Scene december 2017

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Escape the ordinary

If you like mysteries you must check out a local escape room.

Mustard Daze

The story of how the biggest indy music event for Rochester DIDN’T happen.

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“Manual Cinema is talent incarnate…[their] elegant live-scored ‘silent films’ evoke sweetness, poignancy and fright.”

– Time Out New York

BIG BAD VOODOO AMERICA’S GOT TALENT WINNER DADDY LANDAU MURPHY WILD AND SWINGIN’ HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS MANUAL CINEMA

HOLIDAY PARTY

OCTOBER 7 at 7:30

THEATER LATTÉ DA

MEMENTOS MORI DEC 2 at 7:30

DEC 9 at 7:30

ALL IS CALM THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914

By Peter Rothstein

Musical Arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach

KEVIN KLING’S

DEC 22 at 7:30

TALES FROM THE CHARRED UNDERBELLY OF THE YULE LOG DEC 16 at 7:30

Thank you for voting the Sheldon Theatre Best Place for Live Music and Best Theatre!

651-388-8700 I 443 W. 3rd Street I Red Wing, MN 2

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CONTENT

COLUMNS:

DECEMBER 2017 / VOLUME 5 / ISSUE 12

6 Plays for the Holidays

12 Sweet Treats

Area theater productions this holiday season.

Some local bakery goods make the

perfect gifts for the holiday season.

8 Holiday events round-up

20 Escape the ordinary

Something for everyone in the family to

enjoy this holiday season.

10 Unique Holiday Shopping in

A look at Fathom Lane.

How the corporations stole christmas.

18 The Tigger SCENE

The end of Mustard Daze.

26 Woldom TV

ABOUT

Have a story idea?

Editor Philip Weyhe - 507-333-3132 editor@southernminnSCENE.com

30 Get Fit In SoMinn

• Robert Plant - Carry Fire

31 The Bookworm Sez:

16 Mollywood BLVD

The enduring excellence of Breaking Bad.

SoMinn’s most comprehensive

calendar of things to be SCENE.

We’ve come up with a list of some spots to shop

that might not currently be on yours.

Scene

If you like mysteries check out an area escape room.

21 The TimeLine

Southern Minnesota

Southern minn

32 CD Review:

14 Minnesota Music SCENE

Features:

•

•

•

•

•

‘Black Dahlia Red Rose’ by Piu Eatwell ‘The Deal of a Lifetime’

by Fredrik Backman ‘Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker’ by Gregory Maguire ‘Strange Weather’ by Joe Hill ‘This Blessed Earth’ by Ted Genoways

Surfing on land.

HAVE A CALENDAR EVENT?

editor@southernminnSCENE.com or got to www.southernminnscene.com/ calendar

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Copyright 2017 SouthernminnSCENE.com retains the publication rights to all content produced or supplied to the SCENE. Use of said materials without the written consent of SoutherminnSCENE.com is prohibited. Contents copyrighted; all rights reserved.

CORRECTIONS: 2017 Best of Southern Minnesota Scene Awards Corrections Editor’s Note: These are corrected versions of winner’s blurbs ran in the November edition of Scene Magazine, which included incorrect information.

Minnesota Orthodontics in Northfield BEST DENTIST/ORTHODONTIST Many of us have avoided a long-overdue orthodontist appointment. It’s a common instinct, when you’re worried about the status of your teeth and the results of an examination.

But there’s no need to worry when you walk into Minnesota Orthodontics, located in Northfield. The experts there are serious about providing the best service while also keeping you comfortable.

Part of that experience comes from working with the most up-todate orthodontic practices, according to clinical treatment expert Shelley Langer. For example, their offices use the Damon Brace system, which allows them to avoid extractions and palatal expanders for most patients. In addition, Minnesota Orthodontics is the top 1 percent provider of Invisalign and Invisalign teen products.

“Not all braces are alike, and they pride themselves on using the top products available,” Langer said. “Invisalign is the orthodontics of the future. [It] can treat simple to very complex cases, oftentimes more efficiently than braces.”

In addition, because their Northfield office is a “digital office,” that means the gooey impressions most patients remember sitting through are now a thing of the past. But perhaps the best part of the appointment is the end—when patients are treated to ice cream as they depart.

Maybe going to the orthodontist isn’t such a bad thing after all. www.minnesotaorthodontics.com

through the tattoo process, beginning and end. That’s why I named it Kinship… we are kin. We all gather around the same thing. I want people who come into my shop to feel like they’re friends.”

Hansen credits much of his success to the many tattoo artists he’s been inspired by along the way.

“Thank you to all the tattoo artists in Minnesota who inspired me, from Brian Grover to Shawn Anderson to many others,” he said.

“There’s a lot of great ones. I’ve got to give credit to them. We feel honored to do it.”

Hansen also shouted out his team at Kinship, including tattooers Taylor Landsome and Oliver Casillas and piercer Frank Ritt.

“The people I work with also inspire me on a daily basis,” Hansen said.

Kinship Collective Tattoo is located at 515 Division St. S. in Northfield. www.facebook.com/kinshipcollectivetattoo

destination course by many outside the city limits.

Out of the many great courses dotting the Southern Minnesota countryside, Brooktree was voted the Best Golf Course by the readers of Southern Minn Scene for the third consecutive year.

“Brooktree is a very well-manicured course, especially for a municipal course,” said Mary Jo Knudson, Recreation Superintendent for the city of Owatonna. “It is a very welcoming course to golfers of all skill levels. Some holes will be more challenging than others, but it really depends on how you hit the golf ball any given day. Our front and back nines are quite different, too.”

Knudson said the condition of the golf course itself is a big draw for locals and out-of-town visitors alike. Meanwhile, Master’s Bar and Grille features a fire pit and a patio offering beautiful scenery. The menu is family-friendly with a full bar and an ample wine list.

And if you are lucky, she said coming across an array of wildlife is not out of the question.

“We are tucked away in a quiet area of town that has much wildlife,” she said. “While you’re out on the course, you may see deer, geese and quite a variety of birds along the brook and the trees. The course itself is very picturesque.”

Brooktree Golf Course is located at 1369 Cherry Street in Owatonna.

Honorable Mention: Willingers Golf Club

By SCENE Staff

Congratulations to all this year’s winners!

Honorable Mention: Kat’s Tat’s

By Grace Webb

By Grace Webb

For Michael Hansen, tattooing is not just about putting ink on skin — it’s about making art.

Hansen previously managed High Noon Ink Shop for three and a half years, and he’s been doing tattoos for 17 years. Now, he owns and operates his own shop, Kinship Collective Tattoo, in Northfield.

He said he found his passion for tattooing as a kid, when he’d pass a tattoo shop, Mainline Tattoo, on the way home from karate practice.

While the shop’s sign said “no kids allowed,” the owner, Buzz, used to let Hansen come in and look through all the portfolios.

Eventually, Hansen started trying his own hand at tattooing, creating such a good name for himself that he was voted “Best Tattoo Artist” in SCENE Magazine in 2014. He then started Kinship, and a year after, he moved across the street to his shop’s new location.

“I was taught to have a standard in tattooing and not treat everybody walking through the door like they’re money,” he said.

“You should sit down and take your time with them and walk

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U AL ANN

Kinship Collective Tattoo Parlor in Northfield BEST TATTOO PARLOR

FI

H FT

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Honorable Mention: Prairie Ridge Orthodontics

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ERN M inn

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Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna BEST GOLF COURSE Taking pride in the way their golf course looks and plays has paid off for the grounds crew and employees at Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna.

Not only has the well-groomed, picturesque course remained busy with a lot of rounds being played by locals during the spring and summer and now into fall, the municipal golf course is considered a

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the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra is reviving Tchaikovsky’s seminal work for the 2017 Christmas season.

The CVRO’s version of the Nutcracker combines a multimedia experience that both entertains and educates. While the orchestra plays through the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” and the “Pas de Deux,” a video presentation of scenes cobbled from famous Nutcracker Ballets depict young ingénue Clara and her handsome nutcracker cavorting in a wintry wonderland of sugar plum fairies and royal rats.

The first performance is at 3 p.m. on Dec. 16 at the Northfield Middle School, 2200 Division St S, and the second performance is at 3 p.m. on Dec. 17 at Cannon Falls High School, 820 Minnesota St E. To purchase tickets or find more information, visit the Northfield Arts Guild website, www.northfieldartsguild.org/ eventscalendar/list.

BY KELSEY O’HARA editor@southernminnscene.com

he holidays can be stressful.

Between planning gifts, parties, dinners and meetings with family, there is little time to truly sit down and enjoy the atmosphere.

That’s why several communities are bringing holiday cheer to their residents through arts, music and theatre performances. These Southern Minnesota groups are hosting variety of performances – hopefully something for everyone. So sit back and find the event that best fits you.

“The 1940’s Radio Hour” at the Rochester Civic Theatre Company in Rochester

“Coconuts and Mistletoe” at Paradise Center of the Arts in Faribault Santa conspires with spies to save Christmas…

This unique holiday comedy is a world premiere showing and is the much anticipated follow-up sequel to Dan Rathbun’s 2011 world premiere of Coconuts and Warheads.

“Coconuts and Warheads” focused on Nikki and Drew who run a bar on a tropical vacation island. Through the course of the play, an American ambassador and secret agents come to visit the bar.

Meanwhile the bar owner is quickly running short on funds and so decides to take some drastic measures to save his establishment.

This sequel allows the audience journey back to the island for more adventure and intrigue with a holiday twist of lime, tropics, spies, and more.

Performances will take place from Dec. 1 through 10, with the world premiere at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1. Tickets range in costs with members pay $14, non-member pay $16, and students pay $10.

Visit www.paradisecenterforthearts.org for more information.

ghost of his long-since-dead partner Jacob Marley, who is followed by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

To find more details, visit www.childrenscastletheater.org.

