December 30, 2012, Sunday - Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers

Time:   12:00 PM CDT at the Dome

TV: FOX KMSP - 9
Radio: KFAN (FM 100.3)
DirecTV: 706
Sirius: 80

Additional information is available at vikings.com.

December 29, 2012, Saturday - Live Music at Aster Cafe

Time: 9:00pm Cover: $6

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 Main Stree SE

Tonight:  lynhurst

December 29, 2012, Saturday - Live Music at Crooked Pint

Time: 9:00pm $5 Cover

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

Tonight: Motel California

December 29, 2012, Saturday - Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour

Time: 2:30pm

Location: Begins at LaSalle Plaza (800 LaSalle Plaza), located on Hennepin Ave between 8th & 9th Street; ends at Metro Building (80 9th Street S)

Taste Twin Cities Food Tours

While it's chilly outside, join us as we weave our way through the cozy corners of downtown Minneapolis skyways on a food adventure. We will stroll through the "Broadway" Theatre District and enjoy VIP service as we visit some the newest and hottest award winning restaurant downtown has to offer. The tour includes seeing the Minneapolis skyscraper that was modeled after the Washington Monument and visiting the famous Statue of Mary Richards tossing her hat. Along the way we will also visit quaint eateries that have pride in local ownership; including a favorite since 1932. You will participate in tea sampling, and learn the secrets behind the great food you are enjoying. You'll leave the tour with a tasty experience of some of the best food finds Minneapolis has to offer all while learning history of downtown and soaking in the local culture.

Register.

December 28, 2012, Friday - Live Music at Crooked Pint

Time: 9:00pm $5 Cover

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

Tonight:  Jason Paulson Band

December 28, 2012, Friday - Live Music at Aster Cafe

Time: 9:00pm Cover: $7

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 Main Stree SE

Tonight: winterset w. foreston

December 27, 2012, Thursday - Dakota Wild Animals at Central Library

Time: 2:00pm

Location: Children's Library at Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

Dakota Wild Animals

For families. See snakes, lizards, small mammals and insects from around the world and discuss habitat, feeding and characteristics unique to each critter.

December 22, 2012, Saturday - Live Music at Aster Cafe

Time: 9:00pm Cover: $8

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 Main Stree SE

Tonight: billy johnson

December 22, 2012, Saturday - Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour

Time: 2:30pm

Location: Begins at LaSalle Plaza (800 LaSalle Plaza), located on Hennepin Ave between 8th & 9th Street; ends at Metro Building (80 9th Street S)

Taste Twin Cities Food Tours

While it's chilly outside, join us as we weave our way through the cozy corners of downtown Minneapolis skyways on a food adventure. We will stroll through the "Broadway" Theatre District and enjoy VIP service as we visit some the newest and hottest award winning restaurant downtown has to offer. The tour includes seeing the Minneapolis skyscraper that was modeled after the Washington Monument and visiting the famous Statue of Mary Richards tossing her hat. Along the way we will also visit quaint eateries that have pride in local ownership; including a favorite since 1932. You will participate in tea sampling, and learn the secrets behind the great food you are enjoying. You'll leave the tour with a tasty experience of some of the best food finds Minneapolis has to offer all while learning history of downtown and soaking in the local culture.

Register.

December 22, 2012, Saturday - What's in Dragonfly's Box? at Central Library

Time: 11:00am

Location: Children's Library at Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

What's in Dragonfly's Box?

For families. Join us in the Children's Library to see what crafts or activities the dragonfly has in its box! Winter crafts. Materials provided.

December 22, 2012, Saturday - Ugly Holiday Sweater Bus Pub Crawl

From Taste Twin Cities Food and Drink Tours:

New Seasonal Tour!

Ugly Holiday Sweater Bus Pub Crawl

Don your ugliest holiday sweater, hop on the heated coach bus and take a festive tour of some of Northeast Minneapolis' most storied bars. The tour includes a drink at each bar, Ugliest Holiday Sweater contest and prizes.

Tour dates: Saturday December 8th, 15th and 22nd

This tour is also available for a private tour. Please contact us at info@TasteTwinCities.com for more details.

December 21, 2012, Friday - Live Music at Aster Cafe

Time: 9:00pm Cover: $10

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 Main Stree SE

Tonight:  it's texmas time in the city with the tex pistols, mary jane alm band & aimee lee

December 21, 2012, Friday - Rock The Cause at Crooked Pint

Time: 9:00pm $5 Cover

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

Tonight:  Rock The Cause

Every 3rd Friday of the month, Rock The Cause and Cities 97 will feature emerging artists, and fantastic causes you can give your time to!  Hosted by Cities 97 afternoon DJ Paul Fletcher and Rock The Cause CEO Scott Herold, these shows will have a fun community vibe all in the name of new music and good causes!

Friday December 21, 2012
Enemy Planes, Dreamcrusher and an all star line up of the Twin Cities Rock Stars TBA!
Come celebrate the end of the world with tributes to George Michael and Wham!
Everything She Wants, Wake Me Up, Teacher, and Freedom 90 are just some of this hits you will hear. Come dressed in your best 80’s Holiday attire, or as George Michael and that other guy from Wham! Join in for the all-star encore Last Christmas.

December 21, 2012, Friday - Twin Cities Poet J. Otis Powell Releases BALM! at The Loft

Tme: 7:00pm

Location: The Loft, Performance Hall, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Twin Cities Poet J. Otis Powell Releases BALM!

Join us for the launch of J. Otis Powell!'s new CD, which mixes spoken-word, jazz, and other impulses to create something unique.

