91.7 KAXE Notes

Culturology Calendar 1-13

2012-01-13T10:56:00.000-06:00

by Travis Ryder

Friday, Jan. 13

A tasting and investment solicitation event for an upstart brewery is on the slate for Friday night. Bemidji Brewing is gathering momentum to build a microbrewery in that city. New Year, New Beer is the title for the event, held from 6 to 10 at the Keg n' Cork downtown.

Saturday, Jan. 14

First Stage Gallery in downtown Virginia welcomes pointillism artist Rob Christensen. His work is on display there now, and he’s in town for an artist’s reception Saturday from noon to 2:30. He’ll will demonstrate the pen and ink process of creating detailed images comprised of single dots of ink.

Sunday, Jan. 15

Winter Under Ice is the event at Lake Bemidji State Park that exposes the effects and activity under the ice covered world of Lake Bemidji. A vehicle permit is required to enter the park, otherwise free from 2 to 3:30.

At 2:30, cellist Josh Aerie and Pianist Samuel Black will be at The Edge Center in Bigfork for a special concert. They are active in the Arrowhead area music activities including chamber music performances tailored to take the chill out of a January Sunday afternoon.

Monday, Jan. 16

The Great Decisions Discussion Group will kick off its spring schedule with a free session open to the public on Monday at 1, at the Heartwood Senior Living Center in Crosby. Thomas Hanson returns for the 4th year to present a well-informed analysis of Middle East uprisings known as the “Arab Spring”. He will discuss U.S. foreign policy and global implications and share his perceptions of current challenges. Hanson, now retired and a consultant, has had many assignments with the U.S. State Department in countries such as East Germany, France, Norway, Soviet Union, Sweden, Mongolia and Estonia. Hanson also appears in Baxter at the Lord of Life Church on Tuesday.

Tuesday, Jan. 17

Bluegrass duo Dailey and Vincent appear at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids Tuesday night. They lit up the bluegrass scene in 2008, taking their debut, self-titled album to #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass chart. They collected seven awards at the International Bluegrass Music Awards, including Entertainer and Emerging Artist of the year – an unprecedented feat. Together they make breathtaking music, seamlessly connecting country music's roots to its future in exhilarating, full-throttle bluegrass. The show starts at 7:30.

Wednesday, Jan. 18

The Enough for All campaign comes to Itasca County next week. On Wednesday at 6, the Reif Center hosts a performance illustrating Members of Circles of Support and their experience of living in poverty. After the performance, at 7:15, there’s a reception at the MacRostie Art Center for the “Enough for All” art exhibit.

Minnesota History Datebook

Jan. 10, 1925 "The Arrowhead" is selected as the official moniker for northeastern Minnesota, the result of a nationwide contest sponsored by the Northeastern Minnesota Civic and Commerce Association of Duluth.

Jan. 8, 1934 During the Great Depression, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a Minnesota mortgage moratorium law, a decision that state Attorney General Harry H. Peterson applauds as a "victory for the people of Minnesota that will enable many farmers and city dwellers to hold onto their homes until good times return."

Jan. 13, 1944 The cruiser Duluth is launched in Newport News, Virginia, christened by Ella T. Hatch, wife of Duluth mayor Edward H. Hatch. In May 1945 the ship becomes part of the U.S. fleet in World War II.

Jan. 8, 1971 President Richard Nixon signs a law creating Voyageurs National Park. The measure was supported by former governor Elmer Andersen as well as famed aviator and politician Charles Lindbergh.

Jan. 13, 1982 Nature writer and environmentalist Sigurd Olson dies in Ely. Born in Chicago in 1899, Olson served as a canoe guide in the boundary waters region and was active in environmental issues beginning in the 1920s, playing a prominent role in the battle for federal protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and serving as president of the Wilderness Society.

4 New Ways to Eat Frozen Green Beans

2012-01-12T20:38:00.002-06:00

by Maggie Montgomery
Eating locally—even about 75% locally, as we do now—means that in winter we eat a lot of frozen garden veggies. This week, my husband Dennis came upstairs after a trip to the basement freezer and said, “You know, there are a LOT of beans down there.”

I felt a little guilty. Growing green beans is mostly a “snap,” even in northern Minnesota. I plant several kinds every summer—Italian beans, Tendergreen, Contender, Jade, Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder and more. There are big, flat beans, yellow wax beans, bush beans and pole beans. Different varieties mature at different times, and I plant rows of the same variety weeks apart to assure an unending supply until frost. Dennis thinks it’s overkill, but I insist, saying “They are all different.”

It’s a pleasure to eat fresh beans in the summer. I also pickle some of the choice, young ones as dilly beans, and some years I put up a couple loads in the pressure canner. But we most often freeze the surplus because it’s easy.

When it’s time to eat the frozen beans, I cook them one way: steam them in salted water and serve them with butter on top. “There you go, Dennis,” I say, “Beans.”

On this Wednesday’s Morning Show on KAXE, I asked for some help with our frozen bean supply, and listeners sympathetically responded with some suggestions. I’m posting the recipes here in case you have plenty of beans too!

RECIPE 1:
Ken and Pam from Brainerd suggested a green bean shepherd’s pie: “We are just finishing up a really nice bean dish that Pam prepared recently. It is basically a Sheppard’s Pie with adzuki beans used instead of meat and a layer of green beans between the adzuki beans and the mashed potatoes. We thought it would be a very nice veggie start to the New Year. And a great way to use green beans!”

RECIPE 2:
Robert from Bemidji said: “Stir fry some beans in about 2 tablespoons of any type of oil that can hold up to high heat, and mix that with about 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, until they are as tender as you like. Drizzle with Tamari soy sauce, then put the lid on for a few minutes. It’s simple and delicious!”

RECIPE 3:
Julie from Cook suggested a cold or lukewarm green bean salad: Steam some beans. Cool them in water. Add crumbled feta, chopped red onion, chopped fresh (or frozen) dill, and your favorite Italian dressing.

RECIPE 4:
Ross emailed an Indian recipe: Bihari Green Beans Marsala, from Julie Sahni:

2 T oil
2 T sliced almonds
½ c. finely chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t sweet paprika
½ t red chili pepper flakes
¾ t kosher salt
¾ cup coconut milk
¾ # green beans in 1” pieces
1 t lime juice
2 T chopped cilantro

1. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook almonds, stirring, until golden. Remove the almonds from the oil and set aside.
2. Add onion, garlic and spices to the saute pan and return to heat. Saute until the onion is tender and begins to fry, about 4 minutes
3. Add coconut milk and beans. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, covered, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes
4. Sprinkle beans with lime juice and toss lightly. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with almonds and cilantro. Can be serve with rice or roti flatbread if desired.

Culturology Calendar 1-9

2012-01-09T12:07:00.000-06:00

by Travis Ryder

Ongoing exhibitions:

Wildlife and architectural landmark artist Rob Christensen's pointillism (stipple) art is on display at the Lyric Center for the Arts First Stage Gallery in downtown Virginia. The Artist's Reception is coming Saturday, January 14th from noon to 2:30. Christensen will demonstrate the pen and ink process of creating detailed images comprised of single dots of ink.

At the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin: the Head & Tails Exhibit is showing through February 18. This juried exhibition showcases multi-media interpretations of art that contains a head or a tail in the composition.

MacRostie Art Center's January exhibitions are In Search of Enough, a traveling exhibition of Minnesota artists’ response to the issues of poverty and Seven by Seven, paintings of landscapes by Lisa Stauffer. These are on display at the center in downtown Grand Rapids.

Tuesday, January 10

“Tango, Anyone?” at the Heartwood Senior Living Center, Crosby. 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Tango is a unique dance originating in Argentina and Uruguay in late 19th century. Enthusiasts now circle the globe from South America to North America, Europe and Finland where unique local adaptations continue to shape this complex dance. Unlimited Learning presents two talented dance instructors, who will lead a lively discussion of the dance, the music and the poetry of the Tango. They will conclude with a demonstration and an opportunity to experience the dance. Workshop leaders are Peter Truran, Ph.D., dancer and visiting scholar at the University of Minnesota, and Sylvia Horwitz, MSW, photographer, and human rights activist. This class is part of Unlimited Learning’s schedule and the cost is included for members, the cost is $6.00 for non-members.

Minnesota author and outdoor enthusiast Mary Shideler, better known as “Mary, The Kayak Lady,” make a presentation January 10 at the Chalberg Theatre at Central Lakes College in Brainerd. This is the first in a series of presentations, seminars and programming from The Center For Lifelong Learning at CLC and is designed for Lakes Area residents aged 50 and better. A book signing will follow Mary's presentation. Cost to attend is $10.

Wednesday, January 11

Monty Python's "Spamalot," a musical adapted from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids this Wednesday night starting at 7:30.

Culturology Calendar 12-29

2011-12-30T13:00:00.001-06:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday through Saturday:

Last chance to see the Sertoma Winter Wonderland at Northland Arboretum, Brainerd. 5:30-8:30 through New Year’s Eve.

Saturday:

Bovey/Coleraine Family New Year's Eve Party, 3:30 to 7 p.m. @ Longyear Park. Activities include skating, bonfire; treats, and a sing-a-long. From 4 to 5 p.m., hot dogs, brats, & hot chocolate will be served. A big 6 p.m. fireworks display is planned. More information can be obtained from Susan at 218.259.4455.

New Year’s Eve bash at the Sanford Center, following the BSU men’s hockey game against Bowling Green. Live music starts around 8.

