The651.com

The legendary Mancini’s Char House & Lounge downtown St. Paul will host a Beer Tasting on Thursday, April 14^th benefiting Wishes & More, a local non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses.

ESPN Broadcaster, Clay Matvick, will assist in showcasing a variety of beers from across the nation.  Participating breweries include: Stone Brewing, Odell Brewing, Goose Island Beer Co and Tallgrass Brewing.  Now that’s something to toast to! Attendees will also enjoy specially paired food samples to compliment the beers.  Live & silent auctions will be held throughout the night with all proceeds funding wishes, memorials and scholarships given to the children of Wishes & More.

Attendees may purchase tickets for the Beer Tasting by calling the Wishes & More office at 763-502-1500 or online at www.wishesandmore.org.  Tickets are $30 in advance and $50 at the door. Attendees must be over 21 years of age to purchase tickets.

CHEERS!

A Message from Jake Spano, Marketing Director for the City
of St. Paul

Saint Paul was named one of a Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Cities on the list of 12 demonstrated a commitment to historic preservation and fostered a “unique sense of place”.  Included in the naming is a competition to see who can get the most votes for #1 over the course of the next month. The winner gets a year long contract with a web based company that targets travelers interested in cultural and historic travel destinations which boosts business throughout our community.

Now, it’s not that we don’t like being one of a dozen cool places but let’s be honest, who wants to be 12 or eight or four when you can be #1?  Unless you are on a most wanted list in the post office, it’s the place to be.  It’s in that spirit that I’m asking you all to assist us in spreading the word about this competition.  You see, after 5 days of voting we are firmly in the middle of the pack which is led by Paducah, KY a town of about 30,000!

Now I like bluegrass more than most folks but I can’t let this go so please CLICK HERE to register, and you will be able to vote once a day, every day for a month.  Registering and voting takes about 2 minutes.  I’ve contacted several partners throughout the city and they are circulating it to their groups, we need your help as well.  We continue to include it in press releases, our Facebook postings, Twitter, and YouTube channel.  We’ve gotten coverage on Kare11, 5 Eyewitness News and Star Tribune.  Please post your home pages, social media, tattoo it on your forearm, and ask others to assist as well.

Come on 651! Vote St. Paul!

Stacy & Alicia at Xcel Energy Center

2010 World Vault Champion Alicia Sacramone sat down with the651 to help prepare St. Paul for the 2011 Visa Championships.  Sacramone, who helped her team win the Olympic Silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, successfully returned to competitive gymnastics after a two-year hiatus by winning both the U.S. and World vault titles in 2010.

Alicia sat down with the651 on Wednesday to discuss her thirst for gymnastics, lust for fashion, and what she enjoys doing in her free time.

Alicia describes herself as “A Leaf Blowing in the Wind.” Right now, she loves the competitive nature and thrill of gymnastics, although someday you may see her designing jeans at FIT! It’s no secret that Alicia’s second love (besides her dreamy boyfriend, Brady Quinn) is fashion.  She gave us some details on making lace-covered cell phone holders for her friend’s upcoming wedding.  Genius!   Pointing out fashion blunders is one unexpected feature that you can find on Alicia’s website.  Since traveling, like wearing leotards, is part of her career, she enjoys pointing out those airport fashion disasters whenever she can.  After we discussed fashion, we had to find out a few of her favorite things.

Favorite Item for All Seasons: Boots
Favorite Nail Color: OPI Burlesque
Favorite Cold Weather Item: fleece-lined leggings
Favorite Designers: Alice & Olivia, William Rast, BCBG
Favorite Drink: Mocha Lattes from Caribou Coffee
Favorite Food: Pizza made with her own backyard brick oven – jealous!

Training at the Karolyi Ranch, the U.S. Olympic training site, she believes, has helped get the U.S team to where they are

Alicia Sacramone (Taken at the 2011 World Championships where she won the vault gold medal and the team silver medal. Credit: John Cheng)

today. “Before we were more of a divided team; each person cared about their individual athletes and when everyone was brought together, each person was able to form relationships with other girls and other coaches, so it made it more of a family and you want what’s best for each other, even though you are competing against one another.”

