Born and raised in Englewood, Ca. Mayo Gardner, 22, began writing poetry at 9 years of age before moving to the Twin Cities. Tired of having emotions such as loss and grief built up inside, Mayo took to poetry as a means for a positive outlet. Seeing his talent early, a homegirl of Mayo’s asked him to promise her that he would take his writing seriously. You can say he’s holding up his end of the bargain.
The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the sixth in its 2012–2013 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams, which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota’s capital city. This long-anticipated reading by 25+ of some of the most prolific women of color in the Twin Cities is curated by Shá Cage. Cage has traveled widely to areas such as Canada, England, Africa, New York, Bosnia, France, and more, teaching and performing her work that largely centers around topics of identity, class, cultural celebration, and home. Cage has invited the women to speak around a shared theme, “The Blacker the Berry.” Expect laughter, deep thought, community engagement, knee-slapping, and finger-snapping.
Krysta Rayford a.k.a. K.Raydio was born in Evanston, Illinois, and moved to Minneapolis in grade school. Her mother was a singer and guitarist and her father was the son of a blues musician. Rayford graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2010 with a degree in Communication Arts. Shortly thereafter Rayford attended an Erykah Badu/Janelle Monae concert in Chicago, which inspired her to overcome her longtime stage fright and pursue her passion for music.
Featured performer Nehemiah is an up & coming comedian in the Twin Cities. He has shared the stage with both local and national artists. Get ready for the funny. Host Tish Jones, Community Engagement Director for the Saint Paul Almanac, is a spoken word artist, writer, educator, organizer, and activist in the Twin Cities. She received the 2009 Artist of the Year Award from City Pages and was Female Spoken Word Artist of the Year at the Minnesota Spoken Word Association’s Urban Griots Awards in 2009.
Kate Lynn Hibbard’s first book of poems, Sleeping Upside Down (Silverfish Press 2006), won the Gerald Cable Book Award. Her second collection, Sweet Weight, was released by Tiger Bark Press in 2012. She is editor of When We Become Weavers: Queer Female Poets on the Midwestern Experience (Squares & Rebels Press, 2012). Other honors include the Aestrea Foundation’s Lesbian Writing Finalist Award, a McKnight Artist Fellowship in Poetry, two Minnesota State Arts Board Initiative Grants, a Jerome Foundation Travel Grant, and residencies at Hedgebrook and the Cornucopia Arts Council.
Como Park Zoo & Conservatory presents “Music Under Glass,” a free concert series featuring local musicians inside the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s two-acres of tropical gardens. “Music Under Glass” will showcase live, local musicians from 4:30—6:30 pm every Sunday beginning February 24, 2013 through March 31, 2013. Escape the winter chill to the comfortable confines of the Conservatory for a perfect blend of musical styling ranging from a variety of genres—Zydeco to Cello & Gypsy to Jazz. Food, cocktails, beer & wine will be available to purchase.
Tim Blighton is a poet and musician. As president of the writers’ club at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, he helped publish “Quarter Mile from the Spoon & Cherry” a periodical of student and faculty writing. He hopes some day to win an paper airplane competition in Argentina. Tim currently lives in the East Phillips neighborhood with his wife Karen and their two orange tabbies.
The Saint Paul Almanac has begun the process of looking for photos and artwork for the 2014 edition! Deadline for photos/artwork is the end of March 2013. We are looking for photos of: original/fresh/new views of old parts of the Saint Paul landscape (eg. State Capitol, bridges, landmarks, etc) • Saint Paul festivals and events (Cinco de Mayo, Grand Old Day, Winter Carnival, flower shows, etc) • Saint Paul parks, zoos, wildlife, nature, seasons, weather, etc. • Saint Paul places (bars, restaurants, museums, art galleries, etc.) • Saint Paul people doing what they do (the Saint Paul Almanac is a diverse project that intentionally seeks out and includes all cultures that live in the city, so be aware that people submissions depicting only white people are less likely to be included).
I had a meeting with Kimberly Nightingale in Lowertown two weeks ago and, sure enough, we got invited to play around with a Hasbro toy from our youth. Ta-coumba Aiken is the talent behind the world’s largest (they are going for the world record) Lite-Brite sculpture planned for the Union Depot. I am told that the bright sculpture will measure 9 x 27 feet and illuminate some 570,000 tiny blue, green, pink and red transparent pegs.
The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the fifth in its 2012–2013 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams, which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota’s capital city. The “When Poets Found Bass” Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul. This presentation of the popular and eclectic series, curated by Saymoukda Vongsay, features performances by Fres Thao, Desdamona, Truthmaze and Saymoukda Vongsay, with music by DJ Kool Akiem.
David “Dancin’ Dave” Marcotte could be considered a household name in the Twin Cities Hip Hop community. Dancin’ Dave became nationally known as one of the original Red Bull Beatriders after participating in weeklong workshops with Masters of Hip-Hop Dance, an event that was sponsored by Red Bull. He competes and judges competitions both locally and nationally and has even been brought to Europe several times in the last few years as a dance instructor, competition judge, and featured performer. David continues to teach and perform bringing with him wherever he goes a deep comprehensive knowledge of both his crafts as well as the various elements of Hip Hop culture.
The City of Saint Paul has announced that the groundbreaking has begun on an exciting new near-Downtown Saint Paul affordable housing project, the Schmidt Brewery Artist Lofts. The historic Schmidt Brewery has featured in several editions of the Saint Paul Almanac. The $120 million project will redesign the historic Schmidt Brewery to specifically meet the needs of artists. Schmidt Brewery, built in the 1930s, will have 260 units after the full-scale renovations, including 121 units in the bottling house, 126 units in the brew house and 13 new construction townhouse units built on a vacant lot adjacent to the bottling house.
Help us to SAVE OUR STORIES by supporting Saint Paul Almanac’s literary and visual artists, and filmmakers.
We need your contributions so we may continue our work. Thank you!