Sunday:

Bemidji cyclists will gather at The Cabin Coffeehouse for a New Year's Day bike ride. Given the predictions for mild weather and little snow they've planned a route around Lake Bemidji, with perhaps a longer option for those who wish to continue the tradition of one mile for every degree above zero the temperature attains. The Cabin Coffeehouse is offering half price beverages and free sugar cookies for riders. There will be a drawing for bike related prizes sponsored by Shifting Gears. All riders are eligible.

Monday:

Open Broomball begins this Monday, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at theBemidji City Park Multi Purpose Building on 23rd Street. Take part in this winter classic, without the commitment of a league, join play when you can.

Minnesota History Datebook

Dec. 30, 1884 Fur trader Alexander Baker receives his patent on a land claim near International Falls, where he is the first settler.

Dec. 28, 1909 Federal liquor enforcer W. E. "Pussyfoot" Johnson leads a raid on the saloons of Park Rapids. They were illegally serving residents of White Earth Reservation. Johnson and a trainload of U.S. marshals gather every bottle they can find and demolish them on Main Street.

Dec. 25, 1913 Minneapolis's first public Christmas tree is lit in Gateway Park.

Dec. 31, 1937 Lake Superior floods Grand Marais as a major snowstorm hits the town.

Dec. 31, 1957 Plans are announced for the “West Bank” as we know it. University of Minnesota president James L. Morrill announces that the university will expand westward across the Washington Avenue Bridge into what was a "blighted area" of Minneapolis. A key part of the plan is a new two-deck bridge.

Steve "Guido" Downing's take on Christmas Music

2011-12-23T11:10:00.000-06:00

This week Grant Frashier hosts KAXE's Between You and Me on Saturday from 10-noon. His topic is Christmas Music. Do you have a favorite? Email us or call during the show 218-326-1234.

CHRISTMAS BLUES by Steve Downing

Between you and me, I do not love Christmas music, which I grew up singing, around Mom’s piano and in church choirs and school choruses. And playing, on every instrument I ever picked up. And it’s true that Dodger and I have a pile of Christmas CDs. But, with notable exceptions, I do not love it. Partly because of the brain-killing repetition. You hear the stuff, endlessly, hourly, from Halloween until the season’s over, by everybody from Bing Crosby to George Thorogood. On the radio, TV, in stores, out on the street, in the office, church, parking ramps, restrooms. It’s everywhere. You can’t not hear it. And when you achieve my great age, your relationship with Christmas music, as with body-parts and memory and the chainsaw, is simply tuckering out.

My earliest difficulty with Christmas music, as a logic-challenged young man, was a philosophical dead end. The secular Christmas music had come to seem completely disconnected from the calendar-defining event in Bethlehem. And, more disconcertingly, the sacred music had absolutely nothing to do with what the Holy Day had morphed into: a godless, shameless, commercial lollapalooza. Gifts. Office parties. Gifts. Travel. Gifts. Light displays and fireworks. Gifts. Mass quantities of cookies. And so on. As I learned, you cannot resolve these contradictions. They’re too structural. Too big to fail.

Jazz versions of the Christmas canon I can actually still listen to, especially if there’s no singing. And there’s one song on the compilation CD A Rock’n’Roll Christmas, produced by Bob ‘Bah-Humbug’ Bell on PolyGram, 1994, that I always get a kick out of: “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses.

We also have a compilation put out by Rhino Records in 1995, titled Punk Rock Xmas. This one reliably provides a few chuckles over tumblers of milk-and-bourbon punch, Christmas morning, an old Dodge family tradition. It features bands you’ve never heard of. Bouquet of Veal. Pansy Division. The Celibate Rifles. Stiff Little Fingers. Dodger bought this, thinking of it as a Christmas gift for our nephew, Sam Dodge, when he was a kid, middle-school-age or so. Then we noticed the song titles. Some of them, if I said them out loud on the radio (even just the titles), would jeopardize KAXE’s license and very existence. We decided we should jury the CD before sending it off in the Christmas mail. It did not make it into the Christmas mail. We said at the time that we were protecting Sam from inappropriate material, but really we were protecting Dodger’s brother and sister-in-law, and our relationship with them. Sam would surely not have been corrupted by songs like “Daddy Drank Our Christmas Money” or any of the others---which, as I say, you cannot say out loud over any air waves---and, like us, he would deploy them once a year, no more, for a little merriment around the Christmas tree. Unless, like us, he has no Christmas tree. To get the full measure of Punk Rock Xmas, you should probably have a tree. Fake, of course.

You can still buy this CD. I checked the other day, and Amazon had five new ones, at forty bucks each, and nine used, at twenty. Priced for the niche market, go tell it. Or you could borrow ours and copy it. But not right now. Right now, it’s tied up. It’s on.

Winter videos from KAXE volunteers

2011-12-18T19:56:00.000-06:00

What are YOU doing this winter? Let us know!

Ice by Steve "Guido" Downing

2011-12-16T13:55:00.000-06:00

This week on Between You and Me on KAXE (Saturdays from 10am-noon) we talk ice. People have taken to the lakes this winter because our our lack of snow and reignited their passion for all things ice. Check out the KAXE Ice Skating facebook page here

Here's Steve's story:

DOG THOUGHTS

The hands-down best ice for skating is a lake that has frozen fast, overnight, when the lake was not generating even slow-motion waves, and before there’s anything more than a dusting of light fluffy snow. This sort of alignment occurs no oftener than once a decade. It’s as impermanent as a Martini. You must act right now, not tomorrow.

Right now, between you and me, imagine that I’ve just pushed off from our house onto Shoal Lake, north of Grand Rapids. My skates are sharp. It’s a beautiful morning, sunny, no wind, cold enough that the lake is still making ice but not so cold that your eyelashes and front-brain freeze up.

I strike off into the southeastern bay, where the lake is outlined by gravel pit and swamp, no other houses. I’m about twenty yards from shore, on perfectly clear see-through ice, that looks to be four inches or so thick. The lake’s only six or eight feet deep here in the bay. Suddenly, something catches my eye down there, under the ice. I put on the brakes. Wheel around. Drop into a squat. There. It’s a boat, an old-timey wooden row-boat. Gunwales, seats, ribs: all cloaked in dark underwater moss. I first saw this sunken boat a few summers ago, from the canoe and kayak. Then it seemed to somehow fade away. Last year, it simply was not there, not anywhere. I presumed wind and current had moved it, or someone, implausibly, had raised it. But here it is, more or less right where I remember first finding it. I go down to all fours, for a better look, working on new theories. I’m sure the boat was closer to the surface the last time I saw it, from the kayak, so maybe the mystery is related to changing water levels, or maybe to processes and conditions on the lake-bottom or the underside of the boat.

As I’m working through this, on hands and knees, my face probably an inch off the ice, I see…a dog. A dog, underwater, alive, swimming, with a mouthful of sticks, passing over the sunken boat, headed for deeper water. This so startles me, I jerk up, not quietly. I might even speak in tongues here, just for a second, hard to tell. The dog reacts. Its head swivels up. One eye registers my presence. It blinks, kicks, does a little course correction, and is gone.

Of course it’s not a dog. It’s a beaver. Which only enhances the impact of the encounter. For one exceptional moment, I participated in that animal’s unexceptional morning. It does feel like a privilege. A beaver, on its way home after a hard day’s night doing dirty commerce, gathering provisions for the clan. Is it too much to hope for, that it might be able to stop and have a drink with the gang at the local watering hole? Too much to hope for, that it’ll get into some excellent trouble, moral and physical, between here and hutch?

Suppose it does stop at the watering hole. Would it share with the gang anything about the exchange we, it and I, just had?

Guys, you won’t believe what happened. Up top. This old four-legged-four-eyed geezer is staring down at me. At first I think it’s a dog. I’m serious. A dog. I wink at him. I do. I wink. The geezer flat-out has a stroke….

And so on. Bar talk. Between you and me: I’m fine.

Culturology Calendar 12-15

2011-12-15T12:54:00.002-06:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday

Handel's "Messiah" performed by the Itasca Community Chorus, 3 to 5 p.m. at Greenway Auditorium in Coleraine; the chorus is combined with several area choirs.

The Grand Rapids Players’ auditions for the spring show, “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum,” are at 6 at the Playhouse up County Road A from the fairgrounds.

Musician Paul Metsa drops by the KAXE studios for a chat and to pick out some music on Centerstage Minnesota. Then he crosses the parking lot to the Grand Rapids Area Library for a chat at 7 about his recent book, “Blue Guitar Highway.”

Chisholm musician Rob Wheeler performs Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Minnesota Discovery Center’s weekly music night, Acoustic Café. Admission is free Thursdays after 5. Appetizers, soups, desserts and hot and cold beverages are available to purchase. The exhibit “Ray Segar: One Man’s Quest for History,” MDC’s Community Gallery showing “Sketchers and Carvers,” and the Laurentian Northern Railroad Model Train Club display are open.

Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program presents a Student Concert, 7 p.m. at the Reif Center, Grand Rapids.

Friday

The Reif Center’s performing arts season continues with a puppet, rock, and yoga adventure called Monkey Mind Pirates from the group Z-Puppets Rosenschnoz , 7 p.m. at 6:30.

The CLC Brass Ensemble will be performing during Sertoma Winter Wonderland at the Northland Arboretum. The Wonderland is open tonight through Sunday, 5:30 to 8:30.

