City Launches 2022 Shared Bike and Scooter Program

The City of Minneapolis has entered into license agreements with three operators - Lyft, Lime, and Spin — to participate in its Shared Bike and Scooter Program launching in mid-April.

To foster greater cooperation and coordination across jurisdictions the City, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the University of Minnesota and the City of Saint Paul issued a joint solicitation for vendors and worked together to review and rank operator proposals.

Under this multi-vendor program, the City of Minneapolis has issued a sole license for bike sharing was issued to Lyft to continue to operate the Nice Ride system with both classic pedal bicycles and electric-assisted bicycles. The City also issued licenses to Lyft, Lime and Spin to operate motorized foot scooters. Negotiations between the operators and other jurisdictions are ongoing. 

Equity and safety continue to be key focus areas for the program. As part of the City’s Equity focused requirements, at least 30% of each operator’s scooters must be distributed in Equity Distribution Areas in north and south Minneapolis and a maximum of 40% of each operator’s scooters are allowed downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Learn more about the Shared Bike and Scooter program. 

Open Eye Theatre Announces the Relaunch of Puppet Lab

Open Eye Theatre recently announced the return of Puppet Lab, the Twin Cities’ celebrated incubator program for emerging puppet and mask artists. Two new co-artistic directors and four residency artists will participate in Puppet Lab this year. Projects will be workshopped during the spring and summer, and the program will culminate in a two-week festival of public performances at Open Eye Theatre in August 2022.

The Puppet Lab program, created by Alison Heimstead in 2010 for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, has transitioned to Open Eye. Puppet Lab will continue to establish a formalized process for emerging puppet and mask theater artists to advance their artistic development – to test and create new works within a supportive and challenging workshop environment. This program gives artists the time and space to test ideas, learn from others, and receive and respond to critical feedback. Puppet Lab seeks to nurture exploratory, experimental, and innovative performance, and is interested in ideas that work within traditional forms as well as projects that are new in every way.

Oanh Vu and Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra join Open Eye’s leadership team as Co-Artistic Directors of Puppet Lab. The Artistic Directors will work as a team to coordinate and facilitate the artistic activities of Puppet Lab.

Four residency artists will workshop their projects this year: Dominique Herskind, Mary Plaster, Liping Vong, and Amoke Kubat. This new cohort of puppetry artists will fill the Open Eye workshops with their creative explorations and have their finished works professionally produced in a two-week festival of public performances in August.

“I am deeply honored that Puppet Lab’s founder, the visionary Alison Heimstead, has invited Open Eye to continue the program, and that the Jerome Foundation has continued their generous support,” says Joel Sass, Open Eye Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director. “And I could not be more excited for Oanh Vu and Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra to join the Open Eye leadership team!”

“I am thrilled to see that Puppet Lab is continuing with such brilliant leaders!” said Alison Heimstead, founder of Puppet Lab. “Rebekah and Oanh are incredible artists and they will be strong, compassionate and critical leaders for this lab experience for many new and experimental voices in puppetry. Puppet Lab is in good hands!”

Artist Bios/Statements

Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra (she/her, Maya-Lenca tribal citizen)

Rebekah is a Twin Cities-based interdisciplinary artist, musician (Lady Xøk), dancer, curator, writer, actor, puppeteer, teaching artist, and culture bearer whose work is rooted in Indigenous Futurisms. A curator of many performances, festivals, community events, panels, she is also a 2021-22 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow whose visual interdisciplinary performance work has been developed with Red Eye Theatre, New Native Theatre, Monkeybear’s Harmolodic Workshop, Catalyst Arts, and ArtShanty. Most recently she performed live at the La MaMa Puppet Fest in New York City.

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Oanh Vu (she/her) 

Oanh is an artist and educator who first encountered puppetry through Monkeybear's Harmolodic Workshop’s puppetry intensive and mentorship program. Since then, puppetry has become her passion as I’ve transitioned into a career as a puppeteer. Oanh has trained with master puppeteers through the Chicago Puppet Festival,Tom Lee, Rough House Puppets, the O'Neill National Puppetry Conference and Manual Cinema. Locally, Oanh has created and collaborated on a wealth of new puppet works that have been shown across the Twin Cities. As an educator, Oanh has worked for 13 years with the Science Museum of Minnesota.

