The Rake's Gallery Grooves Goes Typographic at MCBA!

ART
The Rake’s Gallery Grooves

For those of you who missed our bonus edition of Gallery Grooves earlier this month, here’s your chance to make it up to us! The Rake, KBEM Jazz 88 and Artisan Vineyards
join forces for yet another installment of our monthly art, jazz and
wine party – this time taking you on a foray into the world of graphic
design and typography at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Face the Nation: How National Identity Shaped Modern Typeface Design 1900-1960, curated by University of St. Thomas art history professor Dr. Craig
Eliason, explores how politics and cultural transition helped shape modern typeface design. The exhibition includes a number of beautiful original prints, memorabilia from the printing trade, and free
commemorative keepsakes you can hand-print yourself! Enjoy the musical stylings of Wallace Hill with the Progressive Percussion Ensemble, sip some amazing wines, and chat it up with like-minded arty folks in one of the
most gorgeous spaces in the Twin Cities – which also just so happens to be my favorite spot to get wired on coffee and wi-fi multiple times a
week!

6-9pm, MN Center for Book Arts / Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue, Downtown Minneapolis, free

MUSIC
DJ St. Croix with Hardland/Heartland

Join the super-hotness that is DJ St. Croix
for a special evening of funk, disco, soul, new wave and the unexpected,
tonight at King and I Thai. Accompanying St. Croix on the turntables
are his cohorts in art, the avant neo-dadaist artist collective Hardland/Heartland (whom I like to call the DIY Matthew Barneys
of Minneapolis), spinning their favorite tunes in the cool, cool
ambiance of the King and I. Max and relax with your pals while
indulging in cocktails carefully crafted with boozy infusions of thai
chili, lime, basil, and pineapple (not necessarily in that combination)
and enjoying the view – because on top of having stellar musical taste,
this crew is equally easy on the eyes! DJ St. Croix takes over the King
and I every third Thursday of the month, so mark your calendars, and
click HERE to download a free music mix ala Croix that will keep your last few weeks of summer soulfully sizzlin’!

10pm, King and I Thai, 1346 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, Free

SPECIAL EVENT
Smitten Kitten 5th Birthday

It seems like just yesterday Smitten Kitten
rolled into Uptown to sate the needs of the sexually challenged far and
wide. Minus the usual creepy sex shop stigma, the lady-focused Kitten
is still sexy and going strong after five successful years of liberating
closet perverts and educating lovers – and winning a string of "best
of" awards along the way. Help kick off this weekend-long celebration
of the Smitten Kitten’s sexiest milestone yet with, (what else?) Dildo Bingo at Pi Bar. Bust out those phallic bingo daubers and win yourself a shiny new "toy," then stick around for the Live! Nude! Drag! show,
a gender-bending burlesque experience you’ll definitely get a major kick out
of. The party continues all weekend with in-store events and an
additional party on Saturday night at Pi featuring director Tristan
Taormino screening clips from her new film. Hot!

7pm, Pi Bar, 2532 25th Avenue South, Minneapolis, free