Friday and Saturday

Winnie The Pooh’s Christmas Tail, performed by the youth acting troupe at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Adventure ‘N Theatre, directed by Dennis Lamberson. Friday, 7:30 pm; Saturday, 2:00 pm; Saturday, @ 7:30 pm.

Saturday

A group of 15 students at Northern Lights Community School have a long term project on the history and culture of Ireland. They have been studying Ireland for a year and a half and will be traveling there in April. One of their fundraisers is hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner called, “Next of Kin.” This is the fourth murder mystery dinner that the school has produced. It will be December 17th at the Sawmill Inn in Grand Rapids. It starts at 6:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the Sawmill Inn.

Speaking of Ireland, hear Irish music from Two Tap Trio at Brigid’s Irish Pub in Bemidji starting at 8.

Saturday & Sunday

Vocal group From Age to Age presents O Magnum Mysterium, their annual Christmas tour featuring some of the world’s most enchanting holiday music. Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Brainerd & Sunday, 1 p.m., Union Congregational Church, Hackensack. The Hackensack performance will be featured in a Christmas Day broadcast on KAXE, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.!

Sunday

Grand Rapids Area Male Chorus performs at 2 p.m. at the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork.

A Christmas Carol presented by Nebraska Theater Caravan, 7:30 p.m. at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids. The Nebraska Theatre Caravan has been touring Charles Jones’ delightful adaptation of A Christmas Carol since 1979, weaving traditional Christmas carols throughout the narrative.

Minnesota History Datebook

Dec. 16, 1884 Machinist William H. Fruen of Minneapolis is issued the first U.S. patent for an automatic liquid-dispensing vending machine. Fruen had settled earlier in the year at the western edge of the city. The discovery of a pure spring in a glen led Fruen to sell jugs, and then coolers, of fresh water and found the Glenwood Springs (now Glenwood Inglewood Water) Company.

Dec. 17, 1915 The Mesaba Transportation Company of Hibbing is incorporated. Owners Andrew G. Anderson and Carl Eric Wickman transport passengers and freight from Hibbing to destinations in Alice and Grand Rapids. A subsidiary is incorporated in 1919 to build, repair, and sell buses. These companies would eventually become Greyhound Lines, headquartered in Chicago.

Dec. 11, 1922 Hurricane winds in Duluth are clocked at 72 miles per hour.

(Source: The Minnesota Book of Days, MN Historical Society Press)

Culturology Calendar 12-8

2011-12-08T09:28:00.000-06:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday, Dec. 8

Acoustic Café series features the duo Bittersweet: Jay Hoiland and Mary Jo Grizzard play at 6 at the Minnesota Discovery Center, Chisholm.

Area producers of original theater, take note: Minnesota Fringe Festival director Robin Gillette coming to Duluth. The Fringe Festival is an 11-day performing arts festival that presents nearly 900 performances of 165 theater and dance shows in professional-grade Minneapolis-St. Paul venues. They select participants by random lottery, so it doesn't matter how much or little experience you have. Dates are August 2-12, 2012. Fringe staff members will be at the Zeitgeist Atrium, 222 E. Superior St, Duluth between 8 and 9:30 pm tonight. Meet and learn more about how the festival works, and how to prepare an application.

Thursday through Sunday

You can take in the Sertoma Winter Wonderland display from 5:30 to 8:30 tonight through Sunday, with Sunday night including horsedrawn carriage rides. Paul Bunyan Land has their enchanted pioneer village 6 to 9 Friday and Saturday.

Friday, Dec. 9

Actual Wolf (the solo act of Grand Rapids native Eric Pollard, who performs with Low, Retribution Gospel Choir, and Sun Kil Moon); 5 – 6:30 p.m., Brewed Awakenings, Grand Rapids.

KBXE Northern Community Radio Auction: drinks, appetizers and silent auction at 6 p.m., live auction 7 p.m., dance to Good Noise at 9, Bemidji Town & Country Club

Away In The Basement, a Church Basement Ladies holiday production, at the Tornstrom Auditorium in the Washington Building in Brainerd, 7 p.m.

Tim and Cindy Roggenkamp perform acoustic country and bluegrass at the Warehouse in Pine River starting at 7.

Friday and Saturday

The Nutcracker, presented by The Reif Dancers, 7 p.m. at the Reif Center, Grand Rapids.

BSU Madrigal Dinners, 7 p.m., Beaux Arts Ballroom on the campus.

Gospel, soul, and jazz from The Steele Family Christmas Show. 2 shows, Friday at 7:30 and Saturday at 2 at the Central Lakes College Theatre in Brainerd.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Local production of “A Christmas Carol”, 7:30 Friday and Saturday, 2:00 Sunday, Chief Theater, Bemidji.

Saturday, Dec. 10

Family Fun Day: Holiday Card Ornaments, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at MacRostie Art Center; learn more at getlearning.org. Then it's the Ho-Ho-Ho Down Country Christmas, 3 to 6 p.m. at Children's Discovery Museum; country hometown Christmas theme, games, food, crafts, entertainment, & hayrides. To learn more, call 218-259-9509 or visit www.getlearning.org.

Pine River has horse-drawn sleigh rides starting at 2:30 and a Parade of Lights downtown starting at 5.

The gypsy jazz of Clearwater Hot Club starts at 7 p.m. at Brigid’s Cross, Bemidji.

Sunday, Dec. 11

Elegant Historical Holiday Feast will be served at 1 p.m. at the White Oak Society in Deer River; reservations are required. Call 218-328-5728 or email info@whiteoak.org

Handel's "Messiah" performed by the Itasca Community Chorus combined with several area choirs, 3 to 5 p.m. at Greenway Auditorium in Coleraine.

The West Range Country Show follows at Greenway High School Auditorium at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 13

The Santa Lucia Festival celebrates the beginning of the Swedish Christmas season, including the festival of lights, which includes a young maiden wearing a chandelier. Also, breakfast will be served. 6 to 8 a.m., Beaux Arts Ballroom on the BSU campus. Get your tickets by Friday at Kelsey’s Jewelry or Ken Thompson Jewelry.

Minnesota History Datebook

Dec. 8, 1886: Citizens of Browns Valley brawl in the streets of their town with farmers from Wheaton. What started this fight? Wheaton was the new county seat, and they were in town to pick up the Traverse County official records. The outnumbered "invaders" flee with only one load. Eventually, all the records are moved to Wheaton without further battle. There are accounts of these kinds of bitter and even violent county-seat disputes from a number of locations around the state.

Dec. 9, 1890: The University Avenue streetcar line from Minneapolis to St. Paul begins operation. By 1954, it was out of service, replaced by buses. But what’s old is new again: The Central Corridor light rail line will open to passengers along a similar route in 2014.

Dec. 7, 1941: Outside of Pearl Harbor, a crew primarily made up of reservists from St. Paul manned the destroyer Ward. That ship attacks and sinks a Japanese midget submarine, the first shots fired on the date of infamy. Inside the harbor, Minneapolis-born Captain Franklin van Valkenburgh is killed on the bridge of his ship, the USS Arizona. He would be awarded the Medal of Honor by Congress.

Culturology Calendar 11-17

2011-11-16T17:53:00.001-06:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday, November 17

The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota is in Grand Rapids this morning to talk about their Minnesota Main Street program. This is a framework for revitalizing traditional business districts with an eye on retaining unique local character. The session is on the third floor of Old Central School and runs from 8 to 10 a.m., everybody’s invited.

Jaques Art Center Christmas Marketplace opens Thursday. The Jaques Main Gallery in Aitkin is transformed into a holiday shop overflowing with one-of- a-kind gifts for all ages. The Jaques is also looking for artists for their juried exhibition, “Heads or Tails.” Make sure the works you submit include a head or a tail! Submissions are due November 30. Learn more at www.jaquesart.com.

Pecha Kucha Night is an evening of short presentations accompanied by images. Expect nearly anything from the presenters. Once you know the format, maybe you’ll be a presenter! It’s at the New City Ballroom, a.k.a. the Hungry Bear, in Bemidji, starting at 6:30.

Local poets Susan Hawkinson, Loree Miltich, Jane Barrick, Teresa Alto, and Stephanie Kessler will read selections from the book Migrations. It’s edited by Duluth Poet Laureate Sheila Packa. Cellist Kathy McTavish will also play, Thursday at 7 at MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids.

The Greater Minnesota Legacy Chorale celebrates its tenth season starting this weekend. Performances will be at Crosslake Lutheran Church on Thursday at 7:30, and at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter on Sunday at 3. Repertoire for the show consists entirely of choral and solo arrangements of African-American spirituals. The concert on Sunday will feature the Brainerd High School A Capella Choir.

Friday, November 18

Pequot Lakes Community Theatre turns back the clock with a 1940s Radio Hour, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 at the high school auditorium.

20 of the best chefs in the Brainerd Lakes area will showcase their craft Friday night. It’s the Taste of the Lakes event at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, and the event benefits Kinship Partners, starting at 5:30.

The award winning play Proof will be staged this weekend at Bemidji State. Shows are at 7:30 Friday and Sturday and 2 o’clock Sunday.

The Mesabi Community Orchestra and Virginia High School Varsity Choir present two concerts featuring Thanksgiving and Christmas selections. See them Friday at 7 at the Chisholm High School auditorium or Sunday at 2:30 at the Lutheran church in Eveleth.

Saturday, November 19

Lake Bemidji State Park hosts a winter tree identification session. Master Naturalist Russ Bennett will show you how to tell deciduous trees apart WITHOUT the aid of their leaves. The session starts at 10 Saturday.