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Dominique Herskind (she/her/they/them)

“I really enjoy mixing humor with existential dread and exploring the corporeal nature of our existence. Humor is a good narrative tool to use to tackle heavy topics, because laughter breaks down our barriers and lets us be more open to different thoughts and opinions. That’s the beauty of puppets, too: puppets allow the viewer to see the world reflected back to them through another lens. My project follows a puppet whose mind/consciousness is severed from its body. The mind can’t get the body to do what it wants, and the body can’t make the mind do what it needs. How can the body and mind be unified to keep its soul, the center for creativity, from dying? Puppetry allows life to be exaggerated, and I can’t think of a better medium to showcase the detachment of the mind and body.”

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Amoke Awele Kubat (she/her)

“As an emerging artist at 72 years, I have few peers (creative and personal). It is my intent to continue to grow as an artist and as a human being. My mind is sharp. My creativity is like gamma rays. My strongest talents are curiosity and the alchemy of process. I’m not afraid of trial and error, having younger mentors, or leaping into the void of creation. To develop a performance for Puppet Lab, I see myself as a "puppet", and animating the "stuff" found in an old lady’s purse! Using a variety of puppets and masks, an old woman remembers significant moments in her life. We see and hear simple stories as she removes and examines items from her purse. I will be exploring the journey of aging that does not end in dismissal and isolation and death. It is a journey that highlights each chapter of human experiences: child, teen, adult, elder, ancestor and descendant.”

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Mary Plaster (she/they)

“I’m so excited to be part of Puppet Lab because this in-person (not virtual!), supportive, intensive group process–focused on immediate, specific performance goals–is something I’ve never experienced in a lifetime of art and giant puppet making. As a visual artist, the last two years abruptly halted my paid work; displays in art galleries were also shut down due to COVID-19 concerns. Plunged into this sudden stillness I took a hard inventory of my life’s arc and realized it was imperative to use the time to make tangible steps towards long-held objectives of developing smaller, more intimate storytelling. Much of my life’s work supports environmental activism. The project I plan on workshopping for Puppet Lab 2022 is a portion of a longer, dark fairytale I have just started developing. It will explore creatures and grand elements of nature as a call to return to the outdoors, to care for and defend wild places.”

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Liping Vong (she/they)

“With puppetry, anything goes—puppets can be magical and inhabit wild worlds and defy physics that other other performance art forms are tied to. I hope to take advantage of Puppet Lab’s collaborative process and feedback style to dive out of my comfort zone of performing and to develop and nurture my writing skills for puppetry. These explorations are new and important to me because I am a child of refugees from Laos, and my family is ethnically Chinese. Because my sisters and I grew up in small-town-turned-sprawling-suburb Iowa, in a predominantly white community, Chinese myths, folktales, other stories, and traditions didn’t quite make their way to me. Creating a body of work that honors these tales from my heritage is a long-time goal of mine. I also hope that learning about these stories will lead me to other tales.”

Cochon 555's 'Heritage Fire' set for June 12 at Loews Hotel

Tickets now on sale for June 12 Cochon 555's 'Heritage Fire' 

Tickets are now on sale for Cochon555’s Heritage Fire, the first Minneapolis edition of America’s beloved culinary experience.

 

Taking place at The Loews Hotel Minneapolis on Sunday, June 12, the event will feature an all-star lineup of local chefs and artisans, each cooking globally inspired heritage-breed proteins with offerings including a wide array of beef products from DemKota Ranch Beef, whole pigs, lamb, goat, squab, rabbit, duck, fish, chicken, artisan cheeses, and heirloom vegetables. Produced and owned by Agency 21, the event’s ultimate aim is to provide education to consumers and create an experience that guests can sink their teeth into, honest food from real farmers. Attendees must be 21+ to attend.

 

An all-star cast of the Twin Cities top chefs will be on-site cooking and dishing up delicious bites. Full lineup to be announced in the coming weeks. In addition to one-of-a-kind culinary creations, Heritage Fire will feature free-flowing wine, craft cocktails and beer. All tickets are all-inclusive of unlimited curated dishes, beverage pairings, live entertainment and more!

 

“We’re incredibly fortunate and thankful to return to Minneapolis and bring our Heritage Fire to the Twin Cities for the first time,” says Brett Friedman, Partner & CEO of Agency 21, which owns and operates Heritage Fire, Cochon555, among others. “This new twist to our Cochon 555 tour provides us the opportunity to showcase live Fire proteins and produce that are locally farmed and sustainably harvested.”

 

VIP Early Access: $150

Guests can celebrate early with the VIP experience – an extra 45 minutes to get up close with the chefs, winemakers, and farmers who make it all happen. Chefs will serve one special dish to entice VIP palates, while professional bartenders and sommeliers bring their best game forward with specialty cocktails and reserve wines.

