Community Blog

Okay ladies, it’s Thursday night and Labor Day Weekend is just around the corner. You know what this calls for? Girls Night Out!

CineMagic’s Chateau 14 Theater is just 10-minutes away from Grandeville at Cascade Lake, and with it being Thursday night, that means it’s Ladies’ Night at the Chateau. With coupon in hand, the gals get an adult admission, a small drink, and small popcorn for a low, low price of $10.00 each.

There are plenty of movies to see, but I highly doubt “Piranha 3D” is on your “must see” list of Hollywood blockbusters. If you haven’t seen “The Switch” yet and it’s on your list, then tonight is your night to see a great film with Jennifer Aniston staring the lead. If action is more of your genre, don’t forget about George Clooney’s new action film, “The American,” which opened throughout theaters yesterday.

“Avatar” has hit the silver screen again in its re-release in full 3D with extra footage added in. I personally avoided the film when was first released, but with its return, I’ve been entertaining the idea of seeing it on the silver screen this time around.

Even if you can’t make plans tonight, don’t forget to have a relaxing and fun weekend with friends and family.

(Some Rights Reserved, Rebeca Aldama Garcia)

With the first day of fall just under a month away, we anticipate sending the little ones back to school by buying book bags, pencils, pens, and notebooks. Let’s not forget to give the summer a proper farewell as we exchange televisions for blackboards, and late evenings into early mornings.

I’m talking about the Minnesota State Fair. The fairgrounds officially open at 6:00 AM, but that’s quite an early start for the first day. Most of the exhibits, including the Little Farm Hands, Heritage Square, and International Bazaar, among others, officially open at 9:00 AM.

Little Farm Hands features a pretend farm, complete with miniature barns, a grain bin, a tractor yard, and much more. The activity is geared for kids between ages 3 and 10, and gives them the hands-on opportunity to explore the workings of a farm from feeding faux chickens and collecting eggs, to milking a fiberglass cow in the barn, the kids get the full experience as they learn.

Heritage Square kicks off the Fair’s opening evening with free performances from The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers for Thursday and Friday only with three shows at 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM for both days. Watch as these Folk Dancers bring the spirit of the Appalachian Folk Dance to life with traditional clogging dances along with a four piece string band.

The Fair is in town until Labor Day, Monday September 6th. Admission prices are typically $11.00 for Adults (13 – 64) and kids (5 – 12) are normally $8.00, but for Thrifty Thursday, which is tomorrow’s pricing, Adults are only $9.00 each and kids are $6.00 each. Children 5 and under always free for the Fair.

Located in St. Paul, the Fairgrounds are located up US-52, off of St. Anthony Ave., and is about an hour and half drive from Grandeville at Cascade Lake, but the events will turn this trip into an all-day getaway that’s sure to keep you fully entertained well into the evening.

(Some Rights Reserved, Jake Mohan)

Season 9 of American Idol was one of my favorite seasons as Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, and Andrew Garcia had amazing performances throughout the season, and while I’m not a big fan of Lee DeWyze, he’s still an amazing performer.

You’ll be able to see all of the top 10 contestants next Friday night at the Target Center, and even though it’s an hour and half drive north on US-52 from Grandeville at Cascade Lake, it’s still an amazing concert worth seeing.

All of your favorite Idol’s, including Aaron Kelly, Katie Stevens, Tim Urban, and the others, will be performing live at Target Center on August 27th at 7:30 PM. It’s going to be an incredible show, and tickets are still going fast. Prices start at $38.50 for the Upper Level Seating, and go up for other seating locations.

The Tour started earlier this year after the end of Season 9, and is scheduled to make a total of 49 stops throughout the States.

Simon Fuller, the show’s creator and executive producer, stated “We are all looking forward to this year’s American Idol Live! Tour. This is always one of the highlights of the year. Each of the Idols have the chance to meet the people that voted for them and perform at incredible venues all over America.”

The one-night event is worthy of not only just a road trip up to Minneapolis, but a full evening out in the city. There are plenty of restaurants located near Target Center, including Lotus To-Go, located just 4-minutes away from the concert, the Vietnamese restaurant is the perfect neighborhood restaurant you expect it to be, and the sesame chicken is amazing.

