December 31, 2011, Saturday - New Year's Prix-Fixe at Spill the Wine

Location: Spill the Wine, 1101 Washington Avenue South

Seating Times: 5:00pm, 7:00pm, 9:00pm (Call ahead to make reservations, 612-339-3388.)

3 course paired dinner - $120 for 2, $65 for individual.

menu

first course
hot: pork belly, cabbage, smoked paprika, quail egg
cold: shaved apple, mache, 7 - year old cheddar

paired with broglia gavi la meirana (piedmont)

second course
beef
grass fed beef tenderloin, cassoulet, black trumpet mushrooms, white beans, duck confit, lamb sausage, smoked bacon
seghesio zinfandel (sonoma)

fowl
sliced duck, chile glazed sweet potatoes, cranberry currant jam, demi-glace
a to z pinot noir (oregon)

fish
striped sea bass, a la plancha, winter vegetable, saffron risotto, sofrito
pine ridge chenin blanc viognier (napa valley)

third course
local chocolate & cheese plate, ames farm honey
astoria moscato (italy)

December 30, 2011, Friday - 'Make Your New Years Eve Local' Class at Local D'Lish

Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: Local D'Lish, 208 N 1st Street

Learn how to throw together a party but make it amazing … … and of course using great local seasonal favorites.

Reservations

December 30, 2011, Friday - 10th Anniversary Prelude Extravaganza Concert at MacPhail

Times (2 Concerts):  6:30pm and 8:00pm

Location: MacPhail Center for Music, Antonella Hall, 501 2nd Street South

Join the party as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary and Reunion celebration of MacPhail’s Prelude Singer-Actor Lab . The concerts will feature current students and alumni.  Refreshments will be served, and attendees will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items to benefit the Prelude Scholarship Fund.

Prelude: Singer-Actor Performance Lab is a year-long program for high school students ages 14-18 who seek an environment where they can experiment and discover new possibilities as performing artists. The program includes theory, sight-singing, vocal ensemble and performance lab training in movement and gestures, plus coaching and networking with professionals in the singing-acting world locally and nationally.

Prelude graduates, many of whom stay with the program throughout high school and mentor their incoming classmates, are receiving top scholarships in Vocal Performance and Musical Theater in conservatories and colleges across the country, such as Eastman, Peabody, Boston Conservatory, and Manhattan School of Music.

December 28, 2011, Wednesday - The Art of a Quick and Elegant Party Class at Local D'Lish

Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: Local D'Lish, 208 N 1st Street

Learn how to throw together a party but make it amazing…and of course using great local seasonal favorites.

Reservations

December 28, 2011, Wednesday - Bill the Juggler at Central Library

Time: 2:00pm

Location: Central Library, Childrens, 300 Nicollet Mall

Preschool-grade 5. Bill the Juggler will amaze and delight audiences by juggling things that just shouldn't be juggled, such as bowling balls, rubber chickens and other odd objects.

December 23, 2011, Friday - Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Time: 10:00pm  $5 Cover

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

Tonight:  Irresistibles featuring Mick Sterling

December 23, 2011, Friday - Live Music at Aster Cafe

Time: 9:00pm  Cover: $10

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 Main Stree SE

Tonight:  Twas the night before, the night before Christmas with the tex pistols band featuring Mary Jane Alm and Aimee Fischer.

December 22, 2011, Thursday - Anna Boyer Opening Reception at Open Book

Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Location:  Open Book, Third Floor, 1011 Washington Avenue South

We hope you will join us to celebrate the culminating exhibition of MCBA Artist-in-Residence Anna Boyer!

Singing / Seeking - New prints by MCBA Artist-in-Residence Anna Boyer
December 22, 2011 - February 12, 2012

"I am interested in the relationship between my work and the breathing functions of the body, the expansion and contraction of the ribcage, diaphragm, muscles and tendons in creating controlled breath. Also the vibration of air in and out of the body. Sites of emotional tension shape the sound and are felt in the body. I develop my own structures of sound. How do I use sound to locate myself? How am I changed by sung song? How does it work in community when song is shared? It is questions such as these that I consider when making my work."  -Anna Boyer

December 19, 2011, Monday - Sounds of Blackness at the Guthrie

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie

Minnesota’s three-time Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness returns with their annual performance The Night Before Christmas – A Musical Fantasy, a contemporary adaptation of the beloved poem, A Visit From St Nicholas. This family-friendly musical production brings Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Rudolph the Rappin’ Reindeer to life in hilarious song and dance, as they learn the true meaning of Christmas. The music ranges from R&B/Hip-Hop to Jazz, Blues and Gospel and features Sounds of Blackness singers and band in show-stopping, roof-raising songs and scenes.

