Cynthia Froid Group, The Film Society of MSP and Mill City Commons to Host 2 Private Screenings During the April 7-23 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

The Cynthia Froid Group, along with The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul and Mill City Commons, will host two special free private screenings during The Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival, which runs April 7 - 23.

RSVP with attendee names and screening choice(s) by April 8th and April 15th, respectively, to the Cynthia Froid Group at admin@cynthiafroid.com or 612-279-8215.

Monday, April 11, 1:00pm at St. Anthony Main Theatre
“O Samba,”  North American Premiere
Director Georges Gachot attending
A reception will follow the film in the River Room at the Aster Cafe.
North American premier! This Brazilian film guides us into the world of samba, not only a dance, it is also word, language, text, lyrics or, simply said, a way of life.

Monday, April 18, 1:00pm at St. Anthony Main Theatre
“Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass” World Premier
Local Filmmakers Norah Shapiro and Kelly Nathe attending
A reception will follow the film in the River Room at the Aster Cafe.
Explore the history of an elite moonshine produced in the heart of Minnesota during Prohibition, and the attempts of a new micro-distillery to resuscitate the brand as a premium whiskey.

Parking available at meters on Main Street and 2nd Street SE, or in the parking ramp behind the theater on 2nd Street SE.

  

April 24 Dame It! to Celebrate Local Women Chefs and Raise Funds for Urban Roots and Others

Sunday, April 24, 2:00pm-5:00pm at Loring Social, 1629 Hennepin Avenue South. Tickets

Les Dames d'Escoffier's upcoming event, Dame It!, will spotlight local women chefs and raise funds for culinary students and the youth gardening project, Urban Roots (you may have purchased produce from them at the Mill City Farmers Market).

Featured chefs at Dame It! include Carrie Summer and Lisa Carlson of Chef Shack; Brenda Langton of Spoonriver; Michelle Gayer of Salty Tart; Jamie Malone of Scena Tavern and Brut; Kylene and Mel Gust of GYST; Anna Christoforides of Gardens of Salonica, and Kim Bartmann of Barbette, Pat's Tap, and Bryant Lake Bowl.

Amy Thielen of the Food Network's "Heartland Table" and author of the bestselling "The Midwestern Table" is the guest host. The silent auction will feature a ride along in the Chef Shack food truck, private chef-prepared dinners, and much more.

Open Streets Downtown Scheduled for July 10; Planning Meeting is April 6

Open Streets Downtown returns this summer.  Attend this information session to learn how your organization or business can participate:

Wednesday, April 6th, 2:00pm - 3:00pm at The Freehouse, 701 N Washington Avenue #101

Better Beer Society University - Beer 101: 9 Week Course at Republic Seven Corners

Wednesdays, March 30 – May 25, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, at Republic Seven Corners, 221 Cedar Avenue South.

Beer 101 is a Program Orientation course aimed at educating students on the fundamentals of beer, as well as the industry that creates and supports it. This course offers students a well-rounded base knowledge and deep appreciation for beer, its elements and the brewing process. Students will learn about beer history and geography while further developing their palates through tasting and building common beer vernacular. Classes also will explore the business side of the industry, from understanding Minnesota beer laws to service industry and best practices.

This 9-week course will include tasting flights, supplies, as well as access to industry experts all in an intimate setting. Space is limited, and there is only one course offered this spring term, so students are encouraged to enroll immediately to guarantee their seat. $99.

Information and registration

Spots Open on the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee

Via a March 23 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board:

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will appoint three people to serve two-year terms on the Minneapolis Bicycling Advisory Committee.

Applications due by April 29

Applications are now being accepted for open positions on the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee (MBAC). The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) will appoint three at-large members to serve two-year terms on the MBAC. The selected committee members will represent park interests and serve terms beginning June 1, 2016 and expiring May 31, 2018. 

Those interested in serving on the MBAC should submit an application by 4:30 pm Friday, April 29, 2016. Applications are available on the MPRB website or by calling customer service at 612-230-6400.

About the Minneapolis Bicycling Advisory Committee

The role of the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee is to promote both commuter and recreational bicycling, advocate for bicycling infrastructure improvements and encourage safe riding and public involvement in bicycling issues throughout our city.

