Whittier, Minneapolis - The Whittier Alliance Neighborhood Organization is organizing the 2nd year of the Eat Street, Food, Music, & Arts Festival, the ultimate celebration of the Whittier neighborhood. The festival will take place Sunday, September 15, 2019, from 1-8pm, on Nicollet Avenue between 26th - 28th Streets. Live music, dance performances, international fare, and activities from the neighborhood’s many arts and cultural organizations will collectively reflect and celebrate who and what Whittier is at its heart.
This free, family-friendly event gives festival-goers of all ages the chance to experience Eat Street in a unique way, with artisans and makers, food trucks, local organizations and businesses, visual artists, and Whittier restaurant favorites all lining Nicollet Avenue for a two block stretch.
A stage on the south end of the event will host a variety of local acts focusing this year on the genres of hip hop, spoken word, and punk rock - both new and familiar to Twin Cities listeners. The lineup includes BLOOD$MOKEBODY (formerly known as Nazeem and Spencer Joles) + fashion curated by Eat Street’s own b. Resale, Gully Boys, Run Westy Run, with exciting St. Paul newcomer, Dua Saleh, headlining the event.
Between stage sets, head to the north block of the event for group dance performances by CAAM Chinese Dance Theater, traditional Aztec dancing by Elohuayotl Mitotiani, & the Somali Museum Dance Troupe. Free, family-friendly activities will further activate the north block of the event, featuring a 3-on-3 youth futsal tournament organized by the Futsal Society, make and take art at the MobileMia art bike, costume design with Children’s Theatre Company, lawn games in the Black Forest Inn beverage garden, and button-making with Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities and The Studio School!
NEW IN 2019! Be sure to check out all the emerging artists and entrepreneurs in the Whittier Small Business and Artist Showcase, a low-risk, supported avenue for new and/or non-brick and mortar businesses to connect directly with their own community members to build a local patronage. Funded in part by a grant from the City of Minneapolis’ Great Streets Program has allowed Whittier Alliance to provide event equipment such as pop up tents, low or no cost participation fees, and in some cases, extensive 1:1 support for vendors indicating barriers to participation with a focus on supporting immigrant and refugee-owned businesses in the neighborhood. Be sure to check out a number of food vendors who will be participating in an outdoor event for the first time such as Dini Kitchen, a Somali restaurant out of Karmel Mall, and neighborhood favorites such as Quang Restaurant and Bambu.
Of course it wouldn't be the Eat Street Festival without the amazing international food vendors; alcoholic beverages will be available at the Rainbow Restaurant and Bar Eggroll Garden and the Black Forest Inn Beer Garden. Here's who you can expect to bring the good eats to this year's event!
In all, the Eat Street Food, Music, & Arts Festival will offer something for everyone as an event that showcases some of the many things that make the Whittier neighborhood special. At a time when area road construction and bridge closures continue to negatively impact many in Whittier’s small business community, the Whittier Alliance has great hope that this event will again bring much needed exposure and new patrons to neighborhood businesses, many of which are owned by people of color.
This event is funded in part by the City of Minneapolis’ Great Streets Program, and all proceeds will directly benefit Whittier Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in their efforts to produce this Festival annually. For more event details, visit EatStreetFest.com, the Eat Street Food, Music, & Arts 2019 Facebook page, or contact the Whittier Alliance:
Whittier Alliance
10 E 25th St
whittieralliance.org
[email protected]
612-871-7756
This free, family-friendly event gives festival-goers of all ages the chance to experience Eat Street in a unique way, with artisans and makers, food trucks, local organizations and businesses, visual artists, and Whittier restaurant favorites all lining Nicollet Avenue for a two block stretch.
A stage on the south end of the event will host a variety of local acts focusing this year on the genres of hip hop, spoken word, and punk rock - both new and familiar to Twin Cities listeners. The lineup includes BLOOD$MOKEBODY (formerly known as Nazeem and Spencer Joles) + fashion curated by Eat Street’s own b. Resale, Gully Boys, Run Westy Run, with exciting St. Paul newcomer, Dua Saleh, headlining the event.
Between stage sets, head to the north block of the event for group dance performances by CAAM Chinese Dance Theater, traditional Aztec dancing by Elohuayotl Mitotiani, & the Somali Museum Dance Troupe. Free, family-friendly activities will further activate the north block of the event, featuring a 3-on-3 youth futsal tournament organized by the Futsal Society, make and take art at the MobileMia art bike, costume design with Children’s Theatre Company, lawn games in the Black Forest Inn beverage garden, and button-making with Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities and The Studio School!
NEW IN 2019! Be sure to check out all the emerging artists and entrepreneurs in the Whittier Small Business and Artist Showcase, a low-risk, supported avenue for new and/or non-brick and mortar businesses to connect directly with their own community members to build a local patronage. Funded in part by a grant from the City of Minneapolis’ Great Streets Program has allowed Whittier Alliance to provide event equipment such as pop up tents, low or no cost participation fees, and in some cases, extensive 1:1 support for vendors indicating barriers to participation with a focus on supporting immigrant and refugee-owned businesses in the neighborhood. Be sure to check out a number of food vendors who will be participating in an outdoor event for the first time such as Dini Kitchen, a Somali restaurant out of Karmel Mall, and neighborhood favorites such as Quang Restaurant and Bambu.
Of course it wouldn't be the Eat Street Festival without the amazing international food vendors; alcoholic beverages will be available at the Rainbow Restaurant and Bar Eggroll Garden and the Black Forest Inn Beer Garden. Here's who you can expect to bring the good eats to this year's event!
- Eat Street Social
- The Black Forest Inn
- Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar
- Bambu - Minneapolis
- SK Coffee
- Pimento Jamaican Kitchen
- Dini Kitchen
- Quang Restaurant
- Rouge Smoked Foods
- Ingridients Caribbean Cuisine
- Ishu’s Himalayan Food
- Kurb Side Ice Co.
- The Bad Waitress Diner
In all, the Eat Street Food, Music, & Arts Festival will offer something for everyone as an event that showcases some of the many things that make the Whittier neighborhood special. At a time when area road construction and bridge closures continue to negatively impact many in Whittier’s small business community, the Whittier Alliance has great hope that this event will again bring much needed exposure and new patrons to neighborhood businesses, many of which are owned by people of color.
This event is funded in part by the City of Minneapolis’ Great Streets Program, and all proceeds will directly benefit Whittier Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in their efforts to produce this Festival annually. For more event details, visit EatStreetFest.com, the Eat Street Food, Music, & Arts 2019 Facebook page, or contact the Whittier Alliance:
Whittier Alliance
10 E 25th St
whittieralliance.org
[email protected]
612-871-7756
Calling all Volunteers!
Join in on the fun, and lend a hand at the event! A few volunteer shifts are still available in the afternoon and evening. All Eat Street Fest volunteers will receive a food/drink voucher for any festival vendor and a volunteer t-shirt upon arrival. Check out all available shift times and responsibilities for this year's event!