Chaska is the latest community that will allow visitors to wander around with a drink during community gatherings.
The City Council has approved a measure supported by local business owners in a defined area of downtown starting in September.
"People can come down, experience downtown, go from store-to-store, shop-to-shop, or if there's a market happening or a community event as well, they can go to those and not kind of be tied to one building," explains Chaska Community Engagement Manager Kevin Wright.
The first Chaska "Sip-n-Shop" is Saturday September 10 during the Farmer's Market.
"It's those downtown environments that really help you build community, and a lot of times, there was an era where the big box store that was kind of big," adds Wright. "It maybe kind of felt a little more impersonal."
Other markets and events are planned almost weekly through the holidays in Chaska.
It joins Anoka and Shakopee as one of the three Twin Cities communities with a "social district" ordinance.
Anoka was he first city in the state to launch a permanent program, allowing open containers downtown daily from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Shakopee operates a seasonal social district downtown and near Canterbury Park during specific spring-to-fall windows.
