April 21, 2012, Saturday - Childish Films at Central Library

Time: 10:30am

Location:  Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

Childish Films: Film Festival Shorts

Help animator Katie Maren make a stop-motion animated trailer for the library. Celebrate the series finale of Childish Films with a selected program of the best short films for ages 3+ from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival.  Full program to be announced soon!

Doors open at 10 am for seating, snacks, and hands-on activities. Live pre-show performances begin at 10:30 am.

Childish Films @ the Library is a free program of children’s cinema and arts for all ages. Each screening features a pre-show activity, an educational introduction, and complimentary healthy snacks. Admission is free with open seating to the public. Admission is free with open seating to the public.

Most films are best enjoyed by ages 3 and older, but children and people of all ages are welcome to attend. If you have specific questions about the content of a particular film, please e-mail our curators. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Call 612.543.8107 for more information.

April 21, 2012, Saturday - 11th Annual Marcy Arts Gala at The Soap Factory

Time:  6:00pm to 11:00pm

Location:  The Soap Factory, 514 2nd Street SE
 
The Marcy Arts Gala is one of the most successful and envied fundraisers in the Twin Cities for schools in Minnesota.

Be prepared to be amazed with fire, electric performances and stunning art from local and national artists. Join the best party in town on April 21 for an evening of food, music and art at one of the city’s hippest art venues, the Soap Factory. The 11th Annual Marcy Arts Gala will raise funds for arts programming at nearby Marcy Open School, a K-8 public school featuring an arts-infused curriculum. Proceeds from the live and silent auctions will pay for artists’ residencies in the school next year. Savvy collectors look forward to the Marcy Arts Gala for world-class art pieces.

Over 200 artists donate work for the event, and many well-known artists are participating this year including Kelly Marshall, Eddie Hamilton, James Burpee, Lisa Nankivil, Rod Massey, James O'Connell and Todd Norsten. The main musical act, the Brass Messengers, is known for their eclectic performances in the Heart of the Beast Mayday Parade. Infiamatti Fire Circus will also be dazzling gala guests at the event. The food and drink are donated by sensational local businesses which include Sen Yai Sen Lek, Brasa, Ginger Hop, Surly, Rock Bottom Brewery and Surdyk’s, to name a few. Tickets are $40 in advance/$45 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 612-692-0719 or visit http://marcy.mpls.k12.mn.us and click on Marcy Arts Partnership.

April 21, 2012, Saturday - Second Story Reading Series at The Loft

Time: 2:00pm

Location: The Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Second Story, the Loft's reading series for children's and young adult authors, presents Rebecca Fjelland Davis and A.S. King.

Rebecca Fjelland Davis lives near Good Thunder, Minnesota, where she writes, rides her bike, and teaches English and Humanities at South Central College in North Mankato. Her latest novel, Chasing AllieCat (Flux, 2011), was named a Junior Library Guild Selection. Her first novel, Jake Riley: Irreparably Damaged (HarperCollins, 2003), was named a BCCB Blue Ribbon Fiction book.

A.S. King is the author of Ask the Passengers, a novel about acceptance, small town gossip, and airplanes. Other works include Everybody Sees the Ants and the Edgar Award nominated, Michael L. Printz Honor Book Please Ignore Vera Dietz, which Publisher's Weekly described as "deeply suspenseful and profoundly human." The novel was picked as one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Books for Teens 2010. She is also the author of The Dust of 100 Dogs, picked as an ALA Best Books for Young Adults.

Second Story is volunteer curated by authors Swati Avasthi and Heather Bouwman.

April 20, 2012, Friday - WomenVenture Pathways to Success Conference at The Depot

Time:  8:00am - 4:30pm

Location:  The Depot, 225 3rd Avenue South

Pathways to Success Conference - A day of education, collaboration and rejuvenation.

This spring, WomenVenture launches its first annual Pathways to Success professional development conference presented by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.  The daylong event will provide women with tools and inspiration to advance their career, secure their financial future, develop their personal goals, strengthen their professional relationships and celebrate their successes.

Click here for conference session info.

Tickets are $115; includes continental breakfast and lunch.  Click here to purchase tickets.

A limited number of conference scholarships are available.  Click here for scholarship information.

Pathways to Success is presented by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and made possible with support from 3M, Ameriprise, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Xcel Energy and Mpls. St. Paul Magazine.

April 20, 2012, Friday - Mentor Series: Leslie Adrienne Miller at The Loft

Time: 7:00pm

Location: The Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South
 
The Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose presents poetry mentor Leslie Adrienne Miller reading from her work along with program participants Tami Mohamed Brown (nonfiction) and Nona Kennedy Carlson (fiction).

