Open Streets Minneapolis helping small businesses get recognized [Video]

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota State Fair is not the only place people were gathering on Saturday. Traffic on Lyndale Avenue from 22nd to 36th Street was replaced with nearly 300 vendors and 50 food trucks for the first Open Street Minneapolis of the season.

“We’re trying to bring people to the streets and just talking to each other, having conversations,” said Natasha Greiling. Greiling works for the Uptown Association and helped produce the event. She says the day is about culture and community.

These types of events are also great for small businesses looking to get their name out there. AbelaScents, a body butter company founded by University of Minnesota MDA student DivineMercy Bakare, is a perfect example.

“Events like this, we are really able to draw people in, and they try our products, and they feel …