April 25, 2011, Monday - Jonathan Coulton at the Guthrie

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Guthrie Theater, McGuire Proscenium Stage

A number of Jonathan Coulton’s songs have become full-fledged internet hits: his folkrock cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back," the unrequited love of a mad scientist in "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Code Monkey", the anthem of software designers everywhere. The office zombie song "Re: Your Brains" made the Dr. Demento Funny 25 countdown for 2006. But beneath the geeky comedy there is real heart. “I’ve always been a math and science guy, so I think about robots and fractals all the time. But on a deeper level, there’s a thread running through my songs about how it feels to be a nerd – this kind of alienation, a sense of not belonging, not being accepted. And it’s not just limited to actual nerds – I think we’re all familiar with that feeling, no matter how popular we were in school,” says Coulton.

Coulton releases all his music under a Creative Commons license that allows for legal file sharing and copying, as well as non-commercial derivative works. His worldwide community of fans has rallied around him to generate airplay on hundreds of podcasts, create a library of music videos and arrange gigs around the United States.

Tickets available at the Guthrie Theater Box Office, charge by phone at 612-377-2224 and online. For information: http://www.suemclean.com/shows/jonathan-coulton/.

April 23, 2011, Saturday - Celebrate Earth Day at MCBA

Time: 10:00am-Noon

Location: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Families with children ages 2 and up.

Anne Rockwell's Our Earth kicks off our papermaking celebration. Pull circle sheets of white cotton paper and color with ocean blue, land green and more. Decorate with recycled yarns, shredded papers and cut outs of people, plants and animals. Plant seeds in your paper, too! Waterproof shoes suggested.

Join Ellen Ferrari for Saturday mornings of family book arts fun! Each workshop starts off with a story and game to warm up your creativity and then dives into a book arts project. Workshops accommodate a range of developmental levels so that adults and children (or adult/child teams) may choose to work together or side-by-side. Each participant receives supplies to use during the workshop, but may choose to bring one set home if working with his or her partner. Ellen will provide older children with suggestions for extending their learning.

Register

April 23, 2011, Saturday - Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum

Time: 1:00pm

Location: Mill City Museum, 704  2nd Street South

Fee: $12 adults, $10 seniors and college students, $8 children ages 6-17 and MHS members. Tour includes museum admission.

Reservations recommended - call 612-341-7555

Get an in-depth look at the historic Washburn A Mill complex and the award-winning Mill City Museum building. A museum interpreter will take visitors into the building's many nooks and crannies, highlighting the lives of the men and women who worked there, how the building functioned during its peak flour milling years and the many changes to the building over time. Also covered will be the challenges of preserving the 120-year-old, fire-damaged building; its art, architecture and interior design; and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District.

Although many parts of the mill can be explored during regular museum visits, this is the public's only opportunity for a guided tour through the entire museum building.

April 23, 2011, Saturday - How'd They Do That Workshop at the Guthrie - Arsenic and Old Lace

Location: Guthrie, Wurtele Thrust Stage

Time: 9:00am

What was the inspiration for the set? Was the play rewritten in rehearsals? Aren't those wigs itchy? Through these eye-opening workshops, you can learn how the Guthrie's artists and staff create a production - from early development and designs to rehearsal, costume fittings and staging of the play.

Arsenic and Old Lace Panelists include:

Trevor Long, Assistant Production Director
Sarah Gullickson, Associate Props Manager
Michael Lupu, Dramaturg
Kristine Nielsen, actor playing Abby Brewster
Sally Wingert, actor playing Martha Brewster
Jonas Goslow, actor playing Mortimer Brewster

Cost - $15 per person

April 22, 2011, Friday - SCUBA at the Southern Theater (2 nights)

Times:
   Friday, April 22 8:00pm
   Saturday, April 23 8:00pm

Location: The Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Avenue South

SCUBA presents in one evening some of the most innovative new work on the national scene for Twin Cities audiences. Now in its eighth year, the SCUBA Touring Network is a partnership of the Southern Theater; ODC, San Francisco; Velocity Dance Center, Seattle; and Philadelphia Dance Projects. The network provides touring opportunities for dance artists and, for audiences, a view of “the breadth of choreographic invention across the country” (Star Tribune).  Click here for information and tickets.

