Since his death on April 21, Prince has drawn tributes from around the globe, with the most fervent making the trip to his hometown, Minneapolis, where petitions are circulating to make the star’s June 7 birthday a holiday and to rename a terminal after him at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Now, new tours make it easy to follow the Prince trail around town.
Waconiaville Tours, which specializes in winery visits, has added a Prince Tour that stops at Paisley Park, the home and studio of the star in suburban Chanhassen, which is not open to the public; his former school; the first theater where he performed; and the Electric Fetus, said to be his favorite record store in the Twin Cities. The tours, which will run four to five hours, are to begin May 28 ($58).
“We thought we would let the dust settle a bit, but a lot of people were asking for tours and there’s a story to be told,” said Randy Luedtke, owner of Waconiaville Tours.
To encourage Prince-inspired visitors, the tourism association Meet Minneapolis has published an online guide to the former homes, schools and clubs where Prince lived, studied and played. The list also features sites including the esteemed music club First Avenue, Cedar Lake and the Orpheum Theater where scenes from the 1984 Prince film “Purple Rain” were shot.
“For a lot of us, he was a celebrity, but for many of us here he was a neighbor,” said Bill Deef, vice president of Meet Minneapolis. The association’s guide lists about 20 sites and includes maps for self-guided tours.
The city’s bike-share program Nice Ride also has a self-guided “Prince-for-a-Day” tour that visits four sites, including the house from “Purple Rain” and the nightclub formerly known as Glam Slam when Prince owned it.
Venues where Prince performed and attended shows including First Avenue and the Dakota Jazz Club make it easy to experience the musical side of Minneapolis.
“We remain true to his legacy and we hope to embody everything he was, which is liberation and the freedom to be yourself,” said Dayna Frank, the owner of First Avenue.
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