ART
White Bear Benefit
The White Bear Center for the Arts is hosting an Art Watch benefit for the next few days. Catch live art demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow, and Raku firing this evening from 6 to 9 p.m. Witness or participate in the creation of traditional Japanese pottery. Bring the family to watch, or purchase pots to glaze and fire yourself. The event is free, but proceeds from the pots benefit the White Bear Center for the Arts. The live art demonstrations, featuring more than fifty local artists, include painting, watercolor, pottery, metalworking, lampworking, and jewelry. The artwork will then be donated to the Art Auction Gala event ($45) on Saturday evening.
10 a.m. – 9 p.m., White Bear Center for the Arts, White Bear Lake Armory Building, 2228 Fourth St., White Bear Lake; 651-407-0597; free.
DANCE by Christy DeSmith
Momentum: New Dance Works
A quartet of the state’s most compelling pieces of choreography come together in this sixth annual snapshot of the Minnesota dance community. An early standout this year is Our Perfectly Wonderful Lives, a riff on the allure of superstardom by one of our favorite physical-theater troupes, Off-Leash Area Contemporary Performance Works. Co-director Paul Herwig says the story involves “three characters happily skipping down the road to disaster with absolute willingness and smiles on their faces.” It uses Andy Warhol’s biography as a rough launching point, weaving together dance, theater, and even visual art — including a giant tinfoil recreation of Warhol’s Factory. Tonight’s performance features Maggie Bergeron and Company, and Justin Jones.
8 p.m., Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-340-1725; $18 (Walker and Southern members $14).
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Inventing Van Gogh
Also opening this evening is Swandive Theatre’s production of Inventing Van Gogh, at the Lowry Lab Theater. Local playwright Steven Dietz weaves a haunting tale of art, madness, and the obsession to create. The story centers around the final Van Gogh self-portrait — which has never before been discovered. Follow protagonist Patrick Stone as he attempts to forge this masterpiece while wrestling with his own demons over the death of his friend and mentor.
8 p.m., Lowry Lab Theater, Lowry Building across from the St. Paul Hotel, St. Paul; 651-646-6670; $15 (students/seniors/fringe buttons $12).
Of course, if you’re looking for something a little more real, then head for the Teen Poetry Slam at the Walker. Quest for the Voice brings together young people from all walks of life in a night featuring the Minnesota Slam Team, a group of the best teenage poets from around the state. 7 p.m., McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center; free.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Publishing and Bookselling in an Endangered Language
Louise Erdrich — author of eleven novels, several works of nonfiction, and children’s books — shares a unique perspective on the world of authorship, reading, and publishing this evening. Believe me, this woman has much to offer. She is the proprietor of BirchBark Books, an independent book store in Minneapolis, and BirchBark Books Press, which publishes Ojibwe works.
8-9:30 p.m., Room Memorial Hall, McNamara Alumni Center, Minneapolis.
MUSIC by Britt Robson
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Ever since Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers essentially invented it, bluegrass has been the soul music of white people, and the outfit known to fans as AKUS is a worthy heir to that tradition. Exquisite soulfulness is pervasive in the God-fearing religion they wear on their sleeves and keep in their hearts; it’s also omnipresent in the sublime, string-driven braid of fiddle-dobro-guitar that girds Krauss’s angelic voice on the group’s hoedowns, hymns, and hair-tingling ballads. Purists sniff that they’re too slick and commercial, especially since the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? movie soundtrack made them a dorm-and-apartment — if not exactly household — name. But listen to Krauss, on fiddle, and dobro maestro Jerry Douglas trade licks on “Unionhouse Branch” and then show me bowers and pluckers in any Appalachian holler who are more pure.
8 p.m., Northrop Auditorium; 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-2345; $58, $52, $47.
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