Things to do in the Greater St. Cloud Area | St. Cloud Shines

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“All work and no play” doesn’t sound like much fun.

But how would we know?

Greater St. Cloud has so much to do—day and night, season after season—that we always find reasons to play. Lots of them, so pace yourself.

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#StCloudShines Stories

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Dec 2

'Tis the season to spread cheer - and shine! If you’re looking for ways to make the holiday season a bright one for all, there are a number of wonderful opportunities right here in our communities. There are ways to give your time, your talent, or monetary gifts. Whichever way you choose to give back, know you’re making Greater St. Cloud shine brighter. Please visit the link in our bio to see a sampling of the many ways you can give back! This season, take a moment to enjoy the merriment, sparkling lights, and abundant opportunities we're given to see, hear, learn, and share all the ways #StCloudShines.

Nov 28

From now until the end of the year, we'll be sharing our gratitude and good cheer for our incredible investor cities. The support from area communities is part of what makes #StCloudShines possible! Thank you, City of St. Cloud, MN for your support!

Nov 25

Feeling like you have some Thanksgiving food to walk off? Head to the @saintjoewinterwalk Festival! We sat down with Raj Chaphalkar & Marshall Herron, co-chairs of the WinterWalk Festival to learn about preparations for the annual event. “Our Mission is to bring people together to celebrate the warmth of local hospitality, offering appealing activities, and entertainment to a wide range of participants. We want to create a warm and inviting atmosphere to enrich the fabric of the community. As a non-profit organization, we keep our values of Community, Local Artisans & Businesses, Inclusiveness, Tradition, Progress, and Volunteer & Sponsor Experience at the heart of what we do.” The 2022 WinterWalk Festival starts on Friday, December 2nd from 4-8pm, and continue on Saturday, December 3rd from 11-3pm. Events include visits with Santa on the @bellocucina patio, a Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Saint Joseph Parish lawn at 7pm Friday, music above @krewerestaurant, ornament-making for kids in Heritage Hall, and @avonhillsfolkschool craft-making at @badhabitbrewing. You can shop downtown for event goodies, too. You can find sambusas at @flourandflowerbakery, hot chocolate at @jupitermoonicecream, a special Festival beer at Bad Habit, and more – all in downtown @joetownmn. The event is made possible each year through the generosity of donors and volunteers. “We have many wonderful sponsors at various levels and a great number of volunteers for all the festival events. Many local businesses have stepped forward to become our lead sponsors. Sponsors at certain levels get their own sponsored tree that gives them a presence downtown for the festival, no matter where their office is located. JoeTown WinterWalk Festival is all volunteer-led. We appreciate volunteers at all levels and strive to give them a rewarding and fun volunteer experience, too.” Businesses or individuals can get involved by contacting joetownwinterwalkfestival@gmail.com or 320- 348-0752. See you there! #StCloudShines
📸: @ohsnappydays
📝: @greenline_mktg

Nov 18

Amazon, Melissa & Doug, Yankee Candle, and Under Armour all started with a big dream and a big idea – plus, they all started in the basement of a home. And when we talked with Lindsay Salzbrun, we learned that locally-owned @white_peony_boutique also started in a basement. “White Peony started in 2018 - yes, in the basement of my home. One of my best friends and I decided it was time to finally fulfill one of our lifelong dreams to own a store. After a year of operating out of my home, my family and I decided we were running out of space. So, I opened the White Peony Shed in St. Cloud! My intentions originally were to utilize the space as a warehouse with an ever-growing online presence, but I realized quickly I longed for in-person interactions with style sessions and wanted to start creating events too.” Prior to going full-time with White Peony, Lindsay worked in the financial industry. But from a young age, she felt she had an entrepreneurial spirit. “Two of my greatest mentors and family who mean so very much to me, are my Grandparents. Never would I have thought I'd be on a business path similar to theirs – owning a store! They had briefly told their stores and restaurant endeavors to me, but it was when I was actually working alongside my Grandparents at the MN State Fair in my younger years that paved the way for me. Not only did they show the importance of hard work and dedication, but they also operated with core family values top of mind, that I will forever be grateful for.” In just under 5 years of being in business, Lindsay and the White Peony team have immersed themselves in the community and become well-known for a fun, female-centric environment that cares about the community. “Not only am I on a mission to make women feel absolutely beautiful, but I also want to provide a space and a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging. It’s not just about clothing; our mission is to create a community where women can come together and feel beautiful being their most authentic selves! We are genuinely and selflessly here to serve our White Peony community.” #StCloudShines
📸: @ohsnappydays
📝: @greenline_mktg