The BSU Jazz Band will be in concert Saturday at 3. They’ll feature trumpeter Kiku Collins, who has played with Beyoncé and Michael Bolton. The concert is in the Fine Arts Complex on the campus in Bemidji.

Monday, November 21

Bemidji State art major Eli Balbach will have an exhibition of abstract compositions entitled “Abformalities” with an opening reception Monday from 1 to 4. The show will feature a personal assessment of nationality and civilization. Balbach’s work will focus primarily on oil paintings and other 2D mediums. Balbach is originally from Bemidji. The show is at the University’s Talley Gallery running through Dec. 14.

Minnesota History Datebook

November 14, 1860 An early milestone in Minnesota telecommunications: Telegraph service reaches Minneapolis. Now, the telegraph seems ridiculously old-fashioned today, but imagine the quantum leap this represented: instead of waiting days to hear of important events, news could reach the city in just minutes!

This week in 1984, Jackpot Junction Casino opens for business as a bingo parlor. the first Indian casino in Minnesota, By 1988 it had become a fully operational casino.

November 18, 1993 The Weisman Art Museum opens at the University of Minnesota. Sculptor and architect Frank Gehry won an award from Progressive Architecture magazine for his design of the building.

New Welcome Signs at Red Lake by Artist Patrick Desjarlait

2011-11-15T16:39:00.001-06:00

Four new signs welcome visitors to the Red Lake Nation. The color pencil and ink artwork was created by Red Lake artist and High School art teacher, Patrick Desjarlait (right). The artwork is entitled "The Council of Clans" and features the symbols of the Seven Clans at Red Lake: Makwa (Bear), Mikinaak (Turtle), Awazisii (Bullhead), Waabizheshi (Marten), Migizi (Eagle), Ojiig (Fisher) and Ogiishkimanisii (Kingfisher). You can here our interview with Patrick here.

Patrick's dad, also named Patrick, was an acclaimed artist. Red Lake people and traditions were themes in much of his art like "Women and Blueberries" (above).

Culturology 11-10: Bipolar Bears, Accidental Heroes

2011-11-10T13:28:00.004-06:00

by Travis Ryder

This week, we visited with the members of the headlining band for Terrapin Fest. Bipolar Bear includes Brian Laidlaw, Ashley Hanson, and Peter Frey. They’ve been together since the spring of 2011, though all members have a deep musical résumé. Their work is described as “electro-Americana” and they’re still working on their first recorded release while gigging in smaller cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Listen: click here.

On Veterans’ Day, the Reif Center presents The Accidental Hero, a tale of a Czech-American soldier’s deeds back in his homeland during World War II. His grandson, Patrick Dewane, presents the true story. Scott Hall spoke with Dewane last year, and we revisited the chat this week.

This Saturday’s Itasca Symphony Orchestra concert will carry forward the energy the group picked up from working with the conductor and musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra last month. Maggie Anderson, 14, plays cello with the Itasca Orchestra. She found it to be an inspiring experience. Maggie and the rest of the Orchestra will be in action Saturday at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids. We hear her comments in this week’s edition.

Thursday, November 10

Minnesota musician and writer Paul Metsa will play and read from his new book, Blue Guitar Highway. This will be at Kaleva Hall, on the Finntown Flyway in Virginia, starting at 7:30. On Friday, he'll sign books at Howard Street Books from 2 to 4, then play Zimmy’s at 7 p.m. Saturday, he's at Comet Theater in Cook at 2. Metsa will be in Grand Rapids on Tuesday night at the Library.

Saarens Productions presents the screwball comedy “Murder At The Howard Johnson’s” at the Masonic Building in downtown Bemidji. There are shows Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 7:30 with a Sunday matinee at 2.

Friday, November 11

Artist Liz White works in acrylic, watercolor, and encaustic techniques. She’ll have a studio open house Friday and Saturday from 1 to 5 at her studio, at 34383 Sipe Road, Grand Rapids.

Gifted guitarist Tim Sparks plays the Grassroots Concerts series at Journey Church in Nisswa.

Pequot Lakes Community Theatre brings old-time radio to life with a 1940’s Radio Hour. This is at Pequot Lakes High School Friday and Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2, and also next weekend.

The Bemidji State University Theatre presents David Auburn's Award-Winning "Proof" November 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th at 7:30pm, and November 20th at 2:00pm

On Veterans’ Day, the Reif Center presents The Accidental Hero, a tale of a Czech-American soldier’s deeds back in his homeland during World War II. His grandson presents the true story. Free admission for military vets. The show starts at 7:30.

Saturday, November 12

Paintings, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, mobiles, sculpture, wood carvings, and leatherwork will all be available at an ART-filled Holiday Open House at Franklin Arts Center, from 10 to 4. Kids can take part in printmaking with Jay Raymond in the cafeteria from 10am to noon. Cleo Kuelbs and Dennis Coryell will provide musical entertainment in the hall near the auditorium from 11 to 2.

Brian Miller and Randy Gosa play songs of Celtic origin heard in turn-of-the-century logging camps in Northern Minnesota at Headwaters Unitarian Fellowship, Bemidji. 7 p.m.

Itasca Symphony Orchestra opens its season at 7:30, at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, performing the Brahms Academic Festival Overture and a work from American composer Howard Hanson.

Sunday, November 13

Bemidji Symphony Orchestra presents the second in their series of concerts this season. They’ll feature Juilliard School flute instructor Carol Wincenc as a soloist on a new work from Christopher Rouse. The program also includes works by Mozart and Elgar.

Stride jazz pianist Butch Thompson is at Centennial Auditorium in Staples for a 2:00 show.

Monday, November 14

Photographer Doug Ohman will share images and stories from his book Journey Down The River. It’s a collection focusing on the people and places along the upper Mississippi. He’ll speak at Brainerd Public Library at 6 o’clock Monday night.

Tuesday, November 15

Author Mark Seeley and photographer Don Breneman share their experiences found in their new book Voyageur Skies: Weather and Wilderness in MN's National Park. 6:30 at Central Lakes College Chalberg Theater in Brainerd.

Minnesota History Datebook

Nov. 8-10, 1913: The three-day Great Storm of 1913 kills 251 people on the Great Lakes (forty-four on Lake Superior) and sinks seventeen boats.

This week in 1919: Minneapolis is the site for the first convention of the newly-formed veterans’ organization, The American Legion.

Nov. 8, 1932: Minnesota citizens are allowed to vote for all nine of the state's congressional seats because the legislature had failed to reapportion the districts following the census of 1930.

Nov. 11, 1940: The Armistice Day Blizzard strikes, trapping hunters at lakes and drivers on roads. Forty-nine people die when temperatures suddenly drop from the sixties to below zero. Pilot Max Conrad of Winona earns hero honors for taking his Piper Cub up into fifty-mile-per-hour winds to drop supplies and lead rescuers to trapped hunters.

Nov. 10, 1975: The ore boat Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior, amidst 71-mile-per-hour gales and 12- to 15-foot waves. and twenty-nine crewmembers drown.

Movies to Watch this Winter from KAXE

2011-11-08T06:20:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday on Between You and Me Jack Nachbar and Julie Crabb joined Heidi Holtan to talk movies. Jack is a retired professor of Pop Culture who hosts movies at the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork. This Thursday evening at 6:30 pm he's showing "On the Town" and will lead a conversation afterwards.

Here's the list of movies that Julie, Jack & KAXE listeners compiled:

Holiday movies:
Pieces of April
Home for the Holiday
It's a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story
Elf
Scrooged
Holiday Inn
White Christmas
Jeremiah Johnson
The Santa Clause
Love Actually
Miracle on 34th Street
Meet Me in St. Louis
Bad Santa

Frozen River
Fargo
The Station Agent
Sweet And Lowdown

Strong Heroines:
Silkwood
Erin Brockovich
North Country
Norma Rae

John Hughes movies:
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Home Alone
National Lampoon's Vacation

Burt Lancaster movies:
Elmer Gantry
Come Back Little Sheba
Field of Dreams
The Swimmer
Trapeze
Crimson Pirate
The Killers
Local Hero
The Rose Tattoo
From Here to Eternity
Seven Days in May

other favorites listeners suggested:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Way We Were
Dr. Zhivago
GiGi
Imitation of Life
Little Miss Sunshine
Groundhog Day
Out of Africa
Day of the Outlaw
Man from Snowy River
North to Alaska
Brassed Off
Winter's Bone
Romeo & Juliet
Moulin Rouge
Strictly Ballroom
Black Swan
Avatar
The Family Stone
SnowCake
Danny Deckchair
The Ref
Roxanne
The Jerk
Man With Two Brains
Mostly Martha
Reversal of Fortune
Damage
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Alfie
Annie Hall
The Big Chill
Fiddler on the Roof
Manchurian Candidate
Mystery, Alaska
African Queen
The Princess & the Cobbler
Singing in the Rain
Court Jester
The Man I Love
Zero Kelvin
The Last Place on Earth
Corner Gas
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
500 Days of Summer
I Love You Phillip Morris
Raining Stones
Wind that Shakes the Barley
Land & Freedom
Once
The Committments
Rebel Without a Cause
On Dangerous Ground
The Shining
Popeye
The Departed
The Sting
Shop Around the Corner
Insomnia
Culpepper Cattle Company
Outlaw of Josey Wales
The Greatest
Moonlight Mile
Rabbit Hole
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
High Noon
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
Sweetland
Asphalt Jungle
Lawrence of Arabia
Memento
25 Hours
Don't Look Now

Goodbye Week?

