Kim Eslinger
Editor
612-321-8040
kim@millcitymedia.org

Brianna Ojard
Associate Editor

David Tinjum
Publisher
612-321-8020
dave@millcitymedia.org

Claudia Kittock
Columnist / Non-Profits
Email Claudia...

Becky Fillinger
Small Business Reporter
Producer / Milling About
Email Becky...

Michael Rainville Jr.
History Columnist
Email Michael...

Doug Verdier
River Matters

Mill City Times is a not-for-profit community service. We do not sell advertising on this site.

Community Partners

Thanks to our community partners, whose support makes Mill City Times possible:

MILL CITY FARMERS MARKET

With over 100 local farmers, food makers and artists, MCFM strives to build a local, sustainable and organic food economy in a vibrant, educational marketplace.

Visit their website...

HENNEPIN HISTORY MUSEUM

Hennepin History Museum is your history, your museum. We preserve and share the diverse stories of Hennepin County, MN. Come visit!

Visit their website...

MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Maximizing the visitor experience of Minneapolis for the economic benefit of our community, making Minneapolis the destination of choice among travelers.

Visit their website...

MSP FILM SOCIETY

Promoting the art of film as a medium that fosters cross-cultural understanding, education, entertainment, and exploration.

Visit their website...

GREAT RIVER COALITION

Enhancing the Minneapolis riverfront environment—for people and pollinators.

Visit their website...

Cultural Cornerstones
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Minneapolis Riverfront News

Covering life, work, and play in the Historic Mill District and Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront neighborhoods. Have an opinion, local news or events to share?  Contact us.

Monday
Dec192011

The Week Ahead in Mill City / December 19-25

Each Monday morning we provide an easy to reference list of events and activities for the week ahead in the Mill City neighborhood.  Submit your events here...

Monday, December 19

Sounds of Blackness at the Guthrie

Thursday, December 22

Anna Boyer Opening Reception at Open Book

Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour

Friday, December 23

Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Live Music at Aster Cafe

Sunday
Dec182011

Last Minute Holiday Items? Check out the Dec 23-24 Clearance Sale at The Shop at MCBA

On December 23 and 24, The Shop at Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) will be holding a two-day CLEARANCE SALE: 30% off select Holiday items including wrapping paper, holiday cards and ornaments! (Non-consignment goods only.)

Hours: Dec 23 (10am-5pm) and Dec 24 (10am-2pm).

NOTE: MCBA will close at 2:00pm on December 24, and remain closed through January 2, 2012.   The Open Book building will undergo floor refinishing and  maintenance during this time, so MCBA, Open Book and the Coffee Shop will all be closed to the public. They will reopen at 10:00am on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

Friday
Dec162011

This Weekend in Mill City / December 16-18

Events this weekend in and around the Historic Mill District and Minneapolis Riverfront Neighborhoods.  Have an event to share?  Contact us...

Friday, December 16

STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS debut at St. Anthony Main Theatre

Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Live Music at Aster Cafe

Tracking Minnesota’s Clean Water Legacy Effectiveness Meeting at McKnight Foundation

Saturday, December 17

Childish Films at Central Library

Farmers Market at Local D'lish

Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum

Minneapolis Central Friends Children’s Book Sale at Central Library

Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Live Music at Aster Cafe

MCYC Winter Concert and CD Release Party at MacPhail

International Cartoonist Conspiracy Meet-up at MCBA

Sunday, December 18

Vikings and New Orleans Saints at the Dome

Sonomento Winter Concert, Featuring a Performance of Handel’s Messiah at MacPhail

Japan America Arts Forum with Sheila Asato at MCBA

Weekend Brunch

Saturday & Sunday

Brunch at Spoonriver
750 South 2nd St (at Chicago Ave S)
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-436-2236

Reservations recommended

10:00am - 2:00pm

See the menu...

Saturday & Sunday

Brunch at the Aster Cafe
St. Anthony Main
125 SE Main Street
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-379-3138

Until 2pm.

See the menu...

Sunday

Brunch at Spill the Wine
1101 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415
612-339-3388

brunch buffet 10am- 2pm Sunday
$12/person (kids 3 and under eat free, 4-12 years are 1/2 price!)

includes: eggs, bacon, french toast, hash browns, fresh salad and fruit, pastries, build your own omlette bar and more...

featuring absolut bloody bar for $5.

also offering fair trade coffee and full bar.

