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By Griff Wigley, on May 17, 2012, 7:13 am
   
I missed the imprinting of the sidewalk poems yesterday morning so see the short Nfld News video here and the story with more photos at Nfld Patch: Northfield Sidewalk Poetry Installation
The first two pieces of sidewalk poetry were imprinted in the sidewalks (one on Third Street and another on Division Street) around the Northfield Public Library on Wednesday morning.
They included a piece from Lily Hanlon, a Prairie Creek Community School student, and Anne Running Sovik. These are selections from the first sidewalk public poetry contest from last year, which was sponsored by the Arts & Culture Commission and the Friends and Foundation of the Northfield Public Library. More poems from the 2011 selections will be imprinted at a later date.
I chatted with Library Director Lynne Young as I was taking photos and asked her about the funding for the project. She said that the Northfield Streetscape Task Force contributed $5,000 last year and that the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) awarded a grant this year. I see on the SEMAC page of recent grants that the
City of Northfield Arts & Culture Commission received a $7,100 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Sidewalk Public Poetry Project.
"Arts & Cultural Heritage grant" is Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment money. Not counted in the total is City of Northfield staff time (public works, engineering).
I love public art and I think sidewalk poetry is cool. But I think it’s worth discussing whether $12,000 of taxpayer money for this project is a good investment. I’m undecided.
By Rich Larson, on May 17, 2012, 6:21 am
 Here’s the Dylanfest ’12 press release that I sent out earlier this week.
See Griff’s photo album from Dylanfest ’11 and let me know if you have questions.
The Contented Cow announced today that they will once again host Dylanfest on Thursday, May 24th at 6 pm on their outdoor Riverside Stage. More than two dozen different performers will play songs written by and associated with Bob Dylan in a celebration of his 71st birthday, which is also the 24th.
 “We’re really looking forward to Dylanfest again this year,” said Contented Cow owner Norman Butler. “It’s going to kick off both Memorial Day Weekend and our annual Mayfly Music Festival. Dylanfest is a special event because it brings so many different people from the community together to celebrate some fantastic music. When we did this last year the response was overwhelmingly positive. So many people have asked if we planned to make it an annual event, that we really had no choice. And, of course, we’re thrilled to be doing it.”
The show will feature performers from all around Southern Minnesota, as well as the Twin Cities. “The thing that really gets me excited about the bill this year is the diversity,” says show producer Rich Larson of Left-Handed Entertainment. “We have more women playing this year, and we have more participation from the student population. There’s an all women a cappella group from Carleton called the Knightengales who will be singing. The styles that will be presented – from bluegrass to rock to electronic – are going to make this a fascinating show.”
This year, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Northfield youth center The Key. “There is no cover charge for the show. It’s free to attend, but there are some avenues that give us a good opportunity to help out the community,” said Larson. “We’re all big fans of The Key and what it represents. (Local artist) Nick Sinclair has designed a commemorative poster for the night. We’ll be selling limited edition prints at the show and donating the proceeds. Folks will be able to make a direct donation to The Key as well. “
Bob Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman on My 24th, 1941 in Duluth, MN and grew up in Hibbing. His music earned him such popularity in the 1960’s that he earned the name “The Voice of a Generation.” He has won numerous awards, including multiple Grammies, a Kennedy Center honor, and a Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and just last month was named one of thirteen honorees to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For more information on Dylanfest, please contact Rich Larson at rich@left-handedentertainment.com.
By Griff Wigley, on April 24, 2012, 6:23 am
 In case you hadn’t noticed, Northfield’s blogosphere is humming (Northfield.org here, Monkey See Monkey Read here, Just Food Co-op here) with the news that Atina Diffley of Organic Farming Works will be in town this week to speak about her new book, Turn Here Sweet Corn.
Why do I say "no bullshit" in my blog post title?
She was featured on the front page of the Strib’s Variety section last week:
and the last paragraph of the main article:
 The book deserves a wide audience, Dooley said. "I pray it doesn’t get pegged to a category. This is literature. It’s every woman’s story, about land use and food but also about resilience and being yourself." And even though Diffley finally caved to using cosmetics, she’s still very much herself, Dooley said. "There couldn’t be anyone more genuine. There isn’t a lick of bullshit in her."
I guess cuss words are aok in a family newspaper if someone is quoted using them.
Atina has at least one connection to Northfield that I know of. Her kids went to Prairie Creek Community School.
You can buy her book from Jerry Bilek at Monkey See Monkey Read bookstore in downtown Northfield.
Follow Atina on Twitter and read her blog here.
By Griff Wigley, on April 14, 2012, 11:19 pm
I first blogged about the New Moon Trio back in December of 2008 shortly after they formed the group.
I took the photos below of the band members (Ross Currier, bass; Lance Heisler, drums; Justin London, guitar) last night at the Contented Cow.
Their physical deterioration is evident. They continue to age like a fine wine.
  
