on location: midwest O randy mink t’s hard to believe that Mall of America is 20 years old this SPAM at 75. The Southern Minnesota town of Austin, year. To many of us, the mega-mall seems just as fresh as home of the Hormel Foods meat-packing plant, will be in a Iwhen it opened in 1992. Twenty years is a real milestone. festive frame of mind this year as it celebrates 75 years of the A look at some other tourist favorites in Minnesota also re- SPAM brand. Much of the hoopla will be across the street veals milestones worth observing. Here are some of the most from the factory at the free-admission SPAM Museum, and noteworthy: Hormel will stage a community festival in July. In animated TV MINNEMILESTONESSOTA Group-friendly attractions throughout the state mark special anniversaries in 2012 The Pepsi Orange Streak careens through Nickelodeon Universe, the amusement park in Bloomington’s Mall of America, now in its 20th year. 40 April 2012 LeisureGroupTravel.com commercials you’ll see the brand’s first spokescharacter, importance of SPAM to his troops during World War II. On a Sir Can-A-Lot, as he crusades to “rescue the world from make-believe production line, you can don a white butcher coat routine meals.” and race against the clock. A 15-minute video chronicles the Manufactured in Austin since 1937, SPAM consists of pork history of SPAM. shoulder, ham trimmings and spices, all cooked and neatly The gift shop sells all SPAM varieties, including ones that packaged in that familiar blue-and-yellow pull-tab can. In 1989 might not be in your local store, plus cookbooks, oven mitts, T- SPAM discontinued the attached key for twisting off the lid, one shirts, mouse pads and other SPAM logo items. The Wall of of many facts a museum visitor learns from a self-guided tour SPAM at the museum entrance, a great photo backdrop, con- or a “SPAMbassador” guide (often a retired Hormel employee). tains 3,390 empty cans. (spam.com) And did you know that Hawaii residents are the most ardent Minnesota History Center at 20. This great repository of SPAM fans, annually consuming 11 cans per capita? all things Minnesota had its grand opening in 1992, the same The SPAM Museum is a wonderland of memorabilia, from year as Mall of America. An impressive building located near radio jingles and TV commercials to a Monty Python tribute the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, the museum captures and a letter from General Dwight Eisenhower recognizing the the essence of the state in interactive displays and videos. Popular permanent exhibits include Minnesota’s Greatest Generation, a look at those who grew up during the Depression, came of age during World War II and participated in the post-war boom. Visitors view classic film clips in a 1930s-style movie the- ater, get behind the counter of a soda fountain from the era, watch a re-creation of a WWII combat flight and join a Rosie the Riveter-style assembly line packing ammunition shells. A temporary exhibit on Depression-era art that adorned public buildings showcases 56 paintings produced under the auspices of the federal government’s Public Works of Art Proj- ect for unemployed artists. Organized by the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, 1934: A New Deal for Artists runs from June 2 to Sept. 30. Don’t miss the museum’s Weather Permitting exhibit, which covers ice fishing, snow shoveling, skiing and dog sledding; a six-minute show, complete with howling winds, sounds of breaking glass and recollections of victims, recreates living through a tornado. (minnesotahistorycenter.org) Mall of America at 20. After 20 years, the nation’s largest retail and entertainment complex under one roof still reigns supreme as one of the Midwest’s blockbuster attractions. Last year was a record-setter for the Bloomington mall, which re- ported a sales increase of 10 percent and welcomed 26 new tenants; traffic rose by 3.5 percent. Renovations in the area being vacated by long-time anchor Bloomingdale’s and more new stores are on tap for 2012, not to mention a full slate of 20th anniversary events. The mall’s Nickelodeon Universe, America’s largest indoor amusement park, welcomes two new rides that will up the scream quotient. On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock, guests are able to control their seat, which can rotate wildly like a plane propeller or a gentle teeter-totter, making no two ride experiences the same. The ride is based on the new animated television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which will premier later this year on Nickelodeon. Other MOA fun options include SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium, Moose LeisureGroupTravel.com April 2012 41 on location: midwest O Mountain Adventure Golf and a 14-screen movie theater. Mall of America, located 15 minutes from downtown Min- neapolis and St. Paul, features 520-plus shops that annually draw more than 42 million visitors, including some four million international guests. The mall’s Phase