This holiday season, Rochester Civic Theatre Company presents “the 1940’s Radio Hour” from Dec. 1 through Dec. 17. The musical evokes the style of a live broadcast of “The Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade” from the Hotel Astor’s Algonquin Room on Dec. 21, 1942. The spirit of that bygone era, when the world was at war, is accurately captured as the harassed producer copes with all manner of mishaps between cast and crew.

General admission began Oct. 23, and tickets costs adults $31, seniors $26 and students $21. Reservations can be made by contacting the box office at 507-282-8481 or via email to info@ rochestercivictheatre.org.

“A Christmas Carol” at the Children’s Castle Theater in Farmington Children’s Castle Theater brings the holiday classic to life during their performances of “A Christmas Carol” from Dec. 1 through Dec. 10.

Based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens and adapted for the stage by Romulus Linney, the play tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an embittered, miserly old man whose name has become synonymous with greediness. But then, one Christmas Eve, Scrooge — who typically responds to the holiday with his familiar “Bah! Humbug!” — is visited by a series of ghosts, led first by the

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“The Nutcracker in Concert” with Northfield Arts Guild in Northfield Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra presents Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Ballet” at Northfield Middle School and Cannon Falls High School Auditorium.

No work in classical music is so closely associated with Christmas as the Nutcracker. Because of the suite’s iconic and beloved status,

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“Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)” at Rochester Repertory Theatre in Rochester Adults who are interested in watching anything besides ‘Christmas Classics’ may have a laugh during the Rochester Repertory Theatre’s “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)” In-

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stead of performing Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors debate (then agree) to perform every Christmas story ever told -- plus Christmas traditions from around the world -- plus seasonal icons from ancient times to topical popculture, AND every Christmas carol ever sung.

This madcap romp through the holiday season accomplishes the small miracle of making all Christmas myths seem both utterly ridiculous and absolutely essential, but may not be appropriate for children under 13 years old.

Shows dates are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 24, 25, 30, Dec. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 and 2 p.m. on Dec. 10. Purchase tickets online at www. rochesterrep.org/tickets or in person or through the box office at 507-289-1737.

wry tales of Midwestern holiday and family traditions take surprising turns, from laugh-out-loud bizarre to the touchingly insightful during “Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log” at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 Sheldon Theatre travels to Christmas, 1914, in the Wester Front.

“All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” relives an astounding moment in history when Allied and German soldiers laid down their arms to celebrate Christmas together, sharing food and drink, playing soccer, singing carols and burying each other’s dead on 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 22.

And finally, celebrate New Year’s Eve with Monroe Crossing as they dazzle audiences with an electrifying blend of classic bluegrass, bluegrass gospel, and heartfelt originals at 7 p.m. View more information or purchase tickets for the individual events on the Sheldon Theatre website, www.sheldontheatre.org/events/ holiday-series.

up in a court competency hearing. At stake is one little girl’s belief in Santa concluding in a dramatic decision by the court! This is a heartwarming holiday story that we want to believe in, where love and generosity of spirit are their own rewards.

Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10, 11, 16 and 18, and 2 p.m.

Nov. 12 and 19. Tickets are $13 and people can purchase tickets online, or by calling 952-985-4640. Or visit their website, www. ci.lakeville.mn.us/385/Expressions-Community-Theater.

Holiday Series at Paramount Theatre in Austin

The Holiday Series at the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing The Sheldon Theatre will host six different events as part of their holiday series; hopefully an event that appeals for everyone.

First, Sheldon Theatre continues a new tradition of “The Nutcracker” with the Continental Ballet Company. With stunning costumes and Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous score, this full-scale classical ballet production is a treat for all ages. The performance is 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1.

On Dec. 2, the remarkably charming “America’s Got Talent” winner, Landau Murphy, performs the Great American Songbook with a voice and phrasing that has been compared to Frank Sinatra at 7:30 p.m.

The next event switches gears as swing-revival all-stars Big Bad Voodoo Daddy prove it’s still cool to swing with fresh arrangements of holiday classics and Christmas originals at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 9.

Accompanied by seasonal music, master storyteller Kevin Kling’s

“Miracle on 34th Street” at Expressions Community Theater in Lakeville Expressions Community Theater brings Santa Claus to Lakeville during their rendition of “Miracle on 34th Street.” Made into popular movies in 1947 and again in 1994, “Miracle on 34th Street” is a Christmas story on par with “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in the pantheon of holiday classics.

By chance, Kris Kringle gets a job working as Santa for Macy’s.

Kris unleashes waves of good will with Macy’s customers. Seen as deluded and dangerous by Macy’s vocational counselor, Kris ends

The historic Paramount Theatre tackles a holiday series with five events centering music, theatre and of course, the holidays. The first event is” Jane Taylor’s Nutcracker” Ballet on Nov. 24 where they bring the traditional holiday ballet to the stage.

Following “The Nutcracker,” is a free community “Tuba Christmas” concert on Dec. 2. “Tuba Christmas” is celebrating their 44th anniversary of bringing fun and music to Austin, and that same day, audiences can enjoy “At Christmas,” a combination of holiday scenes and Christmas songs. The scenes are scripted and improvisational takes on the humorous and tender times of the holiday season.

On Dec. 8-10, the Matchbox Children’s Theatre presents a Fairy Tale Christmas Carol where the play is a fairy tale twist on the classic on the Dicken’s story. Finally, there will be “Christmas At Home,” a holiday concert benefiting Austin Public schools music program with student and community performances. It’s a great opportunity to support the community and share the holiday spirit.

To find more details or ticket prices, visit the Paramount Theatre website, www.austinareaarts.org/paramount-events. SMS Northfield News and Faribault Daily News reporter. Email at pweyhe@northfieldnews. com.

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Holiday Events Round-Up:

Something for everyone

BY ANNA VANGSNESS editor@southernminnscene.com

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Kiwanis Holiday Lights hat’s a better way to get in the holiday spirit than enjoying one of the many holiday events that the surrounding area has to offer?

Whether you’re look-

ing for a walk among hundreds of thousands of lights or a street dance, Southern Minnesota has an event tailored for just about everyone.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train On Nov. 25 and 26, two trains will disembark from Montreal, Quebec, heading on routes to the U.S. and Canada bringing thousands of people among 182 communities holiday cheer. The free event is also an opportunity for community members to help support local food banks by bringing nonperishable food donations to the Holiday Train.

Musical acts Terri Clark, Kelly Prescott and Dallas Smith will be aboard the holiday train performing for crowds on stops in Kasson, Owatonna, Waseca and Janesville.

You can catch them at each town on Tuesday, Dec. 5 in: Kasson, 2:35-3:05 p.m., East Main Street between First Avenue Northeast and Second Avenue Northeast.

Kiwanis: Cars travel through the lighted tunnel at the Kiwanis Holiday Lights as the rest of Sibley Park in Mankato shines behind it. (Photo courtesy of Kiwanis Holiday Lights) Owatonna, 4:15-4:45 p.m., 1145 Park Drive at the railroad crossing near Owatonna Bus Company Waseca, 6-6:30 p.m., 308 South State Street and Highway 13 Janesville, 7:45-8:15 p.m., 236 Front Street at Veteran’s Memorial Park between Main and Craig streets For more information visit www.cpr.ca.

More than 1.5 million LED lights will brighten up Sibley Park in Mankato from Nov. 24 through Dec. 31. In the sixth year of operation, the 2017 Kiwanis Holiday Light attractions include miles of lights (including animated), a skating rink and warming house, horse-drawn wagon rides, Santa Clause, live reindeer and ice sculptures.

“Winter in Minnesota is dreary, dark and cold, but I think it brightens up people’s days to see the Holiday Lights,” Kiwanis Holiday Lights Board President Scott Wojcik said.

Though there are 13 people on the Kiwanis Holiday Lights Board and five on an executive board, the group is joined by more than 85 nonprofit organizations making up 2,000 individuals in greater Mankato who volunteer their time to help with the event.

“It takes a small army to put on the Kiwanis Holiday Lights,” Wojcik said. “People donate countless hours of their time and not just down at the park; it’s spent meeting in the offseason, marketing, finding sponsorships and fundraisers, too.”

Though it takes thousands of hours and many volunteers, the effort is worth it when the lights are turned on each year, Wojcik said.

“I love seeing the faces of people going through the park and watching them smile and stare in awe at what’s here,” he said. “We take pride that there is something exciting and new each year. We don’t want to get stale; we bring in different lights, different displays and set up our moving lights to different songs each year.”

The Kiwanis Holiday Lights run 5-9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The event is free, but cash and non-perishable food donations are accepted at all entrances.

Food is donated to local food banks and a portion of the money is donated back to the nonprofits who volunteer at the event, Wojcik said.

For more information visit kiwanisholidaylights.com.

Faribault Hometown Holidays and Winterfest If you’re headed to Faribault’s Hometown Holidays and Winter-

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Nygaard said Hometown Holidays and Winterfest wouldn’t be a success without all of Main Street’s efforts.

“The community involvement is essential to the Main Street program and we truly appreciate the people that take the time out of their days to assist,” she said.

“Hometown Holidays and Winterfest are a multifaceted benefit for the town. We’re going big this year and we’re so excited.”

For more information follow Faribault Main Street on Facebook or visit faribaultmainstreet.org.

Christmas Time’s a Comin’

Faribault: Adam Scholljegerdes creates an ice sculpture at Faribault’s Hometown Holidays. He’ll be on hand for another demonstration on Nov. 30. (Photo courtesy of Adam Scholljegerdes) fest celebration, be ready for lights, glitz, a touch of magic and a dose of nostalgia said Faribault Chamber Information Specialist Kelly Nygaard on behalf of Faribault Main Street.

“It’s a great time to be out enjoying the town and downtown area,” she said. “You get a sense of hometown pride with these events and it’s a great reminder of local shopping opportunities. It’s so fun for the whole family and it’s a tradition that gets passed on year after year.”