By Griff Wigley, on April 10, 2012, 8:36 am
 Bart de Malignon is a Northfield downtown building owner and the proprietor at BartsArt.com ("Custom Picture Framing, Original Fine Art, Posters and Prints").
He’s also known to the Northfield police for parking his Hummer illegally downtown.
He’s now got a new comic strip called Southfield:
One time, he saw a duck commit suicide; so he is naturally thrilled to be involved in constructing SOUTHFIELD from dirt to sky or higher if necessary.
He will stop at nothing, for nothing, by nothing nor near nothing to fabricate a narrative of ill-defined characters and feeble scenarios for your unjoyment.
Welcome to Southfield, kind patrons!
Wipe your feet. Wipe your nose.
And wipe your brain.
By Griff Wigley, on March 28, 2012, 7:03 am
   
St. Olaf Professor Todd Nichol is another one of the early morning regulars at GBM. A couple weeks ago, he barged into my corner office to inform me about the 2nd Annual Grand Old Time Spring Dance coming up this Friday night in the Lion’s Pause at Buntrock Commons. He’s one of the faculty advisors for the The Runestones accordion club that will be performing at the dance and last week, I attended one of their practice sessions.
The Runestones is a come-when-you-can, just for fun student group of accordion players. We play mostly Nordic tunes, but you never know what we’ll do next. Think fusion. If you’ve never heard Cajun Norwegian or Country Western Danish, you are missing something.
KYMN’s Paula Granquist featured the group on her ArtZany! radio show last week. Terri Lindgren wrote in her blog post:
A dance for everybody! A time to dance the polka, the waltz, and the schottische. Brief lessons will be given throughout the evening. Free. Open to the public. Families with children welcome. Refreshments and parking available.
The guy taking my photo in the left photo above with Todd? Evan Thomas-Richards, an Ole working with the AmCon group that I blogged about back in Nov. Dang paparazzi.
Here’s a 38-second video clip of The Runestones practicing:
By Griff Wigley, on March 18, 2012, 7:14 am
  
Yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade began on downtown’s west side and wound its way over the pedestrian foot bridge, along Riverwalk to Bridge Square, and then back to the Contented Cow‘s outdoor stage area.
The holy trinity of Kevin O’Connell, Jim Bohnhoff, and Jim Pokorney, after many weeks minutes of planning, once again pulled off this great contribution to Northfield’s legacy of community events.
By keeping the parade entirely on pedestrian walkways instead of having it on Division St. as in years past, no street barricades or police were needed. Therefore, organizers were evidently able to avoid having to file an application 45 days ahead of time and pay the $20 fee required by Northfield’s Community Event Policy.
I thought it was better, actually, as the parade participants and the observing crowd were in closer proximity to one another. People also lingered much longer afterwards on the Riverwalk and around the Cow’s outdoor stage where live music made the gathering all the more festive. Of course, 80-degree weather helped, too.
Robbie and I both took photos. See our large slideshow of 55 photos (recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
For more:
Angela Lauterbach, Lauterbach Photography, has 21 photos in a gallery on Northfield Patch.
Jerry Smith has 10 photos on the Northfield News website.
See my parade photos from 2005 and 2008 and Bridgette Hallcock’s (Hallcock Photography) photos from 2010.
By Griff Wigley, on March 16, 2012, 8:10 am
 
I took this blurry photo (I had too much wine, evidently) of proprietor Norman Butler on the deck of the Contented Cow last night, holding my smartphone with the poster for tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day parade that Jim Bohnhoff sent me.
Take a close look at the poster, as the parade route is different this year.
Norman said they have post-parade festivities planned at the Cow but I don’t see any info about it on the Cow’s website. Anyone have details?
By Griff Wigley, on March 5, 2012, 11:00 pm
 
Stewart Stroup, the father of Jake Stroup (vocalist & mandolin player for The Last Known Whereabouts) graciously mailed me the group’s CD recently after they performed their reunion show at the Cow.
I thought I recognized the house in the photo on the cover of their Reaching Out for History CD, and shore ’nuff, I spotted it last week.
Do you know where it is?
By Griff Wigley, on March 1, 2012, 6:10 am
  
