Annie Humphrey comes to the Hook and Ladder with special guests Laura Hugo, Jeremy Ylvisaker, and Aida Shahghasemi. THURS 4/27, 7:00 PM, $10/$15, 21+…

WORDS BY ISABELLE WATTENBERG  • • • The CANDY BOX Dance Festival, presented by ARENA DANCES, celebrates the vast diversity and imaginativeness of dance—think of it like a Whitman’s Sampler of dance. The event features a week of master classes, and performances by eight dancers representing a variety of experience…

Senate District 56 Senator Lindsey Port is shepherding a key piece of legislation to ‘Legalize It.’  WORDS BY KATIE DOHMAN  • • •  When South Dakota-born Minnesota State Senator Lindsey Port (DFL) lost her election for a House seat in 2016, her first reaction was to build a coalition—of other…

Get in the grooves of the local record store scene. WORDS BY MARTIN DEVANEY  • • • Typically falling on the third Saturday in April, Record Store Day has had a large hand in the vinyl resurgence over the last decade-plus, as baby boomers hauled dusty vinyl from the basement,…

Let’s Get Hiii- 4/20 Mini-Market EventIn addition to some amazing local vendors who specialize in CBD, THC, and HEMP products, Lakes & Legends will be dropping some specialty brews that fit the grassy theme and releasing an extremely limited new flavor of our Hiii THC Sparkling Water. 4/20, 4 PM.…

It’s been seven years. I’m still OK with not knowing it all. WORDS BY MARY LUCIA  • • •  April 21, 2016: The day Minneapolis and the world suffered a collective gut punch—when Prince went OUT through the IN door from an accidental Fentanyl overdose. Has it really been seven…

THC-laced seltzers maybe deliver what Wonka had in mind, after all. WORDS BY YOUR TRUSTY ‘EXPERIENCED’ EDITORS  • • • Since the change in legislation last year, the Twin Cities have seen a waterfall of hemp-derived THC seltzers and sodas flood the market. While DISPATCH editors haven’t tried them all,…

One cannabis activist’s journey from hobby to vocation.  WORDS BY TIFFANY LUKK  • • •  John Bartee III’s life changed after the murder of Philando Castile: That was the moment that he decided to turn his activism around cannabis from a hobby into a vocation.  “[Castile’s murder] was a catalyst,”…

Entrepreneur Allison Vaillancourt is growing a brand that’s seeing green.WORDS BY KATIE DOHMAN  • • • Allison Vaillancourt is an empire builder. She founded locally based Ignite Models while still in college and built it into a respected firm, then launched BLNCD as its creative director, working with esthetician Daniela…