Culturology Calendar 2-16-12

by Travis Ryder

Thursday, Feb. 16

Central Lakes College presents its production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” Thursday through Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2.  The show will be presented in-the-round at CLC’s Dryden Theatre in Brainerd.

Friday, Feb. 17

The Nisswa Winter Jubilee and Walker Eelpout Festival are happening this weekend with events starting Friday.

Saturday, Feb. 18

There’s Old-Fashioned Winter Fun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Blackberry Farm & Antique Association, east of Grand Rapids on Highway 2.  There will be sleigh rides, activities for kids, and food for a nominal admission fee.

The Greenway Area Business Association presents the Trout Lake Plunge with activities running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Individuals with at least $50 in pledges will take the plunge at Trout Lake Beach in Coleraine starting at 2.  On the ice before and after that, there will be food, beverages, a bonfire, hayrides, games, and family activities.

Author David Treuer presents his book, Rez Life, Saturday at 4 at the Bemidji Public Library.

The Itasca Symphony Orchestra performs with guest violinist Alex DePue.  The show is at 7:30 at the Reif  Center in Grand Rapids.

In Bemidji, The Minnesota Bluegrass Association brings The High 48s and The Cactus Blossoms to the Chief Theatre stage at 7:30 Saturday.

The Mask and Rose Women’s Theater presents “Ajax in Iraq” at the downtown Bemidji Masonic building.  Dinner theater starts at 5:30 Saturday and 12:30 Sunday.  The Monday show at 7 is strictly the performance.  Advance tickets are available at the Wild Hare bistro, which is catering the Middle Eastern meals.

Tuesday, Feb. 21

The Rhymesayers record label brings the Welcome to Minnesota hip-hop tour to Bemidji’s Sanford Center.  Atmosphere, Kill The Vultures, Mally, Big Quarters, and BK-One will perform starting at 7.  Listen for Charlie Pulkrabek’s interview with MC Slug of Atmosphere tonight at 6 on Centerstage Minnesota.

Thursday, Feb. 23

The Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork presents the local production of Circle Mirror Transformation.  The play itself deals with an adult acting class.  Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 2.

MINNESOTA HISTORY DATEBOOK

Feb. 16, 1864 The Waseca County Horse Thief Detectives are organized in Wilton. One of several such pioneer groups, it would continue to hold social meetings after 1880 and, when horse-thieving became a thing of the past, it would focus its energies on tracing stolen cars.

Feb. 15, 1870 A groundbreaking ceremony for the Northern Pacific Railroad line is held at Northern Pacific Junction, later called Carlton. The line to the Pacific Ocean, completed on September 8, 1883, with the same spike used to begin construction in Minnesota, is the first single-company transcontinental line.

Feb. 13, 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt establishes Superior National Forest. Six weeks later Ontario's government responds in kind by creating Quetico Provincial Forest Reserve. Exploitative practices are restricted in these areas, thereby preserving the beauty of lakes and trees for future generations.

Feb. 17, 1972 The U.S. Department of Justice files a pollution suit against Reserve Mining Company, which operated a taconite plant on Lake Superior and dumped tailings contaminated with asbestos-like fibers into the lake. Lasting five years, the proceedings would be the nation's longest and most expensive environmental legal battle to that date.

Feb. 12, 2000 Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz dies in California. That summer, in his childhood home of St. Paul, 101 individually decorated, five-foot-tall statues of Snoopy are displayed. Later in the year, Snoopy statues are auctioned with the proceeds to fund a bronze Peanuts sculpture for downtown St. Paul, and scholarships at area art schools.