Jean Wakely and Marybeth Coyle-Frederick stopped by my corner office at the GBM yesterday to let me know that Aleka Pitsavas is performing Saturday, March 17, 7:00 PM at the NAG Theater, 411 W. 3rd Street. Tix at the door, $15.
Here’s an excerpt from Aleka’s bio page:
A monastic composer / song writer for over a decade, Aleka has spent the majority of the past eleven months creating and completing forty-five original works. A selected twelve of which she is ready to reveal; first to a chosen few and now to the public in her debut CD White Darkness.
For more, see this Oct. 14, 2011 Nfld News article: Stars align for Northfield singer/songwriter
This month, Northfielder Aleka Pitsavas has been spending countless hours recording her first studio album. Short fingers and a lack of self-confidence made Pitsavas keep her music to herself for years, but her brother John Pitsavas, before his death, gave her a kick start.
By Griff Wigley, on February 19, 2012, 11:08 pm
 
Northfielder Charlotte Smith has a new book out titled Tell Me One Thing: A Story of Two Mothers. From the publisher:
This is the true story of two mothers, one in the United States, the other in Korea, and of the little boy who left the world he knew to make a home with a new family.
This powerful account of international adoption and ultimate reunion is told by the adoptive mother, who held her son’s birth mother in her mind and heart, never imagining that they would meet.
Her book can be ordered from Monkey See Monkey Read bookstore in downtown Northfield or via Amazon and B&N.
Charlotte is not new to writing. She has a lengthy article on her husband Bardwell Smith’s website titled The Garden of Quiet Listening, the Japanese garden at Carleton College.
By Griff Wigley, on February 17, 2012, 11:11 pm
  
The Last Known Whereabouts held a reunion show at the Contented Cow last Saturday. The former Northfielders (2 Carls, 2 Oles) went their separate ways in 2009 after forming the bluegrass band in 2003.
I happened to sit next to Stewart and Marylyn Stroup, the parents of Jake Stroup (Vocals & Mandolin) who came from Madison WI to watch the show. I twisted Jacob’s arm during a break to pose for a photo with his parents.
Here’s a 3-min video clip from their riveting show:
By Griff Wigley, on February 5, 2012, 11:58 pm
 Mr. Northfield Entertainment Guide and By All Means Graphics owner Rob Schanilec is famous here in Northfield.
Rob has a brother named Gaylord Schanilec (Midnight Paper Sales) who’s equally famous in the town of Stockholm, Wisconsin and to some extent, the rest of the Western Hemisphere. Gaylord’s work as a wood-engraver was profiled last week in a StarTribune article titled A bookmaker, unbound.
"He’s one of the two or three finest color wood-engravers ever. He’s really that good," said Robert Rulon-Miller, a rare book dealer in St. Paul who has followed Schanilec’s career for more than 30 years. "He’s a man of many parts: engraver, printer, bookbinder, editor, writer, natural philosopher, and he brings all this stuff together into his books."
Robbie and I went to see his work and hear him speak on Saturday at the Groveland Gallery. That exhibition is profiled here on the MN Monthly site.
 This is the first time Schanilec is exhibiting his prints independently from his books. Schanilec explains:
“These engravings were made for books that I’ve printed in the past 25 years. They were made to be seen within reading distance, about a foot from the reader’s face. They were sewn into bindings and destined to darkness on a bookshelf, along with their texts, until the book is opened and a reader, in due course, finds them. Now, here they are, framed on the vast white plains of these walls – like icebergs in an ocean – but emitting, I hope, the warmth of the world from which they came.”
By Griff Wigley, on February 2, 2012, 7:05 am
I got this press release from Mr. Left-Handed Entertainment, Rich Larson, who has purchased a Locally Grown membership so he can promote events like this. I’ve added links and images to it:
 February 1, 2012 – Northfield music favorites Meredith Fierke, Steve McKinstry and Dylan McKinstry will play a concert in tandem with Twin Cities legend-in-the-making Chris Koza for a night of intimate, acoustic, atmospheric pop-folk music at the Northfield Arts Guild on Friday, February 10 at 8pm.
 Fierke and the McKinstrys will be previewing material from their highly anticipated new album which will be released this spring. “This is by far the best music I’ve ever made,” says Fierke. “Steve and Dylan each bring something unique to the table, and together we’re creating something that I’m very excited about. I can’t wait for people to hear these songs.”
Fierke’s previous album, 2008’s The Procession, garnered so much attention that Minneapolis radio station Cities 97 placed her song Train’s Song on the prestigious Cities Sampler. Later that year, she was named Northfield’s best performing musician by the Northfield Entertainment Guide. The extra amount of time she and the McKinstrys have taken in recording their new album has created a lot of conversation amongst the Northfield music scene. “People have been wondering what they’re up to,” said local music promoter Rich Larson. “I’ve had a chance to hear most of the new album. The extra time and work really shows. Every song is a knock out. It’s going to be a real treat to hear this music in a great room like the one at the NAG.”
 The show at the NAG is the second of a month-long tour of small coffee houses and arts venues that Koza is making throughout Minnesota. This comes fast on the heels of a two month West Coast tour with his band Rogue Valley. “I love seeing road warrior performers like Chris,” said Larson. “The best time to catch a singer/songwriter is in the middle of a long touring cycle like the one he’s in right now. He’s had some opportunity to flesh out his music in front of a lot of different audiences, which is really the best way to develop a song. This is going to be a very good night of music.”
“The thing that really strikes me is the $10 ticket price,” said Jessica Paxton of KYMN Radio. “You’d pay $25-$30 for this exact show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis or the Fitzgerald in St. Paul. And, frankly, the NAG is a far more intimate setting. For fans of good music, this isn’t bargain. It’s a steal.”
The Northfield Arts Guild is located at 304 Division Street South. Doors will open at 7:30, and the music will start at 8:00. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at www.left-handedentertainment.com or at the door the night of the show. For more information, contact the Northfield Arts Guild at (507) 645-8877 or Rich Larson at (612)756-0490.
Related: see my blog post of photos of Meredith Fierke, Dylan McKinstry, and Steve McKinstry performing at the Carleton Weitz Center Theater last November.
By Griff Wigley, on January 15, 2012, 8:15 am
By Griff Wigley, on January 13, 2012, 11:15 am
I got this email yesterday from Geoff Swanson, Assistant Director at St. Olaf’s Office of Student Activities. He showed up for the photo this morning at my corner GBM office where he used to work when he was a student.
 Hi Griff, I’m just sending a shameless plug for Second City’s performance here at St. Olaf tomorrow (Friday, the 13th) in the Lion’s Pause at St. Olaf. This is the show’s touring improv group and the event should be a riot.
Show starts at 8pm (doors at 7:45) and general admission to the public is $5 each. For more details people can contact myself or follow this link.
Description:
The Second City is always original, daring, and hilarious. Based in Chicago this comedy club’s alumni list is a veritable "Who’s Who" of comedy including Bill Murray, John & Jim Belushi, Steve Carell, George Wendt, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Joan Rivers, John Candy, Bonnie Hunt, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Jack McBrayer, Jason Sudeikis and so many more. Don’t miss what is sure to be a hilarious hour of improve-based sketch comedy as five of Second City’s touring comedians take the Pause Mane Stage!
See The Second City web site for more.
By Griff Wigley, on January 9, 2012, 6:32 am
By Griff Wigley, on January 1, 2012, 11:38 pm
 The title of Betsey Buckheit’s blog post last week, Social media are not new, immediately got my attention, as much for its grammar as its subject matter.
I’ve always found the plural usage of ‘media’ and ‘data’ to be awkward, less colloquial.
Can we bow to the social trend?
By Griff Wigley, on December 17, 2011, 6:46 am
By Griff Wigley, on December 14, 2011, 9:07 am
 