December 18, 2011, Sunday - Vikings and New Orleans Saints at the Dome

Time: 12:00pm

December 18, 2011, Sunday - Sonomento Winter Concert, Featuring a Performance of Handel’s Messiah at MacPhail

Time: 6:00pm

Location: MacPhail Center for Music, Antonello Hall, 501 2nd Street South

Sonomento is one of MacPhail’s high-caliber adult choral ensembles, directed by  Craig Fields, which performs some of the greatest choral music ever written.

$10 general admission at the door.

For more information call: 612-321-0100

December 18, 2011, Sunday - Japan America Arts Forum with Sheila Asato at MCBA

Time:  2:00pm - 4:00pm

Location: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1011 Washington Avenue South

The Japan America Arts Forum is collaboration between MCBA and the Japan America Society of Minnesota (JASM), hosted and facilitated by Sheila McNellis Asato. Each month, people interested in Japanese visual art forms, related materials and processes gather at MCBA for learning, fellowship and hands-on fun. At each meeting, an artist who either practices a Japanese art form or whose work is deeply influenced by the Japanese arts shares their work and then leads the group through a simple exercise which allows everyone to get a hands-on experience of the work for themselves. Topics range from katazome (resist dying on fabric) to suminagashi (paper marbling) to origami (paper folding) and much more. Meetings are typically held on the third Sunday of each month.

For more details and monthly forum topics, visit Sheila's website, Monkey Bridge Arts. If you would like to share your work or know of an artist who would, email Sheila at sheilaasato@comcast.net. All skill levels welcome. $10 ($5 MCBA or JASM members). No need to pre-register, just drop in!

December 17, 2011, Saturday - Childish Films at Central Library

Time: 10:30am

Location: Pohlad Hall at Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

SNOWY DAYS
Enjoy two magical wintertime tales celebrating the joy of snowfall.

•The Snowy Day, Weston Woods, 1964.
Ezra Keat’s tale of a boy’s playful experiences in the snowy city. 6 min.
•The Bear, Miramax, 1998.
A girl befriends a polar bear after a trip to the zoo. He escapes to her home and brings her out on a moonlit adventure--flying over London. Another beautiful hand-drawn tale from Raymond Briggs, the creator of The Snowman. 26 min

The extras:Decorate cookies with Whole Foods Market Staff.

Preschool-grade 6. A program of children's cinema and arts, featuring unique films, hands-on arts activities, live entertainment and educational introductions for children's film fans. For more information, visit: http://www.supporthclib.org/.
 
A program of the Library Foundation of Hennepin County. Support provided by Whole Foods Market, Lerner Publishing Group, Weston Wood Studios, Minnesota Parent and Jagged Edge.

December 17, 2011, Saturday - Farmers Market at Local D'lish

Location:  Local D'Lish, 208 North 1st Street
 
Hours: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Local D'lish is hosting our Winter Farmers' Market for a fourth season. Please join us on the third Saturday of every month, November through April, as we transform our little store into a roaring indoor plaza full of commerce, good cheer, and free samples! You'll see all your favorite vendors from years past as well as several new ones throughout the season. Expect meat, cheese, apples, honey, baked goods, all natural skin care products, jams, chocolates, granola, coffee and so much more.

The 2011-2012 Winter Farmer-in-the-Market will be held on the following dates, from 10:00am – 2:00pm:

November 19, 2011
December 17, 2011
January 21, 2012
February 18, 2012
March 17, 2012
April 21, 2012

Questions?  Please feel free to call the store at 612-886-3047.

December 17, 2011, Saturday - Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum

Times: 1:00pm

Location: Mill City Museum, 704 2nd Street South

Fee: $14 adults, $12 seniors and college students, $10 children ages 6-17 and MHS members. Tour includes museum admission.