 

General Admission: $99

Feast on responsibly-raised heritage breed animals, a perfect setting of ethically sourced food, and a variety of beverages from local craft breweries, distilleries, and wineries – all created by some of the nation’s most forward-thinking food and drink leaders. 

Art in Bloom Returns On-site at Minneapolis Institute of Art, April 28

The centerpiece of the show is the gorgeous still-life of dahlias painted by Eugène Delacroix.

Mia’s annual springtime celebration is back with four days of unique events, on-site tours, and more than 140 imaginative floral interpretations of artworks from the museum’s collection

Art in Bloom, the annual celebration of art and flowers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), is back on-site and in person for the first time in two years. This year’s event will take place April 28–May 1, and will coincide with the opening of “Floral Affair: A Bouquet for the Friends’ Centennial,” an exhibition that revisits artworks featured in past Art in Bloom events.

Floral arrangement from the 2019 Art in Bloom. Photo: Minneapolis Institute of ArtPresented by the Friends of the Institute, Art in Bloom will showcase more than 140 imaginative floral interpretations of selected works of art from Mia’s permanent collection, created by volunteer floral artists and commercial florists. During the four-day festival, everyone is invited to enjoy the fresh floral arrangements and commercial florist installations displayed in the galleries alongside the artworks that inspired them.

Highlights of this year’s event include: 

• A featured talk by Lisa Michaux, PhD, a former Mia curator who will bring her unique perspective and engaging style to the topic of floral themes in art. She will illuminate masterpieces by a wide range of artists who adored the subject, including Vincent van Gogh, Édouard Manet, Georgia O’Keeffe, Henri Fantin-Latour, Claude Monet, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, and Eugène Delacroix. Thursday, April 28, 11 a.m. Tickets: $25
• Live floral demonstrations by Bachman’s floral artists. Saturday, April 30, 1 p.m. Tickets: $25 
• Art in Bloom Family Event celebrating May Day with singing, dancing, and storytelling, plus a craft-making activity for kids to decorate a May Day headpiece with fresh flowers and colorful ribbons. Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Free admission. 
• Free, guided tours of the floral displays, held in person and virtually. 

Art in Bloom is the principal fundraiser for Mia’s Friends organization, a group of members dedicated to supporting, enhancing, and sustaining Mia’s collections and programs. Proceeds from ticketed lectures and demonstrations provide the Friends’ with funds to pay for buses for tens of thousands of schoolchildren to come to the museum for field trips each year. 

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mia’s Friends organization. To celebrate, the Friends have planned a special botanical exhibition that will open in the Cargill Gallery during Art in Bloom. “Floral Affair: A Bouquet for the Friends’ Centennial” revisits artworks featured in past Art in Bloom events. 

Visit the Art in Bloom page on Mia’s website for the complete 2022 Art in Bloom program and ticket information. Art in Bloom hours match the museum’s normal hours all weekend. General admission to Art in Bloom is free. The exhibition opens on Wednesday, April 27, and will be on view until August 14.

March 2022 Third Avenue Bridge Project Photos by Doug Verdier, Part 2

Submitted by Doug Verdier, who continues to document the Third Avenue Bridge refurbishment project.

This series of photos shows the removal of the artificial “island” created around the base of one of the Third Avenue Bridge piers to enable workers, equipment and materials access to the base of the pier below the water line to rebuild the base. The whole removal process took several days. Good weather helped, but crews worked day and night.

In this “before” photo, machinery, structures and equipment boxes can be seen lining the gravel island that was built prior to work being started on the base. A ladder tower was also constructed to enable workers access to the work area. All heavy equipment and materials were lowered throughout the project to the work area by tower cranes (red structure in top center of photo).

Much of the materials, equipment boxes and the white structure have been removed from the island by the crane. The yellow excavator is beginning to pull gravel from the edges of the island to enable the crews to remove it. The excavator, which was lowered to the island by crane, is shown building a pile of gravel that it will sit on while removing gravel from around it.

Just above the excavator are two hoppers being lowered by the red tower crane. The excavator operator will fill each hopper many times during the next couple of days (and nights) so the gravel can be taken up to the bridge, loaded onto dump trucks, and hauled away. Note the edges of the island are shrinking.

This photo shows the smaller island as gravel continues to be hauled out of the river. But also note that the ladder that once stood on the island is gone. Look up above the bridge just to the right of the red crane tower and you will see the ladder tower as it is being removed and lowered onto the bridge.

Another shot of the shrinking island. Two workers remained on the site (the excavator operator and a spotter) throughout the removal of the gravel. As the level of the gravel bed beneath the excavator got lower, the tracks of the excavator were standing in water while the remaining gravel was scooped up and hauled above in the hoppers that were lowered from the crane above throughout the operation.