Winterfest begins Thursday, Nov. 30 with the annual window decorating contest throughout downtown Faribault. Participating shops have the opportunity to choose their own theme or they can use the name of Paradise Center for the Art’s holiday production, “Coconuts and Mistletoe.” The night will also include free horse-drawn wagon rides and an ice carving demonstration by Adam Scholljegerdes.

Hometown Holidays will kick off on Saturday, Dec. 2 with a family friendly movie sponsored by Faribault Parks and Recreation and the Village Family Theater. After the movie, a parade of lights will make its way around the downtown area. Local organizations and families are invited to join in on the fun before attending a street dance that will follow.

Enjoy a night of music at the Starfire Event Center in Waseca as you watch the country-gospel and holiday musical performance Christmas Time’s a Comin.’

Tickets are available from Waseca Music Company and are $15 per ticket. Show times are 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 16 and 7 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 17.

Proceeds from the ninth annual holiday gospel show will benefit Mayo Clinic Health Systems Hospice and the American Red Cross.

For more information visit facebook.com/ ctarocks.

Northfield Winter Walk You’re not going to want to miss a night of horse drawn wagon rides, tree lighting and Snowflake Ornament Hunt on Dec. 7. Northfield’s 19th annual Winter Walk runs 5-9 p.m., beginning with a tree lighting ceremony in Bridge Square, followed by the inaugural community sing featuring “Welcome Christmas” from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

The event, which is put on by the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, along with a small group of volunteers of the Be Local – Buy Local Committee, will also include caroling, a luminary lined downtown, model train display at the library and

holiday treats, discounts and prize drawings at local stores.

“It’s amazing how businesses and community members come together and make such a wonderful event each year,” Director of Member Services of Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Lindsay Reddy said. “Winter Walk not only provides a boost to downtown retailers and restaurants, but also to the overall community.”

For more information visit northfieldchamber.com/WinterWalk. SMS Anna Vangsness can be reached at editor@southernminnscene.com

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BY ISABELLE WATTENBERG editor@southernminnscene.com

When you’re drawing a blank and need inspiration

s the holidays approach, sticky notes tend to accumulate — scribbles and scrawls capturing ideas and inspiration for holiday gifts. And with each year it can be an increasing challenge to find something new and meaningful to present to friends and family.

Luckily, your muse may very well be just around the corner. Southern Minnesota is home to countless innovators and artisans who share their creativity in boutiques, at studios, and through classes across the state.

We’ve rounded up a list of spots that might not currently be your go-to list — but cross the threshold and you’ll find much more than a stocking stuffer. These shops have character. They’ve been shaped by the towns that host them and the locals that support them, staff them, and create their inventory, and all this adds up to a shopping experience that will have you returning year-round.

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Finally, a Gift Store – Faribault. ‘Sorry, no pointless things to dust,’ states the bio of Faribault’s densely packed apparel-and-accouterments store. It’s both a nod to the quality of items the gift store offers, and also the large array of humorous gifts. A must-stop when you’re seeking gifts for those family members with a strong funny bone.

18 2nd St NE, Faribault vintageballroom.net/finally-a-gift-store Open Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

SummerHouse Farm – Waseca. This refurbished barn, built in 1940, houses vintage wares, farm-fancy home goods and garden trinkets. You’ll find everything from rustic home décor to sturdy furniture, and with the owner’s deft design eye, it’s worth a trip just to wander through the homey-chic tablescapes and room settings.

From the owner: My inventory changes weekly: most pieces are vintage and therefore ever changing. - Diane Kortuem 2412 State St N, Waseca facebook.com/summerhousefarm Open F-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and by appointment.

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Bluebird: Bluebird Cakery in Faribault and Mankato offers decorated sugar cookies, which make the perfect holiday gift.

“We have bar trays that include mini size bars with a variety of flavors like lemon, fudge brownie, seven layer and turtle brownie,” Myers said.

In addition, CakeWalk has special petite pastry trays that include samplings of cannoli’s, raspberry mascarpone’s, éclairs, cream puffs, fresh berry treats and mini chocolate flourless tortes.

Bluebird Cakery 318 Central Ave. N. #101, Faribault 507-573-2253 Or 607 S. Front Street, Mankato 507-351-1552 With a location in Faribault and Mankato, Bluebird Cakery offers something for just about everyone, including a unique pie promo.

“If you bring your own dish, we’ll make a pie in it so it looks like you made it and you can trick your family,” Faribault store leader and CFO Chelsea Hein said with a laugh.

Hein says the pie promo helps get customers in the festive spirit, which is something she looks forward to each year.

“My team at the Cakery is like my extended family,” she said. “During the holidays we get together and have a big party so we get be together.”

For customers having their own holiday parties, Hein said the store’s ugly sweater sugar cookies are a huge hit, as are seven layer bars and Scotchachroos. For the person looking for a non-edible holiday gift, Hein suggests a Bluebird coffee mug with a gift certificate inside.

Ruf Acres Market “Of course French macaroons are adorable for someone who wants a little more of an elegant treat,” she suggested.

“Chocolate covered strawberries work for Christmas, not just for Valentine’s Day, too.

We decorate those and cake pops. They both look great decorated for the holidays.”

Along with macaroons, cake pops and chocolate covered strawberries, you can find decorated cupcakes, frosted sugar cookies, caramel rolls and pies a plenty at Perfect Day Cakes.

CakeWalk

from local bakeries make perfect gifts for the holiday season

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BY ANNA VANGSNESS editor@southernminnscene.com

hey say the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, and that phrase may never be truer than it is at the holidays. If you’re hankering for a sticky bun before work or surprising your loved one with one-of-akind fudge this holiday season, you’re in luck; the Southern Minnesota area has

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303 Division St. S., Northfield 507-786-9255 Co-owner of CakeWalk Bakery Teara Myers said her favorite part of the holidays is enjoying the wonderful smells as holiday memories of baking with her grandma flood her mind.

If you’re looking for a party tray to bring to a work gathering and are wanting to experience those holiday smells that Myers loves, CakeWalk should be a stop on your list.

220 Central Ave. N., Suite 102, Faribault 507-339-2900 If you’re like Ruf Acres Market owner Ramon Carrion, one of your favorite things about the holidays is being able to support local organizations.

“I don’t want to buy something for my mom that she can buy herself,” he said. “I want to give her something homemade that she can’t find anywhere else.”

That’s why he offers a little bit of everything at his Faribault business. From Kul chocolate to Ruf Acres Farm pure maple syrup, he has it all.

Holiday shoppers can find local made teas and hot sauces, vegan BBQ sauce, spices, beans, homemade soap, lip balm and organic laundry soap at Ruf Acres Market.

For centuries, sweet treats and food have been seen as an expression of love. Maybe it’s because food is something everyone can relate to or maybe it’s because it’s a way to express one’s own tastes to someone else.

Whatever it may be for you, one of these or the many other unique bakeries around Southern Minnesota is sure to have something to please the lucky person on the receiving end of your sweetly-conceived thoughtfulness. SMS Anna Vangsness can be reached at editor@southernminnscene. com

bakery and specialty treat shops aplenty for every sweet tooth you know (your own included).

The Perfect Day Cakes 324 N. Cedar Ave., Owatonna 507-45-2253 Thea Farrington, owner of Perfect Day Cakes in Owatonna is one of the people who bakes to express their joy.

“I love the traditions that I get to see that people have over the holidays,” she said. “Over the years it’s been fun to get to know the customers well enough to know what they’re baking or wanting to order for the holidays.”

When it comes to selling items for the holidays, Farrington said cookies and cupcakes that are nicely packaged tend to be the biggest gift items that she sees fly off the shelves.

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Ruf: Are you looking for a special type of chocolate to complete a gift? Ruf Acres Market in Faribault has a unique selection of gourmet chocolate.

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MINNESOTA MUSIC SCENE

RIAN-DICKE MICHELS Rian-Dicke Michels, can be reached at editor@southernminnscene.com.

A look at Fathom Lane

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innesota has been my home since we left Chicago when I was small, and despite remaining a Bears fan by default, I have no shortage of pride where our home state is concerned. From being voted one of the healthiest states in the U.S. to being one of the best places to live in the country, Minnesota is pretty darn fantastic. The cherry on top is our music scene. Since the winters here leave something to be desired, it’s no surprise that we have a tendency to produce talented artists.

With Prince, Semisonic, Quietdrive, Owl City, Mark Cameron, Lizzo, Just Mirlyn, and The Jets, to name a few, the volume is set to eleven.

Music has played a rather large role in my life, and I feel like there was always music playing no matter whose household I was in. With my mom, we were singing along to Simon and Garfunkel around campfires, rocking out to Pearl Jam on long drives, and Josh Groban played in the background at dinnertime. On the flip side, my dad was drilling me on which Rolling Stones album came first, blaring the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Motorhead on the way to his house, and introducing me to Slipknot in middle school. With the addition of my stepdad’s CD collection, I discovered a love for the Cranberries and The Cure. To sum it up, I like to believe that being raised on an eclectic taste has lent itself to an appreciation for good music.

Recently, the Twin Cities put out a band by the name of Fathom Lane. With three albums out since 2012, you’ll notice just by listen-

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ing that their influences are all over the board. With a bit of twang on the guitar, it features soft country accents, but the vocals are reminiscent of Velvet Underground, and even my mom commented on their Pink Floyd-like alternative sound. Their music was described by Jim McGuinn of 89.3 The Current as “a common ground between alternative country, and floaty, progressive rock” and came in at number two in the results of the Manitoba Minnesota Music Exchange; which I felt was not entirely accurate. The listeners voted on the best of ten artists and I’m not sure who is listening to the Current anymore, but if my opinion counts for anything, Fathom Lane’s song Fingers and Toes should have come in first. Though it seems like the cities underground music scene might be going through a punk phase and this particular group creates a laid back atmosphere with just a little bit of bite, here and there.