The committee functions as an advisory body to the Mayor, City Council, and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The 29-member roster contains one appointee from each of the city's 13 wards, three appointees selected by MPRB and 13 staff members from various public agencies.

Read More

Minneapolis Downtown Council Offers $5,000 Reward For Information About Recent Downtown Assault

Via a March 22 Press Release from the Minneapolis Downtown Council:

MINNEAPOLIS (March 22, 2016) — The Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) announced today that in collaboration with CrimeStoppers it is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an individual who assaulted a St. Patrick’s Day Parade participant last Thursday in Downtown Minneapolis.

The incident took place near the intersection of 5^th Street South and Marquette Avenue South at approximately 8:15 p.m. Anonymous tips can be called in to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or text your tip to the number 274637 (CRIMES). All tips to CrimeStoppers are anonymous and eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

“This was a particularly senseless, reckless and illegal action,” said Tom Hoch, Minneapolis Downtown Council Board Chair. “The victim had enjoyed participating in the parade with his family and was plainly and simply sucker-punched without provocation. This, despite a strong presence of Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police throughout downtown, and within sight of where the incident occurred. There were numerous youth serving agencies mobilized that evening. Shockingly, these deterrents did not prevent did not prevent this irresponsible act, and the individual must be identified and held accountable.”

“The Minneapolis Downtown Council is offering this reward because someone knows who engaged in this unlawful conduct,” said Steve Cramer, President & CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. “We ask them to come forward. As a community, we must agree to define such behavior as outside the bounds of what we will accept. We simply won’t tolerate it, nor will we cede our streets to such brazen acts.”

About the Minneapolis Downtown Council:

Founded in 1955, and one of the oldest central business associations in the nation, the Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) is a membership-based entity that works to create an extraordinary downtown. The MDC’s collaborative developments of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. For more information, please visit DowntownMpls.com.

Minnesota Made Movies at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, April 7 - 23

The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF) runs April 7 - 23.

Look for 200+ feature length and short narrative and documentary films from 60+ countries at multiple venues, including St. Anthony Main Theatre, the year-round home of The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul.

Click here for trailers and info on films with Minnesota roots.

1st Annual Earth Day 5K Bee Run/Walk/Cleanup to be held April 23

The Great River Coalition, in partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, recently announced the 1st Annual Earth Day 5K Bee Run/Walk/Cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 23. The 5K Bee Run/Walk/Cleanup will be held as a part of “Earth Week” at Boom Island Park along the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis to support and promote the rivers “Pollinator Pathway”. 

Registration opens at 7:30am, Run/Walk starts at 9:00am, and River Cleanup starts at 9:30am  (bags & gloves will be provided).

Nicollet Mall Farmers Market Finds New Home This Season At Hennepin County Government Center South Plaza

Via a March 16 Press Release from the Minneapolis Downtown Council:

Nicollet Mall Farmers Market Finds New Home This Season At Hennepin County Government Center South Plaza

MINNEAPOLIS (March 16, 2016) — The Minneapolis Farmers Market, in partnership with Go Outsidewith Hennepin County, the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District, today announced that it will be open each Thursday this summer at a new location: Hennepin County Government Center South Plaza (300 S. 6^th Street) in Downtown Minneapolis.

The Farmers Market will kick off Thursday, May 5 and will be open each Thursday from 6 am to 6 pm through the outdoor Farmers Market season ending November 10. The relocation is due to the Nicollet Mall Project construction, and the Farmers Market will be relocated to Nicollet once the project is complete. In 2015, the Thursday Farmers Market was located on Hennepin Avenue.

“We’re excited to bring the Farmers Market to a new area of downtown that continues to grow and thrive,” said Farmers Market Manager Pat Nelson. “Hennepin County Government Center’s South Plaza offers a fantastic green space that will allow patrons to gather, browse and shop in a convenient location.”

This year’s Farmers Market will feature the same products that customers have come to expect from the Nicollet Mall Farmers Market, including produce, flowers and an assortment of canned products. The location is just three blocks from Nicollet Mall, adjacent to the Government Center Light Rail stop at 3^rd Avenue South & 5^thStreet South, and nearby multiple bus stops, making it walkable and easily accessed by mass transit.

