Third Annual Lowertown SantaCon; New writing from Jewel Hill Mayer, Chuck Tompkins and Aleli Balagtas; Chilling winter facts about the Twin Cities
December 17, 2010
THIS WEEKEND! For the third year running, the streets of Lowertown will be overrun by a mob of costumed Santas, elves, reindeer, and other colorful holiday-related characters and objects. Saint Paul's answer to Minneapolis' popular zombie-themed bar hops, SantaCon is part spectacle and part mobile party. Led by Foxy Tann, who heads the Twin Cities only African American burlesque troop, and accompanied by the most mischievous Minnesotan marching band, The Brass Messengers, the 2010 Lowertown SantaCon is a jolly jaunt around the seven bars/restaurants that make up the Lowertown Entertainment District.
Welcome to Mount Como
December 17, 2010
The sign mysteriously appears when the snow starts, at the foot of the golf club driveway, announcing the start of the ski season at Como Park: “Welcome to Mount Como.” When my husband tells a friend visiting from Switzerland, a snowboard instructor, that his kids took downhill ski lessons there, the Swiss fellow looks puzzled. “But there are no hills,” he says.
Dec 13th, 2010 Lowertown Reading Jam: Matthew Rucker presents “The Best Slam Poetry in the World”
December 13, 2010
Hear the best in spoken word by members of the Saint Paul Soap Boxing Slam team — two time winners of the National Poetry Slam (“the Olympics of Slam Poetry”). The Saint Paul Almanac continues its year-round literary celebration of Minnesota’s capital city with the acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams. The December presentation of the eclectic series, curated by Matthew Rucker, will be presented on Monday, December 13, 2010 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Café, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul. The Jams will continue on the second Monday of each month through July 2011.
At the Bar Where F. Scott Fitzgerald Drank Gin
December 10, 2010
—even though I drank wine, and then only half a glass—I felt I owed it to myself and to the guests who’d sat politely through the reading —and to everyone in every college and university 20th Century American Literature class throughout history...
Weather
December 10, 2010
The forty-fifth parallel runs through Saint Paul, Minnesota. This parallel is generally considered the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole. This is irrelevant to our everyday lives with the exception of one truth: it is the cause of our extremely unpredictable weather, a concept that consumes us. We talk about it with co-workers, we talk about it on dates, we analyze it on the TV, we use it as an excuse for being late, we complain about it, we use it to avoid awkward gaps in uncomfortable conversation, and most importantly, we live in it.
New writing from Todd Boss, Maximilian Selim and Nora Murphy; Last few shows of ‘A Klingon Christmas Carol’ this weekend; Massively Updated Events Calendar; Upcoming Lowertown Reading Jams; and another Saint Paul Fact to wrestle with
December 10, 2010
It's the last weekend to see the Klingon Christmas Carol in Saint Paul! Scrooge has no honor, nor any courage. Can three ghosts help him to become the true warrior he ought to be in time to save Tiny Tim from a horrible fate? Performed in the Original Klingon with English Supertitles, and narrative analysis from The Vulcan Institute of Cultural Anthropology. The Dickens classic tale of ghosts and redemption adapted to reflect the Warrior Code of Honor and then translated into tlhIngan Hol (That's the Klingon Language). At the Landmark Center.
Final “Celebration through Stories” Reading on Saturday; 8 Upcoming Lowertown Reading Jams; New Writing from Molly Culligan, Angela Mack and Diane Wilson; Black Nativity @ Penumbra Theater; A Fact
December 2, 2010
FINAL “CELEBRATION THROUGH STORIES” READING ON SAT DEC 4TH! That’s right, it’s the last one! This event series featured contributors to the Saint Paul Almanac reading their pieces from the 2011 edition. Come, listen to the final reading in this year’s series on Saturday! Writers who will read at the final event include Karen Karsten, Leslie Walters, Bob Deck, Alexander Theoharides, Virginia Dippel, Steve Trimble, Jeanne Souldern Pinette, and Judith Niemi.
S.O.S. Saint Paul to Buenos Aires: Juan Pablo, are You Listening?
November 30, 2010
Funny how two people can get the feel of each other in two bars two bars of a tango a woman from the top of the world a man from the bottom of the world in the middle of a circus in the middle of an industrial zone en el Rio Plata in the middle of Buenos Aires.
November
By Diane Wilson ● November 30, 2010
I raise my baton, a rake, a half-chewed stick: dry leaves crackle, snap tympani for the horn toot of geese flying south.
The Club: O’Gara’s Bar & Grill
November 23, 2010
Saint Paul, Minnesota: Everyone’s heard the tale of how it was built by drunken Irishmen who are responsible for the nonsensical layout of winding streets. Congruently, everyone who lives or has ever lived in Saint Paul knows that the one thing this city will never be without is its abundance of Irish pubs.
Give to the Max Day report back; METRO magazine shout out; Kids reviewing things; Hmong New Year; Yet another fact
November 23, 2010
The Almanac extends a giant "Youbetcha we thank you" to all those who generously donated during last Tuesday's "Give to the Max Day" charitable event. You helped us raise over $1,200 in individual donations plus matching grant funds from board members of the Saint Paul Almanac for a total of $2,426 in just 24 hours!