Twin Cities Networking Events Roundup (Dec 1-15th)
Plus sharing why I'm retiring Best of Awards + more updates!
👋 Welcome, friend!
Hey Twin Cities friends!
December is officially here, and the next two weeks are stacked with ways to get out from behind your laptop, connect with other entrepreneurs, and soak up a little holiday magic around the metro.
P.S. If you’ve been around Twin Cities Collective for a while, you might notice something missing this year — the Best of Awards. This is my first December since 2018 without them, and at the end of this email I’ll share a bit about why I decided it was time to retire them and what I’m focusing on instead.
P.P.S. One of my very first networking events I ever attended is also retiring this month-Rising Tide Society! Final event is tomorrow (make sure to check it out below!)
🎉 This Week: December 1–7
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2
2025 TeamWomen Holiday Party & New Member Reception
🗓 Date & Time: 5:30–7:30 p.m. CST
📍 Location: The Club at Golden Valley, Golden Valley
🎯 Who It’s For: Women professionals and entrepreneurs looking for mentorship, connection, and community
🎉 Vibe: Sparkly, upbeat, and relationship-focused — a fun way to kick off December
🔗 Link to Register: Details & tickets
End of the Year Gathering: One Last Hurrah! (Rising Tide Society – Final Meetup)
🗓 Date & Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CST
📍 Location: Block Portrait Studios
🎯 Who It’s For: Creatives, small business owners, and long-time Rising Tide Society members
🎉 Vibe: Bittersweet and nostalgic — one final in-person meetup centered on “community over competition”
🔗 Link to Register: RSVP on Eventbrite
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4
The Unassailable Speaker (NSA-MN)
🗓 Date & Time: 5:30–9:00 p.m. CST
📍 Location: Brookview Golf Course, Golden Valley
🎯 Who It’s For: Speakers, coaches, trainers, and entrepreneurs who use speaking as part of their business
🎉 Vibe: Educational, strategic, and energizing — focused on getting booked more consistently
🔗 Link to Register: Event details & tickets
Eden Prairie Chamber Annual Celebration
🗓 Date & Time: 4:30–7:30 p.m. CST
📍 Location: Hop Spot Brew Hall @ Fat Pants Brewing Co, Eden Prairie
🎯 Who It’s For: Eden Prairie-area business owners, chamber members, and local professionals
🎉 Vibe: Classic chamber celebration with food, drink, auctions, and plenty of mingling
🔗 Link to Register: Event details & tickets
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5
Purpose Fueled – Multiple Locations
🗓 Date & Time: 7:30–8:30 a.m. CST
📍 Location: Multiple metro locations — Apple Valley, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Saint Paul, and Viking Lakes
🎯 Who It’s For: Purpose-driven entrepreneurs and professionals who want intentional, morning connection
🎉 Vibe: Focused yet friendly — think coffee, conversation, and meaningful check-ins to start your Friday
🔗 Link to Register: Choose your location & register
☕️ Next Week: December 8–14
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9
WeMN Coffee & Conversations: Holiday Shop & Talk Event
🗓 Date & Time: 8:30–10:30 a.m. CST
📍 Location: Keller Williams Edina, 7401 Metro Blvd #350, Edina
🎯 Who It’s For: Women entrepreneurs and business owners across Minnesota
🎉 Vibe: Cozy and festive — structured networking followed by shopping with featured women-owned vendors
🔗 Link to Register: Event details & registration
Networking With Purpose at Utepils Brewing
🗓 Date & Time: 4:00–7:00 p.m. CST
📍 Location: Utepils Brewing, 225 Thomas Ave N, Minneapolis
🎯 Who It’s For: Entrepreneurs and professionals who want deeper, values-aligned networking
🎉 Vibe: After-work, relaxed, and relationship-first — more real conversations, fewer awkward intros
🔗 Link to Register: Event page / RSVP on Tim Voight’s Profile
Rising Tide Society Gathering (FINAL SESSION!)
🗓 Date & Time: Check listing for exact time
📍 Location: Rising Tide Society Twin Cities (see event details)
🎯 Who It’s For: Creatives and small business owners who resonate with “community over competition”
🎉 Vibe: Supportive and collaborative — part co-work session, part mastermind, part encouragement circle
🔗 Link to Register: RSVP on Eventbrite
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12
December AI Study Group | AI for the Holidays! | MN Women in AI
🗓 Date & Time: 8:00–10:00 a.m. CST
📍 Location: WeWork Office Space & Coworking, Minneapolis
🎯 Who It’s For: Women interested in AI, tech, and how these tools fit into real businesses and careers
🎉 Vibe: Low-key, nerdy, and collaborative — share what you’ve been learning about AI, try new tools, and connect before the holidays
🔗 Link to Register: One-click RSVP on Luma
💌 A Little Personal Note
Celebrating 7 Years of Best of Awards and what’s next!
Before I sign off, I also want to say a heartfelt thank you for seven years of showing up for the Twin Cities Collective Best of Awards. Since 2018, you’ve voted, shared, nominated friends, and helped celebrate so many local people and businesses — even during COVID when everything felt upside down.
This is actually my first December since 2018 without the Best of Awards, and it’s bittersweet. Part of that is practical: it was a lot of work behind the scenes, and I didn’t really make money from it (which made it hard to really be motivated to continue). I eventually realized I don’t actually love hosting events, and by last year we didn’t even do an in‑person party. The last big celebration was back in 2023.
On top of that, the social media landscape has really changed. The local online community used to feel smaller and more connected — everyone sort of knew the same bloggers and creators. Over time, as platforms grew and niches fractured, it got harder to find and rally “the local internet” in the same way. What started as a fun, creative blogger awards slowly shifted into more of a general small business competition, and fewer people recognized local bloggers and creators at all.
By last year, I was really wrestling with whether it still felt right to continue. It started to feel more like a popularity contest, and I even had people upset with me about results (even though it was fan voted-I had no effect on who won!). I want to keep the tone here positive, but the short version is: the spirit of the awards just wasn’t the same as it was before COVID, and it felt like the right time to lovingly retire them.
The good news is that letting go has made space for things I’m genuinely excited about with TCC:
🎥 Doing video recaps of local events on the TCC Instagram, TikTok and Linkedin
📨 Focusing on this Substack, which I’ve been writing since early spring — and loving the twice‑a‑month rhythm. It’s sustainable for me and still keeps you in the loop on what’s happening with Twin Cities Collective.
Behind the scenes, I’ve also shifted my business more fully into Red Thread Studios helping local businesses with social media video content and my site, JennaRedfield.com. I’ve been teaching Notion, building systems, and leaning into the work that lights me up day‑to‑day.
I also publish posts every Tuesday on my OTHER Substack The Optimization Toolbox
If you want to follow more of that side of things, the best place to connect is LinkedIn (and Instagram if you’re there too) — LinkedIn especially is where I’m sharing more of the Red Thread Studios + Notion content and updates.
And of course, here in this newsletter, I’ll keep showing up twice a month with local events, ideas, and little snapshots of life in the Twin Cities. Thanks for being here through all the evolutions — awards, events, videos, and now this cozy Substack era.
Jenna Redfield
TeamWomen going forward with partnering with SPPD after they partnered with ice and assaulted multiple press professionals in the course of doing their job is WILD