With a total of six band members, Fathom Lane has managed to collect several awards in the Twin Cities area between their first two albums: - Best New Band 2013 - l’etoile Magazine, Minneapolis MN - Best Local Release of 2013 - 89.3 The Current - Top 10 Release of 2013 - St. Paul Pioneer Press - Top Release of 2013 - Twin Cities Critics Tally, Minneapolis Star Tribune - Top 5 Song of the Year 2012 - Twin Cities Critics Tally, Minneapolis Star Tribune Quoting l’etoile Magazine, “Fathom Lane mine a territory that’s somewhere in the vicinity of Laurel Canyon-circa-1970, right at the

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moment psychedelic spirituality gave way to something earthier and browner. Hints of Crosby, Browne (when he was good), Parsons et al abound, and yet this is not necessarily retro — the crisp, modern production and cool boy-girl vocals set this firmly in the present.”

The only disappointment I experienced in listening to this group was that I hadn’t found them sooner. In a way, Fathom Lane has a sound that embodies the small towns outside of the city. The quiet streets and peaceful evenings require a soundtrack, just the right amount of melancholy with a touch of hopefulness that causes goosebumps to erupt on the back of your neck. It’s a very distinctive sound, and often I find that either a band is good with covers or original music. However, their cover of “Country Roads” captures the spirit of the original song but devises its own flavor. I imagine that if I was still in high school and taking nighttime drives with my mom, we would have enjoyed listening to “Sarafina” with the windows down.

In the music world, so many innovative movements have been made throughout the course of history. Michael Ferrier, lead vocals and guitar for Fathom lane, has found a way to combine touchstones from Tom Petty to the Cowboy Junkies, and several other musicians that have served as their influential material. Shout out to Fathom Lane for grabbing my attention with their newest album Asilomar and holding it ‘til the end. This group has been proof that thankfully Minnesota is still a gold mine for creativity and I am glad to see that folks in the Midwest haven’t yet lost their touch. SMS

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The song “Jingle Bells” was not originally meant to be a Christmas song. You’ll notice that it doesn’t mention that specific holiday, nor even the month of Christmas.

The cookies won’t last long,

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Twice as many people are killed by winter weather than die from the heat of the summer season.

People have been kissing beneath the mistletoe since the sixteenth century but, because the reason for it was never recorded, nobody knows why we do it.

But

The Memories Will

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Robins are most commonly known as Christmas birds in Great Britain.

The Christmas Tree didn’t come to America until the early 1800s; even so, it didn’t really become a thing. In 1848, artists depicted Prince Albert cavorting with Queen Elizabeth and their children around a Christmas tree, and that’s all it took for Americans to embrace that holiday tradition.

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Santa’s suit wasn’t widely expected to be red until the 1930s; up til then, it might be any color.

Santa, by the way, wasn’t always a mansized guy. According to Clement Moore, he was a “jolly old elf.”

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December is Write to a Friend Month, so pick up a pen. Then tuck your letter into a Christmas card; more than 2 billion of them will be sent in the U.S. this year SMS

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Mollywood BLVD

MOLLY PENNY Molly Penny is a local radio personality and MSU Mankato alum. It was her love of pop culture that got her interested in doing a morning show gig for KOWZ 100.9. She is now Music and Promotions Director at KOWZ & KRUE Radio in Owatonna and can be heard on various airwaves in Southern Minnesota, including Hot 96.7 in Mankato. She resides in Mankato with her movie buff husband and YouTube obsessed children. Need to contact her?

Shoot her an e-mail mollyp@kowzonline.com or catch her on Twitter at @mollyhoodUSA.

HOW THE CORPORATIONS

STOLE Christmas

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he Holiday Season seems to start earlier and earlier every year.

My husband welcomes it!

Maybe you do too. Now, I don’t mean to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but I started seeing Christmas decorations up at Hobby Lobby in August – four months before Christmas? Bahumbug!

I’m sorry, but if it’s not 80 percent mark down from last year, I am not buying it. First of all, yes, of course this is the most wonderful time of the year, but when retailers are trying to shove wreaths and tinsel down my throat and it’s not even Labor Day, I have to roll my eyes. Santa can wait, mommy still has to buy the kids school supplies before I worry about what they want for Christmas!

Starbucks rolled out their new “holiday” cup, which by the way, are not red this year, on Nov. 1.

That was precisely one day after they discontinued their limited Zombie Frappucino for Halloween! We still had an entire month before Thanksgiving, and we were expected to drink our Pumpkin Spice Lattes out of Holiday cups already. And to my neighbors who bypassed Halloween altogether and put up their Christmas lights in September, I know that it’s no fun to do it in 35 degree weather, but stop ruining life!

And don’t get me started on Black Friday, or as I like to call it, the nightmare before Christmas.

Now it’s December, and I welcome the holidays with a warm heart and open arms. I just hate to see it cheapened and commercialized so much.

Not just the department stores and big box stores starting their catalogues and window displays months earlier than ever before, or the madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but also the price tag on what our family is expecting. One of the hot items again this

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year is, of course, the Nintendo Switch, which I am begrudgingly buying for my son Elliott. I can justify it because, while my son tires of his electronics rather quickly, I know my husband will get our money’s worth playing it.

We are splurging on the Nintendo Switch for my son, because he literally put nothing else on his list aside from a few games for the system, but my 13-year-old daughter wants the iPhone 8. Notice how Apple conveniently releases the latest and greatest and most costly devices just ahead of the holidays? Better she asks for the iPhone 8 than the iPhone X, but still! Jiminy Christmas, how can we even keep up with the expectations anymore? It has been six years since her show has been on the air, and Oprah is still releasing her holiday gift list of “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” that includes a $45 shower turban.

Is the most wonderful time of year also the most stressful? It can be, especially if you are me, and have had more car breakdowns and adventures into snow banks than I’d like to admit on those snowy commutes to grandma’s house. I keep AAA earning that holiday double-time. ‘Tis the Season to be Molly….But if buying the latest gadgets isn’t in your budget, don’t break the bank! There are plenty of ways to make the holidays special without racking up credit card debt. Shop locally if you can! There are many wonderful items at local retailers that will make perfect holiday gifts, and also help a family put food on their table this holiday season. Or volunteer! It is a time for giving back, not just consuming.

The real reason for the season is something that can’t be manufactured. It is the ineffable feeling of good will, time with family and friends. Assuming you have a good relationship with family, this can be one of the best times of year to reunite and enjoy each other’s company. Growing up in the 80s, I have so many great memories of sitting around the fireplace, my aunts and uncles in their turtle necks and holiday sweaters, singing Christmas carols or listening to them on vinyl. One of the staples on my dad’s side was “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” On my mom’s, it was us kids performing “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” and other classic carols in front of the Christmas tree for the adults.

My extended family has now started to do a really fun gift exchange game called “A Few of My Favorite Things.”

You just draw three names and exchange three of your favorite $5-10 items (could be DVD’s from the Wal-Mart 5 dollar bin, a bag of beef jerky from your local meat market, or simply a pair of fuzzy socks). It’s something you love, that you think others might enjoy, and it is inexpensive!

We still put on a show our parents, but now it is all of the original cousins, who are now adults for the most part, and our children putting on the performances. Two years ago, we performed the carols in the style of Pitch Perfect 2’s infamous “riff off.”

My mother-in-law has a game where she wraps candy and cash in a huge ball of saran wrap, and we are timed trying to unravel it and retrieve prizes before the buzzer goes off. It is a riot, and it goes a lot further than power tools you know your husband will never use or perfume that she will only wear once a year for your anniversary dinner because she is too sweet to say she hates it.

For the past several years my grandmother, who sadly passed away this fall, orchestrated a horse led sleigh ride through our family’s woods over freshly fallen snow.

Beautiful memories like this mean more than any object she could have bought us. They will last a lifetime. And it is times like these where life feels like a movie.

Speaking of movies, one of my absolute favorite family traditions is watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, who hosts Christmas at his house. We love it so much in fact, I bought my husband Wes an officially licensed National Lampoon Marty Moose egg nog mug our first Christmas together.

For Christmas at my dad’s, we all wear our pajamas and cuddle up to enjoy a Christmas movie. Whether it’s my dad’s favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life, or the kids’ choice, Home Alone, these are the moments of togetherness that truly make the holidays bright.

Now that it’s here, it is going to fly by in the blink of an eye, so embrace this joyous time of year. Don’t worry, you only have to wait about eight months and it will rear its jolly red and green head.

Happy Holidays, everyone, go spread some cheer! SMS

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THE TIGGER SCENE

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TIGGER LUNNEY Tigger Lunney is a writer, talker, veteran of the music industry and Minnesota politics, and the overly opinionated dad of two overly opinionated kids.

Twitter @tiggerlunney.

ustard Daze was set to bring some of the bestknown independent artists from around Minnesota to one location – the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Polica, The Suburbs, Low, Sarah White and The Shift were all prepared to take to the stage for the 2017 music festival.

But tickets didn’t sell. And promoter Christian “C-Gull” Clements was forced to cancel.

For the many who can’t imagine the sheer amount of work it takes planning, booking, and promoting such a large-scale event, think of it like the biggest project you’ve ever had to complete for your boss, or the most stressful final paper you ever wrote for college, or the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do in your life. It would be enough to make you want to give up completely.

But if you’re Clements, the owner/operator of independent music promotions outfit “Positive Tuesday,” everything has a silver lining, even having to cancel your most ambitious project to date.

“It would have been way cooler to celebrate life through music with all those folks, but I learned a ton from the experience,” he said. “Mustard Daze 2018 will only be unsuccessful if I don’t put the knowledge I gained to work. I learned to work a little slower, smarter and the importance of teamwork.”

Clements plans to give Mustard Daze another go next year.

A native Texan, who spent 18 years in Minneapolis before transplanting to Rochester a little over a year ago, Clements didn’t plan on leaping right into music when he arrived.

“I moved to Rochester because I met a great girl [here] and was ready for a change.

I owned a limousine service in Minneapolis that closed in January of 2016,” he said. “I felt lost. While my Minneapolis job was OK, I loved my girlfriend and my dog, Megawulf.