Nov 9

After working for years as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, Capri felt the pull to do something different. “I knew that I was making a difference and helping people, but I felt like a paper pusher and didn’t do well not making waves and fighting for what people actually needed. I was talking ideas one spring afternoon with my friend Kayla and said ‘What if we made charcuterie boards for gatherings? What if someone could purchase it as a gift for someone else? What if we helped people be able to focus on the guests and the conversation and not the food prep and mess? Is there anything like this?’ The answer was no, and @trenditrays was born." Trendi Trays is a full-service charcuterie catering business. They offer a variety of sweet and savory boards of many sizes - and possibly the best part, is they come to you! “We make the list, shop, store, wash, chop, slice, and prep everything needed for the board, then we come to you and create the spread before your event or gathering, and come clean it up after. We don’t want our customers to worry about a thing. We love being able to take the load off of you!” Like most entrepreneurs, Capri and Kayla have learned along the way. “Time management during the creation process of the trays has been tricky, to say the least. We can’t make it ahead of time because the cheese, meat, and crackers get stale, so our fluid schedules are a must. The trays are made fresh right before they are delivered which is a curse and a blessing. They’re carefully crafted, but then need to be very carefully transported and assembled. Really, we’re fortunate that most challenges have been fun problems for us to solve. I think the trickiest thing about our boards is convincing people to pull our meat roses apart and eat them … no one wants to wreck them, but they should be eaten and not wasted!” “Word of mouth and telling others about Trendi Trays are always incredible for our business. We always remind people that no event is too big or too small - we can work with your party size and budget to bring Trendi Trays to you.” #StCloudShines
📸: @ohsnappydays
📝: @greenline_mktg

Oct 26

Oct 13

Did you know that the world’s largest corn maze is right here in our community? Foley is home to @stoneybrookfarmsinc, with a 110-acre corn maze featuring 32 miles of pathways. If you’re looking for fun this fall season, look no further. “Stoney Brook Farms was established in 2005 by my parents, Mark and Pam. Dad purchased the business from his Mother, Shirley, who, along with my grandpa Jerry, ran Jerry's Farm Market in St. Cloud for almost 30 years. I’m an only child so it was natural for me to grow up working on the farm. We now farm almost 700 acres of vegetables and supply area grocery stores and wholesale warehouses.” Stoney Brook hand picks all of their produce, which isn’t something you see nowadays. “I think that is really something to be proud of. We grow asparagus, snap peas, green beans, sweet corn, broccoli, hard squash, and all different kinds of pumpkins. I encourage folks to check the labels in the stores for “Minnesota Grown.” We support the MN grown network and I think it is an important part of our mission.” “We decided to do the maze as an additional source of revenue for our farm. We also have a pick-your-own pumpkin patch at our Harvest Fun Days event. We do have a retail stand in the parking lot of Copper Lantern in St. Cloud that we operate from late June through Labor Day. This is a great way to get fresh produce right from us!” “The most exciting thing for me is trying new things. We started growing broccoli this year and it turns out we are great at it! We also started growing asparagus and has also been a great endeavor. By far the most exciting thing this year has been trying to break the record for World's Largest Corn Maze. We have done the research and looked at all the other farms that "claim" to be the largest, but we have yet to see anyone get into the triple-digit acres on maze size. We ARE the World's Largest Corn Maze in 2022!” “Central MN has been the home to our farm for more than 3 generations. We love being part of this community and we appreciate, more than you know, all the support from the community.” #StCloudShines
📸: @ohsnappydays
📝: @greenline_mktg

Oct 5

On Friday, September 23, the new cohort of the Jugaad Leadership Program celebrated their graduation. The @jugaaadlp (JLP) was established in 2015. "Jugaad" is a Hindi and Punjabi word that means "innovation." JLP is a leadership program that is supported by community partners and sponsors; the program ‘Train, Place & Connects’ Emerging Leaders of Color from underrepresented and marginalized communities to be professionals, leaders, and advocates in their respective communities. Participants in this seven-session professional development training come from several countries across the globe and the United States. The Program is designed to provide underrepresented community members with the knowledge, skills, and resources to become effective leaders in Central Minnesota. The program effectively trains and mentors the next generation of Emerging Leaders of Color by placing them on boards & commissions, building social capital, developing their networking skills, connecting them to critical community resources, and obtaining internships and employment. JLP's primary goal is to support and empower the BIPOC community in Central Minnesota to assume individual and collective responsibility for positive change. We believe that these efforts will help create models of leadership that recognize and leverage the strength that comes from diversity. Executive Director of the Jugaad Leadership Program, Eunice Adjei, shared more with us. “The program attracts and empowers talented BIPOC students, residents, newcomers, and professionals who want to build their capacity as leaders and advocates in Central Minnesota and beyond. Our programming and outreach activities aim to grow and develop the potential of our ethnically and racially diverse community members through learning opportunities that help them define where they want to engage, advocate and then equip them with the means to act on those aspirations”. “We are proud of Jugaad's growing organizational capacity as well as the increasing presence of JLP graduates within the leadership of Central MN." Learn more via the link in our bio! #StCloudShines
📸: @ohsnappydays
📝: @greenline_mktg

Learn More About Housing Options in Greater St. Cloud

Our Guide to Housing in Greater St. Cloud is your all-in-one resource to housing options and resources in central Minnesota communities.