I put on my treasured Xmas tree balls hat this morning at the GBM, as NDDC ED Ross Currier and I are in full promo mode for tomorrow night’s big event:
Trailer Trash brings their celebrated holiday show, A Trashy Little Christmas, to the Grand Event Center here in Northfield. Details here.
VitaMN’s Dec. 8 Naughty Holidays blurb:
Honky-tonk band Trailer Trash has drawn sell-out crowds for nearly 20 years with its debaucherous “Trashy Little Xmas” show at Lee’s. These guys are the real deal — the band’s first collection of Christmas covers, 1996′s “Hell, It’s X-mas,” remains one of the best local holiday albums of all time. For the show, revel in the band’s revamped classic and not-so-classic holiday tunes, from Clarence Carter’s “Backdoor Santa” to Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (along with a few originals), and get into the spirit by coming dressed as Santa, Mrs. Claus, or one of their elves.
By Rich Larson, on December 3, 2011, 11:32 pm
 It’s less than two weeks before one of the best and most popular honky tonk bands in Minnesota, Trailer Trash, returns to town. They’re bringing their celebrated holiday show, A Trashy Little Christmas, to the Grand Event Center here in Northfield on Thursday, December 15th.
For more than a decade, Trailer Trash has taken the holiday spirit and put a spin on it that is decidedly their own, performing a series of holiday shows in the Twin Cities and Rochester.
The band played a couple of very well received shows in Northfield this year, and they are really excited to share their own special brand of Christmas cheer with us. Combining original songs for the season with some reworked holiday favorites, these “honky tonk heroes” will have you laughing, singing and dancing your little humbug off.
Left-Handed Entertainment is proud to present this one-of-a-kind holiday classic, and we hope to make it another traditional holiday event in Northfield.
We could not be doing this without the generous help of some local sponsors: Rob Schanilec at the Northfield Entertainment Guide, Jeff Johnson at KYMN Radio, John Thomas at Mr. JST Technology Consulting, Cate Vermeland Photography, Ross Currier at the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, and of course, Griff Wigley here at Locally Grown Northfield. We thank them for their support.
Tickets are $8.00 in advance or $10.00 at the door (A true bargain! Tickets for the sold-out show in Rochester were $17.50 and $22.50). You can order your tickets online at ATrashyLittleChristmas.com or by contacting either me, Rich Larson, at bgwg@charter.net or Jessica Paxton at Jessica@kymnradio.net.
Doors open at 6pm, and guests will be treated to a special holiday set by Matt Arthur & The Bratlanders at 7pm.
See you there!
By Griff Wigley, on November 18, 2011, 7:29 am
  