Thursday
Dec152011

Make a Difference and Have Fun this Season

Thanks to some wonderful community partnerships, December is a great month to have fun, complete your holiday giving, clean out your linen closets, and meet others ALL WHILE MAKING A DIFFERENCE in the lives of homeless families.
 
Below are four ways that you can make a difference this December. 
 
SHOP.
Need to do some last minute shopping?  Find unique and affordable home goods from WildHearts Collection in Hopkins, and 20% of your purchase in December will be donated to People Serving People. Any Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30am to 3:30pm WildHearts is open and full of gifts that are one-of-a-kind.  Visit their website for location and inventory.
ROCK.
With the help of local musicians, Rock the Cause is partnering with People Serving People to put on a concert series – each concert collecting donations of socks, warm coats, books for children, and volunteers to help us help homeless families.  Concerts begin Thursday.   1-- Silver Back Colony, Matt Latterell, and Dirty Horse are playing at the Nomad World Pub on December 15 at 9pm.   2-- Maudlin's 3rd Annual Worst Christmas Pageant Ever at the Triple Rock Social Club on December 17 at 9pm. Artists include Little Man, Barb Abney, Pictures of Then, and more!   3-- Alison Scott’s Holiday Show on December 21 and 22 at Lyric Arts Anoka.   Go out, have fun, hear local music, and bring socks!
DECLUTTER.
Clean out your linen closets and bring us your twin and double sized sheets, pillow cases, and clean, warm blankets. Our blanket supply is low - and we have never seen this many families at our shelter  over the holiday season before.  So if you have too many blankets, bring a couple to our shelter so the families and children here can stay warm at night. Blankets can be brought to People Serving People at 614 3rd Street South.  Click here for more details.
DONATE A GIFT.
Still having trouble deciding what to give people for the holidays?  Show them how much you care about the families and children at  People Serving People with a gift in honor of someone you know.  If you donate online, you can tell us who to send a holiday card to (even if it's YOU so you can hand the card to the recipient personally).  This card will let them know you gave a gift in their name to help homeless children and families.   Go here to make a gift in someones honor.

 

Thursday
Dec152011

Tonight - Community Meeting: Options for the Former Fuji-Ya Restaurant Site on the Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront

Date:  Thursday, December 15

Time:  6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Place:  Mill City Museum, ADM Room, 710 Second Street South, Minneapolis MN 55401

Tuesday
Dec132011

Only a Few Days Left to Make a Tax Deductible Contribution to MCC's "Turkey, Dressings and Extra Helpings" Drive

Join Mill City Commons (MCC) members and friends for the fourth annual Turkey, Dressings, and Extra Helpings drive.  This is a wonderful opportunity to do good this Holiday season and throughout the winter!

Ways to Help:

TURKEY:  Tax-deductible financial donations ($10-15, or more if you wish) to provide Holiday dinners for 50 families in North Minneapolis.  Any additional funds will be used to stock a local food shelf. 

Financial donations accepted December 1-15.  Mail checks payable to Mill City Commons to: 117 Portland Avenue #213, Minneapolis, MN 55401.

DRESSINGS: Donate cold weather clothing (hats, scarves, mittens) for all ages, and job interview clothing for adults, to benefit our neighbors at People Serving People

Clothing donations accepted December 9 -16.  Drop off clothing items at:  MCC Office, 17 4th Street or North Star Lofts, 117 Portland Avenue.

EXTRA HELPINGS: Donate small new or gently used gift items like books, jewelry, and cologne/aftershave, for individuals and families at Exodus Residence and Mary’s Place. These are the only gifts some residents receive.  

Gift donations accepted December 9 - 16.  Drop off gift items at:  MCC Office, 17 4th Street or North Star Lofts, 117 Portland Avenue.

Call Linnea (612-455-3329) or email info@millcitycommons.org at Mill City Commons if you have questions. 

Tuesday
Dec132011

Vandals Strike Pillsbury "A" Mill Water Tower [Photos]

While taking a river walk this weekend Kim and I spotted this, and discussed whether the water tower was recently hit by vandals, or if it had been spray painted long ago.  A search of our photo archive gave us the answer.