Reservations: recommended, call 612-341-7555 or register online

Take an in-depth look at the historic Washburn A Mill complex and the award-winning Mill City Museum building on this guided tour. A museum interpreter will take visitors into the building’s many nooks and crannies, highlighting the lives of the men and women who worked there, how the building functioned during its peak flour milling years and the many changes to the building over time. Also covered will be how the mill ruin was converted to a museum and office building.

Although many parts of the A mill can be explored on a self-guided basis during a regular museum visit, this is the only opportunity for a guided tour through the entire museum building, and the only chance to see some of its non-public spaces. The tour includes admission to the museum gallery as well as the Flour Tower show.

December 17, 2011, Saturday - Minneapolis Central Friends Children’s Book Sale at Central Library

Time: 11:00am - 3:30pm

Location:  Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

Minneapolis Central Friends Children’s Book Sale - Located in the atrium at the Minneapolis Central Library!

A book sale to raise funds for the Minneapolis Central Library. Come browse hundred of children’s books priced at 50 cents each.

Interested in volunteering at the sale? Please email minneapoliscentral@supporthclib.org or call 612-543-8109.

December 17, 2011, Saturday - Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House

Time: 10:00pm  $5 Cover

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

Tonight: Power of 10

December 17, 2011, Saturday - Live Music at Aster Cafe

Time: 9:00pm  Cover: $5

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 Main Stree SE

Tonight:  Alicia Corbett

December 17, 2011, Saturday - MCYC Winter Concert and CD Release Party at MacPhail

Time: 7:30pm

Location: MacPhail Center for Music, Antonello Hall, 501 2nd Street South

The MacPhail Community Youth Choir (MCYC) concert with JD Steele will feature all the music from their new CD, Love as One, with 8 original songs from JD Steele and two student-written songs.  The "CD" is free – however, it’s not an actual CD, but rather a card with a code/website where the music can be downloaded.

Admission: Free

For more information call: 612-321-0100.

Check out an article about the even on KARE11.

December 16, 2011, Friday - STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS debut at St. Anthony Main Theatre

Show Times:
Friday - Sunday, December 16 - 18 at 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:00, 9:15;
Monday - Thursday, December 19 - 22 at 5:00pm, 7:00pm, 9:15pm

Location: St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 SE Main Street

CELEBRATIONS HIGHLIGHT THE FILM SOCIETY’S OPENING OF LOCAL FILMER’S DEBUT: STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents the official theatrical premiere and exclusive engagement of STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS, the star-studded feature debut from local director Brady Kiernan, and 2011 Minneapolis St. Paul Int’l Film Fest Closing Night sellout, showing Friday, December 16 through Thursday December 22 at St. Anthony Main Theatre.  Kiernan, cast, and crew will be present for several events celebrating the film’s theatrical premiere: Bryant Lake Bowl, Dec 14; Aster Café, Dec 16; CO Exhibitions, Dec 16.

The Film:

If the performances by this standout cast featuring Sam Rosen, Zoe Lister-Jones, Michael Imperioli and Josh Hartnett weren't so superb, it could easily be argued that the strikingly gorgeous Minneapolis skyline deserves top billing in Kiernan’s first foray at the helm.

Thanks to a chance encounter, two former high school classmates have one night to experience what could have been if Casper (Sam Rosen) never enlisted in the fight overseas (Zoe Lister Jones plays the other half of this unexpected romance). Initially agreeing to keep their emotions from overcomplicating their rendezvous, nothing about their night turns out as they planned it. The stars, skyscrapers and an uncertain future loom large over their journey through the unsympathetic, urban landscape.

Director: Brady Kiernan; USA; 2011; 85 min; HD

The Celebrations:

-Kiernan, cast and crew will be present at St. Anthony Main Theatre on Friday, December 16, for the Opening Night screening at 7PM.

-Audiences are encouraged to celebrate the Opening Night of the film with a reception at Aster Café at 6PM on Friday, December 16.

-The official theatrical premiere After Party at Co-Exhibitions in NE Minneapolis will feature drinks, dancing, and live DJs on Friday, December 16, at 9:30PM.