2011-11-06T15:26:00.002-06:00

by Scott Hall

During the professional football season each team plays 16 games over a 17 week period. So each team has a week off sometime during the season. It's called "the bye week", and this was the Vikings' week off. In the jargon of the sports media, the Vikings are "idle" today.

It's probably coincidence that this week may have been the beginning of a long good-bye to the Vikings. The Governor and legislators didn't come up with a way to raise public funding to pay for a portion of a new stadium for the Vikings. The Vikings' lease at the Metrodome may expire after this season. If so, they are free to move. It was a little over 50 years ago that the Minneapolis Lakers moved to the desert town of Los Angeles and kept the "Lakers" name. After 51 years as the Minnesota Vikings, it seems the possibility of the Vikings following the Lakers to LA is more likely than ever.

The value of professional sports teams is hard to quantify. I'm sure those who say "let 'em go" way underestimate the economic value of pro sports. But as far as other values go, that is more subjective, and I am weary of the overhyped importance attached to the games themselves. The hype and phony melodrama are most necessary to those who want to direct our attention to the messages of their advertisers. By Monday, most of the games will mean less to us than the fortunes of the local high school teams.

So now, at least one Sunday during the pro football season, we have three more hours to take a nap, bake a pie, go hunting, play touch football, ride a bike, read a book. In another year or two, will every Sunday be so full of promise?

Culturology Calendar 11-3

2011-11-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday, November 3

Range musician Cheryl Niemi will perform Thursday, November 3, from 6-8 p.m. at Minnesota Discovery Center’s Acoustic Café. Admission is free Thursdays after 5 p.m. Acoustic Café features regional musicians along with homemade soups, appetizers, desserts and drinks.

Vox Lumiere brings a new take on Phantom of the Opera, blending rock opera with silent film. It’s at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids tonight.

Two sessions at the Lyric Center for the Arts will help artists advance their careers. Staff from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council will guide a session on how to apply for the Council’s individual grants. This session is tonight at 6 p.m. Tuesday, there’s a workshop that explains how to get your work into shops! It’s called How to Sell Your Artwork through Art Galleries & Gift Shops. Contact us to learn more.

(NFA: Thu session free; Mon session $10; scholarships available. Register: lyriccenterforthearts@yahoo.com or 741-5577. location: The First Stage Gallery, Lyric Center for the Arts, 514 Chestnut St., downtown Virginia, MN)

Friday, November 4

First Friday events in Grand Rapids: painters Sarah Wieben and Rick Love have work at MacRostie Art Center this month. An opening reception for these artists is Friday from 5 to 7 in Grand Rapids.

First Friday in Bemidji includes the opening reception for the 9^th annual It’s Only Clay Juried Exhibit. The details of this and all the other events are at bcac.wordpress.com

The Holiday Gift Show and Sale opens Friday night from 5 to 7 at the Edge Center Gallery in Bigfork.

Friday night in Brainerd: The play "Deer Camp the Musical" will be at the Franklin Auditorium for one show at 7:30 p.m. on the eve of the firearms deer opener.

The vocal group The Rose Ensemble performs on the Central Lakes College campus in Brainerd. Their show Songs of Temperance and Temptation: 100 Years of Restraint and Revelry in Minnesota is a musical exploration of the humor and history behind Prohibition and Minnesota's long-standing love/hate relationship with the pub. The show starts at 7 on Friday night. The Rose Ensemble also has a presentation at the Brainerd Library at 11 Saturday morning.

Saturday, November 5

Holy cats, are there a lot of craft shows on Saturday! I suppose there’s an assumption that a lot of women are free this Saturday, with their men off chasing whitetails. Mary Augustyn and Joan Beech will show their pottery and other work from 9 to 5 at Dr. Lynda Griffith’s office across from L & M in Grand Rapids.

The Reif Center brings Paula Poundstone to the stage in Grand Rapids for standup comedy. It’s a 7:30 show.

Zorongo Flamenco Dance Ensemble is at CLC in Brainerd Saturday night at 7:30.

Monday, Nov. 7

Duluth poet laureate Sheila Packa has edited a compilation of poetry from the Lake Superior area. It’s called Migrations. Packa hosts a reading from several of the contributors at the Words and Lyrics event, 6:30 Monday night at the Lyric Center in downtown Virginia.

Tuesday, Nov. 8

Central Lakes College has a band concert Tuesday at 8:01 p.m. Why 8:01? As a public institution, the College can’t hold a public event until polls close on an election day.

Wednesday, Nov. 9

Hibbing Community college art instructor Daryn Lowman leads another art lecture and demonstration related to the new exhibition at MacRostie Art Center, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

It’s Jazz night at the VFW in Grand Rapids with Sam Miltich and friends, 7 to 9 p.m.

Minnesota History Datebook

Nov. 2, 1948: Hubert H. Humphrey wins Minnesota's race for U.S. Senate. During three consecutive terms he supports a medicare bill, a nuclear test ban treaty, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Oct. 31, 1991: The "Halloween Blizzard" begins. A record snowfall blankets the area from Duluth to the Twin Cities, the state's largest recorded snowfall in a single storm. On the three days following the “Storm of the Century,” Duluth receives 36.9 inches of snow, the largest single-storm total in state history at the time. Another “Storm of the Century” record happens in Cook, where 29 inches of snow accumulate in 24 hours, the largest such total in state history.

Culturology 10-27: The Pasty Edition

2011-10-27T11:42:00.003-05:00

by Travis Ryder

Our food says a lot about our culture. Lutefisk, wild rice, venison and potica all reflect place as well as history. The pasty, a meat-and-vegetable meal-in-your-hand, has been Iron Range lunchbucket fare since the 1880s, when expert miners from Cornwall, England brought the recipe to their new homes and jobs here. Heidi Holtan recently visited with folks on the pasty assembly line at Hibbing's Wesley United Methodist Church. For seventy-five years, they have been producing pasties as a fundraiser. What food is part of the culture where you live? Send us your stories: arts@kaxe.org.

The Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota-Duluth has a new show up through the winter. It’s the Art and Design Faculty Show. KUMD’s Maija Jensen visits with printmaker Robert Repinski whose work is in the show. The Art and Design Faculty Show is on display through March 4 at the Tweed Museum on the UMD campus in Duluth.

Martha Larson

The gypsy-jazz outfit Clearwater Hot Club has a special pair of gigs this weekend: the group will be joined by a kindred spirit toting a cello. Martha Larson has played in the scene in Chicago, as a member of the Northwestern Philharmonia and learning the gypsy style with Alfonso Ponticelli. Professionally, she's an engineer and is now back home in Minnesota as the sustainability manager for Carleton College in Northfield. Clearwater Hot Club guitarist Sam Miltich joined us in studio, and Larson connected by phone for this chat . The group plays at Brigid's Cross in Bemidji Friday night and the Grand Rapids VFW on Saturday; both gigs start at 7.

Culture Calendar
Thursday, October 27

Ian Ethan performs on his double-neck acoustic guitar at Davies Theater on the Itasca Community College campus, tonight at 7:00. Listen today in the 2:00 hour. Ian talks and performs for us on “Currents”.

An evening of Irish music and mythology with Garry Jones and Laura MacKenzie. This starts at 7:30 tonight at the Headwaters School in Bemidji. They'll also appear at 2 p.m. at Bemidji Public Library.

Friday, October 28

The closing reception for the October show at the Edge Center Gallery in Bigfork is Friday night from 5 to 7. Gordon Coons’ drawings, prints, and carvings finish their engagement on Saturday.
A poetry reading at Itasca Community College this Friday, featuring Bart Sutter, who has won the Minnesota Book Award in three categories. Sutter was Duluth’s first poet laureate and has a Bush Fellowship to his credit. Ryan Vine's poems have appeared in many literary journals including American Poetry Review and Ploughshares, and his book, Distant Engines, won the Weldon Kees Award. Their performance will be followed by an open mike and readings by ICC faculty and writers published in the campus literary journal Spring Thaw. The reading will start at 7 in Backes Student Center on the ICC campus.
Grand Rapids High School presents an original farce, “Bird Brains,” penned by local dramatist John Schroeder. Friday and Saturday at 7:30.
Sam Miltich and Clearwater Hot Club featuring cellist Martha Larson at Brigid’s Cross, Bemidji. 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 29

‘Tis the season: Hear local ghost stories at the Beltrami County History Center from 1 to 2:30 on Saturday. Come in costume for half-off museum admission, refreshments included. Bring a story to share!
Hall of Fame bluegrass player Dick Kimmel will be on hand for a concert, workshop, and dinner at Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack. Workshop starts at 5 with dinner at 6 and concert at 7.

Sam Miltich and Clearwater Hot Club featuring cellist Martha Larson at the VFW, Grand Rapids. 7 p.m.

Wednesday, November 2

It’s Only Clay, the ninth annual clay arts celebration, opens with a community lecture by juror Guillermo Cuellar at the Headwaters School in downtown Bemidji. It starts at 7 p.m.
Ashley Kolka leads a discussion on American art in Minnesota collections during a Brown Bag session Wednesday at noon. It's at MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids.

What's on your calendar? Let us know: arts@kaxe.org.

