Thank you to all who joined us on Thursday, April 5, at Lakes & Legends Brewing Company for All Are Welcome Beer 2018! With the support of our superstar bartenders, fabulous nonprofits, awesome staff, and amazing volunteers, we raised nearly $4000 for the ACLU of Minnesota. And, of course, we could not have done this without All of you. (Photos by Leslie Plesser of Shuttersmack Photography.)
Event Highlights
From 5pm-6pm Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Double Consciousness podcast co-hosts, Toussaint Morrison and Joetta Wright kicked off our “Happy Hour.”
Next, local music icons Jeremy Messersmith, Maria Isa, and Lazerbeak joined former news anchor and arts advocate Robyne Robinson behind the bar. The aprons got a lot of love!
Author and host of The Local Show, Andrea Swensson; local music icon John Munson; Minneapolis City Council Member Phillipe Cunningham; and Lady Liberty wrapped up happy hour in high style.
During Happy Hour, we had nine local nonprofits and do-good organizations join us to help event supporters learn more about how to take action to fight for inclusion, human rights, and help empower others in our community:
- Mizna: http://www.mizna.org
- Welcoming Schools: http://www.welcomingschools.org
- Transforming Families MN: https://tffmn.org
- OutFront Minnesota: https://www.outfront.org
- International Institute of Minnesota: https://iimn.org
- El Fundo Boricua: https://elfondoboricua.org
- Girls Are Powerful Organization: http://www.girlsarepowerful.com
- Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL): http://ctul.net
- High Five Bakery: http://highfivebakery.com
Throughout the evening Brent Dundore of BD Portraits Studio hosted a super fun photo booth. A long time supporter of the ACLU of Minnesota and All Are Welcome Here, Brent donated his time and talents to make our event memorable for all, allowing guests to strike a pose with friends or with the ACLU's Lady Liberty!
MICROSHOW
To cap off an amazing evening, a few of our guest bartenders put on a microwshow!
Performance artist, Ifrah Mansour took the microphone to tell the secrets of making Somali tea, painting a beautiful verbal portrait of the many spices from around the world combined to make one amazing experience.
John Munson, still wearing his All Are Welcome Beer apron, spoke about how supporting the ACLU helps him envision a better world for All. He played the wintery ode, “Snow Days” from his band Trip Shakespeare. 
Toussaint Morrison then blew us all away with powerful and moving lyrics to his original song "Last Day of School."
Maria Isa opened her set with an incredible conga performance, explaining that across cultures the drum is a heartbeat that unifies us all. She also spoke about her ongoing and heroic efforts to support communities in Puerto Rico still recovering from Hurricane Maria. You can donate to El Fundo Boricua here: https://elfondoboricua.org.
Jeremy Messersmith played his new hit Purple Heart on ukulele and got the crowd involved in a super silly sing-along for Everybody Gets a Kitten. And yes, an enthusiastic dog interrupted his whistle solo.
We want to give Rick Ausland, Instant Request DJ Entertainment, and PopROCKS! a huge shout out of gratitude for supporting All Are Welcome Beer and the ACLU of Minnesota. Our micro-show would not be possible without their generous contributions of time, talents, and resources.
And thank you, again, to All of you. Your support means the world to us, and your generous donations (and beer and product purchases) help improve the lives of All who live in the United States!