Almost done! Both the excavator and the worker next to it are now standing in river water flowing down stream. More gravel was scooped up and hauled up as dusk approached. When the removal was finished, the two workers hooked up the excavator to cables lowered by the crane and watched as it was hauled slowly and carefully up to the bridge. They remained on the submerged remnants of the island until a smaller container was lowered to them to return to the bridge. Well Done!

A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum Virtual Book Launch with the Bell Museum set for April 20

Virtual book launch for A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum by Lansing Shepard, Don Luce, Barbara Coffin, and Gwen Schagrin

Wednesday, April 20, 7:00-8:30pm

Bell Museum (virtual) Register 

The University of Minnesota's Bell Museum in St. Paul will host a virtual book launch event for the new book A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum (University of Minnesota Press, April 2022) by Lansing Shepard, Don Luce, Barbara Coffin, and Gwen Schagrin on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:00 PM CT. Hosted by the Bell Museum’s Science Director Dr. George Weiblen, the event will feature brief presentations by coauthors Don Luce and Barbara Coffin and a moderated discussion focused on the museum's leadership and innovation in public education throughout its long history. Fellow coauthors Lansing Shepard and Gwen Schagrin will join the event during the Q&A portion of the event.

Since its humble start in 1872 as a one-room cabinet of curiosities, the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of natural history has become one of the state’s most important cultural institutions. From its conception as part of a state-mandated geological and natural history survey, to its most recent ventures into technology, environmental science, and DNA sequencing, the Bell Museum has informed, explained, and expanded our relationship to the natural world. Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move, the gorgeously illustrated book, A Natural Curiosity, chronicles the remarkable discoveries and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today. The Bell Museum's story, engagingly told in A Natural Curiosity, reveals and explores the profound changes undergone by society, science, and the natural landscape over the museum’s lifetime.

Beginning this past January, the Bell Museum celebrates 150 years. The book launch for A Natural Curiosity is part of the yearlong celebration that will feature different experiences that showcase the rich and varied history of the museum.

April 4-8 is Severe Weather Awareness Week, Expect Tornado Drill Sirens April 7

April 4-8 is Severe Weather Awareness Week, when households and businesses are encouraged to practice what they’d do to stay safe if a tornado or severe weather strikes.

Expect sirens April 7

Thursday, April 7, is Tornado Drill Day. Sirens throughout the state will sound at 1:45 p.m. and at 6:45 p.m., giving people time to practice taking shelter in severe weather both at home and in the workplace. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota experiences an average of nearly 30 tornadoes per year.

Alerts

An electronic weather alert service can make you aware of any imminent weather danger with email or text notices. Check the Minnesota Department of Public Safety website for options for wireless emergency alerts and smartphone apps.

There is specific information for people with disabilities or access or functional needs about how to prepare for storm season and other emergencies.

If severe weather is approaching:

• Turn to local TV or radio or the weather channel, or make sure you have alerts enabled on a smart device or a weather radio programmed to pick up alerts inside. Weather sirens aren’t intended to be heard inside. If a warning is issued, go to the basement or an inner stairwell.
• If you’re outside and hear the weather sirens, go inside immediately and take shelter in an inner space away from windows. Don’t use elevators.
• Stay sheltered until the all-clear signal has been issued.

More about staying safe during severe weather:

• Alerts and warnings
• Storms, hail and lightning
• Floods
• Tornadoes
• Extreme heat

Find emergency preparedness information on the City website.

Vibrant Mill District Night Photos by Ric Rosow

Submitted by Ric Rosow

A full moon several nights ago afforded an opportunity to go out late and take some photographs. As I walked from my condo to the park I turned and saw the moon low in the horizon between the Eleven and the Legacy. I took a number of shots there and then set up on the hill in the park to broaden the scene. The only people I saw were neighbors walking their dogs.

After photographing the moon I turned towards the Guthrie Theater and downtown. The lights were bright and colorful. The brilliant red glow on the river side of the building that appeared to flow down the middle of the Endless Bridge caught my attention. Do you see the silhouette of a man on the side of the building? Having just seen The Tempest two nights before, I thought that indeed a tempest was brewing inside the building to produce that red hot glow. 

See more of my work @ricrosowphotography and @treslechesartgallery.

