Books
Open a new chapter in your literary life at Rain Taxi’s Twin Cities Book Festival, scheduled from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, October 16, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Progress Center. In addition to a Book Fair with displays by more than 100 publishers, literary organizations and book dealers, the free event will feature author readings and a used book and record sale with thousands of titles. A free raffle will be held for signed books, event tickets, gift certificates, T-shirts and more. Visit twincitiesbookfestival.com.
Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., will host readings and discussions with James Beard Award winner Sandor Katz and his book, Fermentation Journeys, in a virtual program at 6 p.m. Monday, October 18; contributors to the anthology, A 21st Century Plague: Poetry From a Pandemic, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, October 21; author Sarah Stonich and her novel, Reeling, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 27; and Dan Hill, Howard Moskowitz and Blah, Blah, Blah, their snarky guide to office lingo, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, October 29. For information or the required advance tickets, visit nextchapterbooksellers.com.
Author, atheist and chaplain Vanessa Zoltan will discuss her new book, Praying with Jane Eyre, in a virtual program at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 26. In this collection of essays, Zoltan explores topics ranging from the trauma she inherited as the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors to finding hope, meaning and magic in deeply fractured times. Visit subtextbooks.com.
F. Scott Fitzgerald in Minnesota author Dave Page will discuss the Jazz Age novelist and his early associations with the Nushka Club and the Saint Paul Winter Carnival at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 24, at the Griggs mansion, 476 Summit Ave. The talk will also touch on the Civil War, real estate scandals and ghosts. The cost is $25. Wine and snacks will be provided. For reservations, visit carolynkleinberger.com.
Exhibits
“Complexity Made Simple,” the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883-1970), will be displayed from October 14 through December 20 in the Fine Art Gallery of the Minnesota JCC’s Capp Center, 1375 Saint Paul Ave. The exhibit will focus on Goldberg’s political cartooning and ability to distill a complex geopolitical landscape into a single image. Also featured will be a Rube Goldberg-inspired machine created by Minnesota kinetic artist Robin Schwartzman and a documentary film by Geoffrey George that highlights how Goldberg was a man of his times whose work is still relevant today. For gallery hours, call 651-698-0751 or visit minnesotajcc.org.
The 30th annual Saint Paul Art Crawl continues on October 22-24 with 27 local artists showcasing their work in the Head House of Saint Paul’s Union Depot. Painting, photography, jewelry, pottery, sculpture and mixed media will be displayed from 6-10 p.m. Friday, noon-8 p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
“The REDress Project,” an installation by artist Jaime Black featuring hundreds of red dresses suspended in public spaces to mark the absence of indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered, will be displayed from October 23 through November 14 in the outdoor quad on the campus of Saint Catherine University. The project creates space for the families of these victims to tell their story and find support in the struggle for justice. Admission is free. A virtual artist talk is scheduled from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, November 10. Visit gallery.stkate.edu.
Dance
Ananya Dance Theatre will present the new work, Dastak: I Wish You Me, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30, in the O’Shaughnessy at Saint Catherine University. Choreographed by Ananya Chatterjea, the evocative work focuses on freedom and injustice, borders and belonging, loss and liberation. Tickets are priced from $30 to whatever you can afford. Call 651-690-6700 or visit oshag.stkate.edu.
Theater
Not in Our Neighborhood!, a story of courage, faith and love in 1920s Saint Paul, will open on October 14 at the History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St. Written by Tom Fabel and Eric Wood, the drama tells of Nellie and William Francis, Black residents of Saint Paul’s old Rondo neighborhood who bought a home in all-white Macalester-Groveland. Although William was a successful lawyer and prominent Republican Party member and Nellie a leader in the women’s suffrage movement, they faced threats and racist protests from their new neighbors. Erin Nicole Farsté and Darius Dotch star. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through October 24. For information on tickets and COVID protocol, visit historytheatre.com or call 651-292-4323.
The Hound of the Baskervilles, a new adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novel, will be staged by Classics Lost ’n’ Found Theater at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 15-16 and 22-23, at Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church, 1620 E. 46th St. in Minneapolis. Adapted for the stage by Steven LaVigne, the play is directed by Dan Dyke. Tickets are $12, $10 for students and seniors. For reservations and information on COVID protocol, call 612-724-4539.
