Twin Ports Gigs and Happenings As We March Toward Spring

Fiber Art by Erika Mock

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ~Hebrews 11:1

Here it is the last day of February. Thirty below on my thermometer yesterday. Minus nineteen at the moment. I was about to say that based on these thermometer readings there's no evidence of spring approaching. Such a conclusion is untrue, however. Jack Frost is just doing a little magic using a bit of misdirection. If we focus too hard on the temperatures we might fail to notice that the days are getting longer. Spring really is around the corner.

Here's my "short list" of events to make note of.

Minerva Zine Party at PROVE
The Second Annual Minerva Zine Party will be tonight at the PROVE Gallery in downtown Duluth. According to their Facebook invitation the event begins at 7:00 p.m. this evening and continues till 11:00 p.m. tomorrow. Minerva is a local feminist zine co-founded by Laura Gapske. The happening will include zine art, live readings of zine poetry, a library of zines for review and music by The Social Disaster starting at 8.

Perspectives and Parallels at the Tweed
Next Tuesday the Tweed Museum is hosting a symposium and reception for Perspectives and Parallels, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Jill Doefler, professor of American Indian Studies at UMD, will moderate the discussion featuring guest-curators and writers who have curated past Tweed exhibitions  including Mni Sota (Dyani White Hawk), Encoded (John Hitchcock), Blood Memoirs (Amber-Dawn Bear Robe), and writers Amy Lonetree and Joanna Bigfeather. Topics such as Native American Identity, voice, and historical representation will be examined. (There will be no Tweevenings in March)

Ed Newman Book Signing at the Superior Library

If you miss my book signing because you attended Perspectives and Parallels, you are excused. I would be there myself if I weren't already slated here. In 2011 TJ Lind and I formed a publishing company of sorts called N&L Publishing. We published four eBooks at Amazon.com, three volumes of short stories and my Young Adult novel The Red Scorpion. Due to our inability to get newspapers to review my eBooks and other experiences, we decided to bring these four books into print. Unremembered Histories is the first of these.

TJ will be flying back to the midwest today from his Rhode Island college and will be on hand as we make a short presentation about my writing experiences and our mutual publishing experiences. We will then be donating two books to the Superior Library. There's a surprise coming, but I can't tell you about it right now. Why? Because then it wouldn't be a surprise.

Open Fridays @ Erika Mock's Studio 

Erika Mock is opening her studio every Friday in February and March from noon till 7:00.  Mock is a textile and fiber artist whose studio is up in the far back of the Red Mug building, which houses a number of other artists including the Mud Sisters and Terry Millikan. Today is a "No Snow" day so there will be more parking available than the past few weeks. Grab a bite to eat at the Red Mug, or fresh bread at the bakery. Or find any other excuse you can to drop in and say hi. Special of the Day: 10% off wings and pulse warmers.

Playlist Growing for the Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan

Magic Marc Percansky and John Bushey of KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited will be the honorary MCs for this event. The house band looks to be all aces, consisting of Billy Hallquist, Gary Lopac, Matt Fink, Stan Kipper, Chico Perez, Lonnie Knight, Ralph Dacut. Confirmed guest artists include: Barry Thomas Goldberg, Gene LaFond, James Loney, Paul Metsa, Courtney Yasmineh and, yes, Scarlet Rivera once again. Several others are in the wings as we await confirmations.

Mark your calendar for Saturday May 17. Tickets are on sale now for this Armory Arts and Music Center fund raiser spectacular.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Engage it.