Sure sure, I wasn’t found this week. And you could chalk that up on the big tally board as a failure. But you know what? I ended up at the first Concrete and Grass Music Festival. This is an outdoor concert that I wouldn’t have known about or looked for if it weren’t for Least Dangerous Game. And it was a great time.

The first band up was the Como Ave Jug Band, which is exactly what it sounds like. There was a jug player, tap dancing percussion, a washboard, fiddle, mandolin, oil drum base, and more. It was a great time, and well worth the free admission.

The twangy Front Porch Swingin’ Liquor Pigs came on next with a solid performance. They kept things moving with some Billy Joe Royal and White Stripes songs.

Next up was the full voiced and out of tune Total Praise Gospel Choir which was, well, out of tune and hard to listen to. Which was a shame.

And the people there! Old MPR listeners mixed with the fellow who decided that coveralls do exactly as advertised so he didn’t see the need to wear a t-shirt.

I could go through the clues that would have led people to me, but no one was led to me. The clues weren’t the most complex I’ve had, so it seems that no one was playing.

Which is a shame, because the festival was a great time. I’ll have to go and use this $20 Target gift card prize myself. Oh well.

Is anybody out there? Sound off in the comments if you are. We’ll do this again in two weeks.

Let’s not try that again. And by “that,” I mean go to the Minnesota State Fair on the weekend.

Yes yes, I knew that finding me at the State Fair on a Saturday would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I wanted to see if it could be done. Which it couldn’t. Now we know.

But if you take out all the shoving and pushing and nudging, it was grand day to be at the fair. Pronto Pups and cheese curds were consumed. Drunk men in bright green sombreros were laughed at were blatantly laughed at by drunk men from Boston Scientific.

And to top it all off, my wife and I saw the most pathetic sideshow in the world. For every nail that someone drilled into their nose, there were ten illusions that I could perform more convincingly with pipe cleaners and a empty Tic-Tac container. The only saving grace was the David Lynch style atmosphere of the surroundings.

Let’s do this again soon, but in two weeks, and not at the State Fair. It’s a date!

After surviving a night of constant lightening, it was time to roll out of bed and play Least Dangerous Game. The sidewalks were now dry, but the humidity had been turned up a notch. Sweaty fun was sure to be had today! The clean kind of sweaty fun.

The hiding location for this week’s Least Dangerous was the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary located within the Twin Cities park system. Let’s go through the clues and see how people did.

Minnesota history: 1928

Minnesota native Arlene Dahl, star of movies such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Ambush was born on August 11th, 1928. But that doesn’t point to any bird sanctuary. What is going on here?

She was born in 1928, but her clue is from 1950.

Oh, I see. She was in a movie called Watch the Birdie in 1950. Very tricky, Aric. Very tricky indeed.

What’s that hunhback yelling? I can’t hear him over the bells.

Some of you may have gone to the Basilica, but that was incorrect. The hunchback yells “Sanctuary,” of course. As in “bird sanctuary.

Celebrating 100 years

On the day of the game, the Wildflower Garden was celebrating its 100th anniversary. That two items of Minnesota came together on the same day for these clues was perfect.

At this point, Molly Bloom of Minnesota Public Radio called to find where I was so she could do an interview with me. She actually guess correctly! But since she wasn’t playing, her only reward would be a solid radio interview.

While waiting for Molly to show arrive, I sent out another clue.

Alvin and Simon love Mrs. Butter.

The garden was located on Theodore Wirth Parkway. Get it? Theodore? Worth? Wirth? Yeah, you got it.

At this point, Molly showed up and we began a pleasant and casual chat about Least Dangerous Game and quirky ideas in general. A lot of things were recorded, but we’ll see how much is used. I imagine something along the lines of 30 seconds. But it was a beautiful day out to be sitting and chatting with someone in some gardens. No complaints here.

I am lost in this Brazilian rainforest. Find me at 0831779535

The Amazon is the Brazilian rainforest! If you go to Amazon.com and look up sku 0831779535, you will find a book about wildflowers and birds. That’s one crazy clue, I tell you what.

This 13 acre site was preserved with an initial budget of $200.

Eloise Butler started her wildflower garden on 13 acres with a budget of only $200. I didn’t ask the reenacter that was there if this was true. I took the internet at its word.

Oldest public wildflower garden in the nation.

The last fact of interest before I was found. All of these history I didn’t know about before this week, let alone that a celebration was going on. There really is a lot of amazing stuff going on in the Twin Cities.

Then, the winners showed up!

It was Mike Janssen and Diana Rajchel again! Hooray for winning gift certificates!

After getting interviewed themselves, Mike, Diana and I went searching for cake. Because it isn’t a birthday party without cake.

And so wraps up this weekend of Least Dangerous Game. It was a beautiful if a bit humid day out, and I enjoyed myself while learning a lot.

Not to stress learning. No no, kids. You’re doing this for fun and gift certificates! See you in a few weeks!

Failure! Or, rather, no one was looking. I hid for three sweet hours at the Mel-O-Glaze Bakery in south east Minneapolis and no one was even searching. Luckily I had some pastries and friends to keep me company.

Let’s go through the clues anyway, shall we?

Nearby you drive on this, but park somewhere ironic.

Mel-O-Glaze is located on Minnehaha Parkway. You drive on the parkway and park on your driveway. Hilarious, I know. You know, I made that up a long time ago and now I hear people saying all the time.

Family owned for over 43 years.

What could that possibly mean?

Somewhere between June 30th and July 14th

Oddly enough, Mel-O-Glaze can be found between my hiding spots on June 30th, Matt’s Bar, and July 14th, the Minnehaha Depot.

Best of 2005 & 2007

City Pages named Mel-O-Glaze as holder of the best donuts in the Twin Cities in 2005 and 2007. And you know something? They might be on to something there.

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This beautiful weekend was a perfect example of why Least Dangerous Game exists. The weather was perfect, the players were plentiful, the gift certificate was for Schlotzsky’s Deli, and the setting was one I hadn’t been to in years. Proving, as I had hoped, that there was plenty to do in the Twin Cities to do that I never considered before beginning Least Dangerous Game!

The location this week was the Minnehaha Depot, located a Barry Bonds asterisk filled home run away from Minnehaha Falls.

Hey, why don’t we review the clues? That sounds great!

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