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:
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?
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:
Nick Sinclair and colleagues hosted Lowbrow-High Octane VI in downtown Northfield on Saturday. Division St. between 4th and 2nd was packed with people and appeared to not have enough room for all the vehicles that showed up.
Nick also pulled together an impressive list of sponsors and collaborating organizations. This event continues to grow each year (this was #6) and has the potential to take over the entire downtown for a three-day weekend.
Once Nick Sinclair fueled up with some GBM caffeine this morning, he smiled and posed for a photo in front of the Lowbrow-High Octane VI banner on Division St. by the Contented Cow.
No parking on Division from noon on because Nick has influence at Northfield City Hall. This guy could be running for mayor next year so don’t fuck with him.
On September 24th blue collar will descend upon downtown Northfield, Minnesota. Lowbrow – High Octane is an art show, car show and a rock-n-roll show all in one night. The Northfield Arts Guild will be hosting the art show in their gallery located at 304 Division Street S..
For 50 years the Arts Guild has been an important influence in Northfield arts. We are honored they have decided to show some art from a few grease monkeys. The gallery will be showing the art all week, but the big day is the 24th. The gallery will be open from 4-9pm. Come meet a few of the artists, buy some art and eat some free food.
The show is free! Yeah, I said it. FREE.
All makes, years and styles are welcome as long as it’s classic or hot rod. Show up in your Prius and we will charge you! We have 3 blocks of downtown Northfield reserved for your machine. Space is limited so get there at 5pm! Last year we filled our lot in about 20 minutes!
The Contented Cow is the epicenter of loud music, $5 burger plates and PBR specials. The “Cow” is located right next to the Northfield Arts Guild and overlooks the Cannon River. Music will start around 6pm on the outside stage and then the music moves indoors around 9ish. The bands are: Mr. Sticky, Reckless Ones, Violent Shifters and Rifflord!
The entire show is free to attend. The gallery show, car show (spectators and car entries) and the music!
A few weeks ago, Robbie and I were having a drink on the outdoor patio of the Contented Cow, chatting with Northfielder Jon Bjork about the progress of his putting together a new band. He mentioned that they were struggling to come up with a name for the band and after listening to his description of the process they were using, Robbie suggested the name Stone Soup, which the Wikipedia describes as "an old folk story in which hungry strangers persuade local people of a town to give them food. It is usually told as a lesson in cooperation, especially amid scarcity."
So she was delighted to hear that the band adopted the name and we got to hear them play on Friday night after doing the downtown Northfield Art Crawl.
Featuring rock and blues from the seminal sixties and seventies served up by some well known local musicians who have played in bands together for over 30 years! Join Dave Drentlaw on drums/vocals and Jon Bjork on guitar/vocals with fellow townie Chris Perry also on guitar/vocals and Jeff Lien on bass for some classic feel good sounds outside at the Cow!
One of the cool things about Northfield’s downtown Riverwalk and footbridge area is that it intersects with the outdoor patio, deck, and stage area of the Contented Cow. So when there’s a big crowd at the Cow for outdoor music, it draws a crowd of observers on the footbridge and Riverwalk. And sometimes entertainers emerge from that crowd. On Friday night during the JuneBug Festival of Music, someone began entertaining the crowd with big soap bubbles. My good camera is in the shop for lens cleaning but I managed to capture a bit of the performance art of big bubbles with my smartphone camera.
See BigBubblers.com for more about big soap bubbles as performance art.
The Contented Cow’s 4 day JuneBug Festival of Music kicks off today. Although two of the bands performing today didn’t perform at last year’s JuneBug, I’ve blogged about their Northfield performances.
The threat of rain chased the Prairie Creek Group indoors last Saturday during the 2011 Mayfly Festival at the Contented Cow. Members: Alisa Leonard, lead vocals; Dave Drentlaw, drums; Peter Diggins, guitar and vocals; Bo Aylin guitar and vocals; Joel Cooper, bass and backup vocals; Peter Diggins’ daughter, piggyback.
