Saturday, May 30

9:00 AM–4:00 PM

Spend the last Saturday in May at the Flint Hills Family Festival and immerse yourself and your family in the arts and culture of the Twin Cities! Dance acts, musical groups, artists, and so much more from across the metro area will all come to downtown Saint Paul in a grand celebration in the Ordway, Rice Park, and Landmark Plaza.

For a fantastic Festival Saturday: pick up tickets to a low-cost indoor performance, stretch your legs and your imagination with activities in Rice Park, and make sure to catch a free outdoor performance by headliners Sons of Mystro at noon!

Check back closer to Festival time for the full Saturday schedule!

May 29 - 30

Cirque Mechanics: TILT!

May 29 - 30

NOOMA, an opera for babies

May 30

Click, Clack, Moo

Free to attend

Outdoor performances

Cheering families at the Flint Hills Family Festival 2024. Photo by Laura Alpizar.

On Saturday, the parks surrounding the Ordway bustle with free, kid-friendly acts! Bring your whole family for award-winning musicians, funny clowns, modern and traditional dance from around the world, and more! Performances are great for all ages, and take place across multiple stages.

Where are outdoor performances?

Performance locations subject to change once the full Saturday schedule has been announced!

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Across from the Ordway, between Washington and Market Street in Rice Park, near the fountain

World Dance Stage

Located in the Landmark Plaza, across from the Landmark Center on Market Street and West 5th

No tickets or advanced registration are required for outdoor presentations.

Sons of Mystro

12:00 PM on the Flint Hills World Music Stage

With a violin in hand and innovation in their veins, Sons of Mystro isn’t just playing music—they’re rewriting the rules. This dynamic duo has captivated audiences worldwide, sharing stages with reggae royalty like Marcia Griffiths, John Holt, and Barrington Levy, while seamlessly bridging the gap to the new school with electrifying collabs featuring Beenie Man, Mr. Vegas, and Romain Virgo. Legends and rising stars alike have been left in awe by their genre-defying arrangements and jaw-dropping musicality.

Flint Hills World Music Stage

DJ Huh? What??

9:00–3:00 PM • Rice Park

@PackMaterialLLC on Facebook

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Hmong Cultural Center Qeej Ensemble

9:15–9:35 AM • Rice Park

HmongCC.org

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Riffin' Griffin

9:55–10:20 AM • Rice Park

RiffinGriffin.com

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Ensō Daiko/TaikoArts Midwest

10:45–11:10 AM • Rice Park

TaikoArtsMidwest.org

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Sons of Mystro

12:00–12:45 PM • Rice Park

SonsOfMystro.com

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Pan-Handlers: Steel Drums Band

1:20–1:45 PM • Rice Park

Pan-Handlers.org

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Jamela Pettiford & The Unit

2:05–2:30 PM • Rice Park

JamelaPettiford.com

Flint Hills World Music Stage

Larry Yazzie & Native Pride Productions

3:15–4:00 PM • Rice Park

NativePrideProductions.com

World Dance Stage

Silly Miss Tilly

Starts at 9:30 AM • Landmark Plaza

@ThatSillyMissTilly on Instagram

World Dance Stage

The Legend of the Winter Carnival

9:45–10:10 AM • Landmark Plaza

WinterCarnival.com

World Dance Stage

Los Alegres Bailadores

10:35–11:05 AM • Landmark Plaza

LosAlegresBailadores.com

World Dance Stage

Hoàng Anh Vietnamese Dance Group

11:20–11:45 PM • Landmark Plaza

HoangAnhDanceGroup.Wordpress.com

World Dance Stage

Nritya Kalakshetra Indian Dance Group

1:00–1:25 PM • Landmark Plaza

@NrityaKalakshetraAcademy on Facebook

World Dance Stage

Colombia LIVE

1:50–2:15 PM • Landmark Plaza

ColombiaLiveMN.com

World Dance Stage

CAAM Chinese Dance Theater

2:30–2:55 PM • Landmark Plaza

CAAM.org

Students smiling for the camera from the Ordway lobby at the Flint Hills Family Festival 2025. Photo by Laura Alpizar.

Crowd at Koo Koo Kanga Roo's Flint Hills Family Festival performance. Photo by Laura Alpizar.

Crowd in the Music Theater at the 2025 Flint Hills Family Festival. Photo by Laura Alpizar.

NOOMA, an opera for babies at the 2025 Flint Hills Family Festival. Photo by Laura Alpizar.

Cirque Mechanics performing TILT! Photo by Kirk Marsh.

Free to enjoy

Activities

Youth and adults at Flint Hills Family Festival 2025. Photo by Laura Alpizar.

Learn and create at the Festival! During the Flint Hills Family Festival weekend, Rice Park—just across from the Ordway—bustles with fun, free art-making activities, educational games, and more.

Where are activities?

Activity timing and locations subject to change once the full Saturday schedule has been announced!

Rice Park

Across from the Ordway between Washington and Market Street

Landmark Plaza

Across from the Landmark Center between Market and Saint Peter Street

All activities are available for free throughout the duration of Festival Saturday.

Art Buddies

Magical Creature Masks

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Create your own fantastical creature-mask imbued with magical powers using simple materials like construction paper, markers, colorful feathers, and googly eyes!

