Weekend what's what 8/21-8/24: Flirtin' weather

by l’etoile magazine staff • August 20, 2008 •

Take advantage of the fleetingly bright sunny days and hot balmy nights to bare some skin and jazz things up! Stop by the Smitten Kitten’s birthday weekend kickoff party for a game of adult bingo on Thursday, or check out Tendercakes and Solid Gold at the Hexagon Bar for The Rift Magazine Release Party this Saturday, which also features the epic 30th B-day party of lovely l‘étoile staffer Robyn Lewis! And while you’re there, make time to step outside and patrol the cuties that inevitably congregate on the Hex sidewalk. There’s still plenty of time for a sexy summer fling, and according to l‘étoile’s staff meteorologist, flirting conditions will be ideal.

xo-l‘étoile

Arts Orbit is a multisource blog about the local arts scene, featuring both original contributions by Daily Planet writers and entries reprinted from partner blogs and online publications.

THURSDAY AUGUST 21ST

Gallery Grooves: Face the Nation

@ MN Center for Book Arts
Open Book Complex
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis

6pm-9pm / Free

When The Rake, Jazz88, amazing art and liberally poured wine collide good things happen! This month Gallery Grooves makes a cameo at the MCBA for a peek at Face the Nation, the current exhibit exploring typeface design from 1900 to 1960, and the role national identity and politics played in the evolution of American typography. Drummer Wallace Hill will keep the beat with the Progressive Percussion Ensemble while you mingle and sip wine courtesy of Artisan Vineyards. A sweet start to your Thursday night!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RAKE SITE

THURSDAY AUGUST 21ST (THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1ST)

Minnesota State Fair

@ Minnesota State Fairgrounds
1265 Snelling Ave
North St. Paul

6am-midnight/ $11 (adults) $8 (kids)

If you think the Minnesota State Fair is strictly for the generic, think again. Once you get past the crowds (it’s the second largest fair in the country) you’ll find an eclectic and often eccentric underbelly. With attractions like the 3rd Lair Skatepark; the lumberjack competition; performances by Gnarls Barkley, The Black Keys and De’Anna-The Hypno Chick – not to mention some primo people watching – the State Fair can feel like a modern day freak show. So, while getting your “freak” on, indulge in a deep fried/on a stick concoction – this year’s fad being chocolate-covered bacon. Record the whole experience with a video camera and you’ll have a chance to win a prize package through the Video Commercial Contest. Don’t have a car? That’s no excuse, because express buses travel daily, and are probably your best bet for a stress-free fair commute. Visit metrotransit.org for bus schedules.

CLICK HERE FOR THE STATE FAIR SITE
Photo by Digital Crush

FRIDAY ART PICK: ESTHER SOLONDZ

Fall is just around the corner, so it’s time to start finding fitting things that are a little bit creepy and otherworldly to get us through the season. Solondz works with rust, hummingbird nectar and mud, branding portraits into felt, beeswax and Styrofoam and creating installations of rusted faces and massive salt sculpture. As Little Edie says, “it’s hard to keep the line between the past and the present” and Solondz’s haunting images blur that line even more.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ESTHER SOLONDZ SITE

FRIDAY AUGUST 22ND

Bits Screening featuring Vampire Hands

@ Uptown Theatre
2906 Hennepin Ave
South Minneapolis

11:30pm Doors / Free (donations accepted)

The word “inventor” can conjure up the stereotypical image of a socially inept, awkward loner. Brilliance always seems to come at a price. In Bits, the first film by local crew FRD Productions, Steve, an amateur inventor, loses himself, and at times his sanity to a project intended to drastically alter human connection as we know it. Local psychedelic indie rock band, Vampire Hands, are scheduled to perform before the screening and also have songs featured in the film. Drop your Blackberry and attend this screening, because it just may be your ticket to futuristic communication.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BITS SITE

COOL LINK: THE FRISKY

This one is definitely for the ladies! Consider this website your one-stop shop for love, sex, and shopping news and advice. Toss in some celebrity gossip and astrology, and you’ve got your work woes covered. The Daily Hotness provides fodder for unattainable crushes, while dating dos and don’ts round out the powerhouse of good advice The Frisky has going. The ultimate girly time-waster.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FRISKY SITE

SATURDAY AUGUST 23RD

RIFT Magazine Release Party & DIRTY 30

@ Hexagon Bar
701 First Avenue North
Seward

10pm / 21+ / FREE

Stop by the Hexagon on Saturday night as some of the best bands in town celebrate release of local music publication Rift Magazine’s 25th issue, and wish a happy Dirty 30 to Minneapolis music lover and sassy l‘étoile staff writer, the amazing Robyn Lewis (who we definitely could not live without!) Things are bound to get buck wild as the babes of Tendercakes liven up the Hex with an old school dance party, and the hot-as-hell boys from Solid Gold shake things up. The fun doesn’t stop there – two super special guests will be making surprise appearances in honor of the occasion, and believe us, you do NOT want to miss out.

IMPORTANT TIP: Buy your booze from the band side of the bar to benefit our kick-ass pals at Rift Mag!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RIFT SITE
Poster by the amazing Miss Amy Jo

SUNDAY MUSIC PICK: HALEY BONAR

Only 24 years young, Minnesota dweller Haley Bonar’s country-inspired brand of folk has garnered her some serious acclaim. With an enchanting new full-length release entitled Big Star on Afternoon Records, Bonar offers her most compelling album to date. Having already shared stages with the likes of Neko Case and Arcade Fire, and contributed to Andrew Bird’s mind-blowing 2007 album Armchair Apocrypha, Bonar’s Big Star solidifies her as a songwriter worth paying close attention to. Hers are the type of songs you want on your ipod as you zone out watching the human race go by.

Visit the link below for upcoming local shows and more info.

CLICK HERE FOR THE HALEY BONAR MYSPACE

SUNDAY AUGUST 24TH

What Light Poetry Reading

@ Magers and Quinn Booksellers
3038 Hennepin Ave
South Minneapolis

5pm / Free

Wine, poetry, a fleeting glimpse of a beret? You don’t need to be a beatnik to appreciate these pairings. Each quarter, Magers and Quinn and the Walker Art Center’s mnartists.org present the What Light poetry contest for mnartists.org members and residents of Minnesota. The winning poems are published in an anthology collection and featured in a quarterly reading series. Now in its third year, What Light is attracting some distinguished and recognizable figures. Carol Muske-Dukes, National Book Award finalist and critic for the New York Times Book Review is among the judges, while Joyce Sutphen, whose poems have appeared in American Poetry Review is one of this year’s winners. Join the poets for a reading and partake in a wine sampling sponsored by Artisan Vineyards. Can ya dig it? snap

CLICK HERE FOR THE MNARTISTS.ORG SITE

For more weekend picks, see l’etoile magazine.