School | Fun Fact | Types of Classes | Try This Class | Small Print |
| Minneapolis College of Art and Design | A single teacher started MCAD in 1886, teaching drawing and painting in a rented apartment. | Anything and everything you’ll need to bring out your inner artist, from comic book creation to oil painting. | Children’s Book Illustration: Explore the range of children’s book illustration starting with story-board conceptualizations and sketches and ending with final illustrations. | Most classes range from $72 to $358.2501 Stevens Ave., Mpls., 612-874-3700 |
| MacPhail Center for Music | MacPhail hosts more than 300 concerts throughout the year, from casual performances to recitals. | Instrument, vocal, and composition classes for children, teens, and adults of every skill level. | | Irish Fiddle:
If you love the sound of the Celtic fiddle (and know how to play the violin), you’ll learn to play some easy Irish tunes. | Group classes range from $23 to $450. Three metro locations, including
501 S. 2nd St., Mpls.,
612-321-0100 |
| The Loft Literary Center | The Loft is known as a place where writers learn from other writers: Each class is taught by a writer, literary agent, or editor. | Along with offerings in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction (the memoir class is a fave), The Loft offers classes and workshops in everything from the creative process to play writing, screen writing, and the business of writing. | The Art of the Blog:
If you believe that the Internet is the future of media, this is the class for you. Find out the secrets of successful blogs, how to start or improve your own blog, how to gain readers, and how to generate ideas for new posts. | | Fees vary, depending on length of course and fee scale. Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Ste. 200, Mpls., 612-215-2575 | |
| Zenon Dance Company | Zenon’s “teaching artists” include more than forty-five professional choreographers and dancers who teach at the school and take the stage at Zenon performances. | Offerings range from ballroom to break dancing, but Zenon is probably best known for its superior modern dance and jazz classes. | | Afro Modern:
Fusing aspects of African, Afro–Caribbean, and modern dance, this class teaches how to maintain technique and structure while executing each step through different rhythms, accents, and dynamics. | Classes range from $90 to $120. 528 Hennepin Ave., Ste. 400, Mpls., 612-338-1101 | |
| Minneapolis Community Education | With literally hundreds of classes offered at eighteen different locations, you’d be hard-pressed not to find at least one to pique your interest. | From knitting to woodworking, introductory language classes to a crash course on basic financial planning, Thai cooking to kung fu fundamentals, MCE offers just about everything you’ve ever thought of. | Mosaics:
In this four-week class, students create a mosaic of their choice on items ranging from birdbaths to mirrors, flower pots, and serving trays. | Most classes are less than $100, depending on course length. | |
| Twin Cities Experimental College | Macalester students began the school in 2007 as a response to high education costs. | | Most classes, such as Ecofeminism and How to Solve a Philosophical Problem, stress self-exploration and improvement. You can apply to teach a class too. | | Winter and spring classes are still being hammered out, but we would have loved to have taken the Basic Sewing Machine Class offered this past fall. | All classes are free. Locations vary. |
| Cooks of Crocus Hill | Many well-known chefs, such as Lucia Watson and Andrew Zimmern, stop by Cooks to teach classes. | Classes focus on cooking techniques and entertaining. | Valentine’s Aphrodisiac Meal: Learn how to make a selection of love-inspired noshes—oysters on the half shell and crystallized ginger truffles. | Classes are $65–$70.
877 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-228-1333; 3925 W. 50th St., Edina, 952-285-1903 | |
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