ArtBuddies.org

Arti Chandak Henna Art

Henna Body Art

Ages: 5–10 • Rice Park

Henna is a body art that can be done on all ages and is all-natural. It can feature very different, freehand creative designs, and will last 7–10 days on average.

ArtStart and The Poetry Bus

Poetry on the Hoof!

Ages: 10-14 • Rice Park

Belly up to the typewriter, and work with a Poetry Bus poet to co-create a poem just for you! Then work with an ArtStart artist to embellish a snazzy frame for it with fun and colorful doo-dads.

Ballet Co.Laboratory

Pipe Cleaner Crowns and the Point Shoe Game

Ages: 10-14 • Rice Park

Pipe cleaner crown craft- there will be a table with an assortment of pipe cleaners to twist into a colorful crown

Pointe Shoe Game- there will be a peg board with assorted pointe shoes. On each shoe is a ballet step, participants guess or learn the step from dancers running the game. Participants can then select a prize.

BalletCoLaboratory.org

Bell Museum

Imagine Earth's Garden

Ages: 10-14 • Rice Park

If you were a plant, how would you fight climate change? Imagine Earth's Garden showcases Minnesota native plant and lichen species and their responses to climate change. Come by the table to explore the gardens of Minnesota and make your own zine!

BellMuseum.UMN.edu

Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center

Critter Painting Party

Ages: 5–10 • Rice Park

Experience some of Minnesota’s native wildlife up close with some live animal ambassadors! You can paint, draw, or color the animals you meet.

CarpenterNatureCenter.org

Flint Hills Resources

Design a Drawstring Bag!

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Get creative with us by designing and coloring your own drawstring bag! Show off your artistic style, then use your bag to carry all the arts and crafts you collect throughout the Festival.

FHR.com

Provided Through The Generosity of Flint Hills Resources

Fire Truck Activity Booth

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Stop by to explore a fire truck and experience a glimpse into a firefighter’s day! Kids can also decorate a sticker to personalize their very own firefighter helmet.

Author Trần Thị Minh Phước and Hoàng Anh Vietnamese Dance Group

Dragon & Fairies: Vietnamese Culture Through Folktales & Legends

Ages: 5–10 • Rice Park

Meet the legendary characters, Tam and Cam from the Vietnamese Cinderella, the Moon Lady and read their stories!

PhuocThiMinhTran.Wordpress.com HoangAnhDanceGroup.Wordpress.com

India Association of Minnesota

Painting and Games

Ages: 10-14 • Rice Park

Enjoy Diya and Mandala painting while playing carrom, chess, and more!

IAMN.org

Joy Collaborative

Joy Mobile

Ages: 0-4 • Rice Park

We are a mobile sensory experience supporting individuals through healing spaces wherever they are.

Enjoy our mobile, sensory-friendly space whenever you need a break!

JoyCollaborative.org

MN BIPOC Kid Lit

Comic Books and Story Time!

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Come make a graphic novel with local writers and illustrators and enjoy hourly storytime.

MNBIPOCKidLit.com

Minnesota Boychoir

Pipe Cleaner People

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Use pipe cleaners, beads, and markers to make your very own pipe cleaner people!

BoyChoir.org

Minnesota Zoo

Refill The Rivers

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Our “Refill the Rivers” activity fosters learnng about our Minnesota native turtle and mussels and their riverine habitat by introducing participants to major features of these ecosystems.

MNZoo.org

Mounds Park Academy

Kindness Rocks

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Stop by and create your own kindness rock! Choose a stone and decorate it with colorful designs, uplifting words, or inspiring messages. Once your masterpiece is complete, you can place it somewhere around the festival—or take it home to leave in your neighborhood—to brighten someone’s day.

MoundsParkAcademy.org

Ordway

Join The Marching Band!

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Make your own personalized shaker, inspired by the Ordway's upcoming production of The Music Man

Ordway.org/Events/Music-Man

Park Square Education

Theatre Masks

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Create your own theatre mask! Express your creativity by building and decorating your own unique theatre mask.

ParkSquareTheatre.org/Education

Public Math

Pop-Up Math Play

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Learn how math is all around us and what fun it can be!

Public-Math.org

Saint Paul Public Library

Summer At The Library

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Explore what's in store at the Saint Paul Public Library this summer!

SPPL.org

Saint Paul Winter Carnival

Winter Carnival

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Play extra-large sized games, win prizes, make art, and so much more.

WinterCarnival.com

Stages Theatre Company

Make Ogre Ears

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Get ready to craft like an ogre (or a princess)! Kids can create their very own Shrek-inspired headwear by making green paper ogre ears attached to a simple paper crown, or design a sparkly paper tiara fit for a fairytale royal.

StagesTheatre.org

The Journey School

Create Your Own Puppet

Ages 5-10 • Rice Park

Use your imagination to create a paper bag puppet and put on a mini show!

TheJourneySchool.org

Twin Cities PBS

PBS in the Park!

Ages: 5-10 • Rice Park

Enjoy a special meet-and-greet with a costumed character from Skillsville, and take home PBS giveaways and an activity book to keep the learning going.

TPT.org

Free Festival event transit

Visit the Flint Hills Family Festival for less with free rides from Metro Transit! To access this offer, use the links below to fill out a brief survey and download your Metro Transit event transit pass for the date(s) of your choice. Offer valid for both buses and rail lines.

May 29 offer

Link for May 29 event transit pass

May 30 offer

Link for May 30 event transit pass

Photo courtesy of Metro Transit.