Event

March is Women’s History Month, and WARM, the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota, is holding its twenty-sixth annual juried exhibit beginning tomorrow, March 4, through March 27. The exhibit, at the Northrup King Building in Minneapolis, is free and open to the public. For viewing hours, visit WARM’s website.

For more information about WARM and its history, check out the book WARM: A Feminist Art Collective in Minnesota by Joanna Inglot, published by the University of Minnesota Press.

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Looking for a last-minute getaway for the weekend? The Gunflint Trail Association near Grand Marais offers a fun and unique winter experience.

• Listen to Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux, storyteller
• View snow sculptures on the Gunflint Trail
• Fish in the Ridge Riders’ Trout Derby
• Snowshoe the obstacle course
• Compete in the mini-winter Olympics
• Ride the Snowmobile Poker Run
• Play broomball
• Savor a Mongolian Firepot dinner
• Enjoy winter presentations
• Dine and dance to “Trail’s End Band”

New: Saturday, Feb. 27–Opening of the exhibit of the Winter Plein Air Painting Festival at Gunflint Lodge. This is a great opportunity to mingle with the artists and view/purchase locally painted scenes. The exhibit will also be open on Sunday, Feb. 28, from 10 am-2 pm.

For schedules and more details, visit http://www.wintertracks.com/

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Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Try one of these programs, then read books that help you go deeper into the story.

State Capitol Art Treasures Hunt : Go on a self-guided scavenger hunt to discover twelve beautiful and important decorations in the state capitol building. Then read Thomas O’Sullivan’s North Star Statehouse: An Armchair Guide to the Minnesota State Capitol and learn how they got there.

Looking Toward Spring on the Farm : Visit the Oliver H. Kelley Farm at Elk River and see how families prepared for spring by helping to clean up the barn, sorting through the remaining preserved foods and crocks, feeding the animals, and checking on seed stock and equipment repairs. Then read Barns of Minnesota with photographs by Doug Ohman and text by Will Weaver, a beautiful and evocative story of the life of a barn.

History HiJinx: Black History Month Craft Activity and Scavenger Hunt : Explore the museum galleries and hunt for special cards to learn about African American men and women who made significant contributions to the state of Minnesota. Kids can use these images, as well as other collage materials, to create a “tunnel book.” Then read David V. Taylor’s African Americans in Minnesota, a rich history of the group’s experiences and accomplishments.

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Victorian Poetry Slam, James J. Hill House, St. Paul, MN

Sunday, February 14, 6 p.m.

$10 adults; $2 discount for MHS members; reservations recommended: call 651-297-2555

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with classic poems of the nineteenth century in the elegant drawing room of the Hill House. Costumed actors Craig Johnson, Laura Salveson, and Ann Daly will perform a wide range of beloved poems by Dickinson, Poe, Longfellow, Browning, and others dealing with love, romance, temperance, sports, and war — even poems about James J. Hill. The one-hour program will be followed by light refreshments and tours of the home.

And if you’re looking for more modern poetry to read aloud to your beloved, check out our beautiful collection by Minnesota poets, Where One Voice Ends, Another Begins: 150 Years of Minnesota Poetry edited by Robert Hedin.

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MHS Press is proud to announce the publication of Ojibwe in Minnesota by Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University. With insight and candor, Treuer traces thousands of years of the complicated history of the Ojibwe people–their economy, culture, and clan system, and how these have changed throughout time, perhaps most dramatically with the arrival of Europeans into Minnesota territory.

Treuer also tackles the complicated issue of identity and details recent efforts and successes in cultural preservation and language revitalization. He mentions the Niigaane Ojibwe Immersion Charter School, which was developed to revitalize the Ojibwe language on the Leech Lake Reservation.

Minnesota Public Radio recently aired a segment on the Naytahwaush Community Charter School on the White Earth Reservation, which also uses traditional Ojibwe language and culture to get kids and parents excited about education.

Come meet Anton Treuer at Birchbark Books on Thursday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. He will talk about the book, discuss Ojibwe history and culture, and sign copies of Ojibwe in Minnesota.

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Bundle up! It’s a spirited game of “iceball”–or outdoor baseball in the middle of winter, all for a good cause–with the folks at Crispin Natural Hard Cider and the St. Paul Saints. This chilly good time features the St. Paul Saints in a benefit game for Second Harvest Heartland. Admission is free; however, donations are encouraged: for each $1 donated, Second Harvest Heartland will distribute more than $9 worth of grocery products for those in need. Along with money and nonperishable food, fans are also encouraged to bring warm jackets and clothing that will be collected by Joseph’s Coats. Last year’s event raised $20,000, and the game-time temperature was in the single digits. At 11 am, a tailgating party will ensue, and around noon fans will be invited to sample recipes which will be judged by the culinary experts of theheavytable.com. Also during the tailgate, stay warm by dancing about to the stellar sounds of Romantica and the Spectaculars. Family fun, baseball, Crispin Hard Cider, and do-goodery all in one shot! Tailgating starts on Saturday at 11 a.m., and the first pitch is at 1:30 p.m. For more info visit http://www.saintsbaseball.com/. (via secretsofthecity.com)
To learn more about the St. Paul Saints, see Stew Thornley’s Baseball in Minnesota: The Definitive History.

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Meet Paul Hillmer, author of A People’s History of the Hmong, this Thursday, 1/28, at 6pm at the Concordia University library. Lee Pao Xiong, director for the Center for Hmong Studies, and Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Latehomecomer, will make introductory remarks followed by a thirty-minute presentation by Paul Hillmer, a question and answer period, and a book signing. We look forward to seeing you there!

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The Around the Literary Twin Cities in (Almost) 80 Days scavenger hunt ended December 26, but tomorrow is the grand finale at the downtown Minneapolis Central Library’s Talk of the Stacks program, where the event organizers (Coffee House Press, Milkweed Editions, Graywolf Press, and The Loft Literary Center) plan to announce the winner. The program will feature a conversation about the literary life here in Minnesota with the executive directors of the four organizations mentioned above, moderated by MPR correspondent Marianne Combs.

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Can’t get enough of Kevin Kling’s holiday tales? You can see him perform his celebrated Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis tonight.

Also, watch Kevin talk with with Cathy Wurzer and Eric Eskola on TPT’s Almanac about his book, Kevin Kling’s Holiday Inn and find out why his family had to eat TV dinners for Thanksgiving one year!

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Get your augers and rods ready! Aitkin’s annual World Famous Fishhouse Parade on Friday, November 27, celebrates the coming ice fishing season. The event features wacky and wonderful ice houses displayed on trailers and paraded through downtown Aitkin as thousands gather to watch the yearly ritual procession.

For a glimpse into the quirky world of ice fishing, check out A Hard-Water World: Ice Fishing and Why We Do It, with photographs by Layne Kennedy and text by Greg Breining.

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