I decided that the latter two were what I wanted to invest my time and energy in, so moving to Rochester was a safe bet.”

Music is something he’s been part of almost his entire adult life. He got his start in Minneapolis promoting electronic dance music events, but quickly discovered the Twin Cities’ large punk and independent rock scene. While working at a coffeeshop, his co-workers were members of numerous independent rock and hip-hop acts around town, most notably members of the Doomtree hip-hop collective and a punk rock-meets-60’s girl group revival act called The God Damn Doo Wop Band, who took him on his first of many tours.

“Touring changed my life,” Clements said. “I wouldn’t just jump in any band’s van these days, but I learned a lot about traveling and being a part of a lot of different communities.”

Building a network of musicians, scenesters, and regular concert-goers led to his car service, which zipped you from show to show in the Twin Cities and home, often for less than the price of a cab ride. It wasn’t playing music, but to Clements, it was still a form of art.

It was his way of participating in the music scene, and the reason why he started Positive

Tuesday.

“It took me starting a business to realize that I have a creative side,” he said. “Being a terrible artist with an amazing network of talented friends is how I ended up doing shows in Rochester. Networks are useless if we don’t use them for the betterment of the world we create for ourselves.”

Since Positive Tuesday began, Clements has worked hard to bring the artists he knows from the Twin Cities and connected them with bands and music fans in Rochester.

“Positive Tuesday has done shows at Kathy’s Pub and Forager Brewing Company.

We have done shows for Har Mar Superstar, Caroline Smith, Bad Bad Hats, P.O.S. and Astronautalis,” he said. “The purpose of Positive Tuesday is to promote art, music and culture in Rochester. I miss the amenities of a bigger city. I see an importance in people sharing music together. Music is great way for people to connect and to live in a moment together.”

Less than a year in, Clements planned Mustard Daze, his largest event yet. Sept.

23 was supposed to fill the Civic Center with fans to see artists Poliça, The Suburbs, Low, Sarah White, and The Shift—a line-up ranging from moody electronic to classic new wave to soul.

Unfortunately, he said, “I decided to cancel Mustard Daze because of low tickets sales. It was the right choice. Building culture takes a while. You can’t just hammer culture into people’s heads. You have to start with one of those soft mallets that they use to test people’s reflexes.”

If you see a bit of tension there — even for a guy whose life philosophy is one of never-ending positivity — don’t mistake it for some sort of provincialism from a Twin Cities carpetbagger, but the enthusiasm of an artist carving out his space on a wide-open canvass.

When asked, he points to venues such as Kathy’s Pub, Forager, and the Jive Mill as hot spots to see original live music, Café Steam as a great place to see singersongwriters or even perform at an open mic, and the online music site My Town My Music as the key resource for finding out anything you need to know about Rochester’s music scene. Some of his favorite local acts — the ones that grab him as having “soul” — are Under The Pavilion, Local Sports, and rapper Jae Havoc.

In a city best known for a certain health care giant that shares a name with America’s most contentious condiment, Clements’s intention for Positive Tuesday and Mustard Daze is to get Rochester recognized as a creative cultural hub as well.

“As the new guy in Rochester, I realize how much of an impact that Mayo has on the people of Rochester,” said Clements.

“Mayo is pretty great; It’s sort of the Disneyworld of medicine. With that being said, most of the actors that work at Disney world take off their costumes. They go to BBQ’s, kids football games, and some even go to a bar and just be normal people. Maybe it’s a character flaw of my own, but I just see people as people. We all deserve to get lost in the moment, forget about our worries and just have fun.

That’s the culture that I hope to offer Rochester. It’s totally a choose your own adventure.”

So what’s next for Positive Tuesday? SMS

The end of Mustard Daze

Christian Clements had Polica, The Suburbs, Low and more ready to perform at a Rochester music festival.

And then he cancelled.

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BUZZ

Market Megan Rolloff

Megan is a designer at The Design Element in the Mankato Design Center. She can help you with all your design needs from planning to product selection.

E

ach fall and spring, the town of High Point, North Carolina opens its doors to play host to a plethora of designers and retailers all looking to get their eyes and hands on the latest styles and trends in the world of home décor. This wonderland of fabrics, furniture, and acces-

SPONSORED BY The Design Element 1711 Premier Drive Mankato, MN 507.345.8708

sories is known as High Point Market.

No doubt, going to market is a visual high light of any designer’s year, but it is also a means of staying educated and up-to-date on what the manufacturers are offering and what the rest of the country (and world) are putting in their homes.

For one week each season, downtown High Point comes alive with building after building of showrooms; all putting their best design foot forward. Whether you own a furniture store, a design studio, or anything in between, you are likely to find what you are looking for at High Point Market. And discovering the new and exciting and bringing it back for customers and clients is the best part!

While the world of design and personal style is vast, there always seems to be one or two themes that repeat themselves from showroom to showroom. Navy blue emerged as one of the colors of the moment; particularly when paired with brushed gold.

Speaking of brushed gold, let’s take a

moment to discuss this particular metallic trend. The color gold has an ability to stir up emotions and memories unlike any other finish of

its kind. Many are hesitant to try this trend out because, “my mother had that.” Whether you are a child of the seventies or eighties, rest assured that this is not the same as the brass finish of the past. The seventies brought a dark, mottled, antique brass often seen on intricate, chunky hardware. The eighties responded with shiny, yellow, polished brass; with very little detail involved. The “new” gold is a warm, clean, brushed finish great for adding warmth and a bit of unexpected to a room.

But the biggest change we noted was how metallic finishes are being used. It was not unusual to see multiple finishes being mixed in one space. It is okay, and even preferred, to have gold, silver, and black all working together to create interest and texture within a room.

Overall, the trend at market and beyond, is to stress less about what is “right” and “wrong” and have more fun with your décor.

Our homes have become a reflection and representation of ourselves. And who wants to be seen as uptight, stuffy, and outdated?

So whether you are fine-tuning your existing collections or exploring a new market trend, don’t be afraid to try something new. It may just become the favorite part of your house.

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| DECEMBER 2017

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Escape the ordinary www.unraveledescape.com

I

magine you’re wandering an old, deserted hospital. For years, rumors have floated around that it’s haunted. Recently, a renowned spiritualist went missing there after showing up to run paranormal investigations. Now, it’s up to you and your friends to find her. But you’re locked in, too, and as you sneak through the dark, echoing halls, you keep hearing something like footsteps following behind you …

Sound like a horror movie? Actually, it’s the set up for an escape room — a game where you pay for the privilege to get locked in a room for an hour and try to figure out how to escape. They may sound a bit odd when you first hear about them, but escape rooms are seeing a surge in popularity since they first hit the scene in the early 2000s.

There are hundreds of escape rooms across the United States alone, according to Escaperooms. com, and thousands throughout the world.

If you’re interested in trying one out yourself, you’re in luck: Southern Minnesota has several to choose from. Rochester has two, Manksto has two, and Winona’s got one. Of course, once you branch up to the Twin Cities, there are even more options available.

The basic premise is simple: you and your friends are locked into a room (though you can always get out if you need to) that’s set up as some sort of scenario — a prison, a Mayan temple, a witch’s kitchen … the list goes on. The room is filled with riddles and puzzles that you have to find and solve within some set period of time (usually an hour) to unlock the door to the exit.

It’s that immersive experience that makes the game so fun, according to Ryan Steiner, who runs UNRAVELED Escape Room in Rochester with his

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wife Jackie.

“It’s the experience, the thrill of a challenge, a real-life situation,” Steiner explained. “People get this really unique experience in a situation that they would normally never find themselves in, working their 9-to-5 jobs, in their entire life. It gets them in this fantasy world where they can let loose a little bit and have a very memorable, thrilling experience with their friends and family.”

Chad King runs C & C Xscape Room in Winona with his partner Chad Duryee.

“This particular form of entertainment takes people off their devices and puts them in a situation where they not only have to engage with their surroundings, but each other,” King said.” It can create the kind of bonding experience we used to see on the largely defunct ‘game night.’”

Another plus is that pretty much anyone can participate, from kids to grandparents. Most rooms are built in such a way that there’s something for everyone, whether you’re great at riddles or you have a 5-year-old who can find crucial objects hidden in different places.

“With an escape room, everyone finds a way to be part of the team and contribute to the escape,” said Nathan Schroeder, who runs Escape Challenge in Rochester. “The target audience for all of the puzzles is adults. But the escape room missions work for almost anything. It’s not uncommon for us to have a Friday begin with corporate team building in the afternoon, then have a 13-year-old’s birthday party, then a church group, then a family with ages ranging from 10 to 70, then a bachelorette party to end the night. They all do the same challenge, and they all have a great time.”

While the challenges different groups face may be identical, the outcome can be very different,

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depending on how they want the experience to go, according to Colleen Depuydt, who runs Old Town Escape in Mankato with her sister and their husbands. May explained that some groups are more interested in doing everything themselves, even if it means not figuring out how to escape, while others are more interested in escaping, which means they ask for more hints and clues. Hints are available to every group — it’s just a matter of how many you want to ask for.

“We really enjoy feeling immersed in the experience, and a large part of that is making sure the hints and the guidance fits in well with the experience,” Depuydt said. “We take a lot of pride in trying to make the hints not just be, ‘Do this now.’

We try to make the hints an additional part of the puzzle. Every group needs hints.”

Another way the escape room experience might differ depends on how they’re set up for each game. Some rooms are offered on a per-person basis, while other rooms are rented out exclusively to a certain group. Kato Escape in Mankato, which is run by Elizabeth and Jason Hanke, does the latter, which Elizbaeth Hanke said was a deliberate choice so that it could be more family-friendly.

“When you’re mixed in with other people, that’s harder for families,” Hanke said. “We specifically wanted to cater more to families and friends, amongst themselves.”

On the other hand, if you’re a friendly sort who likes meeting new people, then exploring an open escape room may be more up your alley. It just depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for.