More than 20 Northfield area musicians will perform songs from Dylan’s legendary catalogue in a five hour concert on The Contented Cow’s popular outdoor stage.
Northfield’s only British pub, the Contented Cow, hosted a Royal wedding viewing party this morning, opening at 4 am. I got there shortly after 6 am to take these photos. The invite included this:
Jammies, casual wear, business attire or formal wear requested. Tiaras, hats and gloves optional… We will be serving:
Free Hot PG Tips Tea – so you can have a cuppa!
Free Instant Nescafé – a British favourite – and Hot Coffee
Free Scones & Cookies
Royal Wedding and “Loving Cup” Specials available for purchase.
Last Friday night at the Cow, local superstar musicians Peter Diggins and Steve Jennings wailed for a couple of hours, much to the delight of the crowd. Robbie captured this 2-minute video on her phone.
They’re playing again tonight at the 620 Grill, 9 pm, and they’ll be joined by Minnesota Music Award winner “Bassist of the Year” (3 times), Erik Fratzke.
Proprietor Norman Butler got a belated birthday surprise from friends, staff, and patrons last night at the Contented Cow.
See the album of 6 party photos (with more photos of the exterior of the Cow bathed in snow at dusk), the large slideshow (recommended), or this small slideshow:
Robbie and I strapped on our 40-year old Vermont Tubbs wooden snowshoes on Saturday afternoon and went for a short trek in lower Arb along Spring Creek.
We had to contend with hordes of pesky cross country skiers like the above hotshots, Amy Boxrud and her main squeeze, Doug Bratland. We ended with drinks in front of the fireplace at the Contented Cow.
As Robbie and I got out of our car in downtown’s west side parking lot last night, we heard music coming from both the Cow’s outdoor stage and the back deck of The Key. Northfielders who ventured downtown, it turns out, got a real treat from the bands at both outdoor venues—with warm temps, spectacular skies, and later on, a full moon.
Below: a two-minute video clip of The Big Strong Men (Facebook page). The band wowed the audience (wide age range) in ways that I’d not seen in a while in Northfield. Members include:
Ben Greenwald: Guitar/Vocals Christopher "Philly" Williams: Keyboards/Vocals Joe Silberschmidt: Drums/Vocals Jon Camp: Bass
Below: a 30-second video clip of Jacob Mullis and Amy Hager of Fort Wilson Riot (also follow them on Twitter and Facebook). Marie Fischer also has some photos in a post on The Key’s blog where she thanks them “for playing the most incredible drum-free show The Key has ever seen.”
I took this photo of Dan Freeman and postal worker Patty Henry in the doorway of Monkey See Monkey Read yesterday afternoon, pointing to the 4th of July poster in the window.
Dan’s been doing fundraising once again for the 4th of July fireworks and this year, he’s got two fireworks shows for us citizens. (See the PDF poster for the complete schedule of events, including a change of times for the Kiddie parade and Kiddie carnival.)
was substantial enough to fund an additional fireworks show in Ames Park on the Fourth of July, Freeman said. The additional show, scheduled for 10 p.m., will not replace the regular fireworks display that Freeman has helped organize since 2002. Instead, the Ames Park show — limited in its size and height because of safety regulations — will precede the larger annual show, which launches from Sechler [sic] Park this year, Freeman said.
Ross and pals (New Moon Band) performed at the Contented Cow last night, the opening night of JuneBug 2010 that continues through Saturday. The Cow has added a protective canopy on its outdoor stage, an upper deck perch for its sound control system, and a grassy knoll for expanded seating and yard games.
Normally TV-less, the Contented Cow brought in a projection-screen TV a week ago for the World Cup match between the US and England. ‘Twas a packed house.
But when I saw her pushing a clothing rack into the store this morning at 8:30, she told me that she’ll actually be open today and tomorrow (Memorial Day) noon to 4 pm. while she studies for her college classes.