Jessica Paxton, promoter of all-things downtown Northfield, is teaming up with Mr. music promoter Rich Larson to bring Trailer Trash, Minnesota’s premier honky-tonk band, to the Grand Event Center on Dec. 15 for the Northfield version of their annual holiday show, A Trashy Little Christmas. The evening will include an opening set by Matt Arthur and the Bratlanders.
I caught up with Jessica and Rich last night at the Contented Cow and coaxed Plum St. resident Angie Ekern to pose for a photo with them, holding up an article in the StarTribune from earlier this week that announced the details on the Trailer Trash series of Xmas shows:
Like the classic country songs they purvey year-round, Trailer Trash’s annual "Trashy Little X-Mas" marathon never seems to grow old. The Twin Cities honky-tonk kings have a stocking full of original novelty songs ("I’ve Shopped Everywhere," "Santa’s a Spy") to go with a bulging bag of covers and traditional holiday tunes, played in not-so-traditional and often rowdy ways. [See this StarTribune 2008 profile of Trailer Trash.]
Advance tickets for Northfield’s ‘Trashy Little Christmas’ show are available online via credit card or PayPal here for an amazingly cheap $8 (less than half the price for their show in Rochester). Don’t wait, however. This show could sell out and then you’ll have to confess to your grandchildren someday that you could have been there for the inaugural show but sat around on your fat ass until it was too late.
And yes, trashy old Locally Grown Northfield has signed on to be one of the financial sponsors of the show, along with the NDDC, KYMN, and possibly others. This could be an annual event that’s both great fun for locals and effective at bringing people from around the region to visit our fair city. Thanks to those of you who are LoGro members, LoGro advertisers, and who click on the Google ads. Your financial support is paying for our sponsorship of the show.
So what are you waiting for?
CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!
By Griff Wigley, on November 14, 2011, 7:45 am
Meredith Fierke, Dylan McKinstry, and Steve McKinstry performed at the Carleton Weitz Center Theater last night.
See the album of 14 photos (large slideshow, recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on November 11, 2011, 6:45 am
I got this email from Dylan McKinstry earlier this week:
 Hi Griff, I wanted to let you know about a cool event that we’re putting on next week. I’m performing alongside Meredith Fierke and Steve McKinstry at the new Carleton Weitz Center Theater on Sunday, November 13th at 7 pm.
We are the first local artists to have a significant spotlight in the new space, and we, along with Carleton, are hoping to use it as an invitation to the community to come see the new building, and see local musicians play.
 So I arranged to meet him and Meredith Fierke at GBM yesterday for the requisite photo op.
For details on the free 7 pm performance on Sunday Nov. 13, see Jessica Paxton’s well-written blog post on Northfield.org: Meredith Fierke & The McKinstrys to Perform in Concert at Carleton College Weitz Center for Creativity.
By Griff Wigley, on November 4, 2011, 9:38 am
I got an email from Jessica Peterson White this week about the documentary Miss Representation that’s coming to Carleton College’s Weitz Center for Creativity Cinema next week (press release):
 LWV and Carleton are co-hosting this film screening on Monday the 7th, and I thought you might be interested — perhaps even interested in posting about it on Locally Grown? Here’s the trailer. (There’s a shorter one you can watch here, too, if you have 3 minutes but not 8.)
It’s a really important topic, and a very cool film. And an amazing set of panelists for the discussion afterwards, to boot! Let me know if you have questions.
Jessica stopped by my office at GBM this morning with her daughter Astrid for the requisite photo op.
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