Leslie Adrienne Miller is author of five books of poetry, The Resurrection Trade and Eat Quite Everything You See from Graywolf Press, and Yesterday Had a Man in It, Ungodliness, and Staying Up For Love from Carnegie Mellon University Press. A sixth collection, Y, is forthcoming from Graywolf in spring 2012. Professor of English at the University of Saint Thomas, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she holds a PhD from the University of Houston, an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, an MA from the University of Missouri, and a BA from Stephens College.

Tami Mohamed Brown (nonfiction) lives in Bloomington with her husband and daughter. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and is the recipient of a Blacklock Nature Sanctuary Emerging Artist Fellowship. She has served as a mentor in Intermedia Arts’ WINGS program. Her writing appears on a regular basis in the Minnesota Women’s Press and has also been published in Minnesota Parent, Mizna, Colere, and Dust and Fire. 

Nona Kennedy Carlson (fiction) has published work in temenos, Central Michigan University’s international literary journal, Dust and Fire, a women’s anthology of writing and art, and MinnPost. She has working forthcoming in Talking Stick. Her short story, “Queer,” received the 2011 Jonis Agee Award for Fiction. She has a BS in Geography and Environmental Studies from The University of Colorado and lives in Minneapolis with her husband, their two beautiful daughters, and two boisterous black labs.

April 20, 2012, Friday - Live Music at Crooked Pint

Time: 9:00pm  $5 Cover

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

Tonight:  Tex Pistols

April 20, 2012, Friday - Spring Wine Sale and Tastings 2012 at Sorella Wine & Spirits

Time: 4:30pm-7:00pm

Location:  Sorella Wine & Spirits, 1010 Washington Avenue South

Tasting: Around 20 Wines

Savings: 15% - 40% Off on every wine in the store.

April 19, 2012, Thursday - DADA STRIKES BACK: A Cabaret at Open Book

Time: 7:30pm

Location:  Open Book, Target Performance Hall, 1011 Washington Avenue South

DADA STRIKES BACK: A Cabaret

Don’t miss the revolution! As we started off in times of wars and financial turmoil at the beginning of the 20th century, always fully assuming the chaos and joyfully playing around with it, appropriating it over a drink or two, it’s high time for us to make a re-appearance. DADA STRIKES BACK on the 19th to 21st of April at 7:30 at Open Book.

So, we kindly ask you: “Invest your money in DADA, come to see us. This has great advantages for you! As a perfectly normal citizen you will enter the show. After you have been flung back and forth, we will read poems to you until you collapse in a faint. And suddenly, there you are, with a fresh haircut, out in the open, an antibourgeois!” Tickets at the door only, $10 general, $5.00 student.
 
gsd@umn.edu 612-625-2080

More Info 

April 19, 2012, Thursday - Everybody's a Critic: Twin Cities Food Writers at Central Library

Time:  7:00pm

Location: Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall

Everybody's a Critic: Twin Cities Food Writers

Registration required, begins Mar 22. Register online or call 612-543-8000.

How do you get paid to eat out every night? Who are the rock stars of Twin Cities cuisine? A panel of local food writers (Dara Moskowitz, Rachel Hutton, Stephanie March and James Norton) will tell all. Find related books and more at the Library. Bring your questions! Afterward, continue the conversation at a Block E establishment over food and drinks.

This project is funded with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

April 19, 2012, Thursday - Midwest Photo Safari: "Minneapolis Nights" Mill Ruins Park and the Stone Arch Bridge (Thursdays and Fridays)

Time:
This safari begins 30 minutes before local sunset (your tour confirmation will have an exact time). We meet at Mill Ruins Park on the west bank of the river. The Safari runs about 90 minutes on Thursday and Friday Nights.

Location:
This tour begins at Mill Ruins Park on the west bank of the Minneapolis riverfront.  We start by photographing  this interesting park,  then walk across the famous Stone Arch bridge to photograph the Minneapolis night skyline. We will learn the principles of low light settings on your digital SLR's or the various "scene" mode settings of your digital point and shoot camera.

More Information and Registration.

April 19, 2012, Thursday - Opening Exhibit at Mill City Museum: Growing Strong: How Farmers Markets Nourish People, Communities and the Planet

Time: Opening Reception - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Location:  Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street

Growing Strong: How Farmers Markets Nourish People, Communities and the Planet

Music by Light of the Moon, Cash bar

This exhibit celebrates the many ways that farmers markets serve Minnesota communities. While supporting renewed interest in sustainable farming and local food, this exhibit shows that farmers markets help fill a growing desire to make our communities more connected, livable and vibrant. Through a combination of photomurals and first-person storytelling, visitors will explore the importance of farmers markets both now and throughout history.