April 20, 2011, Wednesday - George Rabasa reading from his latest novel Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb at The Loft

Time: 7:00pm

Location: Target Performance Hall, The Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South

The Loft presents novelist George Rabasa reading from his latest novel Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb. George Rabasa is the author of the novels The Wonder Singer and Floating Kingdom, which received the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. His collection of short stories, Glass Houses, received The Writer’s Voice Capricorn Award for Excellence in Fiction and the Minnesota Book Award for Short Stories. His short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Glimmer Train, The MacGuffin, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere. Rabasa was born in Maine, raised in Mexico, and now lives in Minnesota. Free

April 20, 2011, Wednesday - A SIP OF SCIENCE - The Delta Dilemma: Man vs. Nature on the Mississippi at the Aster Cafe

Time: 5:30pm

Location: The Aster Cafe, 125 SE Main Street, St. Anthony Main

Throughout most of the 20th century, Americans saw nature as theirs for the taking - conquer, build, transform. And we did. Much of our landscape is a testament to what technology has allowed us to achieve. Success, however, often came by deflecting problems elsewhere, and to a large extent, the future. This fact is true nowhere as much as the Mississippi Delta.
 
For the April 20 SIP OF SCIENCE we have a powerful story of the dynamism of the Earth's surface, the 20th century war humans waged to author its course, the loss we are experiencing in winning, and finally what we have learned about relinquishing control and allowing the natural processes of the Delta to orchestrate restoration.

Professor Chris Paola, featuring Cajun music from Eric Mohring and Gary Powell.
 
A SIP OF SCIENCE bridges the gap between science and culture in a setting that bridges the gap between brain and belly. Food, beer, and learning are on the menu in a happy hour forum that offers the opportunity to talk with researchers about their current work, its implications, and its fascinations. 
 
More information.

April 19, 2011, Tuesday - Japan Meets World at Central Library

Time: 6:30pm

Location: Pohlad Hall, Central Library, 300 Nicollet

Japan Meets World
 
Explore classical and world music from both the eastern and western hemispheres. Performance will feature original works by three Juilliard graduates for violin, flute, cello, voice and dance. Highlights include a solo dancing violinist with fabric.

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

Presented in collaboration with the MELSA (Metropolitan Library Service Agency).

April 18, 2011, Monday - Guthrie 2011-2012 Season Announcement Webcast

Time: 5:30pm

The Guthrie Theater will unveil its 2011-12 mainstage season during a live web broadcast from the set of Arms and the Man on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

While Guthrie subscribers have been invited to attend the special event in-person, Facebook fans from around the globe can watch a live stream of the event via the theater's Facebook page.

Online viewers will be able to interact with theater staff during the web broadcast, asking questions about the 2011-12 season, as Mr. Dowling talks briefly about each of the productions. Following the formal announcement, there will be a short Q&A with the audience, including those viewing on the live web feed.

Patrons unable to tune in live to this event will be able to watch a replay of the broadcast at www.livestream.com/guthrietheater.

April 18, 2011, Monday - 'Begin Tai Chi & Qigong for Health' at Open Book

Time: 7:30pm to 8:30pm

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

'Begin Tai Chi & Qigong for Health' 4 week Introductory Course $60.00 Register by e-mail
ColinSnow@NaturalStepTaiChi.com
612-377-6469

April 18, 2011, Monday - Rick Springfield at the Guthrie

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Guthrie Theater, Wurtele Thrust Stage

Grammy-award winning artist Rick Springfield has sold over 19 million records and put 17 songs on the Top 40 charts. In the midst of recording what would become the quintessential pop/rock album Working Class Dog, he was cast to play the young, eligible Dr. Noah Drake on the popular daytime drama General Hospital. In the same year, Springfield skyrocketed to the top of Billboard’s charts with Jessie’s Girl and I’ve Done Everything for You. Since then, he has performed for millions of devoted fans over the last three decades and continues to play over 100 shows a year.

Tickets available at the Guthrie Theater Box Office starting Monday, March 14, charge by phone at 612-377-2224 and online.

April 17, 2011, Sunday - Race for Justice

Start Time: 9:00am

Place:  Nicollet Island

Proceeds from the 9th Annual Race For Justice will benefit law graduates through the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) of Minnesota. By subsidizing education debts for dedicated, low-paid public interest attorneys, LRAP helps meet the legal needs of low-income Minnesotans across the state.

Registration

April 17, 2011, Sunday - Scratch vs. Mix: Which Brownie is Better? at Mill City Museum

Time:  2:00pm

 

Location: Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street

 
Fee: Programs included with museum admission of $10 adults, $8 seniors and college students, $5 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.

