Local Happenings This Weekend: Art, Music, Poetry, Dance and TWO FREE TICKETS

Straight up, you have to make decisions. Too much to see, too little time.

Tonight, jazz/blues singer Pippi Ardienne will be at the Oldenburg House. It's sold out, so your decision has been made for you.

Tonight, the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art is hosting its Second Annual Student/Instructor Exhibition. If you can't make the opening, the art school will be open throughout the weekend. Check the link for hours.

The Hibbing Dylan Project will be offering a Bob Dylan themed tour of Hibbing on Saturday May 19th. The tour will be given by Mary Keyes, a Hibbingite who has been giving Dylan themed tours of Hibbing for over a decade. Mary’s tours are always informative and entertaining. Dylan fans should not pass up this learning opportunity. The tour is part of a day long celebration put on by The Hibbing Dylan Project acknowledging Bob Dylan and his accomplishments.

The cost for the “Bob Dylan’s Hibbing Experience” bus tour is $30 and seating is limited. Tickets may be purchased at Security State Bank in downtown Hibbing, or may be reserved for will-call by emailing hibbingdylanproject@gmail.com. Refreshments will be served on the bus.

I HAVE ONE FREE TICKET that was purchased and donated for a giveaway here. The first person to contact me via email (ennyman3 AT gmail DOT com) or FB or Twitter (ennyman3) will receive this ticket if we can get it to you and you're planning to go.

Proceeds from the day will be going towards the Hibbing Dylan Project’s tribute of Bob Dylan’s achievements.

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The Largest open studio weekend of the year Nationwide is this weekend in Minneapolis. If you are in the Twin Cities, check out the Art-O-Whirl.

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I ALSO HAVE A FREE TICKET TO SEE BIG WU. This is a concert to support the Armory Arts and Music Center vision and to raise ongoing awareness for the Historic Armory. The first person to Buy a Ticket gets this FREE TICKET FOR A FRIEND.

Big Wu got its start in late 1991. Their first couple gigs were on campus in 1992. According to Mark Castino, "We weren't all that interested in school especially after we began having success with the music. Initially we learned and performed classic rock and funk tunes with an emphasis on Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers, thanks to Jason's influence. I had virtually zero knowledge of the Dead when I joined the band. Today I can safely say that Jerry Garcia is a guiding light for my guitar playing for the last 25 years."

After four years of playing cover songs in or around Northfield, the band mostly graduated and relocated to the Twin Cities with the intention of trying their luck in that music scene. "We quickly realized that we needed original music now, so I began writing music that would end up on our debut album in 1997. Terry also began writing. He and I have always been the main writers in the band."

This year the ban is putting the finishing touches on their ninth official release, due out this summer. No official title yet, but all original music with the exception of one song which utilizes the lyrics of Robert Hunter.

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SUNDAY After there will be a Celebration of Motherhood in all its forms at Beaners.

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ALSO on Sunday, Duluth Poet Laureate Ellie Schoenfeld is presenting an event called Wordy Dancing, a celebration of poetry through the movement of dance. DETAILS HERE

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AND FINALLY Duluth Dylan Fest begins tomorrow evening with the opening at Karpeles featuring a presentation of a portion of the William Pagel Dylan Archives, accompanied by the first of two lectures in the John Bushey Memorial Lecture Series. David Pichaske, who teaches literature and writing at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, is the author of more than two dozen books including A Generation in Motion: Popular Music and Society in the Sixties and Song of the North Country: A Midwest Framework to the Songs of Bob Dylan. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the Dylan lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.  Learn more about our speaker at DavidPichaske.com.

I myself will be at this event (the lecture at Karpeles) as well as Sunday evening's Dylan Trivia at Carmody's, 9:00. This is the fifth or sixth year that I've assembled the trivia questions, and as usual there are some special ones. You don't really have to win to have fun. Join us.

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KEY LINKS
TICKETS FOR BIG WU
Duluth Dylan Fest Complete Schedule

Meantime, how do people find time for television?

Twin Ports Happenings: Art, Poetry, The Beatles and More

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” ― Leonardo da Vinci

One of the values that newspapers bring to a region is their documentation of history. If you've got a hankering for what happened back in time around here, the first place to dig would have been the public library. Today we can Google a lot of things, and sites like Zenith City Online bring us endless riches from our oft-forgotten past.

What's a little more difficult to unearth are the grass roots activities going on. I see so much happening in the local arts scene that is not being covered in the papers at all. And if at some point in time there be a major emergence that occurs, drawing national attention to the Midwest as an arts center, it might not be the newspapers that lead the way in documenting what happened. It may be The Playlist and blogs like Perfect Duluth Day or this one that people cull to see what happened.

Maybe. Or maybe it doesn't matter all that much whether the outside world notices. We've got something good going on, and here are few more glimmers from that treasure of local arts activities.

TONIGHT

Duluth Art Institute
Artists Ryuta Naka Jima & Aya Kawaguchi Gallery Talk
5:30 p.m.
Artistic Director Anne Dugan will lead the conversation, and the three will discuss artistic practice and inspiration.

Lizzard's

Painting by Wendy Rouse

An Evening with Wendy Rouse's Paintings
5:00 p.m.

Beaners
Spoken Word Open Mic
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Red Herring
Poetry Motel Thursday Night Slam
8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

SATURDAY

Benchmark Tattoo
Aqueous Volume Eight Release Party
6:00 p.m.

Teatro Zuccone
The Revolution 5 Presents: "The Beatles' #1 Hits"
7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY

Studio 15
Kids Art: Eruptive Art
2:00 p.m.