Presented by: Tru Ruts/Speakeasy Records

About the album:
BALM! is not a collection of live recordings, or a simple poetry album over recycled hip hop beats––it’s a lushly-orchestrated, full-bodied musical journey through Powell!’s words that features strings, saxophone, drums and some powerful bass, courtesy of a quartet of seasoned players. And Powell! himself plays a stunning precise and emotive instrument––his speaking voice––a low rumble, capable of startling, disarming and evoking. Powell! knows that this work isn’t about the aesthetics. "This music and poetry represent generations of conjuring to relieve dis-ease from various forms of abuse such as torture, kidnapping, human trafficking, dispossession, enslavement and release without respiration, restoration or apology. We are healing and finding joy, we are searching through every note for an essential sound," says Powell!. That ‘essential sound’ permeates this album. Whether listeners are hardcore jazz fans, spoken word appreciators or none of the above, BALM! is one of the most engaging, refreshingly unique releases of the year. In addition to J. Otis Powell!, BALM! also features jazz musician Donald Washington, violinist Katherine Pehrson, bassist Michael O’Brien, and keyboardist Tom Kanthak.

J. Otis Powell!'s first art form was theater; his current art form is life. He has made and found work for more than five decades as an actor, writer, performance artist, television /radio/ stage producer, cultural worker, educator, philosopher, curator, mentor, arts administrator and consultant. J. Otis Powell! is a practitioner of Open Space Technology and has used OST for almost two decades with notable success in various productions, in educational scenarios, in administrative consultations and as a means to resolve conflicts. J. Otis lives and works in an aesthetic informed by jazz principles and practices true democracy as art and religion in a world resistant to all three. He has been a recipient of a Loft Creative Nonfiction Award, a Jerome Travel and Study Grant, Jerome Mid Career Artists Grants and Intermedia Arts’ Interdisciplinary McKnight Fellowship. He was a founding producer of Write On Radio!, the Twin Cities literary connection, at KFAI-FM while working as Communities’ Liaison and Program Director for Interdisciplinary Collaborations at The Loft Literary Center.

December 20, 2012, Thursday - VIBE Twin Cities at Crooked Pint

Time: Doors open at 7:30pm, show starts at 8:00pm

Location: Crooked Pint Ale House, 501 Washington Avenue South

VIBE Twin Cities is a monthly charity concert that showcases local and national music talent. All proceeds from the event will go toward supporting anti-bullying programs in Twin Cities schools. Join us December 20th for a night of food, drinks, and music by Soullections!
 
21+
$20 for cover, 2 drink tickets, 1 raffle ticket and a table
$12 for cover only
Additional raffle tickets will be sold throughout the night for $1 a piece!

December 19, 2012, Wednesday - Minneapolis Park and Rec Board Meeting

Time: 5:00pm

Location: Minneapolis Park and Rec Board, 2117 West River Road

Agenda

Please note that the November 28 meeting will not be broadcasted live on the City of Minneapolis Government Meeting Channel 79 or online at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/tv/79 due to a Minneapolis City Council meeting scheduled during the same time. Those interested in viewing the MPRB meeting are encouraged to attend at MPRB headquarters, located at 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55411, or view during the 10:30 p.m. Monday (12/3) rebroadcast on Channel 79.

December 17, 2012, Monday - Sounds of Blackness at The Guthrie

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie

Sounds of Blackness

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. This is a must see performance during the holiday season!

December 17, 2012, Monday - Chefs for Change at People Serving People

Time:  7:00pm-9:00pm (shelter tours beginning at 6:30pm)

Location:  People Serving People, 614 South 3rd Street

Chefs for Change: A Chef's Table Culinary Experience

Chefs for Change is a cooking demonstration and an elegant dinner party with a purpose. It is hosted by a top executive chef from the Twin Cites Metro area. Over the past several years, chefs from restaurants including The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Porter and Frye and Capital Grille have hosted Chefs for Change events on one or more occasion.

December 17 Chefs for Change with Porter & Frye
Featuring fresh and indigenous Contemporary American Cuisine, Porter & Frye offers a taste of the heartland and the sea with a sprinkling of international seasoning.

Purchase tickets.

Questions?  Email Takara Henegar or call her directly at 612-277-0258

December 16, 2012, Sunday - Holiday Open House at Solar Arts

Time:  Noon - 4:00pm - Brunch with the artists: Meet the artists and enjoy a light brunch while you browse.

Location: Solar Arts / Indeed Brewery, 711 15th Avenue NE

The Solar Arts Building have put together a wonderful weekend of art and relaxation for you. Drop in for as long or as little as you want to browse the art, enjoy food and refreshments, listen to live music, and maybe even bring a piece of that serenity home with you.
 
Whether you spend half an hour or four, we can promise that you will leave feeling relaxed, energized, and ready to face the rest of the holiday season with all you have.
 
GUEST ARTISTS!!! You won't want to miss getting a chance to view some
great work from guest artists, Jennifer Nelson, Cathy Collison, Jennifer Hanlon, Stephanie Lake and more!

December 15, 2012, Saturday - Childish Films at Central Library

Time: 10:30am – Noon

Location: Pohlad Hall at Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall

Childish Films

December 15: Classic Pooh: Decorate your own cookie before timeless tales from the Hundred Acre Wood Preschool-grade 6.

A series of children's cinema and arts. Film screenings include preshow arts activities and educational introductions. For more information and a complete listing of program themes and films, visit www.supporthclib.org.

A program of the Friends of the Hennepin County Library. Sponsors: Lerner Publishing Group, Whole Foods Market, CRASH+SUES and Minnesota Parent.