Alexandria: Culture, History and Lakeside Culture

In Alexandria, cultural highlights range from collections about history and lakeside culture to a historic house, markets, and theater. If you’re looking for a hotel in Alexandria, you can plan your trip around the topics that interest you most: exhibitions, a guided tour, a visit to Big Ole Park, or a stage performance. The venues and offerings have different focuses, and their schedules also vary.

Museums: Ojibwe, Dakota, and Life on the Lake

At the Runestone Museum in downtown Alexandria, the Native American Exhibit displays items from the Ojibwe and Dakota peoples from the Dr. Oliver Collection. Examples include ceremonial pipes and beadwork. The exhibit offers a concrete glimpse into a collection that includes items from both peoples. If you’re interested in Ojibwe and Dakota cultures, these examples give your museum visit a clear thematic focus.

The Legacy of the Lakes Museum is dedicated to Minnesota’s lake culture. Its exhibitions cover classic boats, the history of fishing, and traditions of life on the water. They are complemented by an extensive, constantly changing collection of boats, motors, and memorabilia related to life on the lakes. It includes rare boats from Chris-Craft, Gar Wood, Century, and Hackercraft, as well as boats made in Minnesota. The exhibitions and the collection complement each other: their subjects range from the history of fishing to specific boats and motors.

Historic House and Theater

The historic Senator Knute Nelson House is one of the oldest buildings in Douglas County. The Douglas County Historical Society offers guided tours of the house. A visit offers a glimpse into local architectural and regional history, with the guided tour providing the format. Tour times may change, so check the schedule if you’re planning a visit for a specific day.

For a different kind of cultural evening, the Andria Theatre produces ten performances each year. The program includes musicals, comedies, and dramas. These genres offer different kinds of stage productions, but which individual performance suits your interests depends on the current schedule. If theater is an important reason for your trip, plan around the current program rather than the annual number of productions alone.

Big Ole Park: Landmark and Seasonal Markets

Big Ole, a 28-foot (about 8.5-meter) Viking statue, stands in Big Ole Park. The park is also the starting point of the Central Lakes Trail. The landmark and the trailhead offer two different ways to experience the park: the statue defines the site, while the trail connects to a longer route. You can therefore include the park in your trip planning as a destination centered on Big Ole or in connection with the trail.

Alexandria’s Farmer’s Market takes place three times a week in Big Ole Park during summer and fall. It offers locally produced goods and other food items. In summer, there is also an arts market on Saturdays, where regional artists sell their work, accompanied by musical entertainment from 10 a.m. until the end of the day. The markets therefore differ by season and weekly schedule: the Farmer’s Market takes place three times a week in summer and fall, while the arts market is held on Saturdays in summer. Check the specific dates if you want to plan your trip around a market day.

Tour times may change, and individual theater schedules and current market dates should be checked for your specific travel dates. This lets you take the different cultural offerings into account when planning, without treating them as program options that are available year-round on an unchanged basis.

Discover more destinations: Millerville.

For the broader travel overview: Douglas County.