Minnesota History Datebook

Did you know Itasca County has existed for as long as there have been counties in Minnesota? The territorial legislature created the original nine counties of Minnesota this week in 1849. Benton, Dakota, Itasca, Ramsey, Wabasha and Washington still exist in some form, and three no longer appear on a Minnesota map: Wahnahta County, near Lake Traverse; Pembina County included much of what would become North and South Dakota; and Mahkahta County was north of present-day Crow Wing County.

October 28, 1949: President Harry S. Truman appoints Eugenie Moore Anderson of Red Wing as ambassador to Denmark, making her the United States' first woman ambassador.

Two Twins wins: In the seventh game of the World Series, October 25, 1987, the Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals with a score of 4-2, winning the series 4-3. On October 27, 1991, Jack Morris pitches a ten-inning shutout as the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 in the seventh game of the fall classic.

Culturology Calendar 10-21

2011-10-21T16:20:00.001-05:00

by Travis Ryder

Here's a sampling of what's up in the region this weekend and into next week.

Friday, October 21

Bemidji First City of Arts Studio Cruise, 10 to 5 Friday and Saturday, 10 to 3 Sunday.

Lakes Area fall fine art show, 10 to 5 Friday and Saturday at the Nisswa Community Center.

James Keelaghan at the Live Well Nightclub in Nisswa, part of the Grassroots Concert Series.

Saturday, October 22

Tapestry weaving demonstration at Bemidji Community Art Center, 10 to 3.

Stomping bluegrass of Saint Anyway, at Brigid’s Cross, Bemidji.

Cab Calloway Orchestra, led by the famous bandleader’s grandson, 7:30 at the Reif Center, Grand Rapids.

Sunday, October 23

The Beltrami County Historical Society semi-annual meeting will include presentations and music, starting at 2 p.m. at the Saum School.

Tuesday, October 25

A national touring company presents “Of Mice and Men” at the Central Lakes College Theatre in Brainerd Tuesday, starting at 7:30.

Wednesday, October 26

The Art History brown bag series continues at MacRostie Art Center. Ashley Kolka moves through the history of American art with a focus on works found in Minnesota collections.

Minnesota History Datebook

Oct. 20, 1818 The northern boundary of the United States is set at the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, extending from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains.

Culturology Calendar 10-13

2011-10-13T08:25:00.001-05:00

by Travis Ryder

The First Friday concept of synchronized art events and openings throughout a community is now firmly in place in Grand Rapids. Our own cultural man-about-town, Guido, delivers this field report on the grand opening of this local First Friday last week.

Call for Artists

Deep Portage Learning Center is seeking black ink drawings of wild animals, fish, and birds that are native to the north-central Minnesota area. The winning artist's drawing will be featured on Deep Portage's 2012 critter art mugs. The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2011. Send your drawings to Deep Portage Learning Center, Attn: Linda Suvada, 2197 Nature Center Drive NW, Hackensack, MN 56452.

Thursday, October 13

The Minnesota Orchestra continues its residency in Grand Rapids. Their string quartet will perform and visit with us here in the 8 o’clock hour. They have Kinder Konzerts aimed at preschoolers at 10 today at the Reif and 2 at the Library.

The Classic Movie Series continues at the Edge Center in Bigfork: On Thursday, it’s It Happened One Night starring Clark Gable. The reel starts spinning at 6:30, and admission is free.

The Crossing Arts Alliance annual meeting will be at the Gull Lake Yacht Club on Thursday night. This will be preceded by a fundraiser mixer for the Alliance featuring appetizers, wine tasting, music, and clay artist Haddie Hadachek. The event gets started at 4:30 at the yacht club in Brainerd.

The acclaimed play that gets philosophical about dust: The Clean House, by Sarah Ruhl, at Wild Rose Theater, Bemidji. Thursday through Saturday, and Monday at 7, and Sunday at 2.

It’s opening weekend for the vaudeville show with a cast that’s 100 percent eligible to join AARP. The 55-and-better cast of the Geritol Frolics has performances at the newly-refurbished Franklin Arts Center auditorium Thursday and Saturday at 7 and Friday and Sunday at 2:30.

Friday, October 14

Friday brings another Kinder Konzert by elements of the Minnesota Orchestra, this time at the Grand Rapids YMCA. The Orchestra’s conductors join us in the studio at 3 as they program an hour of music. The full Orchestra performs at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids at 7:30.

Saturday, October 15

A youth fiber art workshop will be held at the Bemidji Community Art Center, as part of their textile exhibit that runs through October 22. Call the Center at (218) 444-7570 for more information.

Brainerd has a family Great Pumpkin Festival Saturday afternoon. Activities include three-legged races, sack races, pumpkin rolling, and contests in the disciplines of pie eating, pie throwing, and screaming. It’s at Gregory Park in Brainerd from 1 to 4.

At the Reif Center, the Minnesota Orchestra has a Family Concert at 2:00, and the Classical Concert at 7:30, closing their residency in Grand Rapids.

KAXE presents the Great Northern Radio Show: Hard Time Good Times, live from Hibbing Community College Theatre. Free admission; be in your seat by 4:30. Or, listen to KAXE from 5 to 7.

Deer Camp: The Musical, featuring the original cast, at the Edge Center in Bigfork Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 2.

I think harpsichords are underexposed in general. It’s not often that you hear one harpsichord. On Saturday, there will be four of them expertly playing a newly-commissioned piece, along with a string quartet. This spectacle starts at 7:30 at Thompson Recital Hall on the Bemidji State campus.

The Roe Family Singers are at the Chief Theater in Bemidji Saturday night at 7:30. They do originals and contemporary takes on old-time songs. They’ve won a jug band championship as well as the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists.

Wednesday, October 19

A high-flying combination of new-music and verbal artistry, For the Birds is a musical journey through dreams and fantasies depicting portraits of our feathered friends. It is a brand-new chamber work, which highlights the poetry of humorist, Kevin Kling and new-music champions, Zeitgeist, a group composed of percussion, piano and woodwinds based out of St. Paul. Wednesday, 7:30, at the Reif Center, GR.

Minnesota History Datebook

Oct. 14, 1853: St. Paul begins the slow process of numbering buildings with 20 Robert Street, which was home to a dry-goods store called Cathcart, Kern & Co.'s Crystal Palace. Ever try to find a street number in St. Paul? Do you notice how the numbers just keep going and don’t have anything to do with the intervening cross streets? I’m guessing they never changed the numbering scheme, started this week 158 years ago.

Oct. 12, 1892: The first car of iron ore travels from Mountain Iron to Duluth. Shoveled straight out of the ground, it assays at 65 percent iron. Today’s taconite pellets are about 65 percent iron, too, but require a labyrinthine process to get to that same purity level of the original ore.

Oct. 15, 1971: the Minnesota Supreme Court rules that the state's prohibition of same-sex marriages is constitutional. It’s the first such case in the United States, involving two men who sued when the Hennepin County clerk denied them a marriage license. This prohibition still stands and next November, voters will decide if it should also be included as a Constitutional amendment.

Maggie Anderson's first thoughts on the MN Orchestra residency

2011-10-13T08:21:00.000-05:00

by Maggie Anderson

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going into the Itasca Symphony rehearsal last night with the MN Orchestra. The experience was electrifying!

Almost every section of the orchestra had a musician from the MN Orchestra helping us out and giving guidance as we tackled the Academic Festival Overture by Johannes Brahms. Conductor Sarah Hicks helped us to envision how certain parts of the piece should be expressed and told us what the composer was trying to convey in these different sections. Whenever there was a “lull in the action” or when Sarah would work with one or two of the sections, the other professional musicians would “huddle” with their sections and give great tips. Our IOS first violinist, Mary LaPlant, came up to me later and said that she looked over at the cellos and thought, “their bows are moving together!”. She’s really into bowing. After an amazing practice and a short break, we performed the Overture together. It was awesome to hear how much the piece had progressed in such a short time.

Afterwards, the MN Orchestra musicians took time to answer some of our questions. The responses really made me realize the huge amount time and effort it takes to become a professional musician and how much they love what they do. One person asked a question regarding hearing loss in a professional orchestra to which one of the MN Orch. violinists answered, “What was that?” We all had a laugh. The last question was about the MN Orchestra’s recent New York concert in Carnegie Hall. We were told the performance made the critics rave and the audience go absolutely nuts. “It was just the right repertoire in the right place at the right time,” said one of the orchestra members. They said that they had completely nailed it and it seemed that everyone in the place knew it. I could tell that the experience had meant a lot to them.

I was left with this really cool energy. My brain was filled with the music, the tips I had gotten, and about my own future in cello. I was also left thinking about the story of one musician who said that his mom made him stop practicing at 9 hours one day. Cool.

Life Is A Circus

2011-10-11T10:57:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wanted to turn off the alarm clock and go back to bed instead of going to work? Not Katie Cox! She's an acrobat, trick rider and entertainer for Cavalia, the amazing spectacle between human and horse going on in the Twin Cities.

Katie spoke to Bobbie Kleffman about her true passion for horses and her profession on All Things Equine this week.

Culturology Calendar 10-6

2011-10-06T08:36:00.002-05:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday, October 6
This is the opening week of North Street, an exhibition of street art forms at the Lyric Center for the Arts in downtown Virginia.

The Edge Center Gallery has a new show starting Thursday: Gordon Coons: Language of Color From My Inner Voice. Coons is a member of the Lac Courte Oreillles band of Ojibwe. He lives in Minneapolis and works in linocut prints, acrylic paint, pen and ink, and wood and stone carving. His works will be on display until the 29^th, with a closing reception on the evening of Friday, the 28^th.

