Event

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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Renowned Minnesota playwright and storyteller Kevin Kling will be reading from and discussing his new book Kevin Kling’s Holiday Inn at the Minneapolis Central Library on 11/12. The doors open at 6:15, and the show starts at 7:00. And it’s free! Seating is first come, first served.

For a taste of what you’ll hear on Thursday, take a look at the book’s hilarious prologue.

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November marks the season of winter baking and holiday meal planning–food is on our minds these short days. Mark your calendar now for the “Hungry Planet Exhibit: What the World Eats,” opening this Wednesday, November 11, and running through May 2010, at the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural History.

The grocery lists and dining tables of people around the globe are the subject of this provocative exhibit based on the national, best-selling book by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio. “Hungry Planet” combines mesmerizing photos with hands-on displays that explore issues of food in the 21st century–what people eat and where it comes from, as well as how different cultures approach the growing and processing of food.

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“Tis the season of holiday entertaining and cooking. If you’re looking for ideas on how to make your parties and food spectacular this year, check out The Affair, a culinary extravaganza at the Minneapolis Convention Center this weekend.  The event features experts on food, wine, cheeses, chocolates, table settings, and more. Meet the Star Tribune’s Taste editor and author of Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining with Seasonal Menus, Lee Svitak Dean, at 11:45 both days as she shares her entertaining tips. Kim Ode, also of the Star Tribune and author of Baking with the St. Paul Bread Club, will lead a demo on holiday cookies at 12:45 on Saturday and Sunday. Bon appétit!

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According to the book Latino Minnesota by Leigh Roethke, Los Dias de los Muertos are days to honor and remember departed loved ones. “It is believed that the souls of the dead return to Earth for one day of the year–the spirits of the los angerlitos (little children) on All Saints’ Day (November 1) and the spirits of adults on All Souls’ Day (November 2). The celebration of Los Dias de los Muertos is neither somber nor macabre. It is a joyful time of reunion, feasting, and remembrance for families. Death is accepted as a part of the cycle of life, and maintaining a ritual of remembering assures the living that they too will not be forgotten in their passing.”

Stop by the Minnesota History Center now through November 3 to view an exhibit in honor of Los Dias de los Muertos.

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Northern Lights/Southern Cross: Tales from the Other Side of the Worldopens this weekend at the Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio. MinnPost describes the piece as a “cosmic collaboration between artists from the United States and Australia.” Both the play and Kevin’s book The Dog Says How relate his experiences surviving a near-fatal motorcycle accident. The Pioneer Press also reviewed the show.

Check out the 3-Minute Egg interview with Kevin about the show and video of Kevin at Interact Center in Minneapolis. Cathy Wurzer also talked with Kevin about the show on MPR.

Kevin’s newest collection of stories, Kevin Kling’s Holiday Inn, is in stores now. He’ll share stories from the book at the Minneapolis Central Library’s Talk of the Stacks on November 12 and at Common Good Books on November 17.

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This Sunday, 10/25, noted mystery author Michael Connelly will be at Once Upon a Crime, THE mystery bookstore of the Twin Cities, at 2pm. He will be reading from his new book, Nine Dragons.

Connelly will also be appearing, along with many other illustrious authors (Jeffrey Toobin, Julia Glass, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, and Ronald Cotton), at the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s Opus and Olives, a lush event including dinner and drinks with tickets starting at $125. Opus and Olives is also on Sunday, 10/25, beginning at 5pm.

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It’s Moose Madness this weekend in Grand Marais, MN (Oct 16-18), and there are tons of fun moose-related events going on all three days.

For the bookish, we recommend the poetry contest. Pick up an entry form in person at Moose Central (a.k.a. Grand Marais/Gunflint Trail Visitor Information Center at  13 North Broadway) and compose your very own moose haiku or limerick.

If you feel a need to get some constructive criticism on your work, you can read it at the Mocha Moose Cafe and Poetry Salon (right next door to the visitor center) at 9 PM on Saturday. All entries are due by noon on Sunday at Moose Central.

If you are unable to travel to Grand Marais this weekend, we would be happy to post (after reviewing–we are family friendly) your moose haikus in the comments.

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Mitch Omer, the celebrated chef at Hell’s Kitchen restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, will share his tips on making the famous Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes in the Mill City Muesum Baking Lab this Saturday Oct. 10. at 1, 2, and 3 pm. Join us at the event for fantastic samples! The recipe is in Damn Good Food: 157 Recipes from Hell’s Kitchen. This event is free with museum admission.

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Mayor R.T. Rybak proclaimed this past Wednesday Taste Day in Minneapolis to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Star Tribune’s Taste section. Join Taste editor Lee Svitak Dean, author of Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining with Seasonal Menus with over 150 recipes from the Star Tribune Taste section, for birthday cake at Mill City Farmers Market Saturday Oct. 3 to celebrate.

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