Books
Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., will feature the following in free virtual discussions via Zoom: Macalester College professor Lesley Lavery and her book, A Collective Pursuit: Teachers’ Unions and Education Reform, at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 28; and Mary Logue and her novel, The Streel: A Deadwood Mystery, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. To register for the events, visit nextchapterbooksellers.com or call 651-225-8989 for more information.
SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., will host a virtual reading and discussion by Shannon Watts from her book, Fight Like a Mother, at 7 p.m. Friday, May 29. Watts is the founder of the gun-control advocacy group Moms Demand Action. Tickets for the event are $10 with a portion of that going to Moms Demand Action. To register, call 651-493-2791 or visit subtextbooks.com.
Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota, a new book from the University of Minnesota Press by Winona State University sociology professor Craig Upright, will be discussed by the author in conversation with labor historian Peter Rachleff at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, on the East Side Freedom Library’s Facebook page. Visit facebook.com/EastSideFreedomLibrary/.
Exhibits
Landmark Center is offering two exhibits through its website at landmarkcenter.org. “Polish Art: Brooklyn to Minnesota,” a virtual tour of the private collection of Brian and Teresa McMahon, is available through June 7. “Evidence of Humanity,” a photography exhibit curated by Wing Young Huie to illustrate the efforts of people to communicate with others or express their connection to those around them, is being shown through June 26.
The Minnesota Museum of American Art is offering online tours through The M at Home page on its website at mmaa.org. Among the current offerings are “A Choice of Weapons: Honor and Dignity,” featuring the photographs of Jamel Shabazz and the late Gordon Parks; and “Gordon Parks: A Homecoming,” featuring the work of the former staff photographer for the African American-owned Twin Cities newspapers the St. Paul Recorder and the Minneapolis Spokesman.
Twenty-nine artists who recently earned bachelor’s degrees in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities are exhibiting their works online from now through March 31, 2021. Included is animation, ceramics, drawing, mixed-media, painting, photography, sculpture and game design. Visit umnart-here29.com.
Music
The Minnesota Opera is offering a series of past performances as audio recordings that can be streamed online. The schedule includes Wagner’s Das Rheingold now through June 28; Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King, now through July 5; Massenet’s sensual and melodic Thais from May 28 through July 12; and Joel Puckett and Eric Simonson’s The Fix, an epic tale set against the backdrop of the American pastime, from June 4 through July 19. Visit mnopera.org.
The Center for Irish Music’s 12th annual Minnesota Irish Music Weekend will be held online on June 13-14. Traditional Irish music concerts and workshops for instrumentalists of all ages will be featured. Live-streamed will be concerts by such world-class artists as Pauline Connelly on June 6; Brian Ó hAirt, June 7; the Center for Irish Music’s Advanced Youth Ensemble, June 10; Benny McCarthy, June 11; Conal Ó Gráda, Seán Gavin, Danny Diamond and Brian Miller, June 13; and Matt Cranitch, June 14. A Great Session Experience on June 12 will invite the audience to play along from home. The concerts are free, though donations will be accepted. For more information, visit centerforirishmusic.org.
Theater
Romeo and Juliet, Park Square Theatre’s 2015 production of the tragedy by William Shakespeare, is available for streaming online through June 30. Adapted and directed by David Mann, the drama was filmed by Michael Hanisch. For the password to stream the video, email education@parksquaretheatre.org.
“Spilling the HT: Real People. Real Talk,” engaging conversation with History Theatre artistic director Ron Peluso and artistic associate Laurie Flanigan Hegge, continues on Friday, May 28, with Sweet Land, The Musical creators Perrin Post and Dina Maccabee and stars Ann Michels and Matt Riehle. Peluso and Hegge will discuss the magic and mystery of set design with History Theatre designer Rick Polenek and technical director Gunther Gullickson on Friday, June 5. Visit the History Theatre Facebook page (facebook.com/HistoryTheatre) for a link to stream “Spilling the HT” online. History Theatre will stream Sweet Land online from June 12-25. The musical is based on a film by that name by Ali Selim and Will Weaver’s short story, “A Gravestone Made of Wheat.” For information, visit historytheatre.com.
Film
The Science Museum of Minnesota and its Omnitheater are temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but several Omni and IMAX films have been made available for free streaming. Visit smm.org, sit back and enjoy a big screen adventure at home. The choices include Dinosaurs Alive!, The Living Sea, Mummies: Secrets of the Pharoahs, National Parks Adventure and Wild Ocean.
Et cetera
World War II POW camps in the U.S. with a focus on those in the Upper Midwest will be discussed by Dakota County Historical Society executive director Matt Carter in a virtual presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 28. Carter grew up in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, home to one of the more than 50 POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota. His presentation is free, though donations will be taken to offset the decline in revenue at historic sites in the area. To register, visit dakotahistory.org.
How to nurture relationships with your adult children will be addressed by the Jewish Family Service in a free Zoom program from 10-11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 31. The Next Chapter program is intended for women who are at mid-life. For reservations and the Zoom link, email jsaltzman@jfssp.org.
The Nathan Hale Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will celebrate the birthday of the famous patriot with a wreath-laying ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 6, in Nathan Hale Park, 401 Summit Ave. The public is invited. Proper social distancing will be observed.
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