Center Stage

Art on the Ave features art market and live music Saturday

Art on the Ave, an annual community-wide event sponsored by the Slatterly Park Neighbors, will be held Saturday in the Rochester neighborhood.

The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., features an art market with 25 arts and crafts vendors, live music and food.

Alec Tackmann band will play acoustic rock from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dianna Parks and Kevin Kleist will play popular acoustic rock and country from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tied with Twine, which is Luke and Martha Rypstra, will play folk and Americana music from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

There's also a Bloom Day perennial plant sale that opens around 9:30 a.m. Kids can plant a flower to take home free while supplies last. Cement leaf sculpture and boulevard garden and tree planting demonstrations and question and answers with master gardeners.

As part of the event, each year a new metal sculpture created by Cheryl Fitzgerald of Rochester is incorporated into the boulevard garden at a home in the neighborhood as part of a public art project. Art on the Ave has become a traveling event so that it can be held on the same block as the newly installed sculpture.

This year Art on the Ave will be held in the 900 block of Ninth Avenue Southeast, one block west of Slatterly Park. Parking is available at the park. Admission is free.

— Christina Killion Valdez

Ready for another Hangover?

Have you recovered from the last 'Hangover' yet? "The Hangover Part II" opens today at area theaters. Are you planning to follow the Wolfpack to Bangkok? Let me know your thoughts and impressions and I may use your comments in Thursday's column.

-- Chris Miksanek

-- The Med City Movie Guy

 

... and forgive a Minnesotan for name-dropping, but I met Ken Jeong last year and we talked Improv. He is a very cool and gracious guy, totally unlike Mr. Chow:

 

Tim Allen brings his stand-up to Treasure Island

Actor and comedian Tim Allen has been making Americans laugh for almost 35 years. He is set to perform at the Island Event Center beginning on June 5. 

Allen's career in standup began in 1979, when he took the stage at a comedy club in Detroit on a dare from a friend. He’s since gone from America’s favorite accident-prone tool man in the TV series "Home Improvement" to the big screen.
 
Tickets are $45 and $55, available by calling Treasure Island at 1-877-849-1640, or visit www.ticasino.com. Doors open at 6 p.m., the show begins at 7 p.m.

 

Concert celebrates rhubarb

LANESBORO — If it's June, it must be rhubarb season in Lanesboro, which will celebrate with a Return of the Rhubarb concert at 7:30 p.m. June 4 at the St. Mane Theatre, 206 Parkway Ave. N.

The concert will mix music, poetry and surprises, and will feature performances by the Rhubarb Sisters, Barbara Benson Keith and the Bethlehem Boyz.

The Rhubarb Sisters are Peggy Hanson, Beth Hennessy, Julie Kiehne and Robin Scheu. They have been performing together since 2006, and in 2007 were featured on "A Prairie Home Companion," when the show was broadcast live from Lanesboro's Rhubarb Festival.

Tickets are $15, or $12 for members of the Lanesboro Arts Center, available at the door of the concert, or in advance at the Lanesboro Arts Center, (507) 467-2446.

The concert is the same day as this year's Rhubarb Festival, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Sylvan Park.

 

 

The Thursdays on First summer music series line up is announced

Thursdays on First and Third runs June 9-Sept. 1 downtown Rochester. The outdoor concert series and market features two stages.

Click here to see the full lineup. A magnet with the line up will also be mailed out this week in the Community Connection clear pack.

Minnesota State Fair announces 2011 free stage entertainment lineup

The free stage entertainment lineup for the 2011 Minnesota State Fair has just been announced. Click here to check it out!

Fuel Rochester event set for Thursday at 300 First

Fuel Rochester's free networking event for the month will be at 300 First, 300 First Ave. N.W., Rochester, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

Fuel Members will be invited to taste test a new smokin’ martini, enjoy half-price appetizers and other goodies. 300 FIRST will also feature $3 tap beer, and $5 wines by the glass.

You will have the opportunity to network with upwards of 100 fellow young professionals and Fuel members and learn more about what Fuel Rochester has to offer.

Fuel networking events are open to all Chamber members. Fuel members receive one free drink. Attendees will have the chance to sign up for Fuel.

“Chicago Overcoat” is coming to town

 
“Chicago Overcoat” is a mob film with street cred. It was awarded ‘Best of the Fest’ at the “Chicago International Film Festival.” It stars Frank “Go home and get your shine box” Vincent as an aging mobster who needs to make one last hit to retire. Co-stars Kathrine Narducci ("The Sopranos," "A Bronx Tale") and Armand Assante (“Gotti”). It’s now available on DVD at area Redbox kiosks, but I have a couple copies for the first two Center Stage readers who post the title of their favorite mob film and why. Fans of the genre may also be interested in my “Let's Talk Genre: Mob Films.”

Celebrate Mr. Bubbles' birthday with the world's largest bubble bath

Mr. Bubble, the iconic bubble bath brand, is locally-owned right here in Minnesota.

To celebrate his 50th birthday, Mr. Bubble is hosting a giant birthday bash on June 11 at the Water Park of America in Bloomington from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., complete with the world's largest bubble bath.

For full party details, go to www.mrbubble.com.

Arrrrr... I mean "Are" ... you going to be at the "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Midnight show tonight?

Arrrrr... I mean "Are" ... you going to be at the "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Midnight show tonight? Let me know your thoughts and impressions and I may use your comments in Thursday's column.

-- Chris Miksanek

-- The Med City Movie Guy