SUNSET GALA Party for Freedom Park

You are invited to a Sunset Gala at Freedom Park!

This year’s event will be hosted in the evening, offering amazing views from the bluff tops while we watch the sun set over the Mississippi River Valley. This unforgettable evening includes a delicious full-fare catered meal, live music with Trio Tipo and other entertainment, engaging conversations about our important work preserving two beautiful rivers, a silent auction, a “Sunset Spirit Pull,” and much more.

Saturday, September 29 at 5 PM – 9 PM

Basic: $35 ticket includes a meal, entertainment, a drink, dessert
Premium: $55 ticket includes all of the above, plus reserved seating

To purchase a ticket, please stop by the Great River Road Visitor & Learning Center, or call the center at 715-262-0104.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to Friends of Freedom Park, the non-profit that supports the education programs and operations of the Great River Road Visitor & Learning Center at Freedom Park.

Great River Road Visitor and Learning Center at Freedom Park
200 Monroe St, Prescott, Wisconsin 54021

Dr. Falstaff and the Working Wives of Lake County: A Picnic Operetta

Celebrate the harvest with a unique blend of music, horticulture, food, and storytelling!

Celebrating its 10th season, the company brings an edible opera adventure to parks, farms, and gardens throughout MN August 17th – October 7th.

Mixed Precipitation announces Dr. Falstaff and the Working Wives of Lake County: A Picnic Operetta, a new adaptation of Otto Nicolai’s German opera, The Merry Wives of Windsor, with a bit of Minnesota history and the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Created by Producing Artistic Director Scotty Reynolds, Director Kym Longhi, Music Director Gary Ruschman, and the Mixed Precipitation team, this late summer harvest celebration offers local flavors with picnic bites for the audience. It’s fun for everyone!

Tour Dates:

Sat. September 1 & Sun. September 2, at 2 p.m.
Alexis Bailly Vineyard
18200 Kirby Ave. Hastings, MN 55033

Sat. September 15, 2 p.m.
Memorial Park, Presented by the Sheldon Theater
315 W 4th St, Red Wing, MN 55066
Skyline Drive entrance off 600 Block of E. 7th Street

See Full Schedule

An edible opera adventure for the whole family, A Picnic Operetta marks its 10-year tradition of celebrating the harvest with a unique blend of music, horticulture, food, and storytelling. A Picnic Operetta will tour the Twin Cities metro and several locations around the state, including first-time performances in Finland, Cook, and Red Wing. The tour will also include performances in Babbitt, Hastings, Wykoff, Winona, and Oronoco.

Dr. Falstaff and the Working Wives of Lake County: A Picnic Operetta takes place on the shores of Lake Superior where a small town is in trouble. The taconite plant has gone bust and jobs are leaving town fast. Meanwhile, the sleazy Doctor Falstaff has washed up on shore. He’s looking to sell a boat, eat some herring, and seduce some married women. Luckily, a trio of tough working gals has teamed up to chase the rat out of town. These working wives (a nurse, a park ranger, and a librarian) show the men in town who’s the Boss. Read More

Reservations

Please call 1-800-838-3006 or visit mixedprecipitation.org for reservations. Reservations will be available on June 1 at mixedprecipitation.org. Seating is limited, and reservations are strongly encouraged.
The suggested donation is $10 – 20 per person. Donations are a critical source of funding for The Picnic Operetta and can be made with your reservation or collected at the performance.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds. We provide blankets, bug spray and sunscreen for our audience, but patrons are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and water.

Download (PDF, 548KB)

Air Force Musicians to Perform

Join Starlifter musicians during a special performance!

This summer performance will take place on Thursday, August 16th, 7:00 pm. at the for an evening of music.

The United States Air Force Band of Mid-America group, Starlifter, is a seven-piece group of talented Airmen-musicians. The group performs virtually every musical idiom, from rock and pop to jazz and country, to great contemporary and transitional patriotic songs. Starlifter features the best in popular music from the 1970’s to the most current sound at the top of today’s charts

This concert is cosponsored by Lyle Russell VFW Post 1210 and is presented as a public service to the community FREE OF CHARGE.

For further information, please visit the U. S. Air Force Band of Mid-America Website.

Rotary Pavilion
Veterans Memorial, Levee Park
20 Ramsey Street
Hastings MN 55033

Download (PDF, 954KB)

Work of Art Series

Learn a new set of business skills!

The Pleasant Hill Library is offering a professional development series geared for artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. Attend any or all sessions in September.

Presented by Springboard for the Arts. Registration required at www.dakotacounty.us/library

Work of Art: Business Plan Essentials

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Event Details
Learn how to prepare a simple business plan in arts-friendly language and get help organizing the various aspects of your artistic practice and making informed business decisions.

Registration begins 8/21/2018 at 10:00 AM

Work of Art: Funding

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Event Details
Learn to think creatively about how to diversify your funding streams by exploring traditional and new models for generating value, resource and revenue.

Registration begins 9/4/2018 at 10:00 AM

Work of Art: Kiva Info Session

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Event Details

Learn how the Kiva microloan platform works and about matching funds, examples of successful artists’ projects and best practices to help you find capital to expand or invest in your work.

Registration begins 9/11/2018 at 10:00 AM

For more information please contact Pleasant Hill Library

DCL at Hastings (Pleasant Hill)
Pleasant Hill Large Meeting Room
1490 S Frontage Rd, Hastings, MN 55033

Shrek The Musical

Come enjoy some ogre-sized fun with this fairy tale adventure!