Music
Works by Mendelssohn, Puccini and others will be played by the Minnesota Sinfonia in free concerts on October 15 and 17. The music begins at 7 p.m. Friday at First Covenant Church, 1280 Arcade St., and at 1:45 p.m. Sunday at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. Visit mnsinfonia.org.
Walker-West Music Academy, 760 Selby Ave., is presenting a host of virtual concerts this fall. The Rondo Community Music Series will feature the Selby Avenue Brass Band with singer Thomasina Petrus on October 15 and the Kevin Washington Quintet on October 29. The concerts begin at 7 p.m. They are free, although donations are welcome. Visit walkerwest.org.
Minneapolis singer-songwriter Mary Bue will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, October 15, in Weyerhaeuser Auditorium at Landmark Center. Known for melancholy piano poems as well as electric guitar licks, Bue merges piano and guitar in songs of spiritual longing and real-world sorrow in her latest album, “The World is Your Lover.” The concert will be preceded by a cocktail hour with a cash bar. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Call 651-292-3276 or visit landmarkcenter.org.
Highland Park Harmonies returns to the Highland Park picnic grounds on Montreal Avenue from 1-6:30 p.m. Saturday, October 16. The free music fest will feature four bands—the Gritpickers, Hell Burnin’ Sinners, Foragers and Bad Companions—playing a mix of Americana, bluegrass, old-time, country, folk, rockabilly and blues. Two food trucks will be available. Patrons are asked to bring a donation of nonperishable food or paper products for the Open Hands Midway food shelf.
Native Irish guitarist and singer Dáithí Sproule will appear with the Lost Forty duo in a Minnesota Guitar Society concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 16, in Sundin Hall, 1531 Hewitt Ave. The Lost Forty, multi-instrumentalists Brian Miller and Randy Gosa, have revived the Irish-influenced songs of workers who plied the Great Lakes region in the days when pine was king. All tickets for the hour-long concert are reserved. Face masks and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours are required. Visit mnguitar.org.
The late Judy Dayton will be celebrated in a Chamber Music Society of Minnesota concert featuring works by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Steve Heitzeg and Brahms at 4 p.m. Sunday, October 17, in Sundin Hall, 1531 Hewitt Ave. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors, $15 for students, free to children with an adult. For reservations, visit chambermusicmn.org.
The Bach Society of Minnesota returns to live performance with the chamber concert “Morning Has Broken” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 29, in Sundin Hall, 1531 Hewitt Ave. Works by J.H. Schmelzer, C.H. Abel, Bach, C. Dieupart, Telemann and Matthias Maute will be performed by Maute on recorder, Margaret Humphrey on violin, Rebecca Humphrey on cello and Paul Boehnke on harpsichord. Tickets are $30, $5 for students, free for children age 12 and under. A live stream is also available. Visit bachsocietymn.org or call 612-440-6219.
Organist Stephen Self, retired professor of music at Bethel University, will help dedicate the newly renovated Moller pipe organ with a recital at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 30, at Bethlehem Covenant Church, 3141 43rd Ave. S. in Minneapolis. The public is invited. Light refreshments will follow the recital.
Film
The Shining will be screened at dusk on Friday, October 15, in Mears Park, Sixth and Sibley streets. Admission is free. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. Visit stpaul.gov/moviesintheparks.
The Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival, nine feature-length films and a host of film shorts from around the world, will be presented virtually from October 16-31 by the Minnesota JCC. Among the Jewish-themed narratives and documentaries are Here We Are, about a father and his autistic son; The Two Lives of Rube Goldberg; Kindertransports to Sweden, on the fate of four Holocaust survivors; They Ain’t Ready for Me, about a Black rabbinical student who leads the fight against gun violence in Chicago; the comical fantasy If You See My Mother; and Persian Lessons, a drama set during the Holocaust. For a complete schedule, individual tickets or festival passes, visit tcjfilmfest.org.
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