"Growing Strong" was created by North Node Consulting in partnership with Avant Garden Photography, Kidzibits, Renewing the Countryside, and Hello Industries.

The exhibit, which runs through July 22, 2012, is located in the museum’s central Mill Commons, and is free and open to the public during regular museum hours:  Tuesday-Saturday, 10am - 5pm; Sunday Noon - 5pm.  Also open Mondays in July and August: 10am - 5pm.  (Closed Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.)

April 18, 2012, Wednesday - Range of Motion 'Tough Enough Bootcamp' at Mill Ruins Park

Time:  6:00am - 7:00am

Location:  Mill Ruins Park parking lot at the base of the hill (free parking).

Range of Motion (ROM) Wellness

Your humpday mornings just got a little tougher.  After that the rest of the week is a cakewalk.  Join this exciting bootcamp-style class meant to make you work hard in order to improve your conditioning, gain foundational strength and power, and burn calories like nobody's business.  Group fitness classes improve your performance and give you the feedback and energy to be your best.

Pre-pay $8/session for 8 weeks ($64) or $12 for drop-in classes.  Try out the class for $5, which will be applied to your final cost if you decide to continue.

We start at the Mill City Ruins and will find fun and exciting routes and urban and natural "gym" equipment to push your body where you didn't think it could go.  This class will challenge you physically and mentally but you will always control your comfort zone and how you choose to work.  It is not meant as an introduction to exercise and it is not for the faint of heart.  However, all exercises have their modifications and you are encouraged to find your limitations and train in accordance.

Be sure to have a light snack or meal 30 minutes prior to class and bring something to eat or drink post class to stimulate metabolic recovery and prevent post-exercise low blood sugar crashes. Water and sweat towels will be provided but you are encouraged to bring a towel and/or yoga mat.

To RSVP for class, Email Jeremy at jeremy@rom-wellness.com, or call 612.205.7644.

*If you are new to exercise this will challenge you. If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, chronic pain, or acute injuries please consult your physician prior to beginning a new exercise routine. During these workouts you may encounter contraindicated movements for your specific condition and should be able to decide when you should sit the exercise out or talk to me about specific modifications.

Class repeats every week until Wednesday, May 23, 2012:

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 6:00am - 7:00am
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - 6:00am - 7:00am
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - 6:00am - 7:00am
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - 6:00am - 7:00am
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 6:00am - 7:00am

April 18, 2012, Wednesday - Minneapolis Park and Rec Board Meeting

Time:  5:00pm

Location:  Minneapolis Park and Rec Board, 2117 West River Road

Agenda

The regular meetings are rebroadcast on Channel 79 on Saturdays at 1 p.m. and on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 5 p.m.

Webcasts of MPRB regular board meetings are posted on the MPRB website two to five business days after each meeting and are available for viewing, along with Webcasts for the recent two months, at http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=900.

April 18, 2012, Wednesday - Farmers Market Dinner at Spill the Wine

Seating Time: 6:30pm

Location:  Spill the Wine, 1101 Washington Avenue South

$45/person (tax included)

Farmers Market Wine Dinner

Featuring organic wine selections and local food selections. Presented by Chef Craig Johnson and Mary Beth Gallagher with Wine Merchants.

greeting of astoria lounge prosecco (italy)

first course
asparagus terrine, house-cured salmon, goat cheese, grilled fennel jam
oko pinot grigio (italy)

second course
lamb sweetbreads, salami nola, spring vegetable melee
santa tresa nivuro (sicily)

third course
chocolate brownie sundae, salted caramel ice cream
sokol blosser red (oregon) 

Reservations 

April 18, 2012, Wednesday - Graywolf Press Publication Reading: D.A. Powell at The Loft

Time:  7:00pm

Location:  The Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Graywolf Press Publication Reading: D.A. Powell

In D.A. Powell’s fifth book of poetry, the rollicking line he has made his signature becomes the taut, more discursive means to describing beauty, singing a dirge, directing an ironic smile or questioning who in any given setting is the instructor and who is the pupil. This is a book that explores the darker side of divisions and developments, which shows how the interstitial spaces of boonies, backstage, bathhouse or bar are locations of desire. With Powell’s witty banter, emotional resolve and powerful lyricism, this collection demonstrates his exhilarating range.

“Powell has now turned the corner from promising new poet into established power. [Useless Landscape] condenses his obsessions into poems clearer and more compact than ever, some scathing and others comedic, some based on life stories and others built on puns. . . . Powell, with his range of form and line, his dark but vivid humor, and his commitment to Romantic traditions, is set apart. . . . This book will belong on many lists of the year’s best.” - Publishers Weekly.