Graffiti on the tower captured Sunday, December 11 2011:

Water Tower at Pillsbury A Mill

Photo taken October 22, 2011 showing no graffiti:

Water Tower at Pillsbury A Mill

From the Mill District Block Party, August 2011:

Pillbury A Mill

Tuesday
Dec132011

Tonight - DMNA Board Meeting at Central Library

Time: 6:00pm

Location:  Central Library, Room N-202, 300 Nicollet Mall

Website:  Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association

Agenda:

Monday
Dec122011

The Week Ahead in Mill City / December 12-18

Monday
Dec122011

Sanctuary Staff on Air!

Sanctuary's Chef Patrick Atanalian demonstrated the easy way to disassemble a pomegranate December 11 on FOX 9.

Later, Barkeep Patrick appeared on KSTC-TV Channel 45's debut episode of Beer Geeks TV.

One trip to Sanctuary and you'll see why they're such attention-getters.

Monday
Dec122011

Holiday Gift Ideas from A Woman’s Paris™

A Woman’s Paris™ is a local business offering great gifts for the holidays, including iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch cases from $24, as well as stunning paintings of sites in Paris.  Friends and family receive discounted prices for a limited time on art prints of the paintings. Prints will be sold at a cost of $50 for large prints and $30 for smaller figure prints. These last minute-gifts are perfect for family and friends.

Prints will be available for a Minneapolis pick up or shipped for a small additional delivery fee.

Click here to order cases.  Click here to view the print collection.  (Discounts for purchases made directly on the website do not apply.)

To order prints by December 17th contact A Woman’s Paris™ at Barbara@awomansparis.com

Subscribe for FREE to A Woman’s Paris™ blog, follow on Twitter, like on Facebook.

Sunday
Dec112011

Reuniting With the Vendors at the First Ever Indoor Mill City Farmers Market

It was great to see neighbors and vendors converge at the Mill City Museum yesterday morning for the first ever indoor Mill City Farmers Market.

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

Added bonus - members from Light of the Moon Band provided festive background music.

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

2011 Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

Saturday
Dec102011

This Morning - Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

Saturday, December 10

Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm

Location: Mill City Museum

Mill City hosts it’s first indoor Holiday Farmers Market at the Mill City Museum! Enjoy a smorgasbord of local fares for holiday gifts and meals, including local produce, pasture-raised meats, wild caught Alaskan salmon, eggs and cheeses, whole grains, and artisan preserves, pickles and pasta.

Visit with some of your favorite Mill City Farmers Market vendors, including:

■Ames Farm
■Goldfinch Flowers
■Swede Lake Farm and Global Garlic
■Prairie Hollow Farm
■Burning River Farm
■Braucher’s Sunshine Harvest Farm
■MN Valley Organics
■Wild Run Salmon
■Northern Lakes Wild Rice
■Singing Hills Goat Dairy
■Shepherd’s Way Farm
■Solomon’s Snacks and Bakery
■Bliss Granola
■Cafe Palmira
■Martha’s Joy
■Birchberry Native Arts and Foods
■Very Prairie
■Lucille’s Kitchen Garden
■Olsen’s Naturals

Friday
Dec092011

This Weekend in Mill City / December 9-11

Events this weekend in and around the Historic Mill District and Minneapolis Riverfront Neighborhoods.  Have an event to share?  Contact us...

Friday, December 9

Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Live Music at Aster Cafe

An 'Eventually' Christmas: Holidays at the Mill at Mill City Museum

Mentor Series: Lan Samantha Chang at The Loft

Foodie Gifts Class at Local D'Lish

Ian and Margery of myTalk 107.1 at Wilde Roast Cafe

Saturday, December 10

Raptors of Minnesota at Central Library

History Day Hullabaloo at Central Library

Printing! Printing! Printing! at MCBA

Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Live Music at Aster Cafe

An 'Eventually' Christmas: Holidays at the Mill at Mill City Museum

Guthrie's How'd They do That Workshop: Charley's Aunt

Kevin Kling Book Release Party at MCBA

Mill City Farmers Market's Holiday Market at Mill City Museum

Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour

French Christmas Boutique at Our Lady of Lourdes

Sunday, December 11

An 'Eventually' Christmas: Holidays at the Mill at Mill City Museum

Aebleskiver Fun Class at Local D'Lish

French Christmas Boutique at Our Lady of Lourdes

Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership Great River Outing: Snowshoeing North Miss

Weekend Brunch

Saturday & Sunday

Brunch at Spoonriver
750 South 2nd St (at Chicago Ave S)
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-436-2236

Reservations recommended

10:00am - 2:00pm

See the menu...

