SPECIAL EVENT
Wood Grooves
Join us at the Gallery of Wood Art tonight for Gallery Grooves, The Rake’s monthly art, jazz, and
wine event. Socialize and discuss the latest jazz with Kevin Barnes
from KBEM, view artwork for sale, and enjoy wine info and sampling courtesy of The Wine Company. The gallery’s current exhibition, Turning Green: Art with an
Eco-twist, is sometimes serious, sometimes humorous, and always
thought-provoking. Plus, enjoy a special sneak preview of Woodturning in Basic Black. Dramatic forms take the front seat with works in black by fourteen contemporary top studio turners. —Jennifer Havrish
7 to 9 p.m., American Association of Woodturners Gallery of Wood Art, Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul; 651-484-9094; free.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Waking Mind and Body
Matthew Sanford has been a paraplegic since the age of 13. And while some of us may gasp, think "poor guy," or begin assessing our own apparent luck, Sanford inspires much more than these piddly, contrived reactions. For the past 28 years the man has dedicated himself to.. well… healing — healing himself, helping guide others toward healing, helping to clear the path and hone the tools, preparing the environment and showing, through example, what this all means. What does he do? A little bit of everything. He shares, I guess. He’s a public speaker. He’s a yoga instructor who believes, "we all live on a continuum of abilities and disabilities." He’s the founder of Mind Body Solutions, a non-profit dedicated to "the simple and practical notion that minds and bodies work better together." And he’s the author of Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, which narrates his "healing journey—from near death to
triumphant life and all the stops in between." As it happens, Sanford is also an Orono Middle School parent, so he’ll be gracing the school with his presence this evening to share his experiences with us and read from his memoir. Now in its fifth edition, Waking won the People’s Choice Award at the 2007 Minnesota
Book Awards.
7 to 8:30 p.m., Orono Middle School, 800 Crystal Bay Rd., Orono; 952-449-8450.
FILM
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
What kind of natural wonder could possibly bring together a beer-loving Hungarian Revolutionary Hunky Daddy, a sign-weilding nudist, a man whose religious vision includes building a mountain out of mud and paint, a real-estate agent nicknamed "The Landman," and thousands of dead birds and fish? That would be Califoria’s Salton Sea, and the new documentary Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea set out to explore the history and people behind this polluted lake that has been called one of Americans greatest ecological disasters. A question and answer session with the film’s director, Chris Metzler, will follow tonight’s screening. —Kate McDonald
7 p.m., Minnesota Museum of American Art, 50 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul; 651-291-2947; free.
Into the Darkness
Ever wonder if a storm drain looks the same in Glasgow as it does in
St. Paul? How about what the catacombs in Paris look like from the
inside, or what being in an abandoned NASA rocket in Florida is like?
These are just some of the places where Minnesota filmmaker Melody Gilbert
takes us in her new documentary Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness. The
film follows a subculture of young adventurers who explore the
abandoned and underground sites in some of the world’s biggest cities.
Sometimes chased by police or having to wade knee-deep through sewage,
these explorers seek not only the thrill of the unknown and dangerous but
also to try to understand the history and witness the beauty that these
rarely seen sites hold. Tonight, you can do a little exploring of your own. —Kate McDonald
7 p.m., Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-729-7369; $8.
MUSIC
Mel Gibson and the Pants
One should not hold Mel Gibson’s recent unfavorable behavior against them. The fact of the matter is that the 5-piece hip-hop and electronic rock band Mel Gibson and the Pants existed years before Mel’s name became synonymous with anti-Semitic remarks and poorly and impaired driving decisions. Indeed, back in 2004 Mel only conjured visions of a rougedly handsome blue-face-painted Scottish military hero — just the kind of vision for which a good band should be named. And despite the recent negative publicity now associated with their namesake, Mel Gibson and the Pant’s unique sound has made them a favorite, not only on the local scene but on the national front as well due to their recent collaborations with P.O.S. and Eyedea. —Kate McDonald
9 p.m., The Nomad, 501 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-6424.
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