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Full Moon Next to Eleven

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A Red Hot Tempest is Brewing 

New Art Exhibit, Earth & Sky, Opens at The Mill Yard April 3rd

 

Earth & Sky

Opening Reception Sunday, April 3, 4:00 - 6:00PM

Stonebridge Lofts, 1120 S 2nd Street

Join us at The Mill Yard opening reception to meet the featured artists. Wine, beverages, and snacks are served.

The new show runs from April 3 – July 21, 2022

Artists featured at this show: 

• Lisa Fratzke, painting
• Marilyn Gonrowksi, painting
• Megan & JD Jorgenson, Maine Prairie Studio, ceramics
• Kathleen Kvern, encaustic painting
• Dean Trisko, painting

Artist details:

Lisa Fratzke

In the Shadows

Lisa received her BA in Studio Art at Luther College in Decorah, IA. As a junior she studied at the University of Nottingham, England expanding her knowledge of Art Theory, Art History and Photography. Growing up her family instilled the value of being good stewards of the environment. Her travel has “fueled her passion for understanding the human experience, the human form, and our relationship with the landscapes.” Her pieces have appeared in numerous group and solo exhibitions. 

Marilyn Gonrowski

The Wetland

Marilyn grew up in an artistic family in the Red River Valley. In the early 1960’s she joined other artists to display work at the juried Uptown Art Fair. For 33 years her work was on show there and at many other locations in the metro area. Her inspirations come from her passion for the natural world, the woods and water, and especially the textures of trees, leaves, and the different natural palettes of the seasons. Oil paints “allow me to mix my colors. Recently, I have explored incorporating oil paint with organic material as I find it adds an extra dimension to my art.”

Megan & JD Jorgenson, Maine Prairie Studio

Piglets

Megan & JD operate Maine Prairie Studio in Kimball, MN, a ceramics studio, teaching space and gallery. Megan received her MFA at Utah State and teaches in St Cloud. Both her sculptural and functional ceramics are inspired by her curiosity of forming methods and application processes to clay. JD received his BA at University of Iowa. He apprenticed with Richard Bresnahan at St John’s Pottery and has taught ceramics at numerous locations. His functional objects reflect “the true beauty of clay itself, unglazed and raw interacting with fire, charcoal and atmosphere in a wood burning kiln.”

Kathleen Kvern

Nether Largie Standing Stones

Kathleen is a Minneapolis abstract painter working in encaustic “for its translucency, luminosity, malleability, and strength.” Her work has been juried into numerous exhibitions. She was the recipient of the 2019 Emerging Artists Grant from IEA, and teaches workshops locally. She finds the process of encaustic meditative; scraping away and rebuilding. “Transformed from molten to solid, encaustic underscores the paradox of vulnerability as the true source of strength. My paintings are infused with my visual language of human emotions and experiences.”

Dean Trisko

Abstraction of Abstraction

Dean works in multiple mediums including watercolor, encaustic, intaglio, pastels, acrylic, oil and mixed medias. The natural world is the inspiration for his abstract compositions. He combines geometric shapes with natural light and color to develop visually complex paintings, drawings and prints. “My approach lets the art remain open to interpretation while retaining familiarity. My goal is forms filled with joy I find in reflective observation.”

Apply to Serve on a City Board or Commission

Thirty-one City boards and commissions have openings for appointments this spring. The City seeks applicants with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences representing the demographics of Minneapolis to strengthen the work of the City. Translation and interpreting is available so all residents can participate. Applications are open now.

City boards and commissions have brought forward recommendations that resulted in renter protections, wage protections and a ban on a hazardous chemical in dry cleaning. Board and commission members in the City of Minneapolis help shape key policy decisions, give community-based input into the City’s administration of services and supply valuable insights.

The positions are open until filled; application review begins April 15 unless marked otherwise.

Learn about the boards and commissions with open positions.

Firefighters for Healing Selected as 2022 Charity Partner for Mustaches for Kids Twin Cities

It was recently announced that Mustaches for Kids Twin Cities (M4KTC) selected Firefighters For Healing to be their 2022 charity partner. All proceeds of the April campaign will benefit Firefighters For Healing’s Camp RED program for burn survivors between the ages of 5 – 15 years old. In 2021, the first year of M4KTC, the local community raised just under $100,000. In 2022, the goal is to exceed that in honor of the burn survivors who could not attend camp for the last 2 summers due to Covid. We want to make it extra special!

The Director of Camp RED, Jeff Larson was elated when he heard the news that Mustaches for Kids Twin Cities selected Camp RED as the 2022 charity partner. He said, “The children who attend our camp have survived burn trauma but that does not define them. The money raised through the Mustaches for Kids events will help us provide these campers with memories to last a lifetime while building their confidence to embrace their scars.”