II plan calls for up an additional 5.6 million square feet, with high-end hotel, retail and medical facilities, including a Radisson Blu hotel opening in 2013. (mallofamerica.com) Walker Art Center at 85. Established in 1927, the Walker Art Center became the first public art gallery in the Upper Mid- west and began its focus on contemporary art in the 1940s. A major expansion opened in 2005, and today the Walker is one of the nation’s five most-visited modern/contemporary art mu- Spoonbridge and Cherry, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden seums in the U.S. Besides featuring the works of major 20th and 21st century artists, the museum is revered for the vital- ity of its performing arts, film and education programs. A vital force for bringing new visitors into the Walker has been the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1988. Its centerpiece is Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Brugen’s Spoonbridge and Cherry, a whimsical symbol of the Twin Cities. Together the garden and Walker Art Center at- tract more than 600,000 visitors a year. (walkerart.org) MSP Airport’s Terminal 1-Lindbergh at 50. Minneapolis- St. Paul (MSP) International Airport has come a long way since opening in 1962 with 24 aircraft gates on two concourses, or “piers.” Today it has 117 gates on seven concourses. Airlines carried about 33 million passengers to and from MSP last year, compared to fewer than 2 million in 1962. On average, some 80,000 people a day now fly through Terminal 1-Lindbergh. Of the seven airlines that served MSP when the terminal opened, only United Airlines still exists. The others – Braniff, Eastern, North Central, Northwest, Ozark and Western – suc- cumbed to acquisition, merger or liquidation. MSP became a major hub in 1986 with the merger of the two largest carriers at the airport, Northwest and Republic, creating the world’s fourth largest airline. Although Delta Air Lines didn’t begin serving the Twin Cities until 1984, it became the dominant carrier in 2008 when it acquired Northwest Airlines. Because it was the only active terminal at MSP when it opened for business in 1962, Terminal 1-Lindbergh wasn’t ac- tually named until 1985, when it was rededicated to famous Minnesota aviator Charles A. Lindbergh. Naming the terminal had become necessary with the introduction of a second ter- minal in 1986, the Hubert H. Humphrey International Charter Terminal. A numeric designator was added to both terminal names in 2010 in an effort to win approval from state and fed- eral highway officials for signs directing drivers to the correct Source of the Mississippi River, Itasca State Park Photos Tourism Minnesota Explore terminal for their airline. (mspairport.com) 42 April 2012 LeisureGroupTravel.com Family FunFun:: Mall ofof America America® has the widest variety of enterentertainmenttainment options under one roof, including the largest indoor Nickelodeon® theme park – Nickelodeon Universe.® WWorld-Classorld-Class Shopping: 520 stores all in one location with no sales tax on clothing and shoes! For more inforinformation,mation, contact Millie Philipp in Mall of America TourismTourism at 952.883.8843,952.883.8843, [email protected] or visit www.mallofamerica.comwww.mallofamerica.com Diana: A CelebrationCelebration February 4 - June 10, 2012 /Mallo/MallofAmericafAmA erica AAnAn award-winningaward-winning exhibition ccelebratingeelebrating the life and work of Diana, Princesss oof Wales. @Mallo@MallofAmericaffAmAmerica Mall of America, Level 4 Photo: MariMarioo TestinoTTeestino on location: midwest O Paul Bunyan and Babe at 75. On the shores of Lake Be- midji in downtown Bemidji, the Bemidji Tourist Information Cen- ter greets guests with the colorful statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, a photo opportunity if there ever was one. Reflecting the state’s northwoods heritage, the iconic cul- tural figures have awed millions of vacationers since 1937 and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Made of steel, cement and wood, the giant, painted statues (designed on a three-to-one scale) are touched up each year before the summer tourism season begins. Four blocks west of the mythical lumberjack and his ox is the Be- midji Woolen Mills outlet store, which brims with the warm clothes it’s made for loggers and outdoorsmen since 1920. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, a Bemidji must-see The fourth-generation family company makes the signature cotton sweater vests worn by Republican presidential candi- date Rick Santorum. (visitbemidji.com/bemidji/paulbabe.html) Discovery of Mississippi River Headwaters, 180th an- niversary. For decades European explorers were on the quest to find the headwaters of the Mississippi River, the “Father of Waters.” It was not until 1832 that Anishinabe Indian guide Oza- windib led British explorer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to the source of the river at Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota.