



The reboot of the restaurant at Como Park's Lakeside Pavilion means a whole new entertainment approach on the shores of St. Paul’s superior lake.

The folks behind the new Spring Café presented a few events in May but the June calendar is packed. On Saturday alone, there are three different presentations: In the Heart of the Beast puppet theater doing the bilingual “The Way of the Monarch” at noon, the Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir at 4 p.m. and Cold Cold Heart, a Hank Williams tribute band, at 7 p.m.

Among the other acts booked in June are the St. Paul Police Band (June 5), country singer Erik Koskinen (June 9) and Tina Schlieske crooning the songs of Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone and Billie Holiday (June 6).

There are kids activities, a cider festival, a tap-dance program and other events scheduled.

All these events are free.

Twin Cities music ace and organizer Molly Maher is coordinating the entertainment schedule for Spring Café proprietors J.D. Fratzke and Matty O’Riley, himself a former musician. Maher is hoping to book a handful of national artists at the pavilion, for which there will be tickets. Last year, there were several concerts at Como Dockside, the previous restaurant at the site.