Also down the street from the concert on 112 N 3rd Street, is the 112 Eatery, a trendy, upscale restaurant that features a loaded menu of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. The 112 Cheese Burger is amazing, and goes well with the Steak Tartare appetizer. While it is a bit pricy, the quality of their food is incredible.

(Some Rights Reserved, Zach Den Adel)

This week is the definition of what baseball is all about. While September hasn’t arrived yet, this series kicks off a game that feels like an instant classic between the Twins and the White Sox.

Tonight, the Twins host the first of three games against the White Sox between the two ball clubs, and the White Sox will host the final two game series next month. The start of the three-game series tonight will undoubtedly become an instant classic for the Twins as the White Sox are 3 games behind the Twins and have lost 7 of their last 10 games hasn’t helped the White Sox do anything productive lately.

With those stats in mind, I’m not necessarily nervous about tonight’s first pitch, which will be thrown at 7:10 PM tonight, but I know that the White Sox aren’t going to be a brush off game. The White Sox are going to battle hard and may even take the lead against the Twins, but there’s not need to give up when the home team is sitting comfortably at the top of the Central Division.

My biggest concern is that White Sox have a full and healthy team coming to the plate, while the Twins still have four players on the disabled list, including Clay Condrey (55), Jose Mijares (50), Joe Nathan (36), and Justin Morneau (33). Both Codrey and Nathan are out for 60-days, and Mijares and Morneau are out for 15-days.

Tonight’s game against the White Sox starts tonight on Fox Sports North at 7:10 PM, and according to the Twins Ticketing system, this is a completely sold out game! So with that in mind, I’d recommend meeting some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings Café on 55th Street, just a quick 12-minute drive up US-52, and how can you consider going out to watch the game without putting Kathy’s Pub on your list is beyond me. Kathy’s Pub is located just down the road from Grandeville at Cascade Lake.

I’m going to avoid some of the potential crowds and watch the game in my comfy apartment, and make a quick and easy dinner from one of the dozens listed on All Recipes‘ website, and the Chicago-Style Hot Dog is starting to sound really good to me.

(Some Rights Reserved, Arnold Gatilao)

Unlike other airline stories that have made the news recently, this story comes at the heightened peek of the success of Facebook. Delta Air Lines (DAL) today announced the introduction of their “Book A Trip” tab on the company’s Facebook Page.

This is a great convenience for avid Facebook users that enjoy traveling and using the social network site, but I’m curious as to how you, our visitors and our residents at Grandeville at Cascades Lake, feel about this new convenience factor.

I’m one for simplicity, but I’m curious as to how this is going to make things any easier, or any different, than they are now.

Delta’s announcement boasts that users don’t have to leave Facebook just to plan a trip on the airliner’s website. Delta has an easy to remember website address already, delta.com, so, would you buy an airline ticket through Facebook?

Delta insures that the company’s “Book-a-Trip” tab connects to their website, not Facebook’s and that Delta will receive all of the information for the tickets. I’m wondering when Delta’s competitors will launch their own Facebook Ticketing System.

Remember to “Like” our own Facebook Page, while we may not have a “Book a Trip” tab, we do have great events and we’ll post links to our latest blogs.

(Some Rights Reserved, eisenbahner)

With the summer months slowly melting away, I’ve realized that I spend a lot of time watching TV. With this in mind, I think it’s a good time to transition, along with the seasons and the up-coming school year. So I’m giving up watching excessive amounts of television for the next couple of months.

So, I’ve come up with a list of four things to keep my mind occupied during this experimental time frame. Here’s a list of a few ideas that might get you away from the sofa during the down time of the evening.

Try Making David Arquette's BBQ Sauce Tonight

1. Meet your Neighbors: Okay, I admit this may be a tough one for me as I can be a bit shy from time to time, but a simple ‘Hello’ and a brief introduction might just be the stepping stone to meeting a new friend.
2. Preparing new Recipes: This might be one of my favorite new distractions from the flat screen. I’m planning to start off with The Pampered Chef’s Free Celebrity Cookbook titled “Cookbook for a Cause” which helps support Feeding America.
3. Learn Another Language: This one may be a bit obscure for some, but I’ve always wanted to learn another language. Spanish and German are my first two choices. I’m leaning towards German, but I know Spanish is a practical choice.
4. Burn off some Calories: Grandeville at Cascade Lake has a wonderful Health Spa, and there’s plenty of ways to keep busy with the cardio-vascular equipment, aerobics area and sauna. There’s also the basketball court and dozens of walking trails around.

