Books
Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., will host free online readings and discussions with authors Jordan Ellenberg and his book, The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy and Everything Else, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 1; James D’Amato and his book, The Ultimate RPG Game Master’s Worldbuilding Guide, 7 p.m. Friday, June 4; Benjamin Percy and his novel, The Ninth Metal, 7 p.m. Monday, June 7; Caseen Gaines and his book, Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way, 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8; Shawna Kay Rodenberg and her memoir, Kin, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 10; and Michael Kleber-Diggs and his poetry collection, Worldly Things, 7 p.m. Monday, June 14. Visit nextchapterbooksellers.com.
SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., will host free online readings and discussions with authors Mary Casanova and her historical novel, Waterfall, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 1; and Ames Sheldon and Mary Logue and their novels, Lemons in the Garden of Love and The Streel, respectively, 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 16. Visit subtextbooks.com.
Exhibits
Multimedia works by 40 members of the Minnesota Artists Association are on display through June 27 in the North Gallery at Landmark Center. Landmark Center is now open during the prepandemic hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, until 8 p.m. Thursday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. The center’s American Association of Woodturners Gallery is open from noon-4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and from noon-7 p.m. Thursday. The Schubert Club Music Museum will be open during those same hours when it reopens June 10 after an extensive renovation. Face masks are still required in Landmark Center. Visit landmarkcenter.org.
The Sibley Historic Site, home of Minnesota’s first governor, Henry Sibley, at 1357 Sibley Mem. Hwy. in Mendota, will open for the summer on May 29. Hour-long tours will be offered at 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. The cost is $7, $6 for seniors, $5 for children ages 6-17. Tour sizes are limited for proper social distancing. For reservations, call 651-452-1596 or visit dakotahistory.org/sibley-historic-site.
Walking tours in and around downtown Saint Paul will once again be offered free of charge this summer by Landmark Center. The free tours step out at 10 a.m. Wednesdays. The schedule includes the Rice Park area on June 2 and 16 and the Great River Tour along the mighty Mississippi on June 9 and 23. Tours are limited to 10 participants, and reservations are required. COVID protocols will be observed. Visit landmarkcenter.org or call Sydney at 651-292-3063. Virtual tours are available anytime at landmarkcenter.org.
Family
Make the Saint Paul Public Library your destination for summer fun and learning. Summer Spark, a series of outdoor and virtual events, reading challenges and book giveaways for children teen-age and younger, will run from June 1 through August 31. Stop at any Saint Paul public library branch to register and pick up activity and reading logs and a book to keep. Complete 10 activities or 10 hours of reading and earn a color-your-own bookmark. Complete 20 activities or reading hours and earn a journal and pen. Among the activities are outdoor story strolls where participants walk from one oversized storybook page to the next; Take and Make Kits with art materials to create in the great outdoors; and online performances by storytellers, jugglers, magicians and others. Participation is free of charge. For more information, visit sppl.org/summer or call 651-266-7000.
Canceled last year by COVID-19, the Ordway Center’s Flint Hills Family Festival will return in June with both virtual and in-person events. The virtual festival from June 1-12 will feature free recorded programs, activities and workshops by such favorites as Dan & Claudia Zanes, Squonk Opera, the Native Pride Dancers and House of Dance. The in-person event will take place outside of the Ordway on June 4 and 5 with socially distanced performances by the Okee Dokee Brothers, Sonia de los Santos and Chicks on Sticks at 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10. For more information or to attend a virtual show, visit flinthillsfestival.ordway.org.
Train Days, a celebration of the heyday of the railroad, will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6, at Saint Paul’s Union Depot. Historic rail cars and locomotives will be displayed. Vendors will be selling model trains and train-themed photography, souvenirs, toys and apparel. Educational programs, a video and photographic history of trains and interviews with railroad aficionados will also be featured. Refreshments will be available. A scavenger hunt, coloring stations and craft activities will be offered to children. Admission is free. For information, visit uniondepot.org.
Theater
WonderLand, a spinoff of Alice in Wonderland, will be performed as steampunk dance theater by Collide Theatrical on weekends from May 29 through June 20 at two outdoor locations. The drama is set at a first-rate mental institution run by Dr. Andrew Knight, who is tasked with treating a man who suffers from severe anxiety disorder, a young woman with body dysmorphia and an older woman with narcissistic rage. Intended for adults, the story about friendship and acceptance was created by Regina Peluso. It stars Rush Benson, Renee Guittar, Brian Bose, Miranda Shaughnessy, Heather Brockman and Jarod Boltjes. May show times are 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday outside of the James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Ave. June shows are at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday outside of the Mill City Museum, 704 Second St. S. in Minneapolis. Tickets are $36-$22. Visit collidetheatrical.org or call 651-395-7903.
Music
The Minnesota Orchestra’s series of free online concerts will continue with “Remembrance and Reflection” at 8 p.m. Friday, May 28, featuring conductor Osmo Vänskä and violinist Karen Gomyo in works by Shostakovich, Saint-Georges, Simon and Mahler; and “Radiance and Light” at 8 p.m. Friday, June 11, featuring pianist Juho Pohjonen and Vänskä in works by Haydn, Chopin and Saint-Georges. The latter concert is open to a limited in-person audience. Visit minnesotaorchestra.org.
Bach-Tage 2021, a recital, lecture, discussion and performance featuring Bach’s Cantata 85, will be streamed online by Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 5. Performers include organist David Cherwien, vocal soloists and the Bach-Tage Orchestra under the direction of Kathleen Romey. Visit mountolivechurch.org.
Classical guitarists Samuel Hines, Wade Oden, Milena Petkovic and Benjamin Kunkel will perform compositions by Sor, Ponce, Rodrigo and others in a Minnesota Guitar Society concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 5, on the society’s YouTube channel. The concert is free, though donations are welcome. For reservations, visit mnguitar.org.
A mix of old and new solos, duos and trios will be performed on June 11 and 12 by Baroque musicians Paul Jacobson and Immanuel Davis on flauti traversi and Donald Livingston on harpsichord. The concerts will be live-streamed via Zoom at 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10, $5 for students. For more information or reservations, visit lyrabaroque.org.
Dance
An American in Paris, a ballet by Peter Davison based on the Gene Kelly movie of 1951, will be performed on June 5 and 6 by Ballet Co.Laboratory at Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 N. Lexington Pkwy. Brimming with references to the iconic dance moves of the era, An American in Paris is a timeless story of passion and self-discovery. Show times are 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $35, $25 for seniors and students. Audiences and performers will be masked, and seating will be distanced. For reservations, visit balletcolaboratory.org or call 651-313-5967.
Masterworks by Loyce Houlton and Lise Houlton and a world premiere by choreographer Elayna Waxse will be performed by Minnesota Dance Theatre in a live-stream at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 11, and on demand through June 13. MDT professionals Brennan Benson, Katelyn Boche, Elissa Fonseca, Adrián Pastén, Solana Temple and Zachary Tuazon will be joined by new members Sarah Jordan, Jared Kelly and Jacob Lewis. Music will be provided by singers Bradley Greenwald and Jennifer Baldwin Peden, pianist Tom Linker and saxophonist Jeff King. For tickets, priced at $20-30, visit thecowlescenter.org or call 612-206-3600.
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