You can find Alicia and many other talented gymnasts at the 2011 Visa Championships, USA Gymnastics’ National Championships, featuring the country’s best gymnasts vying for national titles and spots on the U.S. National Team.

All-session ticket packages for men’s and women’s gymnastics range in price from $130- $375. Rhythmic gymnastics offers an all-session, two-day package for just $30. Visa is the only card accepted for the 2011 Visa Championships.

For more information, visit Xcel Energy Center or call 651-312-3486.

Emmy-award winning Smucker’s® Stars On Ice® is returning to Xcel Energy Center on Sunday, March 13, with a superstar ensemble of Olympic, world and national champions to celebrate its 25^th anniversary season.

Fans can win a chance to meet one of the stars in the show – 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Evan Lysacek –  and a pair of tickets by participating in the “Stars On Ice” contest on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo WinterSkate in downtown Saint Paul.

For a chance to participate in the contest, visit Xcel Energy Center’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/xcelenergycenter), click on the Stars On Ice Contest tab and register to enter. Twenty (20) contestants will be randomly chosen from the registered entries to participate in the contest at Wells Fargo WinterSkate ice rink on Saturday, prior to the Winter Carnival Torch Light Parade. Contestants must be able to be present for the contest on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m.

The contest will feature 20 giant yellow stars positioned randomly on the ice at Wells Fargo WinterSkate. Each contestant will draw a number and select their corresponding star on the ice. Once the emcee cues the contestants, they flip over their star. The “Stars On Ice” logo will be on the underside of the winning star.

The winner will receive the opportunity to meet Evan Lysacek during a pre-show meet and greet and two tickets to see Smucker’s Stars On Ice on March 13 at 4 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.

Each contestant will receive a gift from “Smucker’s Stars On Ice” for participating. Additionally, a flyer with a special ticket offer will be available during the event for the crowd.

Wells Fargo WinterSkate was privileged to host Red Bull Open Ice over the weekend.  Hopefully, you were able to come down to the rink to watch a few of the 32 teams that participated this past Friday and Saturday.

Photos provided by:

production agency: SixSpeed www.six-speed.com

photo credit: Justin Wohlrabe

This year, to kick-off the start of the “Coolest Celebration on Earth,” 13 Saint Paul restaurants will help promote the Winter Carnival by participating in, “An Artful Carnival Tour.”

The tour will follow a sculpture through various bars and restaurants throughout Saint Paul.  The centerpiece for the tour is a steel sculpture made by local artist, Rabi Sanfo.  Rabi’s “Queen of the Snows” sculpture will travel to a different location each weekday, from January 7 – 25. As the sculpture travels around the city, each location will be offering various specials to those who mention “Winter Carnival.”  The sculpture will be auctioned off on the Winter Carnival website following the promotion. The Saint Paul Winter Carnival begins Thursday, January 27, 2011 and runs through Sunday, February 6, 2011.

Fri., Jan. 7 – O’Gara’s Bar & Grill – Half- price Winter Warmers

Mon., Jan. 10 – Pazzaluna – Half- price on house wine or tap beer

Tues., Jan. 11 – Scusi – $10 Peperone e Salsiccia pizza & $5 OKO Nero

Wed., Jan. 12 -  Highland Grill – $2 house wine & $10 special dish

Thurs., Jan. 13 – Patrick McGovern’s Pub – $4 Irish coffee, $13.95 BBQ Pork dinner

Fri., Jan. 14  – St. Paul Grill – $8.75 Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle drink

Mon., Jan. 17 – Groveland Tap – $2.50 Summit taps all day

Tues., Jan. 18 – W.A. Frost – Happy Hour specials all day

Wed., Jan. 19 – Salut Bar Americain – Happy Hour specials all day in bar area

Thurs., Jan. 20 -  The Liffey – $4 pints of Finnegan’s all day

Fri., Jan. 21 – Black Dog Café – Happy Hour specials all day

Mon., Jan. 24 – Dixies on Grand – $2.50 Northern taps all day

Tues., Jan. 25 - Great Waters Brewing Co. -  $5 “Small Plate” appetizers & $2.50 rail drinks/beer, 3 -6 pm

So, if you’re around town, be sure to stop in to one of these locations and mention “Winter Carnival” to get the deals!

