June 16, 2016, Thursday - "Rebirth: The Mississippi's National Park" Screening at Groveland Gallery
This summer, Groveland Gallery, 25 Groveland Terrace, is hosting a series of events to commemorate the National Park Service centennial and celebrate our local national park, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
"America's River" will be on exhibit June 11-August 13, featuring a series of oil and gouache paintings by Minneapolis native Thomas Paquette. Inspired and fascinated by the park’s unique location within a bustling, urban area, Paquette’s paintings capture the beauty and serenity of nature found along the river and amidst the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Thursday, June 16, 5:30-7 p.m., the gallery is hosting a special screening of FMR's new documentary, "Rebirth: The Mississippi's National Park." Produced for FMR by award-winning local filmmakers John Kaul and Tom Reiter, and narrated by Minnesota Public Radio's Steve Seel, this 30-minute documentary tells the story of how one man’s vision — combined with smart citizen advocacy and effective political leadership — created the Mississippi River's first and only national park right here in the Twin Cities. This designation, initiated locally by self-proclaimed "river rat" Tom Kelley and championed at the federal level by Sen. David Durenberger and Rep. Bruce Vento, sparked the local river renaissance we enjoy today — a river that is thriving with fish and bald eagles, a river increasingly connected to our communities via parks and trails, a river seen as an asset instead of a convenient dumping ground.
The evening kicks off with a reception 5:30-6:15 p.m. featuring hors 'doeuvres, the "America's River" exhibit and more information about Friends of the Mississippi River as well as Groveland Gallery's summer of National Park Service centennial events. (If you'd like more time to enjoy Paquette's work, the gallery opens at noon.)
"Rebirth" will begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by a brief Q & A with the filmmakers John Kaul and Tom Reiter and FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark on the making of the film, the state of America's River, and how we can help protect and restore this local treasure in our midst.
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