The651.com

It’s an arty party in Saint Paul! From Grand Ave to Lowertown to Midway, our fair city has lots to look at and appreciate this weekend. Want to make an evening of it? Check out our handy-dandy itineraries below!

Friday, August 27th

Beneath the Surface Closing Party

7-10pm / Free

Rhea Pappas Photo Studio / Northern Warehouse, 308 Prince St., Studio #411

The photography of one Rhea Pappas always takes our breath away - and not just because her subjects are submerged under water. The young shutterbug has made major “waves” in the art scene this year, showing her work in multiple locales and being accepted to the State Fair’s Fine Arts Competition. Her current body of work Beneath the Surface was displayed at the Icebox Gallery in Northeast Minneapolis over Art-A-Whirl. And for those of you who didn’t have the chance to cross the river this May, Pappas is offering a chance for you to peep the goods at her Lowertown studio this Friday - an unofficial “closing” party, if you will. Check out Pappas’ ethereally submerged lovelies and her ghostly, abstract light-play, meet the artist herself, sip some refreshments, nibble some apps and even tap your toes to live music a la Sarah Cotner. Click HERE to read an interview we did with Rhea earlier this year.

What to do after: After checkin’ out the art, pop into the Black Dog Cafe for a glass of vino and live music from the Fantastic Merlins. Or stroll a couple blocks down to Barrio and try one of their awesome margaritas and perhaps a couple happy hour tacos!

Friday, August 27th

Well Done Closing Party

7-11pm / Free

Nicademus Art / 225 N. Snelling Avenue

Burlesque of North America’s small but famed group of collaborators have whipped up beautifully designed posters for cool bands the world over and have sold their limited edition art prints far and wide. And what’s that you say? They’re based out of the Twin Cities? Yep, it’s true. And even if you didn’t make it to last month’s opening reception and BBQ, you’ve been granted one last chance tonight. Well Done is a collection of the collective’s favorite pieces, many of them in alternate color palettes than their original designs — making the prints on display truly one-of-a-kind. What’s more, is that the group has created a huge wallpaper installation in the gallery and will be selling off “wallpaper packets” to those interested in jazzing up their own abode.

What to do after: Jaunt on over to the nearby Turf Club to take in live tunes from Vaz (comprised of founding members of legendary local noise rock group, Hammerhead). Or for something less loud, make your way to the Blue Door Pub on Selby, a joint widely heralded for its perfect Juicy Lucy burger.

Friday, August 27th-Saturday, August 28th

Tri-Art Acrylic Event

10am-8pm Fri / 10am-6pm Sat / Free

Wet Paint / 1684 Grand Avenue

Okay, so this isn’t an art opening, but hey, we figure after all the above shenanigans you might be inspired to create art yourself! Head down to Grand Avenue’s staple art supply store, Wet Paint, for a weekend sale and some fun art-play! The shop will be offering a whopping 60% discount on Canadian-made, high-pigment acrylic paint line, Tri-Art. And Reps from the Jack Richeson Company (US distributor for Tri-Art) will demo the Tri-Art range and answer any questions you have about the line. They will also have samples of each of the Tri-Art paint lines found at Wet Paint on hand so you can test them out yourself - and you can forget doodling on little sheets of paper - this weekend’s even invites you to try out the wide range of products on a huge 5′x’10 canvas easel. Painters of all ages and skill levels are welcome. So, get inspired, grab some heavily-discounted supplies from Wet Paint and put your creativity to work!

What to do after: Since you’ll likely need some replenishing after a day of artsy shopping, stroll up the block to the Coffee News Cafe, a cozy spot that offers a great menu of sandwiches and soups…and yes, coffee. Or check out the Shish Cafe, where you can snack on Mediterranean delights and baked goods. Don’t forget to stop into some of the cute boutiques in the area while you’re at it!

