Daily Planet Originals
North Minneapolis block party celebrates, remembers
On May 22, 2011, three tornados spiraled down on North Minneapolis, killing one person and injuring 30 more, leaving homes heavily damaged and thousands without power. On Saturday, Northside residents gathered at Logan and 30th Avenue North to mark the anniversary of last year’s devastating tornados and celebrate the rebuilding effort.MORE »
Ice House Plaza opening marks a new era on Eat Street
Ice House Plaza, a new privately owned public green space at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Whittier, officially opened on Friday, May 18 with a dedication that included food and beverages from the surrounding businesses (with proceeds benefitting the Whittier Alliance) and music by The New Standards. The celebration came at the heels of news the return of Azia to the corner (the restaurant will reopen as Azia Market Bar & Restaurant at 2550 Nicollet in mid-June) as well as the opening of Icehouse Restaurant. That restuarant, opening on June 7, will feature live music (a cross between the Dakota and the Turf Club, according to co-owner Brian Liebeck) and small plates dining with meats made in-house.MORE »
FRIDAY PICK | Memory Lanes Block Party: Is there such a thing as too much rock?
The Twin Cities' summer block party season gets fuller and fuller each year, and the Memory Lanes Block Party has firmly claimed pole position as the season opener. In the spirit of Prince's guitar solo on "Let's Go Crazy," the Memory Lanes fest leads with excess: this year, 30 artists play over the course of three days on three stages. Headliners include Needles (Friday), the Hood Internet (Saturday), and Los Straitjackets (Sunday). Bring open ears and an iron stomach: event sponsors include Jameson, Absolut, Summit, PBR, Malibu Rum, Red Bull, and—for the win—Hormel. Pink slime for everyone!
Making hard decisions: Families face progression of care choices in Alzheimer's disease
Juanita Williams had reached her breaking point. Her husband of 40 years, Chuck Williams, was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. He could hardly speak any more, walking became more difficult, and he didn’t feed himself. “He’s like a two-year-old,” Williams explained.MORE »
Chill summer: Claire de Lune, Theresa Andersson, Chicha Libre
This spring, I've had to eat my words. For the past few years, I've been advising bands to skip the physical CDs and just send download links to journalists—the hard copies, I've said, get tossed in a pile that may or may not ever get excavated. Then last month I bought a car that has a working CD player, and lo and behold! Suddenly making it into that pile is the best way to get my attention. Some of the discs I've had to resist tossing straight out the window (Dwight Hobbes said it all when it comes to Paul Spring: I should've had a V8), but three have made for very chill soundtracks for warm-weather cruising.MORE »
WEDNESDAY PICK | Bedlam's 10-Min Play Fest: A mixed bag (in a good way) at Mixed Blood
Rumor has it that Bedlam Theatre, after nearly two years in its temporary Seward home, is closing in on a deal that will land it in a new permanent home. In the meantime, though, Bedlam is building on its long-time relationship with Mixed Blood Theatre—just down the street from Bedlam's former West Bank space—by staging its annual 10-Minute Play Festival on the Mixed Blood stage. Whereas in previous years the short plays have appeared in series, this year Bedlam's making it easy on us by staging them all back-to-back at six performances over five days. The watchword for these little plays is innovation, so don't expect any tidy little dramas: settle in to your seat, and hold onto your hat.MORE »
Minnesota Idea Open finalist Fatuma Mohamed proposes Hidden Pearls Project to educate Minnesotans about Muslim women
This past spring the Minnesota Idea Open, an online competition for social change, had asked the public for suggestions on their Challenge III question, “What is the best idea to build bonds and work together across cultures and faiths here in your community?” The Minnesota Community Foundation, which created MIO three years ago, believes that our state has become very diverse in cultures and faiths and that we need to build relationships with people across individual differences.MORE »
THURSDAY PICK | At RetroRama, the personal is political
Is there any key to the mysteries of history that's more accessible than fashion? Turn back the clock just ten years, and you can see yourself wearing something that you'd never wear today...but of course, everyone was wearing it back then. In the past. The past(s) is (are) where the Minnesota Historical Society makes its business to dwell, and each year the MHS celebrates fashions past with a "RetroRama" event featuring looks from a selected moment in time. This time around, though, the designers' mandate is thematic rather than periodic: the fashions on display will all be somehow related to politics. Also on tap are custom cocktails, music by the Southside Aces, and "Blingo" with Ellie Blades.MORE »
OUT Twin Cities Film Festival has never been timelier
Since 2010, the OUT Twin Cities Film Festival has slowly become a terrific niche film festival in the Twin Cities. What started out as a two-day event covering various LGBTQ topics, mostly through film screenings, has blossomed into a four-day festival filled with films, guest speakers, professional script reading, and musical artists performing at various venues in Minneapolis. Opening on Thursday, May 31 and running through Sunday, June 3, the OUT Twin Cities Film Festival will be held at St. Anthony Main Theatre and features a diverse line-up—including perhaps its strongest film slate in its three-year existence.MORE »
Local comic finds at SpringCon
This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of tabling at SpringCon for The Loft Literary Center (where I work as marketing coordinator). SpringCon is one of two annual comic book expos that the Midwest Comic Book Association (the other MCBA) plans and holds at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. Each year, more than a thousand comics fans flock to the State Fairgrounds to meet artists, look for rare issues, and sell their own art. This coming FallCon—the other yearly comic celebration (a.k.a. the One Day Wonder)—will mark the 25th anniversary of these events. Full of regional comic book dealers, artists, organizations, novelties, guest creator panels, and props, SpringCon is two full days of book hunting and people watching.MORE »
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