Things to Do in North Branch

Call the ticket office to reserve seats. You may then pick up your tickets at the box office during business hours or the Will Call area on the night of the performance.

While memberships must be activated by May 16, membership benefits last for one full year from activation.

Held aloft by 35 years of family tradition, Stillwater Balloon sends intrepid explorers skyward from a port just off the scenic St. Croix River. Friendly FAA-certified pilots operate each craft and readily answer any questions that passengers may have as they float through gorgeous views of the surrounding valley. The billowy, multicolored behemoths cruise at treetop level, allowing travelers to shake hands with monkeys. Private and semiprivate flights are the business's forte, but Stillwater Balloon also accommodates custom flights for backyard surprises or ultimate school pickups.

Located in the Dayton’s Bluff area, historic Mounds Theatre is a great spot to experience live theatre, movies, and occasional paranormal encounters. Knotareel Getaway Cruise is an interactive dinner-theater production written by Greg Eiden that features musical comedy and a gaggle of mimicking pirate parrots all named Polly. You’ll ward off scurvy thanks to the show’s dinner menu, which offers roasted chicken with herb vinaigrette, fettuccine or linguine (tossed with olive oil, fresh basil, and garlic), vegetable medley, field green salad, and chef’s choice dessert. You’ll also be supporting a good cause since the theater is home to the Portage for Youth, a nonprofit organization serving disadvantaged youth that collaborates with arts and cultural groups.

Discover your inner Davy Crockett with today's Groupon. For $5, you get admission to the 40th Annual Minnesota Sportsmen's Show any day from Wednesday, January 13, through Friday, January 15, at the Saint Paul River Centre. Gawk at great outdoorsy goods (RVs, motor homes, travel trailers, fishing boats), attend free fishing and hunting seminars, plan your next excursion, and witness a water-skiing squirrel purchasing a motor home.

When the Minneapolis Institute of Arts first opened its doors in 1915, it was the product of several decades of arts advocacy. A group of 25 citizens formed the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts in 1883 with the goal of giving their community access to creative arts. More than a century later, this commitment to the community has taken the permanent collections from 800 works to close to 80,000 objects and has made the institute Minnesota's largest art educator.

The collections, divided into seven curatorial areas, encompass a period of 5,000 years and hail from every corner of the world. The Asian Art collection represents 17 different Asian cultures, and Arts of Africa and the Americas holds more than 3,000 pieces of sculpture, basketry, painting, and beadwork. Temporary exhibitions bring collections of artwork from other institutions and tattoos from vending machines. The institute's interactive learning stations supplement understanding of topics such as modernism or 17th-century European painting with animation, video, and audio recordings.