It’s hard to imagine that Summer is almost over, but the silver lining is always the Minnesota State Fair! Enjoy the tail end of August with a few hundred thousand of your closest personal friends at the great Minnesota Get Together this year. The 651 will be bringing you our favorite tidbits previewing this year’s fair throughout the week, so stay tuned for entertainment picks, food picks, and more. The Fair starts on Thursday, August 26th and runs through Labor Day. Today’s bit will talk about the Fine Arts Building, one of my personal favorites!

Each year, thousands of Minnesota artists submit their work to the State Fair Fine Arts Competition, and only a little under 400 make the cut. The sprawling building on the corner of Randall & Cosgrove houses these fantastic works for the duration of the Fair, inviting all to take in the talent of our creative community. What’s different and more exciting about the annual competition, is that the works are selected from all over the state - from small towners to city slickers. Next to a modern, abstract work by a Northeast Minneapolis artist you may find a detailed country landscape created by someone from Owattona — the possibilities are pretty much endless. The Fine Arts Building is a mixed bag, and that’s just how we like it! See sculpture, painting, textiles, photography, drawing and oh-so much more in this unconventional, yet highly respected annual exhibit.

2010 State Fair commemorative art by Deborah Voyda Rogers

One of our favorite things? Watching all the pronto pup-eating looky-lous experiencing and talking about art. It’s a very rare thing to get so many eyes on such a plethora of local work, and we expect a number of those people end up being inspired to create or seek out more art on their own, away from the Fair. And that’s a wonderful thing! Bring your family, friends, and significant others to check it out — a little visual stimulation never hurt anyone (especially when you can bring your cheese curds into the gallery!).

BONUS:  Attention artists: The Fair hasn’t even kicked off yet, but the organization is already putting out a submission call for the 2011 Commemorative Art piece (the art that will rep the Fair throughout all the land next year!). The final piece should be the artist’s visual interpretation of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Attend this year’s State Fair for inspiration. Application deadline is Friday, Oct. 1, 2010 by 3:30pm.

Attention Gap jean lovers! The first 50 customers to enter the Rosedale Center Gap on Saturday, August 21st will receive a FREE pair of 1969 jeans.

Make sure you’re one of the lucky few and get there early!

Cool Fact from Gap Inc: The 1969 Premium Jeans were made under the strict guidelines of Gap Inc.’s Clean Water Program, which requires that all Gap Inc.-contracted denim laundries treat wastewater to ensure it’s safe and clean for local communities. Gap Inc.’s Clean Water Program, one of the first of its kind in the apparel industry, was established five years ago based on clean water standards developed by BSR (www.bsr.org), a global business network and consultancy focused on sustainability.

Wanted:  A beautiful evergreen tree, about 80 feet tall, to serve as the sparkling center of St. Paul’s downtown holiday festivities this winter.

Capital City Partnership and the City of Saint Paul are searching for an evergreen that fits this description to become this year’s featured holiday tree in Rice Park powered by Xcel Energy.

For the fourth year, Capital City Partnership and the City of Saint Paul have joined forces to recreate the Rockefeller Center experience in the heart of downtown Saint Paul.  The Rice Park tree will be as tall  and bright as the iconic Rockefeller Center tree, with over 30,000 energy-efficient LED lights, making it the tallest tree on display in the Midwest.

For trees to be considered, they must have overgrown their location or otherwise need to be removed.  Citizens interested in donating their tree for this event should email their address and a photo of the tree to info@capcitypartnership.com or call 651-291-5608.  The owner of the chosen tree will be eligible to have the tree removed and the stump ground down at no charge, and may also be eligible for a tax deduction.

The Rice Park powered by Xcel Energy tree will be chosen by Oct. 15, and will be cut, transported, and installed in Rice Park by Nov. 19.

The Annual Tree Lighting Event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 5 p.m. and will include special holiday entertainment and fireworks to kick-off the holiday season.  Rice Park powered by Xcel Energy will be on display from Nov. 27 to Jan.  Combined with adjacent Wells Fargo WinterSkate, the tree completes a vision of Rockefeller Center in downtown Saint Paul!