Peter Seebach (Seebs): California in general has very high rates of “drug use”. And frankly, there is no place in the US that can be meaningfully called “very accepting” to gays. More accepting than others, sure. Why, I...
David Henson: Peter, you have the Internet you do the research. Use San Francisco as a baseline (an accepting place) – gays there have very high rates of depression and drug use.
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Those are fascinating beliefs, but conveniently for us, the research has already been done, and they’re wrong. Legalizing gay marriage has no effect on the observed incidence of homosexuality, and the concept of...
David Henson: John, I understand sexuality to be a continuum and not a hard and discrete fact. I earnestly believe that if gay marriage is approved many more people will experiment with gay sex and some numbers will get AIDS (and depression and...
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Kiffi, I am not sure that is fair. As long as peoples’ condemnation does not translate into hostile action, I am of the general opinion that people have a right to condemn behaviors they disapprove of, whether or not...
Griff Wigley: Good turnout last night for the Cannon Valley Mountain Bike Team meeting at the high school. I’ve blogged a summary with the ppt presentations.
Griff Wigley: Jordan Osterman, the new Sports Editor for the Northfield News, scooped me on Saturday. I’m glad! Northfield high school mountain bike team forming As a club sport, mountain biking would have no official affiliation with either...
Griff Wigley: Good suggestion, Curt. I’ll do that for next week’s blurb. I have been verbally emphasizing the importance of having girls on the team, especially since their points on race days count more than boys’ points. Other...
Curt Benson: Hey Griff, I wonder if you shouldn’t put a bit more emphasis on the idea that you’re recruiting both boys and girls for this team. And that the scores for both the boys and girls make up a team score. I think that in the...
Griff Wigley: It should be noted that this team does not yet exist! So this meeting is for those student-athletes (and their parents) who might be interested in joining this new team.
Griff Wigley: Suzy Rook has a sidebar to today’s Nfld News update on last night’s Council meeting. Excerpt: The city administrator and finance director say they have asked for the information on several occasions, including last month...
john george: Living where we do, it is only a few blocks walk to North Street and a grand view of the sunsets. Also, with our neighbors’ mature white pines & spruce, our covered deck affords outdoor enjoyment with a fair amount of...
Griff Wigley: Props to the newspaper and Suzy Rook for mentioning LoGro twice in the story: Fire Department officials, including Fire Chief Gerry Franek, did not respond to several requests from the News for association financial records or...
Griff Wigley: Posted to Northfield News at 1pm: Ethical questions arise over Northfield Fire Relief Association expenses Donations made to Northfield Fire Relief Association aren’t public dollars, but that hasn’t extinguished city...
Griff Wigley: Curt/Robert, There’s a summary of the Rescue Squad on Page 21 of the 2009 NFD report to the City. It doesn’t mention that there’s a Rescue Squad Association. The last paragraph states: The Northfield Rescue Squad is...
Robert Palmquist: If Hvistendahl’s motivation was to keep the financials from getting known, his submitting a memo like that just really backfired. I agree, why would these financials be such a secret??? And why did the NRSA hire a lawyer to...
Curt Benson: So Hvistendahl has found another place to wet his beak. You ask a good question, “Why is it important that the City not know the Northfield Rescue Squad Association financials?”
Jim Haas: Happens to me a lot. So much that my lovely wife had to coin a term for it: she says I have datelexia.
norman butler: Since coming to my adopted country 16 years ago I have observed, amongst other things, that not putting the day with the date is both common and peculiar to Northfield (MN? USA?).
John Thomas: Just a reminder, advance tickets for Girls Night Out 2012 can be purchased on The Grand’s website at http://www.thegrandnorthfield. com/public-events. Your tickets will then be available at a special “Will Call” at...