Saturday & Sunday

Brunch at the Aster Cafe
St. Anthony Main
125 SE Main Street
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-379-3138

Until 2pm.

See the menu...

Sunday

Brunch at Spill the Wine
1101 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415
612-339-3388

brunch buffet 10am- 2pm Sunday
$12/person (kids 3 and under eat free, 4-12 years are 1/2 price!)

includes: eggs, bacon, french toast, hash browns, fresh salad and fruit, pastries, build your own omlette bar and more...

featuring absolut bloody bar for $5.

also offering fair trade coffee and full bar.

Thursday
Dec082011

Tonight - Holy Cow! Press Reading: Anthony Bukoski, Ann Iverson, & Catherine Holm at The Loft

Time:  7:00pm

Location: The Loft at Open Book (Performance Hall), 1011 Washington Avenue South
 
Spend an evening with Holy Cow! Press authors Anthony Bukoski, Ann Iverson, and Catherine Holm.

Time Between Trains - Short Stories by Anthony Bukoski

In his fourth collection, Anthony Bukoski brings to life once again the working-class town of Superior, Wisconsin, telling linked tales of its Polish inhabitants in 13 poignant, well-crafted stories.

Anthony Bukoski has published five story collections, including Twelve Below Zero: New and Expanded Edition (Holy Cow! Press, 2008). National Public Radio’s Selected Shorts program have aired readings of Bukoski’s work. A Christopher Isherwood Foundation fellowship winner, the author resides with his wife Elaine in the country outside of Superior, Wisconsin.

Art Lesson
Poems by Ann Iverson

Art Lessons explores the connections between visual art and the written word. By incorporating the words and details from Vincent Van Gogh's life, and by referring to his infamous Sunflower paintings, Ann Iverson's poetry reveals her keen insights into the mysterious interplay between art and poetry, happiness and sadness, God and nature.

Ann Iverson is the author of Definite Space (Holy Cow! Press, 2007). Her poems have appeared on The Writer’s Almanac. She is a Dean of Learning at Dunwoody College in Minneapolis and lives in East Bethel, MN with her husband.

My Heart is a Mountain
Tales of Magic and the Land by Catherine Holm

My Heart Is a Mountain is a collection of eleven fiction stories and one memoir piece. From northern Minnesota to Alaska, from the Dustbowl to Appalachia, from swamps to mountains to the afterlife, these tales blend the magic and the mundane as characters discover themselves, their limitations, and their greatness.

Catherine Holm is an award-winning writer who lives with her husband Chris in rural Cook, Minnesota, on ten acres of boreal forest. Her short stories have been published in several anthologies and chapbooks. She writes about human yearning and how it is shaped by land and place.

Wednesday
Dec072011

MacPhail Community Youth Choir, Under the Direction of J.D. Steele, to Hold Free CD Release Party Concert December 17

The MacPhail Community Youth Choir (MCYC) under the direction of J.D. Steele, will hold their first CD release party concert on Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m. at MacPhail Center for Music, 501 South Second St., Minneapolis.  The concert is free and everyone who attends will receive a download card of the choir’s first CD, “Love as One.” The CD features 10 original songs, 8 by Steele and 2 student-written songs.

J.D. Steele (of the Steele family singers)  and  MacPhail Center for Music have brought together youth in grades 7-12, from all corners of the Twin Cities, all walks of life, to join hands and voices in a new youth choir now in its second year.  The MCYC is free and open to students of all skill levels and abilities.  Rehearsals are every Saturday at the historic Capri Theater in north Minneapolis. Steele said this is a great opportunity for the students to learn music techniques they won’t get anywhere else, covering all genres of music, including jazz, gospel, pop and East African.

“The MCYC allows the kids to experience something different in fellowship as well as music,” Steele said. “It raises their self-esteem when they have to perform professionally. It’s amazing to see how they change and develop. When kids have the opportunity to shine, they reflect it back bright and shiny!”

The MCYC Music Release Party:  December 17, 7:30 p.m. MacPhail Center for Music – free

Tuesday
Dec062011

Breaking News - What Could Rise from the Ruins of Minneapolis Waterworks/Fuji Ya Site on the Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront? First Public Meeting Scheduled.

Historic Central Riverfront site reinvention explored; Public invited to community meeting.