No matter what scenario you pick or how hard you make it, you’re sure to have fun … even if you don’t escape after all. SMS

Old Town Escape

WHERE: 403 N. Riverfront Drive, Mankato WEBSITE: www.oldtownescape.com PHONE NUMBER: 507-779-7799 COST: $25 per person

Kato Escape Room

WHERE: 619 S Front St, Mankato WEBSITE: www.katoescape.com PHONE NUMBER: 507-327-4045 COST: $75 for the room (with additional costs for larger groups)

C & C Xscape Rooms

WHERE: 79 W 3rd St., Winona WEBSITE: www.ccxscape.com PHONE NUMBER: (507) 481-4628 COST: $20 per person

UNRAVELED Escape Room

WHERE: 300 11th Ave NW, Rochester WEBSITE: www.unraveledescape.com PHONE NUMBER: (507)-400-0386 COST: $30 per person

Escape Challenge

WHERE: 20 6th Street NW, Rochester WEBSITE: www.theescapechallenge.com PHONE NUMBER: (507)-722-2728 COST: $28 per person

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THE

The Met presents the American premiere of Thomas Adss The Exterminating Angel, inspired by the classic Luis Buuel film of the same name. Hailed by the New York Times at its 2016 Salzburg Festival premiere as inventive and audacious a major event, The Exterminating Angel is a surreal fantasy about a dinner party from which the guests cant escape.

Tom Cairns, who wrote the libretto, directs the new production, and Ads conducts his own adventurous new opera.

The Enchanted Forest: An Irish Ballet - 3:30 pm | $15-$20. $15 in advance, $20 at the doorAges 4 through adultNo admittance under age 4 University of Minnesota, Student Center, St. Paul campus 2017 Buford Ave. Falcon Heights, MN 55108 Kick off your holiday season with Pas de Deux Dance Studio! Follow the adventures of Moira, a young Irish girl, in this original full length story ballet. Our story begins as Moira and the other villagers prepare for their annual Christmas ceili (Irish party) featuring traditional Irish dancing.

As the ceili progresses, Moira grows bored and sneaks off to the Enchanted Forest, where she watches as the fairies hold their own ceili. An evil sorceress arrives and captures the fairies - will Moira be able to rescue them? Great for the whole family, ages 4 and up!

Dustin Lynch

Rochester Community Band “Fall Concert” - 7:00 pm | Free Byron Middle School Auditorium 601 4th Street NW Byron, MN 55920 The Rochester Community Band (RCB) will play a variety of music under the direction of Tony Boldt and Jonathon Knutson and performed by music lovers from all walks of life and all ages. The musical selections include Emperata Overture, William Byrd Suite, Ashokan Farewell and Marche Des Parachutistes Belges.

For more information, call (507) 2859915. www.rochestercommunityband. org.

Verizon Wirless Center in Mankato – Nov. 18 Mankato continues its streak of bringing (at least semi) big names to the 8,200-capacity Verizon Wireless Center.

His self-titled debut album, released on August 21st 2012, made it to the top spot of the Country charts. Later that year, “She Cranks My Tractor”, which was released on November 19th 2012, also charted, as did the third single from Lynch’s self-titled album, “Wild in your Smile” which made it to number 32 on the Country chart.

Lynch is one of many male singers dominating the current mainstream country music landscape, at the moment, so if that’s your genre, he’s a good bet for a show you’ll like.

Tickets range from $36.75 to $129. www.songkick.com

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Fri Nov 17, 2017 Pinch Pots and Plants - 1:00 pm | $10-$15. Members $10/Nonmembers $15 125 Live Center for Active Adults 125 Elton Hills Dr NW Rochester, MN 55901 This one-time class will cover the basics of pinching clay between your fingers to form a bowl perfect for a plant. No previous knowledge is needed and fees include use of studio/ tools and clay. Registration is required.

Coming Home Concert Fighting Homelessness - 6:00 pm | Free will offering Bethel Lutheran Church 810 Third Ave SE Rochester, MN 55904 Coming Home Concert celebrates the work of Family Promise Rochester with a combined choral event featuring singers from eight local churches and special music from Lourdes Center Street Singers and the Rochester Male Chorus. Silent Auction is 6pm7:30pm, concert begins at 7:30pm.

She Loves Me Nov 17, 18, 2017 7:00 pm | $16 Frank W. Bridges Theatre, Riverland Community College 1900 8th Ave NW Austin, MN 55912 Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Book by Joe Masteroff, Directed by Lindsey Duoos Williams. Set in a 1930s European perfumery, shop clerks Amalia and Georg don’t see eye to eye. After both respond to a ‘lonely hearts

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advertisement in the newspaper, they now live for the love letters that they exchange, but the identity of their admirers remains unknown. Inspired by the classic film The Shop Around the Corner (which also served as the inspiration for the hit film You’ve Got Mail), She Loves Me is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance.

Mayo High School Fall Musical Nov 17, 18, 2017 7:00 pm | $10-$12. Tickets are available at www.showtix4U.com Mayo High School 1420 11th Ave Rochester, MN 55901 Mayo High School Drama Department proudly presents the musical ‘In the Heights’ Get ready for fun and entertainment as the Mayo High School Drama Department presents the musical ‘In the Heights’, with music and lyrics by the creator of the Broadway smash ‘Hamilton’.

The story takes place in a Hispanic neighborhood in the Big Apple. The characters face challenges, pursue dreams, and yet maintain hope as they fight for family, education, and money.

Black Violin - 7:30 pm | $37-$73.

Subject to change.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts 345 Washington Street Saint Paul, MN 55102 Black Violin is the blend of classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and bluegrass music. Live, they are accompanied by their incredible band, featuring ace turntable whiz DJ SPS and a drummer. Named one of the hottest bands at SXSW in 2013, Black Violin was invited to perform at Bonnaroo and returned to SXSW this year to SRO crowds. More tickets and more information, go to https://ordway.org/ event/black-violin/

Our Country’s Good Nov 17, 18, 2017 8:00 pm | $9 Gustavus Adolphus College Anderson Theatre 800 W. College Ave. St. Peter, MN 56082 The Department of Theatre and Dance presents a production of Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, directed by Amy Seham. In 1787, in the first Australian penal colony, a ragged, half-starved group of convicts put on a performance of The Recruiting Officer, an elegant comedy of manners

by George Farquhar. Inspired by this strange-but-true moment of theatre history, playwright Wertenbaker has created a compelling contemporary work.

Sat Nov 18, 2017 7th Annual SE MN a Cappella Festival - 11:00 am | $10 for adults and free for students Mayo Civic Center Auditorium 30 Civic Center Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904 National Harmony Sweepstakes winners Women of the World will be headlining the 7 pm Capstone Concert of the 7th annual SE MN a Cappella festival on 11/18 at the Mayo Civic Center. They are one of 19 ensembles that will be leading and participating in workshops throughout the day.

Showcase concerts are at 11:20 and 2 and the capstone concert is at 7.

All concerts are open to the public.

All-concert passes are available for $10 for adults and are free to students.

Ticket information, including the lineups for each concert, can be found at www.SEMNaCappella.org.

The Met: Live in HD Presents: The Exterminating Angel Nov 18, 29, 2017 12:00 pm | $28-$30 Showplace ICON at The West End 1625 West End Blvd Minneapolis, MN 55416

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The Marriage of Figaro - 7:30 pm | $25-$200 Ordway Center for the Performing Arts 345 Washington Street Saint Paul, MN 55102 All is fair in love and war in this new staging of Mozarts timeless comedy of errors, widely considered the perfect opera. Mozarts infectious score brings humor, drama, and humanity to this story of class conflict. It should be the happiest day of their lives, but the wily servant Figaro and his charming fiance Susanna must fend off the philandering, arrogant Count Almaviva before he ruins everything. On a day filled with chaos and confusion in which disguised identities are revealed and shenanigans ensue, will the young lovers finally make it to the altar?

The Suburbs - 7:30 pm | $30-$55 Sheldon Theatre 443 west third street Red Wing, MN 55066 Quirky spunk and funky pop energy The New Yorker Often described as a Midwest Roxy Music, but with more humor and rock scruff, The Burbs have been making their unique punk-popart-dance records and performing off and on for 40 years. With dance-club hits like Waiting and Music for Boys and radio hits like Life Is Like, Rattle My Bones, and the recent Marriage Equality Anthem, Love Is The Law, The Suburbs could be forgiven for resting on their laurels. Their last single Turn The Radio On was voted Song Of The Year by a poll of local music critics in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2013, and their brand new album Hey Muse!

Colloquium Series: James DeVoll, Flute And Kate Bae, Guest Collaborative Pianist 7:30 pm | Free Gustavus Adolphus College Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall 800 W. College Ave. St. Peter, MN 56082 The Music Department presents Adjunct Instructor of Flute James DeVoll in concert. This performance is free and open to the public, no ticket is required.

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Shuli Egar - 8:00 pm | $20 Royal Comedy Theatre 809 Mainstreet Hopkins, MN 55343 *Special Event - No Free Passes or Coupons Allowed* SHULI EGAR truly knows that if youre going to make it in comedy, youve got to hustle. His start in stand up began with him bombing every night in nearly empty casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. But in 2002 Shulis luck would change. Thats when he met the one and only Howard Stern.

My Brother, My Brother and Me 8:00 pm | see website Orpheum Theatre 910 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403 join us for some great music!

Sun Nov 19, 2017 Gustavus Jazz Ensemble & Adolphus Jazz Ensemble Fall Jazz Showcase - 1:30 pm | Free Gustavus Adolphus College Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall 800 W. College Ave. St. Peter, MN 56082 The Gustavus Jazz Ensemble and Adolphus Jazz Ensemble present their Fall Jazz Showcase. Both ensembles are conducted by Director of Jazz Studies, Dave Stamps. This concert is free and open to the public, no tickets are required. The event will also be available via livestream.

