Sparks Fly

FASHION & MUSIC
Voltage 2008: Fashion Amplified

Voltage: Fashion Amplified pumps up the volume again with their annual synthesis of music and fashion. First Avenue is showcasing local fashion gurus along the catwalk with the native Minnesota sounds of The Haves Have It, Zibra Zibra, Bella Koshka, MC/VL, White Light Riot and Birthday Suits
(who also sport the fashions of the designers). The event is set to
take place the day before the opening of Voltage Fashion Weekend 2008,
which will include workshops, fashion shows, trunk shows, and social
networking happy hours for those interested in design and fashion. For
a list of the weekend events go here. And be sure to peruse the list of runway designers. —Hannah Simpson

7 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-1775; $20.

See a slideshow preview of the designs, enjoy Christy DeSmith’s Exclusive Sneak Peek, and read an interview with Voltage designer Ra’mon Lawrence Coleman.

FILM
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Milos

If Voltage isn’t your thing, you have some fabulous film fare from which to choose. The Milos Forman retrospective at the Walker continues this evening with one of his best, and perhaps funniest — though most controversial — films, The Fireman’s Ball. For another, very different kind of classic, of the angel-eyes variety, put your drawers on, take your guns off, and head over to the Edina Cinema for a screening of the world’s best Western, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. And finally, for an "eclectic mix of local filmmaking talent," make your way to the Bryant Lake Bowl for IFP’s monthly Cinema Lounge, featuring films by Jon Springer, JoEllen Martinson & William Scott Rees, Troy Zimmerman, Shakademic, Sean Cook, Sarah Jean Kruchowski, and Jarl Olsen.

BOOKS & AUTHORS
Tough Questions, Straight Answers

A man with two purple hearts and two U.S. Senate terms under his belt — including membership on four senate committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Intelligence; and Rules — Chuck Hagel is sure to have an erudite position on the current state of our country. Tonight, he will share these views with the Twin Cities as he discuss his new book, America: Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers. Through a largely conservative, but consistent and perhaps even practical lens, Hagel looks to the nation’s founding principles to explore the economic, foreign policy, national security, political, domestic, and leadership challenges facing America today.

7 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-625-5549; free.