Founding Member of M4KTC John Resman said, “We are excited to partner with Firefighters For Healing this year. They are an inspiring organization that provides an important summer camp experience for some amazing young survivors of burn trauma.  Our goals are simple - have fun while raising money for a charity supporting youth in the Twin Cities area.”

M4KTC is looking for men to GROW Mustaches in April

The Mustaches for Kids Twin Cities (M4KTC) campaign is simple: Anyone who can grow a mustache should visit M4KTC.com by April 4 to register as a GROWER or learn more. Anyone who wishes to show support or make a donation is invited to attend the clean shave event on April 4 at Excelsior Brewing Company. If you’re not local, you can still join the fun by donating online until the Stache Bash on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Nicollet Island Inn Welcomes Spring with Teas, a Cabaret and the Return of the Twilight River Cruise

Spring arrived this Sunday, and at the Nicollet Island Inn, Caryl and Larry Abdo are welcoming the change of season with specialty teas, a cabaret and the return of the Twilight River Cruise. Check out what's on their calendar and menus.

A recent article in Eat This, Not That shared that tasting experiences are trending, offering guests the opportunity to enjoy special menu experiences packaged for one price as they sample the chef's culinary creativity.  

If you ask owners owners Caryl and Larry Abdo if they're "trending with that trend," they'd inform you it's nothing new. For nearly all of the 17 years they've owned the historic inn and restaurant, they've been doing just that.

With every season and holiday, the Abdos package experiences that include seasonal afternoon teas and special culinary and cabaret dinners. Last summer when guests were somewhat hesitant to dine inside, Caryl and Larry launched the Twilight River Cruise Experience - a one-hour river taxi cruise. Chef Michael Rain prepared wicker baskets for each excursion filled with wine, cheese, bread, fruit and chocolate, followed by dinner inside. And during the height of the pandemic, romantic room service menus accompanied roses and champagne during guest stays that were routinely booked. Both experiences were so popular they're returning.

• The Underground Cabaret returns again the evenings of March 31st and April 1st with local pianist and singer Michael Thompson sharing a medley of Judy Garland, Sinatra, Billy Joel and Elton John, to name a few. Dinner before or after his performance makes for a memorable eventing. Tickets in advance; $48 per person.  

• Springtime in Paris Tea will take place on Sunday, April 3; tickets in advance at $65 per person for a five-course celebration. The Mother Daughter Tea at $65 per person will again offer five courses on Sunday, May 1st.

Theatre in the Round Players presents The Little Prince April 8 - May 1

Via a recent e-announcement

Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) continues its 70th Season with a theatrical adaptation of the beloved French novella, The Little Prince, in weekend performances from April 8th to May 1st.

Engaging for young and old alike, The Little Prince follows a world-weary Aviator stranded in the Sahara Desert and the mysterious child that appears and tells of his adventures through the galaxy. This classic story explores love, loss, hope, and what it means to have an open heart.

Gretchen Weinrich directs the 6-member cast, with sets designed by Philip Hoks, costumes by Morgan Groff, sound by Kristin Smith, lighting by Andy Kedl and props by Mary Gravenstein.

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Audience discussion following April 24 performances. 

Free themed art activities prior to the performances on April 8, 9, 29, & 30 and following the performances on April 9 and May 1.

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Additional programming will be offered opening and closing weekends; audience members can visit the “Family Creation Stations” sponsored by ARTrageous Adventures to create a Little Prince themed art project. Creation stations will open 45 minutes prior to evening performances and immediately after matinees at select performances.

Tickets are $25 for Adults, $20 for Students. For information, call the theatre’s box office at 612-333-3010 or visit the website.

Masks and proof of vaccination or negative test required for all patrons.

YogaFit Studios Shows Support for Educators with Free Classes

YogaFit Studios supports educators and support staff!

Through April 15, YogaFit Studios is offering FREE yoga, barre and fitness classes at all five of their studios for Minneapolis educators, assistants and all support staff who are on strike.

It’s easy to get started:

1) Download the YogaFit Studios app.

2) Create a profile in your preferred location.

3) Email the studio - they’ll take it from there! 

• lindenhills@yogafitstudios.com
• northeastmpls@yogafitstudios.com
• loringpark@yogafitstudios.com
• uptown@yogafitstudios.com 

City of Minneapolis Improved Crime Dashboard Now Online

Excerpt from the Ward 7 March 18 e-newsletter:

The City of Minneapolis has improved its online crime dashboard. The new dashboard connects to Minneapolis Police Department data better than before, providing more comprehensive results that align with national standards.    

