Culturology 3-24: Pecha Kucha in Bemidji

by Travis Ryder

Public speaking is routinely ranked as one of our top fears.  Maybe you're still haunted by memories of freezing up in front of your high school speech class.  (I remember one poor girl in ninth grade performing a pantomime with an open zipper.)  But a new global phenomenon has come to the Northwoods, and it has area folks volunteering for public speaking. In this feature, independent producer Doug MacRostie discovers the magic that is Pecha Kucha. The next Bemidji event is on Thursday, March 31^st, 6:30 p.m., at the New City Ballroom. 

Bemidji-area artist Paula Jensen has a sculpture on display through the end of March at the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota Members' Show, housed in the historic Grain Belt Bottling building in northeast Minneapolis.  AMPERS member station KUMD's Maija Morton visits with Jensen about this show, her work in painting and current endeavors at her own Earth Eagle Forge.  Specifically noteworthy on her website is the documentation of progress on her eagle sculpture.  The story we aired is here.

CULTURE CALENDAR

Fri., Mar. 25         

Flautist Linda Chatterton with pianist Matthew McCright present a recital at BSU's Thompson Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Grand Rapids Players present Chicago, 7:30 Fri and Sat, 2 pm Sunday at the Reif Center.

Grass Roots Concert Series presents Irish trio Chulrua at the Live Well nightclub in Nisswa, 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 26       

Free digital photography workshop, sponsored by Grand Rapids Area Library.  9 – 2:30, GR Fire Hall meeting room.  Professional photographer Jon Gregor presents.  Cameras available to borrow.  Contact the Library to sign up at 326-7640.

Central Lakes College will host auditions for the children’s play The Clown Who Ran Away, Saturday at 10 a.m.  Actors and actresses in 3rd through 12th grade are invited to audition. 

Boreal Brewers annual homebrew tasting comes to the basement of the Keg ‘n Cork, downtown Bemidji, from 2 to 6 pm.  Brewers, bring 8 to 10 bottles of your finest.  Spectators 21 and up, bring curiosity and a small cover charge.

Tue, Mar. 29       

The acclaimed men's vocal ensemble Cantus performs, 7:30 p.m. at Davies Theater at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids.

MINNESOTA HISTORY DATEBOOK

March 23, 1971: Minnesota is among the first states to ratify the twenty-sixth amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gives U.S. citizens eighteen years of age or older the right to vote in local, state, and national elections. Both Minnesota and Delaware claim to be the initial actor on the issue.

March 24, 1999: The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the rights of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to fish and hunt in ceded lands without state regulation, as dictated by an 1837 treaty.