Books
Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., will host free online readings and discussions with Eric Utne of Utne Reader fame and his memoir, Far Out Man: Tales of Life in the Counterculture, at 7 p.m. Monday, November 16; poets Roy G. Guzman, Danika Stegeman LeMay, Claudia Hampston Daly and Richard Terrill at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 19; Mike Alberti and his short-story collection, Some People Let You Down, at 7 p.m. Friday, November 20; Charles Baxter and his novel, The Sun Collective, at 7 p.m. Monday, November 23; and Donna Hill and her civil rights era novel, Confessions in B-Flat, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 24. To register, visit nextchapterbooksellers.com.
Subtext Books, 6 W. Fifth St., will host free online readings and discussions with authors Chris Stedman and his book, IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning and Belonging in Our Digital Lives, at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 12; Mary Moore Easter and Norita Dittberner-Jax and their new poetry collections, From the Flutes of Our Bodies and Now I Live Among Old Trees, respectively, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 17; and William Souder and his biography, Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck, at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 19. To register, visit subtextbooks.com.
Exhibits
“Stars and Stripes Over the Rhine,” the story of the social, political and economic connections made by Americans in Germany in the years following World Wars I and II, will be told through a traveling exhibit and film from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays, November 15 and 22, at the Germanic-American Institute (GAI), 301 Summit Ave. The exhibit may be viewed online at gai-mn.org/Chapters. The film is also being shown on GAI’s YouTube channel. A virtual talk related to the exhibit is scheduled from 6-7 p.m. Monday, November 23. To register, visit gai-mn.org.
Northern Clay Center, 2424 E. Franklin Ave., will open its six-week holiday exhibition with an open house from noon-4 p.m. Sunday, November 15. Eighty-five artists will display their handmade pottery, sculpture and ceramic jewelry. A free virtual workshop for aspiring clay artists will be available. Clay kits may be picked up ahead of time and creations returned for firing at the center. The exhibit continues through December 30. For gallery hours or other information, visit northernclaycenter.org or call 612-339-8007.
Family
The Twin City Model Railroad Museum, 668 Transfer Road, has brought back its Night Trains experience from 3-7 p.m. Saturdays through February 27. The museum’s extensive model train layout is transformed into a winter wonderland by dimming the overhead lights and illuminating the miniature buildings and vintage passenger trains with tiny streetlights and colorful holiday decorations. Admission is $15, free for anybody age 4 and younger. Reservations are required for either of the two-hour blocks. Masks are required for anyone over age 2. Visit tcmrm.eventbrite.com.
Film
Sound Unseen’s 21st annual festival of films about music will be presented virtually from November 11-15. More than two dozen flicks are featured, including documentaries about the Bee Gees, Frank Zappa, Harry Chapin, Doc Severinson and Jose Feliciano and the David Bowie biopic Stardust. Festival passes and tickets for individual films are available. For more information and the full schedule of films, visit soundunseen.com.
British Arrows Greatest Hits, an online presentation of the most inventive advertisements from the past 40 years of British television, is being streamed from November 19 through January 4 by Walker Art Center. Tickets are $12. Visit walkerart.org/cinema.
Theater
The Empathy Project, a new play by Stephanie Lein Walseth about what holds the nation together amidst the polarization that threatens to pull it apart, will be presented by Full Circle Theater in virtual staged readings on November 20-22. Based on interviews with 20 Minnesotans, the drama is directed by Rick Shiomi. Act One will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. Act Two begins at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Each act will run about 45 minutes and will be followed by discussion. The program is free, but reservations are required. Visit forms.gle/EfBRoyGzX9jGD9mw8.
Two virtual holiday programs will be offered by the Ordway in November. The Hip Hop Nutcracker, contemporary dance set to Tchaikovsky’s timeless score and starring MC Kurtis Blow, will stream at 7 p.m. Friday, November 27. Tickets are $20 .“Christmas with the Griswolds,” a conversation with Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, will stream live at 7 p.m. Saturday, November 28. The comedians who played Clark and Ellen Griswold, will discuss fan-favorite clips from the movie, reveal their favorite memories from the production and answer questions from the audience. Tickets are $25. To register, visit ordway.org.
Music
Amadeus Guitar Duo, a classical guitar duo featuring wife and husband Dale Kavanagh and Thomas Kirchhoff, will perform new compositions by Kavanagh at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 14, on the Minnesota Guitar Society’s YouTube channel. The concert is free but donations are appreciated. For reservations, visit mnguitar.org.
The Pat McLaughlin Band and special guests Bambi Alexander, Curtis Marlott, Lady J, Troy Kittenger and Deseree Robles will perform in a Mini Vets Fest concert from noon-6 p.m. Sunday, November 15, at Wilebski’s Blues Saloon, 1638 Rice St. The suggested donation is $10 at the door. Call 651-331-0929.
A musical tour of Europe during the Baroque period will be led by violinist Marc Levine and harpsichordist Tami Morse in Zoom concerts at 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday, November 20 and 21. Works by Eccles, Couperin, Bach and Veracini will be played. Tickets are $10, $5 for students. Visit lyrabaroque.org/zoom.
Et cetera
Kristallnacht, the November evening in 1938 when Nazi paramilitary groups destroyed nearly 300 synagogues and 7,000 Jewish businesses in Germany and Austria and incarcerated 30,000 Jewish men, will be remembered on Tuesday, November 17, in a World Without Genocide program with Holocaust survivor and author Fred Amram. The online Zoom program will run from 7-9 p.m. The cost is $10, $5 for students and seniors. To register, visit worldwithoutgenocide.org/hate.
Racism in Housing Access, a free panel discussion on how race affects one’s ability to find and keep a house or apartment, will be presented by MPR News in partnership with Catholic Charities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis at noon Wednesday, November 18. To register, visit mprevents.org.
Coins for Kids, a benefit for the childhood charities of the Optimist Club of Saint Paul, will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, November 21, at Ramsey Middle School, 1700 Summit Ave. Club staff will be on hand to accept donations of any amount. The money will help fund such programs as essay and oratorical contests, communications contests for the deaf and hard of hearing, Jeremiah Program, Cooks for Kids, Safe Zone and Friend of Youth Foundation scholarships. Checks made payable to the Optimist Club of Saint Paul may also be mailed to P.O. Box 40065, Saint Paul, MN 55104-8065. For more information, email optimist.stpaul@gmail.com or call 651-307-7260.
A Prairie Seed ID Walk will be led by a Mississippi National River and Recreation Area ranger from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, November 21, at Coldwater Spring, located off 54th Street and Hiawatha Avenue in South Minneapolis. Learn about the ecology of the prairie, how to identify prairie grasses and wildflowers by their seed heads and how to identify trees without their leaves. Face masks and social distancing will be required. For reservations, visit tinyurl.com/y4t95oyw.
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