The MPD data accessible through the dashboard uses the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which contains more categories than the City’s previous dashboard, including weapon law violations, destruction/damage to property, fraud and drug/narcotic offenses. The dataset also has specific crime data categories not included in the FBI’s system, including carjackings, domestic assaults and gunshot wound victims.

The dashboard’s new interface has a “summary view,” providing year-to-date statistics for crimes and their locations, and a “details view,” providing more in-depth views of specific crimes within customizable date ranges. Charts can be generated using both views, and data visualizations can display crimes by hour, weekday, precinct, ward and neighborhood as well as during certain time periods, such as seven-day, 28-day, 12-week, 13-month and four-year.

The dashboard accesses crime data back to Jan. 1, 2019. Because different methods were used to create this more comprehensive dataset, data obtained through the old dashboard may not align with the data now available.

View the new & improved dashboard...

Minneapolis Institute of Art Organizes Exhibition Celebrating the Artistry of Textiles from Japan

Recently acquired, exceptionally rare garments on view are made of delicate natural materials, such as Japanese fiber banana plant, elm bark, nettle fiber, and fish skin

This June, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) will debut the special exhibition “Dressed by Nature: Textiles of Japan.” Demonstrating the resourcefulness and skill involved in transforming locally sourced materials into extraordinary garments, “Dressed by Nature” will feature clothing and fabrics made from traditional organic materials, including robes crafted from the Japanese fiber banana plant from the subtropical Okinawan region; textiles fashioned from paper, ramie, cotton, silk, wool, hemp, wisteria, deerskin, and rice straw from across Japan’s many islands; garments of elm bark and nettle fiber created by the indigenous Ainu people; and festival coats of fish skin made in neighboring Siberia.

Showcasing objects acquired in 2019 from Thomas Murray, a collector of Asian art, the exhibition will highlight rare and exceptional examples of textiles from Japan made between 1750 and 1930. The exhibition, which will be on view from June 25 through September 11, 2022, is curated by Andreas Marks, PhD, Mary Griggs Burke Curator and head of Japanese and Korean Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

“These garments and cloths are unique objects that showcase the creativity of their makers in fashioning textiles from all kinds of natural materials depending on their living circumstances,” Marks said. “While many exhibitions on the dress of Japan focus on the silk kimono and clothes worn by the aristocracy, ‘Dressed by Nature’ instead celebrates the inventiveness and beauty of folk traditions and clothes worn in everyday life. We are excited for visitors to experience the kaleidoscope of materials and designs that will be on view and which demonstrate human ingenuity in the pre-industrial period of Japan between the 18th and early 20th centuries.” 

The over 120 textiles on view will highlight the artistry from the diverse cultures that form the Japanese archipelago. These include exceptionally rare, brightly colored resist-dyed bingata robes from Okinawa; delicately patterned garments used by farmers, fishermen, and firemen from Japan’s largest and most populous islands of Honshu and Kyushu; and boldly patterned coats created by Ainu women from Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and the Sakhalin Island of Siberia.

Exhibition highlights include:

• an exuberant festival robe from the early 1900s, decorated with sea creatures and water motifs, used to celebrate a successful fish catch. The robe’s decorations were hand-drawn and painted with tsutsugaki, a rice paste resist-dye technique, making this robe one of a kind;
• an attush Ainu robe—acquired by Mia this year— from the 18th century. Attush (elm bark) robes were decorated with appliqued cotton and embroidery, but this robe is unique in the world in that it is embellished with various talismanic pendants created from sea creatures (mostly sturgeon scales) as well as shells, bird bones, and silk tassels;
• a festival coat for women made of fish skin by the Nivkh people, hunters and fishermen who lived on the northern half of Sakhalin Island and in the Amur River region in the Russian Far East. The back of this robe from the 19th century was richly decorated with appliqué and embroidery of abstracted, animalistic designs that represent masks, birds, serpents, and dragons of Chinese origin;
• a boro patchwork farmer’s short coat from the 19th century, made using recycled textiles that have been patched together, demonstrating the tradition of reusing old, worn-out clothing and making it into new garments;
• a complete fireman’s kit from the second half of the 1800s that includes a coat, a quilted hood, heavily padded gloves, and close-fitting trousers. During this period, fires were a constant threat in the densely populated wooden cities. Kits like this—crafted from indigo-dyed, quilted cotton—were soaked in water before the men headed into the blaze;
• a luxurious dark blue-ground lined winter robe (watajin) with dog paw-print pattern that was created through floating-relief weft (Yomitanzan hanaori). The height of the Ryūkyū Kingdom elite on the subtropical islands of Okinawa in the 19th century is expressed in this robe, which has a yellow-ground lining decorated with ivy, chrysanthemum, and bamboo grass pattern achieved with the traditional bingata stencil-resist dyeing technique, unique to Okinawa.