In addition to Thursday’s Farmers Market, Go Outside with Hennepin County will continue its summer programming at Hennepin County Government Center South Plaza each Wednesday from June 1 through August 31. Each Wednesday this summer from 11:30 am-1:30 pm, stop by the South Plaza for an assortment of activities and food options, including a rotating collection of food trucks, lawn games, a variety of seating options, and more.

“We want our downtown community to have opportunities to enjoy the summer weather,” said Hennepin County Administrator David Hough. “Our programming at Hennepin County Government Center South Plaza will provide an opportunity where you can grab your own lunch, play games, or bring fresh produce home for your family—all in one nearby spot.”

The Wednesday lineup followed by Thursday’s Farmers Market offers back-to-back days each week for workers, residents and visitors alike to get outside and enjoy summer in the heart of the city.

“As part of our 2025 Plan goals, we’re committed to creating a consistently compelling downtown experience filled with activities and events that are important to our community’s vitality,” said Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District President & CEO Steve Cramer. “We’re excited about the Farmers Market and Go Outside with Hennepin County programming both being located at Government Center’s South Plaza, because it’s a great gathering space near the heart of our city that is located at an intersection point of our downtown core and the bustling Downtown East area.”

For more information and additional details on the Minneapolis Farmers Market, visit http://www.mplsfarmersmarket.com/ or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About the Minneapolis Farmers Markets

The Minneapolis Farmers Markets—run by the Central Minnesota Vegetable Growers non-profit—are dedicated to bringing the highest quality, most delicious, fresh, sustainably farmed fruits, vegetables and farmstead products to its patrons, since 1876.  The Minneapolis Markets are a source for fresh produce and products for people all over the Twin Cities, and served by more than 230 vendors, with a main daily Lyndale Market and downtown site. Visit mplsfarmersmarket.com for events and information.

About Go Outside with Hennepin County

Go Outside with Hennepin County is an initiative that offers events and activities for the community. The Go Outside campaign focuses on programming Target Field Station, the downtown area’s premier transit hub, as well as the Hennepin County Government Center South Plaza. Visit Government Center South Plaza each Wednesday through August for yard games, board games, picnic tables, food trucks and treats on hand. Events at Target Field Station throughout the summer will feature fitness opportunities, a movie series and fun for all ages. For more information, visit downtownmpls.com/gooutside.

About the Minneapolis Downtown Council:

Founded in 1955, and one of the oldest central business associations in the nation, the Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) is a membership-based entity that works to create an extraordinary downtown. The MDC’s collaborative developments of Intersections: Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. For more information, please visit http://www.downtownmpls.com/.

About the Downtown Improvement District:

Founded in early 2009, after more than five years of formative planning and advocacy by the downtown business community, the Minneapolis DID delivers higher levels of service to make downtown cleaner, greener, safer and more vibrant throughout a 120-block area, as is the case with most Business Improvement Districts. For more information, visit http://www.minneapolisdid.com/.

Neighborhood Special Offer from Magna

Our friends at Magna asked us to pass along this special offer:

Through April 30, 2016, Magna is offering a FREE TRIAL WEEK of Strength and Conditioning. Then take $50 off your first month if you decide to join.

This program is about meeting you where you’re at, getting results, and making lifelong changes. Meet with a coach to establish your goals then get started on an individualized training program. Train with a coach up to 6 days a week at a time that works best for you. Membership includes unlimited access to the gym and group fitness classes that might be outside of your predetermined workout.

For more information email ask@magnausa.com or call 612-424-6840.

MPRB to Consider New Plan with City to Close Funding Gap for Neighborhood Parks

From a March 16 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board e-newsletter:

Minneapolis Park Board to consider new plan with City to close funding gap for neighborhood parks

Today the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and City of Minneapolis will consider a new strategy, in addition to the referendum and Charter Amendment discussions underway, to address the funding gap for neighborhood parks maintenance, repair and capital investments. Working in partnership, MPRB and City leaders developed a financial plan called the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan. 

At tonight’s March 16 Board meeting, MPRB Commissioners will consider a resolution approving a 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan between the MPRB and the City and directing the Superintendent and MPRB Legal Counsel to prepare an ordinance to implement the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan for consideration on April 6, 2016 and final adoption on April 20, 2016.