Acoustic Café begins another season at Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.

It’s not every day that Brainerd hosts an acoustic folk concert by somebody who acted in the movie Robocop. Today is special. Ronny Cox plays at the CLC theatre tonight at 7:30.

Country singer Kathy Mattea will be at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids.

Friday, October 7

Galleries are planning a big First Friday walkabout tomorrow night in Grand Rapids. MacRostie Art Center has their October opening reception with work by five artists who have received McKnight fellowships and residencies. Also, an exhibition of ceramics by local and regional artists. John Zasada is featured at Whispering Woods Gallery, Liz White is featured at Something Original, Reid Peterson has work at Brewed Awakenings, and work from Tom Page is at Frame Up. There will be live music performances in the venues, too. And the Sam Miltich trio will play jazz at the VFW from 7 to 9. First Friday runs from 4 to 8 p.m., downtown Grand Rapids.

Bemidji’s First Friday events span twelve venues, with new visual and performing arts events starting around noon and running into the evening. Writer Susan Carol Hauser will read from her latest work at 6 at the Bemidji Community Art Center. Rail River Folk School has their open mic starting at 7:30.

A big night too at Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd. Brainerd High School alumnus Seth Doud is in concert, and the new Community Exhibition has its opening reception in the Q Gallery.

The play “The Miracle Worker” tells the story of Annie Sullivan, teacher to the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller. It opens at Central Lakes College Chalberg Theater Friday and Saturday at 7:30. More performances follow next Thursday through Sunday.

Saturday, October 8

Native American fancy dancer Larry Yazzie and the Native Pride Dancers are at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 9

The Carl Thompson Memorial Concert is at Bemidji State’s Thompson Recital Hall. It will feature the Wind Ensemble, Jazz I, the Chamber Singers, and Bemidji Choir. It starts at 3 Sunday in the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex.

The Heartland Symphony Orchestra performs at 2 at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.

Monday, October 10

Guerrilla orchestra: The Common Chords Project brings the Minnesota Orchestra to Grand Rapids all next week. Personnel from the Orchestra will appear all over town, doing the predictable gigs like school workshops, but also playing at the MDI postal tote factory, crashing a City Council meeting, and sitting in with Sam Miltich at the VFW Wednesday night. Members of the group will play on KAXE Thursday morning at 8, and the Orchestra’s two conductors will be guest DJs during the 3 o’clock hour Friday. Public concerts will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 14 & 15. This outreach effort is not a brand-new concept: the fledgling Minnesota Orchestra embarked on its first state-wide journey in 1907, taking the train to Moorhead, Grand Forks and Duluth. Since then, the ensemble has played 680 concerts in nearly 60 Minnesota cities.

Tuesday, October 11

By The Light of a Wintery Moon: An Evening of Northwoods Logging Camp Stories with singer/songwriter Brian Miller, happening 6 to 8 p.m. at the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids. Adults and kids are invited to walk the trails and take part in an evening of music & storytelling. Information & registration is at www.getlearning.org.

Wednesday, October 12

MacRostie Art Center teams up with a brass quintet from the Minnesota Orchestra. They’ll play selections from West Side Story. MacRostie’s gallery coordinator, Ashley Kolka, will lead a talk about star-crossed lovers in art history. 5 p.m., in the gallery in downtown Grand Rapids.

Minnesota History Datebook

Oct. 5, 1898 It may have been the last armed battle between Native Americans and the US military: the Battle of Sugar Point takes place near the shores of Leech Lake. Eighty soldiers from the Third Infantry had come at the request of the U.S. Marshal to arrest Bugonaygeshig, but his friends repelled them. Six soldiers are killed in the ensuing battle, while Bugonaygeshig escapes and is never arrested.

Oct. 3, 1997 International passenger ship traffic returns to Minnesota when the Columbus, carrying a load of German passengers, visits the Duluth-Superior harbor. It had been almost two decades since the last international passengers came to Minnesota by boat.

Au Revoir MT Head

2011-09-30T15:04:00.001-05:00

by Scott Hall

Mark Tarner and I met as volunteers at KAXE some time in the 1980s, but I never got to know Mark until we came on staff at about the same time in 1987. What I will remember best is our conversations about music, movies, arts and an array of topics that fall under the broad themes of "the decline of the American empire" and "Wall Street Voo Doo".

Over the last 16 years Mark has defined and refined KAXE's music sound. The music that earns Mark's respect has a mix of originality and good genes - roots, influences, arrangements and phrases that say a musician knows his or her chops and those that came before. Over the years, I have occasionally urged Mark to write a few words in this blog spot about music, and never understood his reluctance to do so. He is not a Luddite, but certainly follows his own muse when it comes to new media and technology.

Mark loves solitude and time to read, explore the arts, and contemplate; and I'm a little worried he's going to quickly fade into the woods and not come out for a while. So next time you run into him, ask him "what's new?", and then call Phenology to report a rare sighting.

"Please Write a Blog Post about Mark Tarner"

2011-09-29T15:14:00.001-05:00

by Maggie Montgomery

“You and Scott have known him longer than the rest of us,” Travis Ryder said. “We should post a blog about Mark for his retirement.”

Mark and his son Pete, 1973

It’s true. I think I met Mark in 1977, shortly after moving to northern Minnesota. At the time he was working with Harmony Food Co-op in Bemidji as a founder and manager. He went by Mark Strand back then. The rumor was that he had adopted a pseudonym to escape something, maybe punishment for avoiding the draft, or maybe something else. He lived in a granary in Debs, had been vegetarian his entire adult life, and didn’t allow forks in his house because they were symbols of western imperialism (chopsticks only, please).

Whenever there were big battles and disagreements at the co-op, Mark was right in the middle, fighting for his principles. He was famous for holding grudges—to the point even of “shunning” people sometimes—and had an intellect and command of the language that could “zing” someone so badly and so incisively that they never forgot it.

Mark is one of the most radical people I’ve ever met. He buys absolutely nothing if he can help it, wearing only the clothing that is given to him and furnishing his “cave” with cast-offs. This is, of course, intentional and in line with his rejection of consumerism, corporatism, or just about anything typical, including middle-classism.

Mark does not suffer fools, works from principles that he has developed over time, and has a deep appreciation for art and literature. He does not like to waste anything, including effort, so his principles are sometimes set aside in the name of expediency (expediency being, after all, just another principle). Mark grew up in the Baptist church. His father was an accountant.

All this is to say that Mark is hard for anyone to really know. He can be congenial and fun and really, really creative, but also off-putting and prickly.

Mark consented to working at KAXE in the mid-80s (believe me, it was consent. Mark wouldn’t work for anything he didn’t believe in). Then-manager Michael Goldberg hired him for his honesty and talent, in spite of (or maybe because of?) his admission that he had not held a “real job” in a long time. He was laid off for a period in the 1990s. I hired him back as program director in 1995 because he was the best music programmer I had ever heard. He said he had been studying program direction and knew just what to do. Intellectually, I knew Mark could do anything he put his mind to.

You know the rest, more or less. Over time, some people have taken exception with Mark for one thing or another, but he has also created the present-day musical “sound” of KAXE, a sound that is backed up by strong programming principles.

Here are some of the other things I know about Mark: He is the Sultan of Soup (“It all comes down to soup in the end”); he is the Marquis; he invented Neoepicureanism (“Life is one long meal. Corollary: everything between meals is preparation for the next meal”); he believes in sonic connections to create musical flow; he avidly consumes film and literature, reads New Yorker magazine, watches the stock market, and follows the news; he looks for “synchronicities” in life; he finds things to sometimes be “post-ironic.” He does not particularly like to be called either Brevity Boy (although he has taught all of KAXE’s volunteers to read shorthand-coded email) or Mr. Status Quo (even though he believes the program schedule should be so consistent that is almost never changes). Mark Tarner backwards is Kram Renrat. He is also MT Head.

I remember him reading a long, hilarious excerpt from Roget’s Thesaurus for a KAXE mosquito season opener show (the word was “displeasure,” and the reading was accompanied by a mosquito/kazoo chorus). I laughed so hard at his conversations with chickens during KAXE fundraisers that I cried. It is hard to be his “straight man” on the air without cracking up. When he disapproves of something in a staff meeting, he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. He rolls his eyes and looks like he just ate a persimmon.

In 2005, when KAXE made the change to the “On the River” music format, one irritated listener actually called him a “corporate weenie” (which makes Mark laugh anytime anyone brings it up). But the incident speaks to the demands of the job.

The other day Mark said he could feel the weight of his position as program director slipping away. He said it was liberating. It felt good. This must be what retirement is all about.

I’ll miss you at KAXE, Mark, but I guess I’ll see you around. What a ride, eh? You done good. Thx! --Maggie

Culturology Calendar 9-29

2011-09-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 29

It’s early jazz and Dixieland with the New Reformation Band, opening the Lakes Area Concert Series at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd. The show starts at 7:30.

Friday, September 30

The Duluth Festival Opera presents Pocahontas: One Woman, Two Worlds at the Reif Center Friday night at 7:30. After the performance, Reif president David Marty will moderate a discussion about the show and the recent controversy over its casting and cultural sensitivity. The peanut gallery at Huffington Post has made a pretty united decision of where they stand on that issue.

Folk singer, guitarist and dulcimer player Claudia Schmidt appears as part of the Grassroots Concerts series at the Journey Church in downtown Nisswa. That’s a 7:30 show Friday.