This exhibition is made possible by lead sponsor Thomson Reuters and major sponsor Artful Living, with generous support provided by the Gale Family Endowment.

Mia’s collection of Japanese art features outstanding concentrations of Buddhist sculpture, paintings, lacquer, works of bamboo, woodblock prints, and ceramics, and is particularly rich in works from the Edo period (1603–1868). A special exhibition of masterpieces from Mia’s paintings collection was on view at four museums in Japan from 2021 until 2022. Also notable is its collection of ukiyo-e prints and paintings, popularly known as “pictures of the floating world.” Representative examples from the permanent collection of close to 9,000 works are shown in sixteen galleries of Japanese art—the largest permanent display devoted to Japanese art within any Western encyclopedic museum. Two historic rooms, a formal audience hall (shoin), and a teahouse (chashitsu) serve to heighten awareness of the relationship between art and architecture.

The Departments at Dayton’s Opens Spring Market

The Dayton’s Project welcomes spring market on first floor

Today, The Dayton’s Project launched its spring makers market, known as The Departments at Dayton’s. The spring line up will feature close to 40 vendors and a newly retooled spring collection.

The market offers an in-person retail experience in the heart of downtown Minneapolis in the newly redeveloped Dayton’s Project, a 1.2 million square foot office and retail environment. The Departments at Dayton’s offer an experiential opportunity for shoppers that coaxes people out of their homes and spurs other activities in downtown Minneapolis.

“The brands we’re showcasing in The Departments at Dayton’s have shown such creativity and resilience,” said Mich Berthiume, expert curator of the maker’s market, “Each and every single maker in the market brings a unique skillset and incredible passion to their products, which enhances the experience of the market. When you buy at The Departments at Dayton’s, you’re supporting local businesses and local community members who have poured their hearts into their incredible products.”

The new vendors open in The Departments at Dayton’s include, Zeroish, Grande Gallery, Righteous Souls, Embellish, Sweet Heaven, Corazon Clothing, The Salsa Collaborative, and Vanlice Lemonade.

The spring market will also feature an Artist Corner featuring work by former Dayton’s employee, Joel Kaplan, and three other local artists: Ann Bendt, Terry Saario, and Olivia Kor. The returning vendors include Native Roots, Handmod, Larissa Loden, Karen Morris, Molly Pepper, Opal Cool (now including Workerb skincare, honey and tea, as well as Sutter Buttes Olive Oils), Onyx Cool, Blue Heron, Minnesota Awesome, Shop in the City, Giftywrap, Rocky Robinson, Kobi and Co., Zelba and Mary, San Jose Chocolate, Junita’s Jar (which will now include warm cookies for sale on site!).

“We’re proud to be a part of the efforts to reanimate downtown Minneapolis,” said Hans Okerstrom, General Manager of The Dayton’s Project. “The Dayton’s Project is proud of our location and of our role in bringing vibrancy back to downtown. The retail offerings we’re delivering demonstrate our commitment to the future of Minneapolis.”

March 2022 Third Avenue Bridge Project Photos by Doug Verdier

Submitted by Doug Verdier, who continues to document the Third Avenue Bridge refurbishment project.

Work on the Third Avenue Bridge has continued despite sometimes bitter cold and snowy weather. These photos taken over the past couple of weeks show various stages of construction on different spans.

Platforms on the upstream underside of the span nearest to West River Road provide access to various parts of the structure that will be removed and replaced.

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The long grey “snorkel-like” apparatus transfers concrete from the blue cement mixer truck on the bridge down to the base of one of the bridge piers where it is directed into the brown forms (next to and beneath the orange tarps) where it will encase the new rebar that has been placed into the existing pier base to form the new outer concrete covering.

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A closer look at the filling of the concrete form at the base of the pier. 

First River Photos From an Eleven Condo Unit

Thank you to Ric Rosow for providing these photos of the sunrise and evening views from the first occupied residence at the Eleven. See more of his work at https://www.ricrosowphotography.com.

Event Parkway Closure for Saturday, March 19

The following will be closed 7:30a - 1p on Saturday, March 19, for the Hot Dash 5K & 10 Mile:

• Stone Arch Bridge
• NE Main Street - 6th Ave SE to Hennepin Ave
• West River Parkway - Plymouth Ave to E 27th Ave