For more information, contact:

Sue Gonsior

Director of Communications

Capital City Partnership

sue@capcitypartnership.com

651.291.5605

On August 3rd-7th, Saint Paul will be literally teeming with poets and spoken word artists from across the country! That’s right, the National Poetry Slam is landing in our fair city this year. Why? Well, it’s all thanks to our own St. Paul Slam Team, who beat out hundred of other poets to take home the title of national champs in 2009. Hence, the honor to host the 2010 event fell to them/us - how cool is that? Over 80 teams consisting of multiple poets will roll into town this week, and will battle it out at numerous venues in town, culminating with the finals on the 7th.

Come out to support our home team on this week and take part in the numerous (and we REALLY mean numerous) events going on both on and off the grid. Preliminary bouts run Tuesday through Thursday from 7-9pm and 9-11pm at Artists’ Quarter, Camp, Great Waters, Lowry Lab, POP, and Wild Tymes. The semifinals happen Friday, August 6th from 8-10pm at Artists’ Quarter, Fitzgerald Theater, History Theater, McNally Smith Auditorium, where the 20 top scoring teams will battle for the #1 spot that will get them to finals stage. The Team Finals happen on August 7th at 8pm at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, where the four final teams will spout off their best work in a heated battle for the championship.

And that’s not all! Dozens of side events will occur during the day AND after each night’s battles at the Artists’ Quarter and Wild Tymes. Stay up late to check out hip hop shows, an Erotic Poetry Slam (oh-la-la!), a Limerick Battle and much more. During the day, plenty of workshops and some culturally-aligned readings happen including showcases specifically featuring women, Latino & Indigenous, African Heritage, Asian-American & Pacific Islander, and Jewish/12 Tribes showcase and more. We’re especially charmed by the idea of Head to Head Haiku (Wed. August 4th 1:30-3pm at the Lowry Lab) where 15 uber-competitive poets go toe to toe with their best haiku poetry.

We’ll be out and about checking out the shows this week - will you? We’re betting the St. Paul Slam Team takes the crown for the second year in a row. After all, they’ve got a great chance, considering the formidable talent they’re bringing to the table yet again AND they’re on home turf. Returning poets Shane Hawley, Sierra DeMulder, Khary J. (aka 6 is 9), Kyle “Guante” Myhre, and Sam Cook will all represent St. Paul once again at the 2010 National Poetry Slam. Let’s take a look at their bios:

SHANE HAWLEY
Shane Hawley is a spoken word artist who dabbles in hip-hop and stand-up comedy. He is a four time member of the Minneapolis National Poetry Slam team, and a former Minneapolis Grand Slam champion. He has opened for national acts such as P.O.S, Dessa Darling, and Jeremy Messersmith.  As a St. Paul native, he is eager to represent his city in his city at the 2010 National Poetry Slam.

SIERRA DEMULDER
Sierra DeMulder In addition to winning the 2009 National Poetry Slam with Saint Paul, Sierra DeMulder ranked 9th at the IWPS, 11th at WoWPS and coached Macalester College to Final Stage at CUPSI 2010. She was awarded Best Female Poet at CUPSI 2009 and in January 2010, her first full-length manuscript was published by Write Bloody Publishing.

KHARY J. (AKA 6 IS 9)
Khary J. (aka 6 is 9) is a playwright, teaching artist and poet who is glad to represent St Paul for the fourth time. He’s proud of the poetry the Twin Cities is consistently producing, and hopes to remain a part of the scene in various ways in the future.

KYLE “GUANTE” MYHRE
Kyle “Guante” Myhre has been Grand Slam champ of Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Madison, and was part of the 2009 National Poetry Slam champion Saint Paul team.  As a rapper, he’s a member of the Tru Ruts crew and has shared the stage with Talib Kweli, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Zion I and many others.  Guante is currently serving as arts coordinator of the Canvas, a Saint Paul teen arts center, and continues to lead workshops through the MN Spoken-Word Association.