The Marriage of Figaro - 2:00 pm | $25-$200 Ordway Center for the Performing Arts 345 Washington Street Saint Paul, MN 55102 All is fair in love and war in this new staging of Mozarts timeless comedy of errors, widely considered the perfect opera. Mozarts infectious score brings humor, drama, and humanity to this story of class conflict. It should be the happiest day of their lives, but the wily servant Figaro and his charming fiance Susanna must fend off the philandering, arrogant Count Almaviva before he ruins everything. On a day filled with chaos and confusion in which disguised identities are revealed and shenanigans ensue, will the young lovers finally make it to the altar?

She Loves Me - 2:00 pm | $16 Frank W. Bridges Theatre, Riverland Community College 1900 8th Ave NW Austin, MN 55912 Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Book by Joe Masteroff, Directed by Lindsey Duoos Williams. Set in a 1930s European perfumery, shop clerks Amalia and Georg don’t see eyeto eye. After both respond to a ‘lonely hearts advertisement in thenewspaper, they now live for the love letters that they exchange, but theidentity of their admirers remains unknown. Inspired by the classic film The Shop Around the Corner (which alsoserved as the inspiration for the hit film YouveGot Mail), She Loves Me is a warm romanticcomedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance. Rated PG. Gustavus Vocal Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Combos Fall Jazz Showcase - 4:30 pm | Free Gustavus Adolphus College - Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall 800 W. College Ave. St. Peter, MN 56082 The Gustavus Vocal Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combos present their Fall Jazz Showcase. The ensembles are directed by Director of Jazz Studies Dave Stamps and Adjunct Instructor of Saxophone Donnie Norton.

Tue Nov 21, 2017 The Hip Hop Nutcracker Nov 21, 22, 2017 7:30 pm | $28-$69.

Subject to change.

State Theatre 805 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55402 A holiday mash-up for the entire family, The Hip Hop Nutcracker re-imagines Tchaikovsky’s class score through explosive hip-hop choreography, featuring one of the founding father’s of hip hop Kurtis Blow! The Hip Hop Nutcracker is an evening-length production performed

by a supercharged cast of a dozen all-star dancers, DJ and violinist.

The Magic Of Adam Trent Nov 21, 24, 2017 7:30 pm | $45-$74.

Subject to change.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts 345 Washington Street Saint Paul, MN 55102 As seen on The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Today Show, Adam Trent the break out star of the world’s best selling magic show THE ILLUSIONISTS is back and he’s bringing his signature brand of magic and illusion to this 90-minute spectacle. This show is an immersive entertainment extravaganza of magic, comedy, and music perfect for the entire family! Don’t miss the next generation of magic!

Wed Nov 22, 2017 Movie Night at the Paramount - Tommy Boy (PG-13) - 7:30 pm | $5 The Historic Paramount Theatre 125 4th Ave NE Austin, MN 55912 Only $5 for a ticket! Purchase tickets at the concession stand on the night of the show; no advance ticket sales.

For more information or to request your favorite film for future shows, email info@austinareaarts.org or call 507-434-0934.

Fri Nov 24, 2017 2nd Floor Art Gallery Opening - All Member Show - 5:00 pm | Free Austin ArtWorks Center 300 North Main Street Austin, MN 55912 Open House celebrating the exhibit of an All Member art show. Free and open to the public. Show goes from Nov 24 to Jan 6 2018. For more information, call 507-434-0934.

Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some)! Nov 24, 30, Dec 1, 7, 9, 2017 7:30 pm | $22 Rochester Repertory Theatre 103 Seventh Street NE Rochester, MN 55906 Instead of performing Charles Dickens beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors debate (then agree) to perform every Christmas story ever told plus Christmas traditions from around the world plus seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture, AND every Christmas carol ever sung. This madcap romp through the holiday season accomplishes the small miracle of making all Christmas myths seem both utterly ridiculous and absolutely essential.

Good Morning Bedlam - 8:00 pm | Free Lakes & Legends Brewing Company 1368 Lasalle Ave Minneapolis, MN 55403 Good Morning Bedlam is performing at Lakes & Legends Brewing Company! Good Morning Bedlam’s show is an explosion of energy with soaring harmonies, a banjo player that scissor-kicks in the air, a string bass that will shake your chest, and a beat that will have your foot stomping through the floor. Every song is a unique twist on what is generally dubbed as folk music.

Sat Nov 25, 2017 The Mystery Cafe presents “Let’s Kill the Boss” Nov 25, Dec 1, 9, 2017 7:00 pm | $69.75 Double Tree Hotel 1500 Park Pl Blvd St Louis Park, MN 55416 Visit www.themysterycafe.com for tickets! Mystery Cafe dishes out a hilarious comedy caper, where you and your table are invited to solve the crimeall while enjoying a delicious 3-course meal. Upon arrival, youll be seated by members of the cast.

Clues are all around, and youll also be provided with Mystery Money, so you can bribe characters for more information.

Tue Nov 28, 2017 Linda Eder - 7:30 pm | $37-$78.

Subject to change.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts 345 Washington Street Saint Paul, MN 55102 Showcasing one of the greatest voices of our time, Linda Eders diverse repertoire spans Broadway, standards, pop, country, and jazz. When she performs live in concert, it is amazing to experience the ease with which she moves back and forth from one genre to another. The concert stage remains the mainstay of Eders career. She has performed for sold-out crowds in venues across the country and throughout Europe.

Wed Nov 29, 2017 Movie Night - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (PG-13) 7:30 pm | $5 The Historic Paramount Theatre 125 4th Ave NE Austin, MN 55912 Only $5 for a ticket! Purchase tickets at the concession stand on the night of the show; no advance ticket sales. For more information or to request your favorite film for future shows, email info@austinareaarts.org.

Thu Nov 30, 2017 C. Willi Myles - 7:30 pm | $15-$22. $15 Students; $17 Members; $22 Non-Members Paradise Center for the Arts 321 Central Ave. Faribault, MN 55021 Minnesota’s favorite comedian brings a night of non-offensive jokes and a unique spin on life’s everyday challenges to the stage.

Receive 2 FREE tickets to the show with an overnight stay at the Historic Hutchinson House B&B, located just blocks from the Paradise Center for the Arts.

Fri Dec 1, 2017 Coconuts and Mistletoe Dec 1, 7, 9, 2017 7:30 pm | $10-$16 Paradise Center for the Arts 321 Central Ave. Faribault, MN 55021 Written and directed by Dan Rathbun.

Santa conspires with spies to save Christmas This unique holiday comedy is the much anticipated follow-up sequel to Dan Rathbuns 2011 world premiere of Coconuts and Warheads. Journey back to the island for more adventure and intrigue with a holiday twistof lime and more.

Katy Perry - 7:30 pm | Varies Xcel Energy Center St Paul, MN Come and join us for some great music!

Continental Ballet Company Nutcracker - 7:30 pm | $25-$30.

Students $13 Sheldon Theatre 443 west third street Red Wing, MN 55066 Priceless gem on the Prairie. TC Luxury and Fashion A holiday season crown jewel, and now a tradition at the Sheldon! Especially designed for families, this seasoned production tells the timeless tale of Claras fantastic voyage to the Land of the Sugarplum Fairy with her magical godfather Drosselmeyer. With stunning costumes and Tchaikovskys sumptuous score, this full-scale classical ballet production is a treat for all ages. This is a Kids Play Free event.

Sat Dec 2, 2017 Austin’s 8th Annual Merry Tuba Christmas Concert - 8:30 am | Free to audience members; $10 registration fee for concert participants The Historic Paramount Theatre 125 4th Ave NE Austin, MN 55912 Free annual concert featuring tubas, sousaphones, euphoniums and baritones playing seasonal favorites.

All players invited to participate - $10 registration. Registration begins at 8:30 am, followed by rehearsal; performance begins at 11 am. Free and open to the community.

Quarry Hill Nature Art Show 9:00 am | Free

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Sleepy Eye Holiday Lights in Motion Sportsmans Park – Thanksgiving through December

THEATER Nov 17 - Dec 3 Love, Family, Tradition!

Initiated in 2014, Sportsman’s Park (north of Sleepy Eye Lake on Hwy 4) was animated with five Holiday Light displays.

The 2015 season brought a Santa Ski Slope, lights in trees animated to Christmas music, a 33-foot “Dancing” Mega Christmas Tree, decorated camper cabins, trolley rides and an Express North Pole Mail for kids to hand deliver letters to Santa.

In 2016, one more big display was added – the cul-de-sac

Quarry Hill Nature Center 701 Silver Creek Rd NE Rochester, MN 55906 Youll see pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, glass, woodworking and more. Admission is free and ten percent of all sales are donated to the Friends of Quarry Hill in support of nature education programs. Meet the artists and hear how they have been inspired by nature to create their art. The Nature Center is open during the show for hands on exploration of their many exhibits and trails. And if its cold outside, warm up next to Quarry Hills famous indoor wood-burning fireplace!

Tuba Christmas 2017 in Northfield - 3:00 pm | Free Skinner Memorial Chapel, Carleton College 405 1st St E Northfield, MN 55057 Vintage Band Festival is presenting Tuba Christmas 2017 in Northfield on Saturday, December 2 at 3pm.

The event will take place in Skinner Memorial Chapel, 405 1st St. E. on the campus of Carleton College.

Retired professor Dr. Paul Niemisto will be the host of Tuba Christmas 2017. Ronald Rodman, professor of music at Carleton College, will be the Guest Conductor. Tuba Christmas is an event that brings together euphonium, baritone and tuba players of all ages to play Christmas carols for the enjoyment of family, friends and the general public.

Landau Murphy Home for the Holidays - 7:30 pm | $35-$55.

Students 20 Sheldon Theatre 443 west third street Red Wing, MN 55066 The remarkably charming Americas Got Talent winner, Landau Murphy, performs the Great American Songbook with a voice and phrasing that has been compared to Frank Sinatra. The former car washers Columbia Records debut album produced by Grammy winner Steve Tyrell spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart.

