INSIDE OUT 5 Block Party

Pillsbury House + Theatre, Pillsbury Creative Commons, KRSM Radio, and community partners invite neighbors from across Minneapolis to gather for INSIDE OUT 5, a free community block party celebrating creativity, healing, wellness, and connection.

This year’s theme is Vitality: what it means, how we nourish it, and how we build it together.

Inspired by community conversations around health, healing, belonging, and resilience, INSIDE OUT 5 brings together artists, healers, community organizations, local businesses, and neighbors for an afternoon of live performance, music, food, creative activities, wellness experiences, health and wellness resources provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross), and opportunities to connect.

Through a community health survey conducted by Pillsbury House + Theatre, South Minneapolis residents identified mental health, burnout, access to resources, and opportunities for connection as top community priorities. In response, INSIDE OUT 5 will feature community healing and wellness activities in collaboration with Blue Cross, family-friendly programming, local artists, creative experiences, food provided by Cooks of Hope, and access to organizations working to support the wellbeing of South Minneapolis residents.

“We are so excited about gathering with community again this year. Our entire season has been about connection to home, and this year’s block party is bringing home Queen Drea as part of our Makers Series, making space for world-class artists here at Pillsbury House + Theatre.”
— Signe Harriday, CEO of Pillsbury United Communities

Featured Performance

Queen Drea: Born on the Fourth of July: From Mississippi to Minnesota

A featured component of this year’s event is PH+T Makers Series Artist Queen Drea’s immersive interdisciplinary performance and installation, Born on the Fourth of July: From Mississippi to Minnesota.

Through music, poetry, layered sound design, oral history, and family archives, the work traces the journey of Queen Drea’s mother from Mississippi to Chicago and Minnesota, reflecting on Black womanhood, migration, caregiving, memory, and legacy across generations.

Supported in part by the American Composers Forum, the project blends experimental sound practice, live improvisation, and archival storytelling into an intimate meditation on history, identity, and freedom.

Performances will take place at 2 PM, 3 PM, and 4 PM during the event.

Event Activities

INSIDE OUT 5 will include:

• Community healing and wellness activities presented in collaboration with Blue Cross 

• Live DJs and music from KRSM Radio

• Artist marketplace featuring local makers and creatives

• Community organizations and resource partners

• Nourishing food and beverages provided by Cooks of Hope

• Games, family activities, and creative experiences

• Block Party Bingo with a chance to win a bicycle from Full Cycle and other raffle prizes

Community Partners and Support

INSIDE OUT 5 is presented by Pillsbury House + Theatre and Pillsbury Creative Commons in partnership with KRSM Radio, Full Cycle, Healthcare Reparations Cooperative, Justice for the People Legal Center, TapMpls, American Composers Forum, Cooks of Hope, and additional community collaborators.

Funding for this project is provided in part by the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Forward, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and grant support from the City of Minneapolis 2026 Great Streets Business District Support Program.

Accessibility

For questions or accessibility accommodations, please contact info@pillsburyhousetheatre.org.

About Pillsbury House + Theatre

Pillsbury House + Theatre’s mission is to co-create enduring change toward a just society through arts. Through its Mainstage season, community engagement programs, and artistic partnerships, PH+T illuminates the differences that make each person unique and the similarities that bring people together within an artistic environment that promotes understanding and inspires action.

As part of Pillsbury United Communities, PH+T serves as a creative and cultural anchor for South Minneapolis, supporting artists, neighbors, and community members through innovative programming that builds personal, social, and economic power.

More information: pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org