Time: 6-8:00 PM, Thursday, 15 December

Place: Mill City Museum, 704 South Second Street

The ideas will flow Thursday, December 15, when the Minneapolis Parks Foundation and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board invite the public to participate in a “designer-ask” community meeting about a potential new park along the city’s Central Riverfront.  Dubbed “Waterworks” (former Fuji-Ya Restaurant site) because the city’s first water supply and fire fighting pumping station were located there in the 19th Century, the site encompasses Minneapolis Park Board-owned land between Portland Avenue South and the Third Avenue Bridge, and between First Street South and the Mississippi River.

The community meeting, which takes place 6-8:00 PM at the Mill City Museum, 704 South Second Street, is the first step in a preliminary feasibility study that will explore options for what could be a significant new park destination in downtown Minneapolis.  The Minneapolis Parks Foundation is leading the project in partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, for which it is also a forerunner to the Central Riverfront Regional Park Update master planning process.

Mill City-based architects Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle (MS&R) are the lead designers on the project. Together with financing consultants HR&A Advisors, they will produce design and program options and financial analysis by February 2012.

Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle (MS&R) were the architects responsible for the preservation and development of the Mill City Museum.

“The Waterworks site and riverfront area are important for the convergence of Central Riverfront destinations, including the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, St. Anthony Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge, lock and dam, and the Mill City Museum,” says Mary deLaittre, President of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, which is funding the project through a private donation.  “Because of the site’s historic and national significance, it’s important that we complete an interdisciplinary study of the site and area within the current social, economic and environmental context, and its compelling geography and history, including ruins of long-razed flourmills.”

The public will be invited to a second community meeting in late February, to critique options and review the team’s findings. The Minneapolis Parks Foundation will announce details about that meeting in January 2012.

Tuesday
Dec062011

Support our Neighborhood While Checking Off Your Holiday Gift List

Our neighborhood offers a wealth of opportunities when it comes to fun, unique and appreciated Holiday gifts.  Here are a few examples to get you started:

Who wouldn't enjoy a restaurant gift card?  We have an award-winning selection to choose from!  Some are offering the popular Holiday deal of purchasing x amount in cards to receive a free gift card for yourself.  Check out the Directory section of Mill City Times for a quick reference of restaurant options.

How about tickets to a show?  Maybe the Guthrie, St. Anthony Main Theatre, or perhaps Triple Espresso at the Southern Theater?

Sorella Wine & Spirits has a massive selection from which to choose a hostess gift.  Or, for the hard-to-buy for person, a gift card will allow them to pick out something special - wine, spirits, beer.  And don't forget, Sorella has a great sake section.

Everyone needs groceries - Mill City Market Grocery & Deli offers gift certificates.

The Mill City Museum Store is a treasure.  From a wall of books, to special cake mixes, unique toys, clothing, jewelry and so much more.

The best pedi in town is with Mishon at Level Salon - you'll score some major brownie points by treating someone to this special foot pampering.  Want to rack up triple brownie points?  Include a massage from The Doorway for Massage Therapy, Bodywork & Better Health.

Consider a gift card from City Gardens' Flower Mill, or have them prepare a lovely Holiday bouquet for a hostess gift, to add cheer to a co-workers office, etc.

Treat an out-of-town guest to a night at Aloft, Depot Renaissance or the Residence Inn by Marriott.  How about a few hours of skating at The Depot?

For the health conscious people on your list - a package of Spin classes at 501SPIN? Yoga package from CorePower Yoga?

How about a tank of gas or car wash package from Bobby and Steve's?

I hope you'll join us in supporting our neighborhood businesses while filling Holiday shopping needs!

Mill District Christmas

Monday
Dec052011

Tonight - Kevin Kling at the Guthrie

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie

Kevin Kling returns to the Guthrie in his celebrated one-man-show to spin his hilarious yarn of family tradition and holiday merriment.  Wry tales of Midwestern Americana run from laugh-out-loud bizarre to touchingly beautiful.

Monday
Dec052011

Video - Charlies Aunt Playing at the Guthrie Theater

Widely regarded as one of the most sensational and entertaining farces of all time, Charley's Aunt centers on two Oxford undergraduates in search of a chaperone for a proper visit from their girlfriends. Jack and Charley manage to persuade fellow undergraduate Fancourt "Babbs" Babberley to impersonate a millionaire aunt in this hilarious tale of young love and preposterous deception.