D. A. Powell is the author of five collections of poetry, including Chronic, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His honors include the Gold Medal in Poetry from the California Commonwealth Club, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in San Francisco. Free and open to the public.

April 17, 2012, Tuesday - Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Public Meeting

Time: 4:30pm

Location: Room 317, City Hall, 350 South Fifth Street

Agenda for this meeting includes St. Anthony Falls Historic District Design Guidelines.

More Info

April 17, 2012, Tuesday - Chefs for Change at People Serving People

Time:  7:00pm-9:00pm (shelter tours beginning at 6:30pm)

Location:  People Serving People, 614 South 3rd Street

Chefs for Change: A Chef's Table Culinary Experience

Chefs for Change is a cooking demonstration and an elegant dinner party with a purpose. It is hosted by a top executive chef from the Twin Cites Metro area. Over the past several years, chefs from restaurants including The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Porter and Frye and Capital Grille have hosted Chefs for Change events on one or more occasion.

Chef Brahim Hadj-Moussa of the Barbary Fig will take guests on a culinary vacation with his Mediterranean and North African fare. Guests will enjoy a variety of dishes and walk away inspired by what they can do in their own kitchens after Chef Hadj's kitchen demonstration.

Chefs for Change is held approximately once a month in People Serving People's industrial kitchen. It is an intimate setting of 30-40 guests interested in a "chef’s table" experience followed by a five course meal with wine pairings. It is a unique experience to share with friends or acquaintances, and opportunity for restaurants to gain unique recognition and exposure.

Chefs provide all of the food with wine pairings and recipes for guests to take home. Guests are to experience the unique flavor of the particular restaurant, as well as establish rapport with the chef and servers.

Anyone can enjoy this unique dining experience with 100% of the proceeds benefiting People Serving People. To purchase a ticket for this exclusive event, or if you are a chef interested in hosting a Chefs for Change, email Lauren Rimestad at lrimestad@peopleservingpeople.org or call her directly at 612-277-0219.

April 16, 2012, Monday - Ingrid Michaelson at the Guthrie

Time: 7:30pm

Location:  Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie Theater, 818 Second Street South

Ingrid Michaelson’s grassroots sensibility has worked like gangbusters: Her music, often about love and relationships, has wafted out of your television in handfuls of "Grey’s Anatomy" episodes (not to mention countless other series such as "American Idol," "Parenthood," and "So You Think You Can Dance"), in an affecting Google Chrome ad, and on VH1 as an artist You Outta Know.

The New York Times marveled that she was “singing her way from obscurity to fame.” Billboard trumpeted her as the face of the new music business. NPR declared, “Ingrid Michaelson is everywhere.” As an independent artist she has sold over 750,000 albums and 3 million singles. With her new album Human Again, Michaelson throws a wrench in her reputation as the Crafter of Dainty Love Songs. One of her most gutting compositions from the album and first single, Ghost, is a hushed reflection on lost romance that unfurls ruefully from its opening line, “Do remember when the walls fell?” From there, Michaelson plumbs the breadth of human emotion.

April 15, 2012, Sunday - Race for Justice 5K Run/Walk

Start Time: 9:00am

Place:  Nicollet Island

The 10th Annual Race for Justice 5K Fun Run/Walk will benefit law graduates through the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) of Minnesota.  By subsidizing education debts for dedicated attorneys choosing low-paid public interest work, LRAP helps meet the legal needs of low-income Minnesotans across the state.

Registration

April 15, 2012, Sunday - Spotlight Series at MacPhail

Time:  7:00pm

Location: MacPhail Center for Music, 501 2nd Street South

The MacPhail Spotlight Series showcases the finest musicians in six concerts staged in MacPhail’s stunning Antonello Hall. This ticketed performance series features MacPhail faculty with special guests and provides an intimate listening experience for lovers of classical, jazz, folk and more. A unique feature of the Series is the post-concert reception where guests meet the artists while enjoying light refreshments.

Jazz Spotlight

Showcasing nationally known guest artist Adam Niewood performing post-bop jazz.  Antonello Hall comes alive with the sounds of jazz in this two part performance.  Joining Niewood will be MacPhail’s jazz faculty and the Dakota Combo, MacPhail’s premier student jazz ensemble, lighting up the evening with music from the post-bop jazz era.

Tonight’s performance is the culmination of a day-long jazz festival which will be held at MacPhail. 

The jazz festival and performance are co-funded by the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education.