See how history is revealed in food in the Baking Lab. Museum staff demonstrate making brownies from scratch versus a mix and share the history of the development of baking mixes. Visitors will be able to taste the results and vote on their favorite, learn home baking tips and take home a copy of the recipe.

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Big River Family Day at Mill City Museum

Time:  Noon-4:00pm

Location: Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd St.

Fee: Programs included with museum admission of $10 adults, $8 seniors and college students, $5 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.

The Mississippi River will be the focus of an afternoon highlighting uses of America’s greatest river, past, present and future. Families can enjoy a performance by a history player portraying William de la Barre, an Austrian-born waterpower engineer; get their hands wet in the Water Lab exploring the importance of the river for the city of Minneapolis; make a bottle of non-toxic cleanser and try basic water quality testing with Mississippi Watershed Management Organization; watch a presentation by Paul Red Elk, Lakota herbalist and advocate of ancient foods, about traditional native foods and herbs of the Mississippi River valley; solve a giant puzzle map of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area with rangers from the National Park Service; become a Junior Ranger by completing activity booklet about the Washburn A Mill or Mill Ruins Park; see a stream table modeling the effects of dam removal with staff from the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory; and view the exhibit “Seeing the Big River: The Eco-Art Work of Peter L. Johnson.”

This program is part of “Greening the Riverfront,” a series of programs exploring our relationship with nature, past, present and future. It is made possible by a grant from the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board.

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Clicks, Claps and Clunks: Family Event at MacPhail

Time: 11:00am — Noon
(Instrument explore area from 11 – 11:15 & 12 – 12:15)

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

Clicks, Claps and Clunks – Music from the Heart featuring the Minnesota Percussion Trio:
Bob Adney, Josh Carlson and Erik Barsness

Bring the whole family to MacPhail Center for Music to experience unusual and surprising instruments like 5 gallon buckets, tin cans and spoons with the Minnesota Percussion Trio. The fun includes treats and an art project for children to make their own instruments made out of everyday household materials. They will be encour­aged to use their handmade instruments during improvisation with the audience! Plus, come a little early or stay a little late for hands-on time with these unique instruments and talk with the musicians that use them every day.

Get ready to show off your skills with pots and pans!

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival Opening Weekend at the Festival Central Pavilion

Times:
Friday, Noon - Midnight
Saturday, Noon - Midnight
Sunday, Noon - 6:00pm

Location: Across Main Street from St. Anthony Main Theatre

For the first time the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival will host a slew of Opening Weekend Events in a Festival Central Pavilion, with glorious views of the river, pitched on the boulevard right across the street from the St. Anthony Main Theatre Complex.

During the day, festival guests and audience members can gather and mingle, pick up catalogues, fill in audience ballots, grab a cup of coffee, nibble on snacks, take advantage of membership deals, buy Gold Passes, participate in film discussions and listen to some great music.  Enjoy a cash bar from 5:00pm each evening, and at 9:00pm enjoy a Pavilion Party.

On Friday, the Pavilion opens at noon as Festival Central. Meet and greet our visitors and your fellow film buffs between films through the afternoon, and come back when the cash bar opens at 5:00pm. At 9:00pm the party begins in earnest, with catering and live music. $10 cover; cash bar.

On Saturday, the Pavilion opens at noon. Meet and greet once again between films! We’ll have music by local up-and-coming musicians in the Pavilion from 2:00pm on. The cash bar opens at 5:00pm, and 9:00pm the party gets serious with catering, a cash bar and live entertainment. The $10 cover after 9:00pm includes food and music. Cash bar all night.

On Sunday, we’re open from noon on. Local bands play from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, followed by the Music Panel Discussion at 4:00 pm. Join Us at the Aster Café to celebrate and mingle from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Earth Day Clean Up at Father Hennepin Bluffs Park

Time: 9:30am-Noon

Location:  Father Hennepin Bluffs Park, 100 6th Avenue SE (the East Bank side of the Stone Arch Bridge).

Join the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board for the annual Minneapolis Earth Day Clean Up.

No pre-registration is required.  More Information.

About Earth Day Clean Up  
   
A collaborative effort between the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) and City of Minneapolis Solid Waste and Recycling, the Minneapolis Earth Day Watershed Clean Up was initiated in 1995 to draw attention to the water quality improvement needs of Minneapolis’ lakes and the effects that individual actions have on urban water quality.

The goal of Earth Day is to provide a volunteer experience and environmental education to Minneapolis residents and park users. This annual event involves cleaning major watersheds and water bodies in the City of Minneapolis including: the Chain of Lakes, Lake Nokomis, Lake Hiawatha, Powderhorn Lake, Diamond Lake, Shingle Creek, Minnehaha Creek, Bassett’s Creek and the Mississippi River.

Environmental Education is a key part of the Clean Up. Onsite programs offer volunteers the opportunity to learn about various issues affecting our environment and community today. The programs are designed for individuals of all ages.

Past programs included:

River/Stream water testing presentations
Stream erosion/pollution presentations
Recycled art programs for youth
Birdhouse building
Wildlife effects of pollution
Water-cycle education games 

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Childish Films Shorts Fest! at Central Library

Times: 10:30am

Location: Pohlad Hall, Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

Childish Films Shorts Fest!
New, artistic, imaginative, award-winning short films for kids selected from the 30th Annual Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival.

Oh, Wow! Tammara Melloy, Minneapolis, 2009. 6 minutes. A young paperboy follows his dream to become a great dancer. Filmmaker in attendance!

Ami, Dominique Bongers, Netherlands, 2008. Coffee grounds on glass are animated to tell the sweet story of a little fox searching for friend. 3 min.

Mondo's Searach For The Sun, TJana Prchalova, OnceWereFarmers, Scotland, 2010. One day the sun doesn't rise and Mondo is stuck in a perpetual winter. He builds a flying machine and sets off on a quest to find the sun again. 11 min.

Whistleless, Siri Melchior, Denmark, 2010. 5 min. A little bird struggles with whistling. 

The Lost Thing, Andrew Ruhemann, Passion Pictures, Australia, 2010. A boy finds a strange lost creature and helps him find his way to a better place. 15 min.

Ormie, Rob Silvestri, Starz Animation, Canada, 2009. Ormie the pig really really wants a warm cookie! 4 min.

The extras: Local filmmaker/dance choreographer Tammara Melloy and cast demo dances from her film Oh, Wow!.

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Mill City Farmers Market at Local D'lish

NOTE - This is the final "Winter" Mill City Farmers Market for the season at Local D'lish.  The Mill City Farmers Market returns to Chicago Plaza on May 7!

Location:  Local D'lish, 208 North 1st Street
 
Hours: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Local D’lish has teamed up with the Mill City Farmers Market to bring you the Winter Farmer-in-the-Market event.  This event features about 20-25 vendors, a mix of familiar faces from the Mill City Farmers Market and product vendors here at Local D’lish.

Items of note for the April 16 Farmers Market:

Mike Pomeranz, news anchor for Kare 11, recently came out with a fantastic new sauce that is gracing the shelves of Local D'lish as of April 14.  He'll be at D'lish this Saturday from 11am-1pm.

North Loop financial institution, Franklin Bank, will also be at the market on Saturday. They will be hosting a drawing for TWO TWINS TICKETS.  

April 16, 2011, Saturday - Open Book Family Day - Gutenburg Meets Google: The Future of Type in a Digital Age

Times: 11:30am – 4:30pm (detailed schedule below)

Location:  Open Book (at MCBA's studios and throughout Open Book) 1011 Washington Avenue South

Price: Free and open to the public!

Join us as Open Book opens its doors to celebrate the results of new community partnerships. Hear from participants in our community outreach writing and bookmaking residency programs about their experiences and listen to them read from their finished works. Share in cultural experiences with local visual, and performance artists. Enjoy hands-on activities at MCBA for kids and families to discover the art of bookmaking.

The schedule will include:
11:30 - 3:30: Hands-on workshops at MCBA studios. Printmaking and bookbinding activities for all ages.
 Noon - 1:00: Readings by local poets
  1:00 - 1:30: Publisher's Discussion Panel featuring members of Lowbrow Press, Paper Darts, Birds LLC and Milkweed Editions
  1:30 - 2:00: Special presentation by Paper Darts about a new model for the literary magazine
  2:00 - 3:30: Typeface screening in Performance Hall
  3:30 - 4:00: Q&A with Producer/Director Justine Nagan
  4:00 - 4:30: MCBA Staff Presentation: Where to go from here? The future of the book

There will be food and beverages provided throughout the event, and it is free and open to the public.