SAM COOK
Sam Cook was born in Moscow to communists, and was raised in Boulder, Colorado among the white and privileged. Sam  has yet to decide where he will die, but hopes to do it among poets. Since leaving home he has spent his alloted years of ‘youth’ practicing Buddhism, sitting in Sweat Lodges, making wine, riding bikes through the mountains, pwning the interwebs, playing folk guitar with an ear for mediocrity, serving strangers food, writing and reading poems, moving and repairing mobile homes, camping, overcoming insomnia, fighting the man and perhaps importantly, enjoying the sunshine.

The National Poetry Slam happens in St. Paul from August 3rd-7th. Prices, times and events vary. To check out the schedules for both official competition events and extra events including day-time events and late-night events, and to purchase passes visit www.nps2010.com.

Becky Sturm is owner/founder of StormSister Spatique, a local beauty boutique.  StormSister Spatique has been featured in Mpls. St. Paul Magazine, METRO Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, Star Tribune, Pioneer Press and various blogs.  Once you cross over the Smith Avenue High Bridge, it sits next to Capital View Cafe.   At first glance, you might miss this small storefront located on the West Side of Saint Paul.  Once you step in, you will see why it’s a gem — product junkies beware!  StormSister is filled with comforting products for your skin, body and mind — all products that Becky stands behind.  With warm weather upon us, its time to buff, exfoliate and cleanse.  What are you waiting for?  See below for comments from StormSister owner, Becky Sturm on why she loves Saint Paul and her recommendation for summer products!

Being a small business owner, it very important for me to spend money with other small businesses in my community.

Becky Sturm, Owner of StormSister Spatique

Most of my weekends include: the Saint Paul Farmer’s Market in Lowertown and a stop at my favorite bread bakery, located on the West Side, BC2 Bakery — their sourdough could certainly compete with the original in San Francisco.

I have been a resident of the West Side for 22 years; my husband and I have raised both of our sons here.  I love living so close to the river and to downtown.  It is the perfect community.

My oldest son Brett, recently graduated from College of Visual Arts and my youngest son, Bailey, is a high school student at River’s Edge Academy.

Living on the West Side with its large Hispanic population, has given me the opportunity to enjoy some of the best, authentic Mexican cuisine available in the U.S.  Just head down Cesar Chavez Street and you will find several!  I have a weakness for guacamole, so I always have a hard time deciding between the ones served at Barrio and El Burrito Mercado.

Living just over the river from downtown, it’s a quick five-minute ride to amazing museums, theaters, and one of my favorite dining establishments — Meritage.

Meritage Crepe Stand

A stroll downtown wouldn’t be complete without a stop into Candyland.  Oh Candyland, you and your tantalizing Chicago mix (caramel, cheese, and real buttered popcorn)!

Finally, that beacon of light on West 7th, Mickey’s Diner — the perfect middle-of-the-night cultural experience after much imbibing.

Having grown up in my grandmother’s beauty shop and then spending 23 years in all aspects of the salon/spa industry, it was time to follow my true passion, retail.  So, I took a break and started StormSister Spatique online in 2005.  Then, late in 2006 I had decided I really missed that intimate relationship I had with my clients and opened up StormSister Spatique’s storefront in my neighborhood on the West Side.

What’s the deal with StormSister Spatique and PEZ?  Click here to learn why!

My head-to-toe beauty must-haves for summer include:

Greenbody Greenplanet haircare by local hairdresser, Lorri Weisen.  When you use organic, chemical-free ingredients you not only enhance your own well-being, but the environments!

NONTOXIQUE hand and footcare by local manicurist, Sheila Mossberg.  NONTOXIQUE will help you get your hands and feet looking more youthful and glowing with their age-defying ingredients.

Organic Tinted Lip Balms by Badger.  These shimmer lip balms will keep your pucker moist and colorful during the hot summer days.

I heart Saint Paul!