RT Quinlans
Benefit for Eric Swanson and his Family
2:00 p.m. till Midnight

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Because I don't cover the music scene here, you will want to make sure you follow the Reader and the Transistor. The Trib shines a spotlight in a few places each week as well, including this week's bluegrass festival in Canal Park. Also there's a car show at the DECC this weekend, Motorhead Madness. Cars can be works of art, too. At one time, automakers produced cars with real style, and many of those lost gems can be found this weekend in the DECC.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.

Stuff Goin' On 'Round Town

Thursday and Friday I attended a few events that I look forward to sharing about. In the meantime, here are some things happening this weekend plus something to look forward to.

Rubber Chicken Theater is putting on Chicken Hat Plays #12 tonight. See if you can find out where by reading this informational Facebook announcement.

Looking for new ways to make beautiful things? Studio 15 is holding a workshop tomorrow afternoon called Art Relaxation Techniques through Paper Marbling. The recently opened Studio 15 is utilizing a space on 3rd Avenue West, halfway up the block on the left. They also have a Kids Art workshop at 2:00-4:00 p.m. tomorrow in which kids will learn Paper Dying. Don't kid yourself. Art can be fun.

And finally, for something completely different, Studio 15 is doing "Life Casting" next week. I do not know how they accomplish it in the scheduled two hours, but it looks interesting. You can read about it and sign up on Facebook.

Finally, mark your calendars for January 31st. The Armory Arts and Music Center is hosting a Winter Dance Party, celebrating the 56th anniversary of the Winter Dance Party with Buddy Holly at the historic Duluth Armory. The music will be top notch, featuring a number of the musicians who were here last spring for the Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan. They call themselves The Travelons - Lonnie Knight, Stan Kipper, Gary Lopac, Gene LaFond, Jim Steinworth and Amy Grillo.

If you can find something to wear, dress in your best 50's garb and you may win the Best Dressed Award. Put on your dancing shoes and compete in the 2015 Winter Dance Party dance contest. The evening will also include a silent auction and cash bar.

Finally, the Nice Girls of the North Second Saturday Marketplace is open today. Heat up your car, go for a drive up to Lakeside... and see cool stuff. Skip the mall. Buy local.

Meantime... art goes on all around you. 

Local Happenings This Week and Next

“No one's place in this world is guaranteed. Not everyone is going to get a happy ending. But life isn't about how it ends. It's about the moments between. It's about the small things. The way our loved ones laugh. The sight of a butterfly in the sunlight after a year or two in the darkness. The love and support of an old friend. They might not be with us in body, but they are with us in spirit. The feeling of something we'd thought lost to us forever returned in a single, life-changing moment. Yes, that is simple, even though it might be momentous to us as individuals. Because every day, on this planet, people are born and people die and stranger things happen. But I know my place now, and my purpose. And no matter what trial you have to endure to find that out... It's worth it.” 
 ― Jenny Trout, All Souls' Night

I can tell its October because of the ghost and goblin costumes hanging in from the ceiling at Walgreens. It's hard to believe how much money exchanges hands here in the purchase of mass-produced Halloween gear.

In contrast to this, if you want to be part of something steeped in deeper traditions, you'll want to consider being part of the 7th Annual Duluth All Souls Night. The event itself will take place on Sunday, Nov. 2nd, 3-7 p.m at the Depot, but preparations will begin tonight at Pineapple Arts on 1st Street.

Artist Mary Plaster, will open doors at All Souls Festival Arts (ASFA) with materials available for anyone to design a skull mask or face paint and get their own costume ready with the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) theme, or work on a large fish skeleton, or fix existing moose and human skeleton puppets. They will also be working on ofrenda displays. Check it out at 134 West 1st Street. The actual celebration has become a very big community event. You can be a part of it Tuesdays & Thursdays 6 - 8 p.m. or Saturdays 10 - noon and 1 - 3. They will be preparing the Depot Great Hall on Friday, Oct. 31th 10 - noon and Saturday, Nov. 1st, Depot hours. Afterwards you can help clean up on Monday Nov. 3rd 10 - noon.

Spoken Word Open Mic
Beaners is always alive with activity. We recently discovered the jazz night on the last Sunday of every month. FREE. Great sounds.
The third Thursday of each month is a Spoken Word open mic and trivia night hosted by Tina Higgins. This week's featured author and poet is Ellie Shoenfeld, with musician Jamie Ness also sharing the stage.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Beanerscentral, 324 N Central Ave, Duluth, Minnesota 55807

Zeitgeist Arts 5-Year Anniversary and Fundraiser
Next week Zeitgeist turns 5. Seems like they have been here forever. We sometimes take for granted all the richness that has been generously shared with us in the community. Zeitgeist is been in the center of much of that. This is both a celebration and a fundraiser. Check out their Facebook page for a breakdown of the week's events.

"Twin Ports" Episodes 8 & 9
It's only a bridge. Get over it and see the Twin Ports Stage and Wisconsin Public Radio performance of "Twin Ports". Life radio the old fashioned way. At the Belknap Lounge.

And finally...

Agent Smith says "Be there."

Goin' Postal 2014 Fall Art Show
Goin' Postal has become my "sort of" home gallery, but the show will feature as many as 17 artists with a lot of new work. The events have created much chatter among the locals. Join us Friday October 24 from 6:00 p.m on for art and music, along with all the social benefits of being amongst friends. Bring them or make new ones. Details here.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Celebrate it.