In January the MPRB approved proposed ballot language for a November 2016 referendum for neighborhood park funding; however there are several benefits of the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan to the MPRB, the City and residents, including:
•Reduces property tax impact on Minneapolis residents
•Guarantees protection of current level of Local Government Aid and other funding  to MPRB
•Provides neighborhood park funds sooner to MPRB

Tonight’s March 16 Board meeting begins at 5 pm at MPRB Headquarters Board Room, 2117 West River Road. In addition to the resolution, the full meeting agenda can be viewed at https://minneapolisparksmn.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=1587. The Minneapolis City Council will also discuss the proposed plan at their 10 am meeting today at City Hall.

Efforts already underway will continue towards a November 2016 referendum or Charter Amendment to address neighborhood park funding. If both the MPRB and City approve concurrent 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan ordinances this spring, efforts towards a November 2016 referendum will cease. If concurrent Ordinances are not approved this spring, efforts for a referendum or Charter Amendment will continue. 

For details about the state of Minneapolis’ neighborhood parks or the proposed ballot language, visit www.minneapolisparks.org/closingthegap.

New Local Exhibit Highlights History of High Wheel Bicycles

Via a March 14 Press Release from Hennepin History Museum:

NEW LOCAL EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS HISTORY OF HIGH WHEEL BICYCLES
Hennepin History Museum to host show by the Cycling Museum of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN: High Wheels!, an exhibition curated by the Cycling Museum of Minnesota, will be on view at Hennepin History Museum March 29 through June 26, 2016.

Minneapolis' love affair with cycling began in the 1880s when the high wheel bicycle became widely available. In this decade, thousands of high wheels hit the streets, the first cycling clubs began to meet, and Minneapolis gained national prominence as a hot bed for six-day racing. While we may view the awkward looking high wheel as impossible to ride, this bicycle laid the groundwork for the even larger cycling boom of the 1890s and was a crucial stage in the development of today's bicycle.

High Wheels! is the latest exhibition to be presented Hennepin History Museum's Our Hennepin County gallery. According to Hennepin History Museum executive director Cedar Imboden Phillips, the gallery provides an opportunity to create and strengthen relationships between local arts and cultural organizations with a historical bent. "Cycling Museum of Minnesota brings a new curatorial voice into our space," Phillips notes, "and in turn we can help share their work and mission with a broader audience. The story of high wheel bicycles is a topic that is going to resonate strongly with our visitors, and we are thrilled to work with them on this exhibition."

High Wheels! is accompanied by a robust calendar of public programs and activities. An opening party, free and open to the public, is scheduled for Thursday, March 31, from 5 to 8 pm.

About Hennepin History Museum: Founded in 1938 as the Hennepin County Historical Society, Minneapolis-based Hennepin History Museum is dedicated to bringing the diverse history of Hennepin County and its residents to life through exhibitions, library, collections, publications, and educational programs. For more information, visit hennepinhistory.org or call 612.870.1329.

Visiting Information: Hennepin History Museum, located at 2303 Third Avenue in Minneapolis, is open Tuesday 10-2, Wednesday 1-5, Thursday 1-8, and Friday through Sunday 1-5. Admission is $5; $3 for seniors and students. The first Thursday of the month is always free. Visiting the museum at this time does require the use of stairs.

Portland Avenue Closing for Downtown Commons Construction Beginning March 14

Via a March 11 e-newsletter from the City of Minneapolis:

Portland Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis Closing for Construction

Beginning at 9 a.m., Monday, March 14, Portland Avenue from Third Street to Fifth Street in downtown Minneapolis will close to traffic through early summer. The closing will allow construction of the Downtown Commons, a two-block, public green space being created in the Downtown East neighborhood. Drivers should follow posted detours and find alternate routes into and out of the downtown area.

As Ryan Companies constructs this area, the City is making pedestrian and bike improvements to the adjacent parts of Portland Avenue, Fourth Street South, Fifth Street South, and Park Avenue. These include off-street bike lanes, pedestrian bump outs at intersections and new sidewalks and pedestrian-level street lighting.

This is one of many construction projects that will affect traffic in Downtown this year. To help drivers know about all of the current and upcoming work, the City has mapped these projects. Links to the maps are available at www.minneapolismn.gov/publicworks/traffic.

Plan Ahead for March 12 Get Lucky 7K Road Closures

The following parkways will be temporarily closed on Saturday, March 12, for the Get Lucky 7K event 8:00am-Noon (street closures vary between this 4-hour window):  Stone Arch Bridge, NE Main Street and West River Parkway. 