I encourage you to try a few of these options instead of plopping down in front of the television; you just might stimulate your creative mind and learn something new in the process.

(Some Rights Reserved, Jason McArthur)

For one amazing night, the three-time Grammy winner, Kenny Rogers will be at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. The “First 50 Years” concert starts at 7:30 PM on August 26th.

The iconic Kenny Rogers will feature special guest, Billy Dean, as he takes the stage to perform some of his classic songs like, “Lady”, “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town”, “The Gambler”, “We’ve Got Tonight”, “Buy Me A Rose”, and many, many others.

Billy Dean is also an amazing act to see as well. With Billy Dean’s perceptive songwriting and musical talent has earned him ACM Awards as well as a Grammy and a CMA Award.

The amazing country songs are sure to fill up the stands, so be sure to get your tickets for the “First 50 Years” concert soon. Prices start at $43.00 each, and go up. And both Billy Dean and Kenny Rogers are bound to make the evening stuffed full of great memories.

(Some Rights Reserved, dbking)

With all the excitement of baseball lately, it’s reminded me that we don’t need to look at the majors, or even the minors, for great baseball games. Our own amateur league team, the Rochester Honkers, are still up to bat.

The Rochester Honkers aren’t doing too badly this year. Ranked 3rd overall in the North Division, I’ve learned that they’ve won the Northwoods League (NWL) Championship five-times, including their championship win last year.

Well this Friday evening at 7:05 PM, the Rochester Honkers host the 2nd-game of a three-game series against the Mankato MoonDogs at Mayo Field, and this will be an exciting game for the first 500 fans.

Courtesy of EO Johnson Office Technologies and Quick Country 96.5, the Rochester Honkers are hosting a Free Cash Giveaway Night for the first 500 visitors 18 years old and up, and rewarding them with free cash.

It’s almost like getting paid to see the game, which isn’t a half-bad deal personally. With normal single game tickets starting at $6.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids, you really can’t go wrong.

Mayo Field is just a quick drive down 2nd Street with a left on to Civic Center Drive and a right onto E. Center Street, and bingo – you’re there.

(Some Rights Reserved, Randy Stern)

Is it just me or now that the weekend is officially here, it’s time for some baseball? Either way, the Twins are on the road, taking on the Baltimore Orioles tonight at 6:05 PM.

The game may be away, but there’s always pently of action on the screen. Whether you’re at home, with the shoes casually tossed off and you’re enjoying a pizza, or if you feel like heading out with friends, I recommend catching the game at Beetle’s Bar tonight. Beetle’s Bar is just a stones throw from Grandville at Cascade Lake, so you’re never far from home.

Stop by, meet some friends, and have a great dinner and watch the Twins, who are ranked third in their division, take on the Baltimore Orioles.

I can’t find a better way to unwind from the week than enjoying Beetle’s Mushroom Swiss burger with a side of fries and a cold drink.

(Some Rights Reserved, Kasper)

A weekend trip is always a favorite escape of mine. Finding the right place to go can be a bit of a challenge at times. The great thing about GrandeVille is that we’re just a quick hour and half drive away from the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, and this weekend is going to be a great time to plan your quick escape.

This Saturday and Sunday are great days to go with the kids because the Zoo is hosting a great Family Farm Festival all weekend long. With craft activities in the Granary classroom, a John Deere Tractor display, and a mini-tractor pull, you’d think they would’ve filled up the entire day, but that’s just the start!

There’s also a concert for both days. Saturday night’s concert features the Sawtooth Bluegrass Band, and Sunday’s concert features the Tim Sigler Band. Each concert starts at 2:00 PM, and are featured at the Treasure Island Stage.

Other all-day events include face painting for the kids and a display of Guild of Metal Works. There’s even Cluckeoke, a new take on Karaoke.

So make the plans, book a hotel near by, and spend the weekend at the Zoo.

(Some Rights Reserved, aiko vanhulsen)

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