Liz Reppe: This is a great place to buy plants! Jeni is very knowledgeable and they are both really helpful. You get great service and plant expertise, but the prices are not higher than other places in town.
bill metz: While most of how Jake is being remembered revolves around, and rightly so, his great and wonderful talent as an artist and teacher and the works of sculpture he has left for our and the next generations enjoyment, I have had the...
Ross Currier: It was an honor for me and the NDDC to work with Jake. His pieces of sculpture in our community send a powerful visual message that Northfield is an Art Town. I still marvel at his clever and creative approach to building social and...
paul krause: The memorial service will be held at 11am. Doors to the Chapel will open at 10am for a chance to visit with family members and friends to share memories of our dear friend. Anyone who would like to view the documentary Harvest (which...
kiffi summa: Come on, Griff… you say you’re “more than a little clueless about about investments” but you “just happened to notice”… and from what you said, were reading analytically, etc etc… Once...
Griff Wigley: I’m more than a little clueless about investments but I noticed on page 14 in the April 24 Council packet that the Fire Relief Association has 85% of its pension portfolio in stocks. Isn’t that a bit risky/aggressive for...
Griff Wigley: Has there been any media reporting on the intergovernmental meeting in Bridgewater Township that was held on April 25 re: the Rural Fire Protection District and the City of Northfield?
Jim Mangan: I noticed this morning that a few of the newly planted trees along South Highway 3 have a pronounced lean. Could it be storm damage?
Ross Currier: It’s great that someone is enhancing the connection between downtown and uptown. I know they coordinated their work with MNDoT, City staff, and the Streetscape Task Force. Uh, raise your trowels in a toast to the Northfield...
Vicki Serreno: I wish I’d known – this is my neighborhood since I left Northfield in 2010. I’d have shown up to support them.
Kathie Galotti: My neighbor and sometimes babysitter Maggie Kennedy appears in this video as well! Go Maggie, and Cliff and Sophie and Parker and everyone else! Well done, guys!
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Heh, we had those when I was in college. Guess we’re making progress, they’re starting years earlier now!
Sandy Vesledahl: Thanks for blogging our garage sale Griff! We are at 2018 Jefferson Rd, Suite 1, thanks to the Jasnoch Family for allowing us to use the space. We will be there until 5:00 today and again from 8-2 on Saturday. We’ve had a...
Bright Spencer: I have an 8 year old dog that has not been neutered, has not reproduced and never been out unleashed except in our yard. It costs nothing to care for your pet properly.
Bright Spencer: To see this makes me so happy! Best of luck to you!
Peter Seebach (Seebs): For what it’s worth, I’m pretty happy with the whole process so far, although we found exciting new things out about the land development code, such as “the rules for calculating how tall a building is for...
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Not a hot tub, a swimming pool. One of those backyard pools you can get at k-mart, and the greenhouse is so we can use it a couple months earlier in spring and later in fall.
Arlen Malecha: I wish more establishments had outdoor seating & dining. Now that our offices (Coldwell Banker South Metro www.CBSouthMetro.com are downtown, I love to see people sitting and dining outside. It is fun to walk up and down...
Sean Hayford O'Leary: I would say the current configuration of Division Street makes me grateful not everyone is doing it. Sidewalk dining brings a lot of livelihood to the street — but I’ll admit that I’ve been occasionally...
Griff Wigley: Rebecca, there are several Northfield eating and drinking establishments that have outdoor dining with tables and chairs, serving alcohol, but not SIDEWALK dining. Downtown ones that come to mind: The Tavern, Chapati, The Cow, Froggy...
Rebecca Bliss: Timely post, Griff -I didn’t realize this. I was just commenting to my husband about how nice it would be to dine al fresco now that the weather is getting warmer. Guess this is another discovery for the new...
Patty Gallivan: MOST Northfield volunteers are waiting for someone who DARES boost a program with evidence of effectiveness to come forward with leadership to actually make a difference with students in our Northfield schools. Make sure to let us...
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