Be prepared to laugh until you’re green in the face!

Jul 27, 2018 – Aug 05, 2018

Shrek The Musical- at Hastings Middle School! Read more

As you know the location of Shrek has changed from the Hastings HIGH School to the Hastings MIDDLE School at 1000 11th St. W; Hastings, MN 55033. Please be sure to remind anyone that you typically go with that it is at the Middle School!

With this, the number of tickets that we typically sell each night, is the number that we have in the space, so the number of tickets that we will have available at the door will be limited!

Get your tickets ahead of time online or at the Hastings YMCA if you know when you are going to be joining us.

Tickets

Make Music Day

Celebrate the longest day of the year with “Make Music Day”!

“Make Music Day” is a celebration of music around the world. Soloists and bands will perform at local parks throughout the day.

Join the fun on Thursday, 21 Jun 2018 from 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM

Fourteen hours, ten bands, 5 parks, 0 dollars. It’s Make Music Day, a worldwide celebration of music held on the longest day of summer. Come for one band or make a day of it and explore Hastings to see them all. Check the event listing for times and locations.

All ages are welcome. Cost: FREE

Visit www.hastingsmn.gov/programsandevents to learn about the performances, locations & times.

Art Reception & Program: Joe Maurer

Join Artist Joe Maurer at a special artist reception!

The Great River Road Visitor & Learning center is hosting the “Midwest Gnostic Natures” Art Exhibit. The artist reception with program featuring Mr. Maurer will be held on Friday, May 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

“Nature needs a marketing department” – Bill Hogseth

Wisconsin based artist Joe Maurer celebrates our most rare creatures and vulnerable places; migratory birds, remnant prairies, rivers and savannas in a new series of energetic and colorful paintings.

Joe Maurer is the chair of the Chippewa Savannas Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts, and will talk about his work with this organization, and his passion for the native landscape and its inhabitants.

Joe Maurer has a BFA (99’) from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a MLA from the University of Pennsylvania (04’). He currently lives in Eau Claire.

The artist reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will be on display through July 5, 2018

The Great River Road Visitor & Learning
200 Monroe St
Prescott, WI 54021

National Eagle Center Watershed Gallery Summer Exhibit

The National Eagle Center warmly invites you to the Watershed Gallery summer exhibit opening reception on Thursday, May 10th from 5 – 6:30 p.m.

Their summer exhibit, which runs May – August, is called “The Art of Conservation: A Focus on Stamps” and highlights selected works of art used by the Federal Duck Stamp program. It features the work of four Minnesota artists whose work has featured prominently in the Federal program and state programs across the country. The artists include Jim Hautman, Michael Sieve, Scot Storm, and Tim Turenne.

Michael Sieve, Scot Storm, and Tim Turenne will be on-hand to talk about their work and answer questions. Original pieces and prints will be available for purchase.

The reception is free to the public and light refreshments will be served.

You can learn more by visiting the National Eagle Center website

“We hope you can make it. We’d love to see you…”

National Eagle Center
50 Pembroke Ave
Wabasha, MN 55981

Shakespeare on the Bluff: Twelfth Night

Enjoy a guided theatrical experience while walking the trails above the Mississippi River!

Join (lumin)theater lab for a promenade style production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night!

The venue for this production is the beautiful Spring Lake Park Reserve outside of Hastings, MN. The audience will gather outside near the Schaar’s Gathering Center (signs will be posted) to begin the performance.

“Shipwrecked on the shores of a strange land, clever Viola assumes the guise of a messenger for Duke Orsino and finds herself the center of a fiery love triangle that pushes the boundaries of identity, passion and class. This fearless heroine matches wits with love-sick Orsino, loveless Malvolio and lovelorn Olivia.”

Tickets are available now for their performances on May 5-6; 12-13; 19-20, 2018

Accessible Performance: the Sunday, May 20th performance at 1:00pm will be an accessible performance held in The Gathering Room at the Schaar’s Bluff Gathering Center for those who are not able to walk the trails.

The play will take place rain or shine. Ages: 16 and older.

For more information visit (lumin)theater lab or Dakota County Parks

Tickets Available Now at Brown Paper Tickets!

Spring Lake Park Reserve
8395 127th Street East
Hastings, MN 55033

Minnesota Author Project – Contest

Enter your self-published book to win great prizes!

Through the MN Author Project, libraries are helping local authors get the recognition they deserve for writing great books. This year’s contest kicks off on April 1, 2018, and submissions will be accepted through June 30, 2018.

Prizes and Eligibility

The winners of this contest will receive:

$1,000 each in Adult and Young Adult categories. Prizes sponsored by the Minnesota Library Foundation and BiblioLabs.
A write-up in the December print issue of Library Journal.
Honors at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle.
Opportunities to promote your book(s) in Minnesota Public Libraries.
A Library Journal Digital Review (Winners + Honorable Mentions).
If available, print copies of your book will be purchased and made available for checkout through Minnesota’s public libraries.
Multiple submissions are welcome.

Each book that is submitted to the contest must be:

Self-published
In an adult fiction or young adult fiction genre
Written by a Minnesota resident
Available in either ePUB or PDF file

Please go to Indie Author Project Website for more info or submit your book.