Click here to view a course map and read additional information on the event.

NOTE: The Mill City Farmers Market will be inside the Mill City Museum from 10:00am - 1:00pm. During the Get Lucky event, most streets surrounding the Mill City Museum will be clear by 9:45am. However, there will be no parking on 2nd Street from 3rd Ave. to Park Ave. until 9:45am. Plan to enter the market on Park Ave. or Chicago Ave., and use the parking lots in the area or meters to the east of Park & 2nd. Street. The Market is also easily accessible by bike and public transit!

March 24 at Sanctuary: J. Carver Distillery Inspired Menu

Sanctuary Executive Chef Patrick Atanalian has created this special one night menu (March 24) incorporating J. Carver Distillery gin, vodka and whiskey.  For reservations, call 612-339-5058 or go online.

Founded in 2013, J. Carver Distillery is located in Waconia.

  

Author James Eli Shiffer book launch event for The King of Skid Row: John Bacich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis - April 7, Mill City Museum

Author James Eli Shiffer will give a talk on, and sign copies of, his new book The King of Skid Row: John Bacich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis

BOOK LAUNCH:
7:00 PM, Thursday, April 7, 2016, Mill City Museum (704 S 2nd Street). The event will also include screenings of John Bacich's skid row home movies, and also launches the photograph exhibit "Skid Row Minneapolis." A cash bar will be available at 6:00 PM. Please include this event in your local events/arts calendar, or consider a review of the book. The author is available for interview and review copies are available upon request.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
City blue laws drove the liquor trade and its customers—hard-drinking lumberjacks, pensioners, farmhands, and railroad workers—into the oldest quarter of Minneapolis. In the fifty-cent-a-night flophouses of the city’s Gateway District, they slept in cubicles with ceilings of chicken wire. In rescue missions, preachers and nuns tried to save their souls. Sociology researchers posing as vagrants studied them. And in their midst John Bacich, aka Johnny Rex, who owned a bar, a liquor store, and a cage hotel, documented the gritty neighborhood’s last days through photographs and film of his clientele.

The King of Skid Row follows Johnny Rex into this vanished world that once thrived in the heart of Minneapolis. Drawing on hours of interviews conducted in the three years before Bacich’s death in 2012, James Eli Shiffer brings to life the eccentric characters and strange events of an American skid row. Supplemented with archival and newspaper research and his own photographs, Bacich’s stories recreate the violent, alcohol-soaked history of a city best known for its clean, progressive self-image. His life captures the seamy, richly colorful side of the city swept away by a massive urban renewal project in the early 1960s and gives us, in a glimpse of those bygone days, one of Minneapolis’s most intriguing figures—spinning some of its most enduring and enthralling tales.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
James Eli Shiffer has been a professional journalist for twenty-five years and is currently a columnist and editor at the Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune. In 2010 he partnered with Ewen Media to create Rubbed Out, a multimedia history of the murder of a journalist in Minneapolis in 1945.

THE KING OF SKID ROW: John Bacich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis
 
By James Eli Shiffer
 University of Minnesota Press | 192 pages | April 2016
ISBN 978-0-8166-9829-5 | hardcover | $22.95

PRAISE FOR THE KING OF SKID ROW:
"In its final years, Skid Row was avoided by everyone except the police, storefront Bible-thumpers, slumming sociologists, and the occasional entrepreneur such as John Bacich—‘Johnny Rex’ to the drunks, drifters, and down-and-outers he served as publican and hotelier. James Eli Shiffer recalls the life and times of Johnny, Polack Wally, Moon Face Mary Ann, and other late-stage denizens of that dingy corner of Old Minneapolis with insight, wit, and compassion. The King of Skid Row is terrific urban history, beautifully told." —William Swanson, author of Stolen from the Garden: The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper and Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson

"The King of Skid Row brings to boozy life the alcohol-sodden, corruption-filled era when Minneapolis’ lost Gateway District harbored flop houses, slop joints, cage hotels, brothels, and raunchy speakeasies filled with B-girls and ‘gandy-dancers.’ Exceptionally literate, relentlessly humane, Shiffer peels back the veil from a dark and often violent past that, until now, had been literally paved over and believed forgotten. The King of Skid Row is a deft book that stirs together memoir, mystery, and history with the heartbreaking drama of how a city treats its most despondent and destitute. Moving and fascinating." —Paul Maccabee, author of John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crook’s Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul

For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book's webpage:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-king-of-skid-row

March 15 Hewing Hotel (Historic Jackson Building) Instameet with Preserve Minneapolis

March 12 update from MNCommunity: We have unfortunate news that the Hewing Hotel Instameet is being postponed due to concerns from the Hotel Management company, Aparium Hotel Group due to the state of the building and the renovation work being done and the logistics of having a tour with a large group of people.