Bemidji Area Arts Endowment will hold its Eighth Annual Oom Pah for the Arts Friday night starting at 6, at the Hungry Bear Banquet & Conference Center. The event includes wine and beer tasting, a German dinner and music provided by Dennis Doeden, “Tuba” Jim Thompson and friends. The endowment is dedicated to the support of the arts in the Bemidji area, supporting the grants and scholarships for string students, arts events and artists. Contact Chairman Mike Tangen at 444-8310 for tickets.

Saturday, October 1

Sam Miltich and Peter Ostroushko in concert at Davies Theater on the Itasca Community College campus. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Art and craft shows in Brainerd, at the high school, and Nashwauk, in the recreation building, from 9 to 4.

Sunday, October 2

Bemidji Symphony Orchestra: American Jazz, featuring Gershwin’s Concerto in F, opens the season at 3 Sunday at Bemidji High School’s auditorium.

Monday, October 3

'Mark Twain Himself' is a live one-man show. Richard Garey of Hannibal, Missouri recreates the famous Mark Twain shows of 100 years ago . It combines comedy, biting satire and drama. It’s at the Bemidji High School auditorium on Monday night at 7.

Minnesota History Datebook

Sept. 30, 1892 The Oliver Mining Company is organized to work the Iron Range. It would eventually own nearly all of the mines in the range.

Sept. 30, 1981 The Twins play their final game at Metropolitan Stadium. The Mall of America now occupies the site.

Oct. 1, 1992 The MinnesotaCare health program, benefiting uninsured low-income Minnesota residents, goes into effect. MinnesotaCare is financed by state tax dollars, provider taxes, and premiums paid by enrollees. According to the Institute for Southern Studies' "Gold and Green 2000" report, Minnesota boasts the lowest number of people without health insurance in the country.

Culturology Calendar 9-22

2011-09-22T07:59:00.000-05:00

Thurs., Sep. 22

It’s another in the series of monthly Pecha Kucha nights in Bemidji. It’s a presentation format: 20 slides up for 20 seconds each, and narration to fit. It reminds me of the TED format that made a splash at the start of the week in Grand Rapids. It’s at the New City Ballroom, starting at 6:30.

Minnesota Folklore Theater in Akeley has an original musical about the life and songs of Judy Garland. “Judy Why Can’t I” covers three stages in Garland’s life beginning with her youth in Grand Rapids, through her Hollywood days, and into drug and alcohol abuse and premature death at age 47. This show is not appropriate for small children. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday Friday and Saturday, and a 3 p.m. matinee Saturday. More performances follow next week. (7:30 Sept. 28 and 29, October 1 and 2. 3 p.m. Sept. 24, 28 and Oct. 2. Call 218-652-2666.)

Fri., Sep. 23

The National Chainsaw Sculpting Invitational is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Hackensack.

Crosslake Days this weekend includes a Chili Cook-off, Car Show, Outdoor Artisans & Crafters, Tour of Lakes and Leaves Bicycle Tour, and Disc Golf Tournament. It runs all weekend in Crosslake.

Contemporary dance performance from the Stuart Pimsler dance troupe, 7:30 Friday night at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids.

Bemidji Jazz Quartet play at 8 Friday at Brigid’s Cross, Bemidji.

The Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council will host the 2011 Art Leap this Friday and Saturday.

It includes studio visits, live performances, theater arts tour and museum displays, a visit to Forestedge Winery and Gallery, Itasca State Park and Native Harvest and Minwanjige Café. For complete information on all the activities and maps, please see the website www.prlaac.org or Blank Canvas Gallery and Education Center, The Chamber of Commerce and the Community Education Office.

Sat., Sep. 24

A workshop this weekend at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum in Onamia will walk participants through ancient clay pottery technique, from digging the clay from the ground through construction and firing in a buried pit. Reservations are required; call us for the information. (320-532-3632)

Two showtimes for Deer Camp: The Musical at Bemidji High School Auditorium on Saturday night, 3 and 7:30 p.m.

Singer-songwriter Lance Benson is at Brigid’s Cross in Bemidji Saturday night at 8.

The Black Lantern Fall Festival will feature two Bemidji groups. Timberline will perform from 1 to 5 and Pelican Railroad is on from 6 to 10 Saturday. Pelican Railroad will return Sunday from 1 to 3. The fall festival is being held at the Black Lantern Resort and is family friendly with games for children and entertainment for adults. Black Lantern is located outside Shevlin.

Sun., Sep. 25

Longstanding smooth Country act The Gatlin Brothers take the Reif Center stage Sunday at 7:30, in Grand Rapids.

Tues., Sep. 27

The Merling Trio performs on violin, cello and piano. They’re based at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and their latest recording includes pieces from Shostakovich and Dvorak. They’re at the Reif Center, 7:30 Tuesday night.

Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning presents Marsh Muirhead and John Thornberg for a presentation called “Real Men Do Write Poetry.” That starts at 1 Tuesday, at Northwoods Bank in Park Rapids.

Minnesota History Datebook

Sept. 21, 1805 Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, reaches the mouth of the Minnesota River. He stops at what is now known as Pike Island and raises the Stars and Stripes inside present-day Minnesota for the first time. Two days later, Pike buys a hundred thousand acres from the Dakota for $2,000 and a barrel of whiskey.

Sept. 19, 1865 Governor Stephen Miller announces that gold has been found near Vermilion Lake. This was based on a rock collected there by state geologist Henry H. Eames. A gold rush begins but no sizeable amount of gold is ever found in the area. The rush does draw attention to the rich iron ore of the region. Extensive mining would begin about twenty years later.

Sept. 24, 1963 President John F. Kennedy speaks at the University of Minnesota-Duluth on the subject of high unemployment in the northern Great Lakes area. Joblessness was about twice the national average at the time.

Culturology 9-15: Leaf Town

2011-09-15T15:55:00.000-05:00

by Travis Ryder

Thursday, Sept. 15

Roster McCabe is a well-known Twin Cities-based jam band. They perform tonight at the Blue Ox in Bemidji.

Pink Floyd tribute act “The Machine” is part of the performing arts series at Central Lakes College Tornstrom Auditorium tonight at 7:30.

Friday, Sept. 16

Cellist Evan Drachmann and pianist Mary Au continue their tour of our region with a classical music performance at St. Mary’s Church in Cook.

The Icebox Radio Theater of International Falls will complete its 2011 Tour with a live show and broadcast from the Ranier Community Building, Friday, September 16th at 7pm. On tap is a series of original skits and songs, and a half-hour radio play based on the true Koochiching County bank robber W.W. Butler. The show will be broadcast live at soundstagesradio.com.

Saturday, Sept. 17

It’s the Taste of Pequot arts and crafts event in Trailside Park from 9 to 4 Saturday.

9th Annual Goods From the Woods event is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the IRA Civic Center. 70 high-quality, regional exhibitors including Don and Patti Erven; one-of-a-kind forest products, demonstrations by master artisans, hands-on learning, northwoods foods; info: 888.223.5629 / www.GoodsFromTheWoods.org.

The Viva Musica Fall Arts Festival will be from 3 to 11 p.m. September 17 at Zorbaz on Gull Lake. The festival will feature live music by One Night Stand, which will be recording a live CD. Viva Musica is dedicated to saving music and art education in schools.

Minnesota Music Coalition’s Caravan du Nord rolls into Grand Rapids. At 2, there’s panel discussions aimed at people trying to gain a foothold in the music business. Then there’s an evening concert with Chris Koza and Rogue Valley, Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles featuring John Munson, and the Jig Rockin’ Ore Dogs. The concert starts at 7:30 at the Reif Center.

Latin jazz pianist Nachito Herrera is in concert at Pequot Lakes High School Saturday at 7:30.

A good weekend for jam bands in Bemidji: Kazyak is on stage Saturday night at Brigid’s Cross.

Sunday, Sept. 18

Lake Bemidji State Park offers a narrated pontoon boat tour of the Upper Mississippi River. They’ll pay special attention to the historical highlights of the waterway, and identify the birds that migrate using this natural landmark. Advance signup is required due to limited seating. (218-308-2300)

Tuesday, Sept. 20

North Carolina-based abstractionist Dick Roberts will open a show of his paintings, ‘Forays into Abstraction,’ at Bemidji State University’s Talley Gallery. Roberts’ show opens Tuesday, Sept. 20, and will run through Oct. 14.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the dates for the 36^th annual North Country arts and crafts workshop. Instruction, demonstrations, entertainment, food, and a crafter’s bazaar. 45 classes to choose from. Held at the Concordia Language Villages. (218-586-2884; paulbunyan.net/northart)

Wednesday, Sept. 21

Writers are invited to bring their work to the open stage, 3^rd Wednesdays at Brigid’s Cross in Bemidji starting at 6:30.

The Brothers Burn Mountain play a show at 5:30 p.m., See them at Brewed Awakenings Coffeehouse in downtown Grand Rapids.

Minnesota History Datebook

Sept. 13, 1955: Commercial production of taconite begins at the Reserve Mining Company's plant in Silver Bay. Taconite processing had been done experimentally in 1919. Large-scale production wasn't begun until the richer ore was becoming scarce and the U of M’s Edward W. Davis perfected a method to process it. That operation in Silver Bay? It continues today as Cliffs Northshore Mining.

Sept. 17, 1961: The Minnesota Vikings football team plays its first game, beating the Chicago Bears 37-13 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington.