March 12, 2011, Saturday - Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum

Time: 1:00pm

Location: Mill City Museum

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.

March 12, 2011, Saturday - Ribbon Cutting for Soap Factory's New Entrance Walkway

Time:  6:00pm

Location:  Soap Factory, 518 Second Street SE

The Soap Factory invites the public to a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new accessible entrance on March 12. The historic building that has housed a railroad warehouse, a soap factory and now a celebrated arts nonprofit, is easily accessible to the public for the first time in 30 years.

Built and designed by Mitch Redepenning, this new entrance walkway will be christened in style with champagne smashing and big scissors. This walkway lets all people enter the building with dignity, whether in a wheelchair or a stroller, in high heels or on crutches. The entrance to The Soap Factory is now accessible in the truest sense of the word. This project was funded, in part, by a VSA Minnesota ADA Access Improvement Grant. This program is supported by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

March 12, 2011, Saturday - Midwest Photo Safari "Minneapolis Nights" in the Mill District, Winter 2011 Special Session

This is a Midwest Photo Safari special winter session.

Walk parts of the St. Anthony Heritage Trail and practice early evening light photography.  Learn the principles of low light settings on your digital SLR's or the various "scene" mode settings of your digital point and shoot.

The safari starts with a short presentation covering basic principles of low light/night photography. When darkness sets in, this area comes alive with interesting lights. From the Minneapolis night skyline to the great lights on the area bridges, capture stunning night images you are sure to want to frame.

This safari is best done with a digital SLR or a better quality digital point and shoot with advanced scene modes. Your Safari guide / photographer will be carrying a Sony digital point and shoot to demonstrate the techniques we will be covering. For this safari, a sturdy tripod is necessary... Midwest Photo Safari can provide pro-quality rental tripods on request. A remote shutter release is also very handy to have along, or you may use the "self timer" feature of your camera.

March 11, 2011, Friday - 3-day Creative Nonfiction Conference at Open Book

Location: Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Cost $250.00

Creative Nonfiction Conference

SPEND THE WEEKEND LEARNING the art of creative nonfiction and routes to publication with some of the nation’s most acclaimed writers and editors!

For more detail, download the conference brochure.

Friday, March 11

7 p.m.: Mentor Series Reading with Toi Derricotte

Saturday, March 12

9–10. a.m.: Conference Check-in
10–11 a.m.: A Conversation with Toi Derricotte and Patricia Weaver Francisco
11:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m.: Breakout Sessions

•NF01 Short Nonfiction Essays with Francine Marie Tolf
•NF02 Memory & Imagination with Jill Jepson
•NF03 Meet the Editor with Pam McClanahan
1–2 p.m.: Lunch: Networking Lunch
2:15–3:45 p.m.: Breakout Sessions

•NF04: In Profile: The Art of Writing Life with Frank Bures
•NF05: Writing about Transformation with Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew
•NF06: Meet the Editors with Patrick Thomas (Milkweed Editions) and Katie Dublinski (Graywolf Press)
4–5:30 p.m.: Breakout Sessions

•NF07: Finding the Story, Telling the Truth with Laurie Hertzel
•NF08: Writing about the Upper Midwest with Cary J. Griffith, Will Weaver, and Chris Niskanen; moderated by Ann Regan
•NF09: Writing Is a Craft. Publishing Is a Business. How Do You Master Both? with Linda Anderson

Sunday, March 13

10–11 a.m.: The Reality of Nonfiction Writing: A Writer’s Panel with Laura Flynn, Julie Landsman, Gail Rosenblum, and Sarah Stonich
11:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m.: Breakout Sessions

•NF10: Ghostly Obsessions: Writing from History with Cheri Register
•NF11: The Nonfiction Anthology with Heid E. Erdrich, Kathryn Kysar, Ann Regan, and Sun Yung Shin
•NF12: The Anatomy of Publishing: Agents and Editors with Ashley Shelby
•NF13: Magazine Features: Story, Idea, and Structure with Greg Breining
1–1:15 p.m.: Next Steps for Writers

March 11, 2011, Friday - Children’s Defense Fund Beat the Odds Award Dinner at The Depot

Time: 6:00pm

Location: The Depot, 225 Third Avenue South

You’re invited to join the Children’s Defense Fund’s 19th annual Beat the Odds Award Dinner.

The night begins at 6:00pm with a silent auction and reception. There will be spectacular items to bid on, a raffle and live auction.

At 8:00, guests will be seated for dinner and an inspiring and emotional program when the honorees will speak.  Their videos will be shown and scholarships will be presented. Four high school seniors who have succeeded in school and their communities, despite having faced tremendous difficulties will receive $4,000 scholarships.

Information

March 11, 2011, Friday - Doveman and Nadia Sirota at Southern Theater (2 nights)

Times:
Friday, March 11- 8:00pm
Saturday, March 12 - 8:00pm

Location: The Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Avenue South

Known as Doveman when performing alone or with a select group of collaborators—often including Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly and members of The National—Thomas Bartlett is one of New York’s most in-demand keyboard players. He has toured with David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono and many more. His music, highlighted by delicate, whispered vocals and ambient, jazz-influenced arrangements, is “so pretty it should probably be played only near sunrise with a furry cat in your lap and tea in hand, when you’re most open to the world” (Los Angeles Times).

Best known for her unique interpretations of new scores and for commissioning and premiering works by some of the most talented composers of her generation, violist Nadia Sirota has been praised for her “command and eloquence” (Boston Globe). Sirota elegantly balances work and collaborations with classicists such as Meredith Monk, Philip Glass and the Silk Road Ensemble, with a steady dose of rock and roll – projects with Jónsi, Grizzly Bear and Bryce Dessner. World premiere by Daniel Felsenfeld; and regional premieres by Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli and Owen Pallet.

March 10, 2011, Thursday - Cuban Film Festival at St. Anthony Main

Time: 7:30pm

Location: St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 Main Street SE

With sell-out crowds at last year's festival, Minnesotans' love affair with Cuban cinema is clear. And it is also clear that there is a hunger for information about this intriguing island to our south, so rich in music and the arts. Yet, despite all that we have to share with one another, our government still denies us access. So, although most of us can't get there in person, we can get a taste of Cuban life through the movies.

The film festival will again be presented at St. Anthony Main Theatre and will consist of six features.

The line-up is as follows:
March 10 - Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand up? (view a 16-minute trailer);
March 17 - Los Dioses Rotos (Fallen Gods),
March 24 - Páginas del diario de Mauricio (Pages from Maurice's Diary),
March 31 - Eso que Anda (Van Van Fever).

All films are subtitled, and each will be followed at a nearby bistro with a discussion.

Admission: $7.00.

For more information: www.minnesotacubacommittee.org or 763-228-2899.

March 10, 2011, Thursday - Central Riverfront Forum: Creating a Downtown Gateway to the Mississippi River, Focus on Fuji-Ya

Time: 6:30pm – 8:pm

Location: Mill City Museum, 704 Second Street South

Where a fifty-foot wide canal for Mississippi waters once supplied the world’s largest direct-drive hydro-powered industrial complex, a visitor will now see the boarded-up Fuji-Ya restaurant, mill ruins, a shady grove and a railroad bed, and can look beyond to the St. Anthony Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge and the Third Avenue Bridge. Just two blocks from Washington Avenue, the downtown street grid meets the river here, creating two levels and scenic views of the falls.

The Central Riverfront Forum will focus on this site. Tom Meyer of Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle will share insights he prepared with a public-private team facilitated by the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership and the Minneapolis Park Foundation.

Other topics include an update on restoring the falls in the East Channel of the Mississippi and an invitation to apply for Downtown area representation on the Above the Falls Citizen Advisory Committee.

The Central Riverfront Forum provides a quarterly update on Central Riverfront issues. Additional 2011 dates will be:  June 9, September 8, December 8 at Mill City Museum. 

This event is free.  For more information, please contact Cordelia Pierson at 612-465-8780 x212 or cordelia.pierson@gmail.com

March 9, 2011, Wednesday - A Sip of Science at Aster Cafe

Time: 5:30pm

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 SE Main Street

A Sip of Science: The Search for Diamonds in North America

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.

At the March 9 event: Diamonds are said to be forever, but where do they originate? North America's geology has excellent potential for diamonds, but only recently have advances in science and technology made discovery possible. Join organizers for a happy hour discussion with Minnesota State Geologist Harvey Thorleifson on how Canada joined the ranks of world leaders in the production of high quality gem diamonds and how the methods that were key to diamond discoveries in Canada have been applied throughout Minnesota, with some preliminary success.

The talk takes place during happy hour at the Aster Café. No cover; food and drink will be available for purchase. Harvey Thorliefson is director of the Minnesota Geological Survey, state geologist of Minnesota, professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota and vice president of the Association of American State Geologists. Prior to joining the Minnesota Geological Survey team he was with the Geological Survey of Canada.

A SIP OF SCIENCE is a science happy hour sponsored by the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics (NCED), usually held the second Wednesday of the month. It is a chance to hear about new and exciting research over beer, in a cool bar. Come talk with the experts about their efforts to address some of the Earth's most pressing problems. NCED's A SIP OF SCIENCE brings the wonder of science to happy hour.  More information.

March 8, 2011, Tuesday - Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (DMNA) Board Meeting

Time: 6:00pm

Location:  Central Public Library - Room N-202

DMNAboard meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. Anyone who lives, works or owns a business or property within the Downtown East and Downtown West neighborhoods is eligible for general membership in the DMNA.

The agenda for tonight's meeting is:

6:00pm Call to order and introductions
6:05pm Consideration of agenda
6:10pm Presentation regarding the Northern Spark summer festival scheduled for June 4, 2011, by Steve Dietz and Andrea Steudel
6:20pm Land Use Update
- Kaplan University (40 S. 7th Street) – Conditional Use Permit application for new signage; Presentation by Mary Ferraro
6:25pm NRP Implementation Report
- Update on City Council action with regards to the NRP Phase II Plan
  o Considered by Community Development Committee – February 15 – Approved
  o Considered by Ways and Means Committee – February 22 – Approved
  o Considered by City Council – February 25 – Approved
6:30 pm Neighborhood and Community Engagement Report (NCEC)
- Update on NCEC action on February 22, with regards to the DMNA 2011 Community
Participation Program application and budget
- Consideration of endorsing neighborhood proposal with regards to the NCEC election
process
6:35pm Consideration of minutes from the February 8, 2011 Board Meeting
6:40pm Consideration of March 2011 Financial Report
6:43pm Staff report presented by Christie Rock
6:45pm Downtown 2025 Update and discussion facilitated by Bob Parr, Downtown 2025 Plan Coordinator
8:00 pm Adjournment

Next DMNA Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, 2011, at 6:00pm at the Central Library in Room N-202.

March 8, 2011, Tuesday - Wine Seminar at Sorella

Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm 

Location: Sorella Wine & Spirits, 1010 Washington Avenue South

Reservations Required - 612-339-4040
 
Chris Griese - Sake Specialist - World Class Wines

Chris has just returned from another week of Sake studies in Japan where he completed Professional Sake Training Level II, with John Gauntner, noted sake author and expert at the National Sake Institute in Tokyo.

Chris is one of only 80 people worldwide to complete the class. We will be tasting some very special Sakes as Chris shares his travel tales and expertise.

March 7, 2011, Monday - Holzschuh Exhibit opens at Sanctuary

Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Location:  Sanctuary, 903 Washington Avenue South

Don Holzschuh is a well known artist from Minnesota who has done shows in other major US cities (e.g. New York!) as well as France, Germany, Holland and Belgium.  His works are in the collections of major corporations and individual homes in this country and overseas. 

Don and enjoy one of Chef's new appetizers, one of our fab new martinis ~ or give yourself a treat and make a dinner reservation! 

March 6, 2011, Sunday - Michael Langham Memorial Service at The Guthrie

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Guthrie Theater, Wurtele Thrust Stage

A public celebration of the life and work of former Guthrie Artistic Director Michael Langham, who passed away on January 15, will take place Sunday, March 6, at the Guthrie.

Scheduled to pay tribute and share their memories of Langham are Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling, board member Charles Zelle, director Stephen Kanee, production manager Jon Cranney, playwright Barbara Field, musician Dick Whitbeck and actors Barbara Bryne, Peter Michael Goetz, Helen Carey, Sally Wingert and Christina Baldwin. A friend and respected colleague of Tyrone Guthrie, Michael Langham came to the Guthrie after 12 years as artistic director of Canada's Stratford Festival Theatre and a distinguished career in England directing for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain and on Broadway with The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Langham recruited leading actors with whom he had worked for his inaugural plays at the Guthrie, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Taming of the Shrew, both of which were artistic and box office successes. The Langham years, 1971-77, were marked by financial stability for the Theater and deft stagings of familiar classics that enjoyed broad appeal, including the premiere of the now-traditional holiday production of A Christmas Carol. A central core of actors performed works including Oedipus the King, Love's Labor's Lost, The Matchmaker, She Stoops to Conquer, and A Streetcar Named Desire.

March 6, 2011, Sunday - Guthrie Backstage Tour

Time: 10:00am

Location: 818 South 2nd Street

Backstage tours offer a behind-the-scenes look at how Guthrie shows are taken from script to stage. In 45 minutes, you'll visit the Guthrie's signature thrust and proscenium stages; enter the expansive scene shop where sets are built and painted, and learn how they're transported to each stage; visit the shop where costumes are expertly stitched, fabrics dyed and wigs constructed; and explore the rehearsal rooms where company members prepare for performance.

Backstage tours are scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. $10 per person; $6 for subscribers, students and seniors. Call the Box Office at 612.377.2224 or order online. The Box Office opens for backstage tours and in-person sales at 9:30 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

March 5, 2011, Saturday - Kitchen Harvests: World War I Tips for Getting the Most from Your Food at Mill City Museum

Location: Mill City Museum, 704 South Second Street

Times: Noon and 2:00pm

Featured tips in this demonstration include clever ways to pack more nutrition into food, how to turn seemingly useless scraps into meals and ways to get more from your food dollar.

Author Rae Katherine Eighmey will feature food and facts from her new book "Food Will Win the War: Minnesota Cooks, Crops, and Conservation during World War I."  Eighmey will demonstrate the preparation of whole wheat chocolate cookies, cornmeal and rice waffles, and meatcakes. Samples will be available. After each demonstration, copies of Eighmey's book will be available for purchase, and she will be available to sign them.

Visitors can also ready Eighmey's blog which includes many of her cooking tips and recipes.

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

March 5, 2011, Saturday - David Holland String Master Class at MacPhail

Times:

2:00pm–4:00pm Viola Master Workshop
($5 General Admission at the door; Free for MacPhail students)

4:30pm-6:30pm Viola Workshop
(Fee Admission)

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

David Holland, principal viola for the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and the Midland Symphony in Michigan and formerly principal violist for the Duluth Symphony and conductor of the Duluth Youth Orchestra, will be conducting a series of String Master Classes at MacPhail Center for Music March 4 and 5.

For more information call 612-321-0100.

March 4, 2011, Friday - Ten Thousand Things' Doubt, A Parable at Open Book

Location: Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Final weekend:  March 4-6, 2011

Times: 
Friday and Saturday shows start at 8:00pm
Sunday shows at 4:00pm

Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick Shanley

Directed by Peter Rothstein
Featuring Sally Wingert, Kris Nelson, Jane Froiland, and Regina Williams

A fiery battle between a nun and a priest over suspicions of the sexual abuse of a child. Can you get at the truth, when the truth is so colored by our lenses of experience?

Ten Thousand Things explores this central question with John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, A Parable, beginning with a tour to prisons, housing projects, homeless shelters and senior centers starting January 28, and culminating with four weekends of public performances at Open Book February 11 to March 6. Peter Rothstein guest directs Sally Wingert and Kris Nelson in this fiery battle between a nun and a priest over suspicions of sexual abuse of a child. The Doubt cast also includes Jane Froiland and Regina Marie Williams. Peter Vitale provides music, with sets by Dean Holzman and costumes by Amelia Cheever.

Tickets: $25. $15 student tickets on Sundays for current students (valid student ID is required at the door). Use the password DoubtStudent when making reservations.

Information

March 4, 2011, Friday - Lunch With MacPhail

Time:
Free lunch and program:  Noon – 12:45pm
Private Spotlight Preview:  1:00 – 1:30pm

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

Grab a friend and join us at noon on Fridays for a free lunch and insight into MacPhail’s programs with President, Paul Babcock.
Following lunch, stay for a private* performance, previewing music from our Spotlight Series.

Dates are as follows:

March 4, 2011
Una Noche en España
Voice, Piano Guitar and Flamenco Dancer
Featuring Andrea Leap, Faculty

April 1, 2011
Musical Folklore
Peter Ostroushko, mandolin and fiddle

June 3, 2011
Technology in Music Education
John Iverson, Disklavier Piano
(note this event begins at 11 am)

*Performances are a part of the Lunch with MacPhail event and are not open to the public

Call 612-767-5343 or email Schroder.amanda@macpahil.org to RSVP, space is limited.

March 4, 2011, Friday - Monthly 1st Precinct Court Watch Meeting at Central Library

Time: 10:00am

Location:  Doty Conference Room (2nd Floor) at the Central Library

The public's participation is welcome and appreciated at the 1st Precinct's monthly Court Watch meetings.

For questions, contact:
Renee Allen, Crime Prevention Specialist
Minneapolis Police Department, First Precinct
renee.allen@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
(612) 673-5163

March 4, 2011, Friday - ARENA Dances at Southern Theater (3 nights)

Times:
Friday, March 4- 8:00pm
Saturday, March 5 - 8:00pm
Sunday, March 6 - 7:00pm

Location: The Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Avenue South

ARENA Dances brings to the stage the world premiere of I hate myself. Will you please love me?

This ironically dark comedy and cautionary tale of The Carpenters explores insecurities through the dancers’s “sly irreverence combined with mellow grace evocative of their easy listening pop style” (Star Tribune). Beautiful and idiosyncratic, Janczewski’s new work has a fresh attention to character and precision and an electrifying range of motion and emotion. With music by The Carpenters, Years, Bright Eyes and Fourtet.