Uptown Art Fair Minneapolis 2026: Why It Moved to the Lake

For two summers, the event that gave Uptown its name spent August in a parking lot three miles away. This year it came back, but not to the block everyone expected. Instead of Hennepin Avenue, artists set up along Lake of the Isles Parkway, marking its return to Uptown in a different location.

The bandshell concerts, Thursday market, art fair and restaurant openings were among the summer activity around Uptown. The sections below look at the fair's return and other changes across the neighborhood in 2026.

What Actually Moved, and Why

According to KARE 11, the Uptown Art Fair marked its 62nd edition this year, and for most of its history that meant Hennepin Avenue closed to traffic, packed with booths between the parkways that connect the lakes. In 2024, organizers relocated the fair to the parking lot of Bachman's on Lyndale Avenue, citing the reconstruction of Hennepin Avenue South between West Lake Street and Douglas Avenue. By 2025 it had a new name to match its new home: the SoMi Art Fair, short for south Minneapolis.

That changed in February 2026, when Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed at an Uptown Association meeting that the fair would return to its namesake neighborhood. It happened August 7 through 9, but along Lake of the Isles Parkway and The Mall rather than back on Hennepin. Coverage settled on two slightly different names for the rebranded event, Southwest Voices called it "Art on the Isles", while other outlets used "Art in the Isles," which is its own small signal that the identity is still being worked out in real time.

The Uptown Association's own event page put the artist count at roughly 200 juried exhibitors. Some regional coverage estimated closer to 300. Either way, it's a meaningfully smaller footprint than the fair's Hennepin Avenue peak, when it drew hundreds of thousands of visitors across several blocks.

Stefani Pennaz, who returned to Minneapolis from Arizona to take over as the Uptown Association's executive director, has been the fair's most visible advocate through the move.

"It's so important to bring the Uptown Art Fair back."

That's Pennaz, speaking to KARE 11 ahead of the August event. Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reported that organizers chose the Lake of the Isles setting as a softer, more approachable entry point back into the neighborhood.

The Money Behind the Move

The relocation came with structure attached. Half of the fair's net proceeds now flow into what the Association calls the Uptown District Reinvestment Initiative, funding beautification, graffiti removal, public safety work, arts programming, and small business support along the commercial corridor. Organizers also brought in a private security firm, Unparalleled Security, to work alongside city public safety resources.

Other Summer Events and Openings

The art fair was one of several events and openings around Uptown this year. Here are some of the activities between Memorial Day and now:

• The Lake Harriet Bandshell hosted 95 of the 208 free concerts the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board scheduled across eight venues this summer, running Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, which fell on September 7. A Minneapolis Park Market set up near the bandshell on Sundays all season.
• The Uptown Farmers Market has run every Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Lagoon and Girard Plaza since June 11, with two Thursdays left before it wraps for the season on September 24.
• Tom's Thai opened this year at 1601 West Lake Street, in the former Amore and Pinoli space, a short walk from the lakes.
• Bussin Birria Tacos, previously known only as a Mall of America stand, opened its first standalone location at 3100 Excelsior Boulevard, directly across from Lake Bde Maka Ska.
• Martiya, a new restaurant and market from the owner of Afro Deli, is set to open this fall at the intersection of Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue.

Recent Hennepin Avenue Closures

The Lowry, an all-day restaurant and bar at 2112 Hennepin that had been a fixture since before 2020, closed this spring just shy of its 15-year anniversary. Its ownership group, Blue Plate Restaurant Co., said the business couldn't recover from a combination of challenges, and named the Hennepin Avenue reconstruction project specifically as one of them. Weeks later, the Uptown location of Red Cow, at 2626 Hennepin, also closed, with staff relocated to the chain's other Twin Cities restaurants.

Restaurants close for plenty of reasons, and Blue Plate cited more than one factor. Those two closures were only part of the changes Uptown saw this year.

What This Means If You Live Here

For residents, the fair's lakeside location is one detail to keep in mind when following its next move.

That's worth knowing whether you're deciding where to grab dinner this month or just trying to understand what's actually changed in the neighborhood you already call home. The Bandshell's season is done for the year, but the farmers market has two Thursdays left, Bussin Birria Tacos is open and worth a stop by the lake, and Martiya's opening this fall will be another local development to follow. Whether the fair returns to a lakeside location in 2027 is worth watching.

If you're weighing what any of this means for a home near the lakes, or anywhere else in the Twin Cities, Sara Moran would be glad to talk it through. Let's talk about your next move.