On the Town Briefly, January 11, 2023

Books

Shannon Gibney will discuss her latest young adult novel, The Girl I Am, Was and Never Will Be, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 18, at the Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave. Part memoir, part specu­lative fiction, the book delves into the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee. Special guest Sun Yung Shin will take part in the free program. Call 651-224-8320.

Poets Thomas R. Smith and Klecko will read from their verse in a free program at 6 p.m. Thursday, January 19, at Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave. Smith’s work has reached national audiences on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, “Writer’s Almanac.” His latest collection, Medicine Year, tells of his and his wife’s recovery from serious health issues in the midst of the pandemic. Klecko’s latest work is The Dead Fitzgeralds, a memoir in verse that reflects on the literary legacy of Saint Paul. Call 651-225-8989.

Dance

Minnesota Dance Theatre will join the Minnesota Chorale, singers Anthony Potts, Linh Kauffman and Gary Ruschman and musicians Bob Adney, Barbara Brooks, David Hagedorn and Tom Linker in six performances of Carmina Burana on two weekends in January at the Luminary Arts Center, 701 N. First St. in Minneapolis. Loyce Houlton’s original choreography is set to Carl Orff’s brilliant score in the production. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Jan­uary 13, 14, 20, 21 and 22 and 4 p.m. January 15. Tickets are $40. Visit my.luminaryartscenter.com.

The new Twin Cities group Cumar will introduce its fusion of the traditional music and dance of West Africa and Ireland in shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, January 27 and 28, at the South­ern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S. in Minneapolis. The group, whose name means “confluence” in Gaelic, is an ensemble of dancers and musicians co-directed by Fodé Bangoura, former lead drummer for the national ballet of Guinea and artistic director of Minneapolis’ Duniya Drum and Dance, and Cormac O’Sé, founder of the Celtic Junction Arts Center in Saint Paul and a member of the original Riverdance cast. Tickets are $25, $20 for students. For reservations, visit southerntheater.org.

CAAM Chinese Dance Theater will perform classical and contemporary choreog­raphy on February 4 and 5 in the O’Shaughnessy at Saint Catherine University. Entitled “Radiance,” the concert will feature world premieres by CAAM artististic director Jinyu Zhou, retired artistic director Lili Teng and performance director Ao Liu. Liu will also perform a new dance in honor of her mentor, Yang Liping, aka “the Peacock Queen.” The curtain will rise at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $30-$5. Visit oshag.stkate.edu.

Exhibits

Proving once again that creativity does not contract in the cold, Art Shanty Projects returns to Minneapolis’ Lake Harriet Park from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, January 21 through February 12. Due to unusually thin ice on the lake, the displays and activities will be held on land around the bandshell. Eighteen art shanties will be featured along with a rotating schedule of 20 performing arts groups. Among the attractions are the American Ice Theatre, Twin Cities Native Lacrosse, snowsuit yoga Saturdays, Sunday dance parties and the live music of Frigid Airs, Taiko on Ice, Klezmer on Ice, and Good Trouble and Sarina Partridge and their Subzero Singalongs. Rounding out the entertainment will be live plein air painters, puppet shows and other theatricals, and the solar-powered Archive of Collective Memory and Techno from the Sun music project. Admission is by donation with $10-$20 suggested. Kicksleds will be available as mobility aids, and there will be ASL interpreters and audio describers daily between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. For more information, visit artshantyprojects.org.

Family

Experience Mexico without traveling any further than downtown Saint Paul when Landmark Center opens a new season of Urban Expeditions from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, January 22. Enjoy authentic Mexican music, dance and crafts in this immersive program. Admission is free. Visit landmarkcenter.org.

The Twin City Model Railroad Museum, 668 Transfer Road, has brought back Night Trains. From 3-7 p.m. on Saturdays, now through February 25, the lights will be turned down and the model trains and miniature villages through which they pass will be aglow in holiday decor. Admission to the museum is $15 for Night Trains, $10 at other times, free for children age 4 and under. Call 651-647-9628.

Theater

I Was A Stranger Too, a new drama by Cynthia L. Cooper, will be performed on January 26-29 at Neighborhood House, 179 E. Robie St. Drawn from dozens of interviews, the play tells of a woman who decides to help asylum seekers in memory of her mother’s rescue from the Holocaust and encounters a rich mosaic of people. Directed by Carolyn Levy, it stars Bethmari Márquez Barreto, Kirby Bennett, Nicole Frethem, Mahmoud Hakima, Megan Kim, Jasmine Porter, Shona Ramchandani, Abigail Ramsay and Phasoua Vang. Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $10 or whatever you wish to pay. Visit strangertoo.weebly.com.