StormSister Spatique is located at 635 South Smith Avenue in Saint Paul, combines luxury spa products in an artsy boutique setting.

Phone:  612-716-5480

Buzz & Neil, the polar bears who are creating some BIG waves at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.

Buzz & Neil

On June 3, 2010 Como Zoo will unveil “Polar Bear Odyssey”.  This novel World Class Exhibit will provide luxurious accommodations for the large, white, furry friends.  Their new home will include:  large indoor bedrooms, a cub den, plenty of light, and 3 salt water pools.  Now that is a place to call home!

If you head over to visit this astonishing exhibit, be assured that whether you are indoors or outdoors, you will have an incredible view of these remarkable creatures.  There are also 2 designated stations, so onlookers can watch animal training sessions between zookeepers and polar bears.

Polar Bears International (PBI) endorsed Polar Bear Odyssey as an exceptional design for a polar bear habitat and believes it will serve as a model for other zoos in North America.

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park was just voted “Best Place to Waste an Afternoon” by City Pages! We agree — if you have not been, you must go soon!  The Conservatory is paradise beyond your imagination!  Imagine a place where you can see brightly colored flowers, bamboo trees, and hear toads croaking in the background.  While you’re there make sure to visit the zoo, park & lake — all within a short distance from each other.

For more information visit, http://www.comozooconservatory.org/supp/click.shtml

If you don’t want to worry about finding a parking spot…Como Park Shuttle to the rescue!

Como Shuttle Bus

Como Shuttle Operation Days & Hours

The shuttle runs continuously from 9:30 am — 6:30 pm

April 24 — September 30. Daily service begins June 1 — August 8.

9:30 am first pick-up at off-site lot and 6:30 pm last pick-up at Como.

Please note there will be no service June 19 & 20 and July 3 & 4.

For lot locations & more information visit, http://www.comozooconservatory.org/como_park/Shuttle.shtml

Congrats to Mayor Coleman, he was voted “Best Mayor” by City Pages!

We knew all along…it’s about time someone else figured it out!

For more information visit:

http://www.citypages.com/bestof/2010/award/best-mayor-1378784/

Do you enjoy dancing the night away?  Well, we have a fun event that will give you the opportunity to dance your heart out while providing someone  in need with health care for two weeks.

When:  April 30, 2010

Where:  Crowne Plaza Riverfront — Saint Paul

Cost:  $25 in advance/$30 at door

To purchase tickets or for more information visit, www.csjministriesfoundation.org or 651.690.7018.

Saint Mary’s Health Clinics, a Ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph, provided free health care to over 11,000 people  in our community last year.  St. Mary’s Health Clinics provide a critical safety  net for those who do not have access to health care and do not qualify for government programs.

The651 scored an awesome behind-the-scenes tour at Great Waters Brewing Company.  Did you know that Great Waters brews their own beer?  It definitely beats the standard Bud.

So, once inside Great Waters, we headed into a small back room consumed by two large copper tanks.  “At first smell,” it seemed like we were in a barn with the distinct smell of grain overwhelming the room. Although,  it became very evident that overalls and pitchforks weren’t needed in this sterile environment.  Our tour guide was head brewer, Bob DuVernois, who gave us the inside scoop on where beer comes from.

Since the Hamm Building downtown St. Paul (where Great Waters is located) rests on the original site of the St. Paul Cathedral, Great Waters is blessed with having a natural spring well.  the folks at Great Waters believe the well greatly contributes to their remarkable hand-crafted beer; they refer to it as…holy water from the well!

Next time you head into Great Waters make sure to try one of their original brews.  The651 recommends: Great Waters House Ale; The Black Watch Oat Stout (they can’t make it fast enough); Glacier Pale Ale; Saint Peter Pale Ale; Equinox Brown Ale; and O’Byrne’s Irish Red.  Cheers!

Check out the Great Waters tour!

Have a hankerin’ to try it out yourself? Check out:

www.mnbeer.com

www.mncraftbrew.org