you that. George: Thank you. Laura: But you've been romantic about that bridge since like 1998. George: Longer than that, probably. Laura: So we're not doing patios today, I take it. George: Ope, patios? Laura. It's jacket season. Laura: Some folks are still sitting out, bundled up. I saw it on Hennepin yesterday. George: Yeah, with the heaters cranking. Those are the real ones. Laura: The real ones, doncha know. George: Alright, so this weekend... there's actually a LOT going on. Laura: There's a lot going on. The art crawl is the big one for me. George: Saint Paul Art Crawl, right. Friday through Sunday. Laura: Thirty-one venues. Three one. George: Which is... wild. For a weekend. Laura: They say it's the longest-running art crawl in the country. George: Is it? I didn't know that. Laura: Yeah, that's the pitch anyway. Been going forever. George: Huh. I always just wandered in without knowing. Laura: That's the move though. You walk Lowertown, you walk West Seventh, you see what's open, you talk to the artists. George: West Seventh has become something, hasn't it. Laura: George. It's ALWAYS been something. George: Fair. Laura: You just discovered it recently. George: Rude. Accurate, but rude. Laura: I'm just saying. George: Okay, if people are hungry out there, let's do food corner. We gotta talk Front Porch Pies. Laura: Oh, finally opening the retail shop! George: Yeah, vegan bakery, 36th Ave South. Over by where Savory Bake House used to be. Laura: I've been waiting for this. I used to order from them pop-up style for a while. George: And they're good? Laura: George. GOOD. George: Okay, you're selling me. Laura: Like, the crust is the thing. Vegan crust is usually sad. George: Usually a brick. Laura: Usually a brick. Theirs is not a brick. George: Alright. So if you're over south this weekend, that's the stop. Laura: That's the stop. And honestly pair that with Trio. George: Trio Plant-Based. Laura: Full brunch energy. You can make a day of it. George: Make a day of it. And shoutout as always to our friends at mplsvegan.com — if you want the whole plant-based map of the Cities, that's where it lives. Laura: They've got everybody. J. Selby's over in St. Paul. George: Hard Times Cafe for the night owls. Laura: Herbivorous Butcher in Northeast — classic. George: Hello Pizza, Reverie Cafe, The Herbalist... Laur...