Via a March 7 e-newsletter from Preserve Minneapolis:

In collaboration with MNCommunity, Preserve Minneapolis will be hosting an Instameet (Instagram + meet-up*) at the Historic Jackson Building in the North Loop.

The Historic Jackson Building was built in 1897, and rehabilitation is underway to give the structure new life as the Hewing Hotel, opening later this year.

The Instameet will be a wonderful opportunity to get a sneak peek at this project. Join us to see preservation in action and to photograph and document the Jackson Building before renovation is completed.

Where: 300 Washington Avenue North, Minneapolis
When: Tuesday, March 15, 5pm-7pm
    Timeline of Events:
    5:00pm - 5:30pm ... Welcome
    5:30pm - 6:30pm ... Guided Tour of the Jackson Building
    6:30pm - 7:00pm ... Self-Guided Exploration Time
    7:00pm ... Post-Instameet Social Hour

More details on the Facebook event page (please RSVP so we can plan appropriately).
Cost: This event is free!

*What's an Instameet? Good question! Click here for an answer. 

R.T. Rybak Book Launch for Pothole Confidential at First Avenue on April 13

Via a March 4 Press Release from University of Minnesota Press

R.T. Rybak book launch for Pothole Confidential at First Avenue on April 13

Minneapolis, MN, March 4, 2016 — Former Mayor R.T. Rybak will celebrate the launch of his new memoir, Pothole Confidential: My Life as Mayor of Minneapolis, with a night of local music, highlights from the book, and a book signing on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

The 18+ event starts at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $10 and will be a fundraiser to support the City of Minneapolis STEP-UP youth employment program.

Rybak will give a behind-the-scenes tour of his years running the city of Minneapolis in between songs from featured musical acts:

Big Trouble + dVRG
With Special Guest Lucy Michelle and more TBA
Plus the World's Most Dangerous Polka Band

A signing with Rybak will follow the show and books will be available for purchase from Magers & Quinn Booksellers. Sebastian Joe's will be offering free ice cream scoops to attendees, including Rybak's favorite, The Flavor Formerly Known as Nicollet Avenue Pothole.

Pothole Confidential is a clear-eyed look inside the life and times of Minneapolis and its dynamic three-term mayor. In the words of Lizz Winstead, "This book is a love letter to Minneapolis and it tells the riveting story of what you must tackle to make and keep a city great." Rybak takes his readers into the highs and lows and the daily drama of a life inextricably linked with the city. Pothole Confidential is that rare document from a politician: one more concerned with the people he served and the issues of his time than with burnishing his own credentials.

EVENT DETAILS:
Our Minneapolis: R.T.'s Big Book Launch Party!
When: Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Where: First Avenue Mainroom, 701 North First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Time: Doors 6:00 PM, Show 7:00 PM, Book signing with R.T. 8:30 PM
Tickets: $10, http://first-avenue.com/event/2016/04/rybak-booklaunch
18+
Fundraiser to support City of Minneapolis STEP-UP youth employment program

35th Annual Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, April 7-23

35th ANNUAL MSPIFF LINEUP ANNOUNCED

This year’s lineup includes more than 250 films – more than 160 features and more than 90 shorts – representing 71 countries. The Festival’s always highly anticipated Opening Night Presentation will be revealed later in March.

Volunteer Coaching Opportunities with the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is seeking enthusiastic volunteer coaches for youth baseball, softball, tee ball and track and field for the 2016 spring season.

• Practices start in April, games begin in May
• Athletes range from 5–18 years old
• Teams practice 1–2 times per week
• Games are scheduled for a weeknight and/or Saturdays
• MPRB will provide orientation for all new coaches

Become a volunteer!