Red Bull Open Ice is all about teaching a new generation of hockey players how the game was meant to be played. Outside.

Red Bull is taking over Wells Fargo WinterSkate, January 14 & 15.  The tournament is open to everyone and it’s FREE! No need to bring anything but your talent… well, helmets and stick too.

The winning team from each qualifier will be sent to the Twin Cities of Minnesota on February 26th to battle it out for the ultimate pond hockey bragging rights.

Registration is on a first come first serve basis, so when the tournament is filled, registration will close.

Please click below to register or for more information!

Thanks to Rick Robinson of White Bear Lake, our Rice Park Holiday tree has been transported and installed!  Yesterday morning in Rice Park, the crew installed the tree with a 78,000-pound concrete anchor and prepared it for decoration with 20,000 multi-colored environmentally-friendly LED lights.

During the following weeks, a crew will prepare the tree for its Rice Park tree lighting debut at 5pm on Saturday, November 27th.

For more information visit, www.riceparkwinterwonderland.com

65FUN is back!   We hope you missed us dearly.

For our trivia prize, we are giving away 4 passes to the Minnesota History Center.  The Minnesota History Center is featuring a very tasty exhibit — Chocolate:  the Exhibition.  The exhibit will lay out how chocolate began as a rainforest treasure and grew to be a luscious treat.  Indulge in hands-on activities and view Mayan, Aztec and 17th-century European artifacts.  Exhibit text will be presented in English and Spanish.

Bonus: For the die-hard chocolate lovers, the Minnesota History Center is having Chocolate Sampler nights, where you taste cocktail and chocolate pairings, create a take-home souvenir, listen to live music and shop for some chocolate confections to take home!

Now, on with the trivia!  The first person to email stacy@capcitypartnership.com the correct answers, will take home 4 passes to the Minnesota History Center.  Good luck!

1)  Cacao tree pods from the cacao tree produce 30 – 50 seeds, which is enough to make ________ bars of chocolate ? 7 bars

2) Cacao trees originally grew in the tropical rainforest of ___________ ?  Central & South America

3) The Greek term for Cocoa means __________ ?  Food for the Gods

4) Consumers worldwide spend more than $20 billion a year on Chocolate ( True or False)?

We hope you enjoy!  If you have any suggestions for us, we always welcome them.

Looking for a cultured Saturday adventure?  The Saint Paul Hotel is offering afternoon teas.

Lance Knapps, Saint Paul Hotel’s Executive Chef, creates a five-course tea that will delight your taste buds!  The tea course features fall delights such as Brie and Cranberry in Phyllo Cup, Ham and Preserves on a Cheddar Biscuit and Spinach Basil Pesto with Oven Dried Tomato.  Wow, that is just the first course!  The second course features a Braised Lamb and Wild Mushroom Leek Strudel with Port Wine Sauce.  If you’re not drooling yet, there’s something wrong with you!  For the third course, you’re served a Cranberry Scone with Lemon Butter.  For the fourth course consists of a Mini Corn Muffin, a Carmel Pecan Bar and an Apple Cheddar Tart.  If that isn’t carb overload at its finest, I don’t know what is.  Finally, you get rolled out the door after consuming a Pumpkin Cheesecake with Carmel Sauce.

At $27 per person, these teas are very affordable – tax and gratuity are included!

Tea Times:  October 2, 16 and 23

For reservations or further information on these afternoon tea, call (651) 228-3860 or visit http://www.saintpaulhotel.com/special_events/afternoon_tea/