Lowry Avenue Bridge lightings

The Lowry Avenue Bridge at the Lowry Avenue crossing of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis has multi-color lights to illuminate its arches. Ordinarily lit blue, the bridge may be lit special colors for certain holidays, events, and causes.

Lightings take place daily from sunset to sunrise.

Share your photos of the bridge on social media by using the hashtag #LowryBridge and tagging Hennepin County.

Request a special lighting

Organizations may request a special Lowry Avenue Bridge lighting in recognition of a cause or public event of community significance. The county administrator makes a determination on all applications.

Apply at least 14 days in advance by submitting an online or PDF form, or by sending a letter with your organization’s name, description and date of event, and requested lighting color.

Application for special lighting (online)

Application for special lighting (PDF, 1MB)

Bridge lighting calendar

The county board approved special lighting for holidays and other annual events. Additional special lighting requests are approved by the county administrator.

Upcoming lighting schedule

June 2026

• June 1 – Tourette’s Awareness Month (turquoise)
• June 3 – Spinal CSF Leak Awareness Week (purple)
• June 4 – Migraine and Headache Awareness Month (purple)
• June 5 – Hennepin Healthcare Trauma Prevention (orange)
• June 8 – CMV Awareness Month (turquoise, purple)
• June 14 – Flag Day (red, white, blue)
• June 15 – Cure Cavernous Malformation Month (red, white)
• June 19 – Juneteenth (red, black, green, gold)
• June 21 – The Longest Day of the year-come together to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s (purple)
• June 25 – World Vitiligo Day (purple)
• June 27-28 – Pride (rainbow)

July 2026

• July 1 – World Bronchiectasis Day (blue)
• July 3 – Cleft and Craniofacial Month (purple)
• July 4 – Independence Day (red, white, blue)

August 2026

• August 1 – 35W Bridge Memorial (red, white, blue)
• August 11 – Primary Election Day (red, white, blue)

September 2026

• September 1 - Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (turquoise)
• September 2 – World Sickle Cell Awareness Day (red)
• September 7 – Labor Day (red, white, blue)
• September 11 – Patriot’s Day (red, white, blue)
• September 15 – National Voter Registration Day (red, white, blue)
• September 17 – Sickle Cell Awareness Month (red)
• September 18 – First Day of Early Voting (red, white, blue)
• September 23 - Bi+ Visibility Day (dark pink, purple, royal blue)

October 2026

• October 15 – International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (pink, blue)
• October 27 – National Vote Early Day (red, white, blue)
• October 31 – Halloween (black, orange)
• November 26 – Thanksgiving (red, orange, brown)

November 2026

• November 2 – Color the World Orange for (CRPS/RSD) Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (orange)
• November 3 – Election Day (red, white, blue)
• November 4 – Crash Responder Safety Week (red, orange, gold, green, blue)
• November 11 – Veteran’s Day (red, white, blue)

December 2026

• December 4 – Hanukkah (blue, white)
• December 25 – Christmas (red, green)
• December 26 – Kwanzaa (red, black, green)
• December 31 – New Year’s Eve (multi-colored)

Previous lighting schedule

May 2026

• May 1 – Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month (purple)
• May 2 – Honor Fallen Firefighters (red)
• May 5 – Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month (red, gold, green, blue)
• May 6 – National Nurses Week (red)
• May 8 – International Thalassemia Day (red)
• May 10 – 100-year Anniversary of The Historic Ritz Theater (gold)
• May 16 – Fibromuscular Dysplasia Awareness (red, blue)
• May 17 – Williams Syndrome Awareness Month (red, green, blue)
• May 19 – National EMS Recognition Week (yellow, white, blue)
• May 20 – Older Americans Month (red, blue)
• May 25 – Memorial Day (red, white, blue)

April 2026

• April 1 – Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) (turquoise)
• April 3 – Twins Home Opener (red, blue)
• April 5 – International OCNDS Awareness Day (green, blue)
• April 10 – National Donate Life Month (green, blue)
• April 11 – Spark the Night/World Parkinson’s Day (blue)
• April 17 – Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Month (maroon)
• April 19 – Global Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day (pink, blue, yellow)
• April 20 – National Infertility Awareness Week (orange)
• April 20 – Go orange for work zone safety (orange)
• April 21 – National Volunteer Appreciation Week (blue)
• April 22 – Earth Day (green)
• April 27 – Jury Appreciation Week (red, white, blue)
• April 28 – Workers Memorial Day (red, white, blue)
• April 29 – World Wish Day (blue)
• April 30 – ALS Awareness Month (red)

March 2026

• March 1 – Kidney Cancer Awareness Month (orange)
• March 6 – National Wear Red Day (red)
• March 7 – Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Awareness Month (gold, blue)
• March 15 – International Long COVID Awareness Day (turquoise, white)
• March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day (green)
• March 18 – National Transit Employee Appreciation Day (red, gold, blue)
• March 20 – Loeys-Dietz Syndrome Awareness Month (turquoise)
• March 21 – World Down Syndrome Day (blue, gold)
• March 25 – Red Cross Month (red)
• March 26 – International Multiple Myeloma Awareness Day (red)
• March 27 – Opening of "True North: The Art and Activism of Philip Murphy" (orange)
• March 31 – Transgender Day of Visibility (pink, light blue, white)

February 2026

• February 1 – Black History Month (red, gold, green, black)
• February 2 – Feeding Tube Awareness Week (blue, purple)
• February 14 – Valentine’s Day (red, pink, white)
• February 16 – Presidents’ Day (red, white, blue)
• February 22 – 2025 Ice Fishing Festival (green, turquoise, white)
• February 25 – National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (green, blue)
• February 28 – Rare Disease Day - Dysautonomia Awareness (purple)

January 2026

• January 1 – New Year's Day (red, white, blue)
• January 7 – Birth Defects Awareness Month (blue, pink)
• January 11 – Wear Blue Day (blue)
• January 19 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (red, white, blue)
• January 23 – Maternal Health Awareness Day (purple)
• January 26 – National School Choice Week Awareness (red, yellow)
• January 27 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day (yellow)

Official lighting policy

Adopted December 3, 2013

Hennepin County re‐opened the Lowry Avenue Bridge, located at the Lowry Avenue crossing of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in October 2012. The new bridge is equipped with multi‐color L.E.D. lighting options to illuminate the arches. This guideline is to address external requests for special lighting requests.

Criteria

Lighting of the Lowry Avenue Bridge promotes the county, its civic institutions, state and federal holidays, and other public events of community significance. Hennepin County may accept community requests for special lighting to recognize a specific cause or to commemorate or enhance a specific event consistent with this purpose. Specifically excluded would be lighting to celebrate birthdays, personal anniversaries, or events that are primarily private in nature.

Application process

All requests must be submitted in writing (electronic submission preferred), along with contact information for the organization. Requests must also include a description of the event, date of the event, and color of lighting requested. Requests should be submitted at least 14 days before the date on which the bridge would be lit. The county administrator may waive this requirement in instances where 14 days' notice is not practical such as school or professional sports championships.

Approval process

Each request will be reviewed by county administration. The county administrator's decision is final.

Annual bridge lighting plan

The Lowry Avenue Bridge annual lighting calendar lists normally scheduled events that do not require an external request. The bridge's default color will be blue. See the calendar for standard lighting events.