St. Paul and Garrison Keillor
August 23, 2010 by Sherri Smith Brown
Filed under Sherri Smith Brown, Travel
About ten years ago, my husband and I took a long weekend trip in the middle of January to St. Paul, Minnesota. The reason? To go to the Fitzgerald Theater on a Saturday night for a live radio performance of Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” We decided if we were going to Minnesota, we would venture there during the St. Paul Winter Carnival and experience a “real” winter. We bought and borrowed snow boots, down parkas, and flannel-lined clothing.
Garrison Keillor and the regulars during a live performance of "A Prairie Home Companion."
That year’s Winter Carnival was the warmest on record. By early Saturday afternoon, all the life-sized, intricate ice sculptures being carved by artists in Rice Park, the public square just across Market Street from our hotel, were melting; and we were yanking off layers of clothing and stuffing them into our backpacks! So much for experiencing Minnesota weather. But Garrison Keillor, the 100-year-old Fitzgerald Theater, and our self-guided walking tour through the historic neighborhood where F. Scott Fitzgerald grew up were a thrill.
Last week, I read that “A Prairie Home Companion” is offering an F. Scott Fitzgerald Birthday Bash Travel Package for its season opener, September 24 – 26. Besides tickets to the Saturday night show, the package includes a Friday night Mississippi riverboat cruise with dinner and entertainment, a walking or bus tour of Fitzgerald’s birthplace and Summit Avenue where he lived when he wrote his first novel, “This Side of Paradise,” PHC’s annual Street Dance and Meatloaf Supper on Exchange Street after the performance, and hotel accommodations. (We stayed at the historic St. Paul Hotel in the center of town.)
Built in 1910, the Fitzgerald Theater is the St. Paul stage for public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion."
Now, this is not a trip for kids – unless they are addicted to PHC like I am. (Brianna is not there yet, but I am working on it. Let’s just say that she is “aware.”) Space is also very limited – but if you’re lucky and can get the package, it should be a great time. If you’re too late for this particular package, take a trip to St. Paul on your own one weekend when Keillor and his radio repertoire are in town. You might even try January and Winter Carnival time – the 2011 carnival is January 27 – February 6. Who knows, it might even be below freezing up there!
For more information, visit “A Prairie Home Companion” website.
Read more of Sherri’s travel adventures at Brown’s Guides.
I am a freelance writer and video producer. I love to research, explore and travel so most of my work focuses on travel destinations. I have co-authored several guidebooks to Georgia with my husband, Fred Brown, and we have a website called BrownsGuides.com. I write blogs for BrownsGuides.com about travel resources in Peachtree City, my hometown, as well as neighboring Senoia, Georgia. I also have my own website at sherrismithbrown.com. Best of all, I am mother and a grandmother – and I love that!