What Sweeter Music - 7:30 pm | $22-$36.

St. Olaf Catholic Church 215 South 8th St. Minneapolis, MN 55402 A Twin Cities favorite each December, The Singers annual Christmas concerts are a meaningful mix of traditional carols (often in new arrangements), contemplative music of the season, and festive works from the Renaissance to today. This season, the choir presents Eric Whitacres Lux Aurumque, Bob Chilcotts What Sweeter Music, and carols from around the world.

RCMS String Orchestra 7:30 pm | Free Christ United Methodist Church 400 5th Avenue SW Rochester, MN 55902 Due to popular demand, the Rochester Chamber Music Society string orchestra is back. Music

by Bach, Finzi and Mendelssohn will be featured in this concert combining the talents of 11 musicians. Horacio Nuguid, piano, and David Townsend, clarinet, will be the soloists. Visit our website rochesterchambermusic.org for more details.

area was lit/animated, the driving path was lit and the community concession stand was brought onsite to use in conjunction with other concession stands, campfire and trolley ride nights.

This is just some good, small-town holiday fun. www.sleepyeyeholidaylights.org

Purple Door Youth Theater

Quarry Hill Nature Art Show 11:00 am | Free Quarry Hill Nature Center 701 Silver Creek Rd NE Rochester, MN 55906 Youll see pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, glass, woodworking and more. Admission is free and ten percent of all sales are donated to the Friends of Quarry Hill in support of nature education programs. Meet the artists and hear how they have been inspired by nature to create their art. The Nature Center is open during the show for hands on exploration of their many exhibits and trails.

Coconuts and Mistletoe Dec 3, 10, 2017 2:00 pm | $10-$16.

Member $14/ Non-Member $16/ Student $10 Paradise Center for the Arts 321 Central Ave. Faribault, MN 55021 Written and directed by Dan Rathbun. Santa conspires with spies to save Christmas This unique holiday comedy is the much anticipated follow-up sequel to Dan Rathbuns 2011 world premiere of Coconuts and Warheads. Journey back to the island for more adventure and intrigue with a holiday twistof lime and more.

What Sweeter Music - 3:00 pm | $22-$36.

Please visit our website at www.singersmca.org for more details.

Wayzata Community Church 125 Wayzata Blvd E Wayzata, MN 55391 A Twin Cities favorite each December, The Singers annual Christmas concerts are a meaningful mix of traditional carols (often in new arrangements), contemplative music of the season, and festive works from the Renaissance to today. This season, the choir presents Eric Whitacres Lux Aurumque, Bob Chilcotts What Sweeter Music, and carols from around the world.

Decades Rewind - 7:00 pm | $34.50-$47.50. Kids FREE with each adult ticket.

Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall 20 Civic Center Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904 Decades Rewind is a National touring concert, dance party and theatrical performance all wrapped up in one blockbuster show! Come celebrate the hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s, the most prominent decades in music history. Disco, Funk, Rock and Motown all take center stage in this brand new theatrical concert featuring over 60s

2017-18 Theater Season Sponsors: Neuger Communications Group & Engage Print Production Sponsors: Carleton College & Hideaway Coffeehouse and Wine Bar

AUDITIONS

Sun Dec 3, 2017

Sugar Plum Fairy Tea 1:00 pm | $18 Kahler Apache Hotel, Royale Ballroom 1517 16th. St. SW Rochester, MN 55902 Treat your family to a ‘mini’ Nutcracker performance while enjoying a wide variety of sweet treats. Everyone will have the opportunity to meet and dance with the Nutcracker performers.

Wear your holiday best for photo opportunities. Children will receive a gift bag to take home.

Arts Guild Theater 411 Third Street W.

Nov 26 | 5-7 pm Nov 27 | 4-6 pm Sign up for a time online

2017-18 Education Sponsor: Northfield News PDYT Sponsors: Kevin Ely and Jerry Fox & Schieck Orthodontics

LOCAL ART We are gearing up for the holidays…support local artists!

Gift Shop features 100+ Guild Member Artists Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 12-4

Cheese & Chocolate Weekend

Remember: Small Business Saturday is Nov 25

Falconer Vineyards & Winery in Red Wing – Nov. 18-19

Fine Craft Collective in the Main Gallery Nov 9-Dec 24

Cheese AND chocolate? That’ll do.

A Three Rivers Wine Trail in Red Wing event, visitors can enjoy sampling local cheeses and wonderful chocolates at Falconer Vineyards and Winery. The weekend gives you the chance to not only sample a diversity of wine styles, but to explore the creativity of local cheese and chocolate artisans.

Visit all the wineries over the weekend and complete your wine trail passport for a complimentary glass of wine and a chance to win a wine gift basket.

Call 651-388-8849 or 507.263.7400 for more information.

Give to the Max Day is Nov 16!

PERFORMERS Dec 7 5:30 pm

Northfield Troubadours Men’s Chorus

7:00 pm

NAGCracker Dancers

2017-18 Education Sponsor: Northfield News

MUSIC songs, 100 costume changes and nostalgic video.

Tue Dec 5, 2017 Godot Has Come Dec 5, 6, 2017 7:30 pm | $7-$17. $17 General public$12 U of M Faculty/Staff/Alumni/ Retirees$7 Students (any college or under 18) Rarig Center-University Of Minnesota 330 21st Avenue S Minneapolis, MN 55455 Godot Has Come By Minoru Betsuyaku Directed by K. Kiyama Performed in Japanese with English supertitles Presented on the Stoll Thrust Stage Performance dates: December 5 & 6, 2017 at 7:30pm Japans celebrated professional company Theatre Office Natori includes The University of Minnesota in their first American tour. What would happen if Godot, that mysterious unseen character in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot, actually turned up?

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The Nutcracker Wed Dec 6, 2017

Thu Dec 7, 2017

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (R) - 7:30 pm | $5 The Historic Paramount Theatre 125 4th Ave NE Austin, MN 55912 Purchase tickets at the concession stand on the night of the show; no advance ticket sales. For more information or to request your favorite film for future shows, email info@austinareaarts.org or call 507-434-0934.

Lindsey Stirling - 12:00 am | Free Orpheum Theatre 910 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403 Lindsey Stirling remains fearless enough to always dream big. In four years since the release of her 2012 self-titled debut, the electronic music impresario, classically trained violinist, dancer, and artist quietly and humbly became one of the 21st century’s most innovative stars by clinging to her groundbreaking vision of cinematic violin-driven electronic music.

Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra Fall Concert 7:30 pm | Free Gustavus Adolphus College Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall 800 W. College Ave. St. Peter, MN 56082 The Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Assistant Professor Justin Knoepfel, presents its Fall Concert.

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University Dance Theatre: Dance Revolutions Dec 7, 9, 2017 7:30 pm | $7-$17 Rarig Center-University Of Minnesota

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Dec 16 | 3 pm Northfield Middle School

Dec 17 | 3 pm Cannon Falls High School

Season Sponsor: Community Resource Bank Concert Sponsor: Ferndale Market Media Sponsor: 95.1 FM The One

304 Division Street S. Northfield, MN 55057

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(507) 645-8877 NorthfieldArtsGuild.org

| DECEMBER 2017

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443 west third street Red Wing, MN 55066 Swing-revival all-stars Big Bad Voodoo Daddy prove its still cool to swing. Fresh

arrangements of holiday classics plus swingin Christmas originals, all performed in their legendary high energy style, makes for a fun and quirky take on the holidays. Together for over 23 years, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy famously named after an autograph by blues legend Albert Collins has appeared in concert venues across the world, sold millions of records, and had their music appear in hundreds of movies and television shows.

Sugar Plum Fairy Tea The Kahler Apcahe Hotel Ballroom in Rochester – Dec. 3 Treats and goodies galore, as cupcakes crowned with frosting and hot chocolate bursting with marshmallows and peppermint sticks will brighten the ballroom in Rochester. The Sugar Plum Fairy will eventually enter with her entourage of Nutcracker characters to provide a sneak peak of The Nutcracker, set for the Mayo Civic Center Dec. 9-10.

Wear your holiday finery and bring your camera for a photo

opportunity with the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Special Offer for Tea Party Guests: pre-order Nutcracker tickets for $15 or $18 ($4 off the regular price) when you purchase them with your Tea Party tickets. Your Nutcracker tickets will be waiting for you at the Tea Party.

The event sells out ~ please reserve early. Orders will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 24.

Fri Dec 8, 2017 Choral Arts Ensemble Christmas Dec 8, 9, 2017 7:30 pm | $5-$30 Assisi Heights 1001 14th Street NW Rochester, MN 55901 Featuring a new Ketterling Carol from Minnesota composer Daniel Kallman, Choral Arts Ensemble will once again welcome the joyous season with a rich variety of music, new and old (including a set from the amazing Honors Concert Choir), in the glorious acoustics and ambience of Assisis Lourdes Chapel.

Coconuts and Mistletoe Dec 8, 10, 2017 7:30 pm | $10-$16.

Admission: Member $14/ NonMember $16/ Student $10 Paradise Center for the Arts 321 Central Ave. Faribault, MN 55021 Written and directed by Dan Rathbun.

Santa conspires with spies to save Christmas This unique holiday comedy is the much anticipated follow-up sequel to Dan Rathbuns 2011 world premiere of Coconuts and Warheads. Journey back to the island for more adventure and intrigue with a holiday twistof lime and more.

Admission: Member $14/ NonMember $16/ Student $10

Austin Symphony Orchestra: Trans-Siberian Christmas Knowlton Auditorium – Dec. 10 This is a place to go if you want an experience a little unique this holiday season.

Alt-Rock ensemble the Galactic Cowboy Orchestra returns to Austin (home of member, Elisa Wright) for an energetic and dynamic performance of Christmas music in the style of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Electric fiddle and rock star virtuosity meld seamlessly with the power of the traditional orchestra to deliver a thrilling celebration of the season. In more traditional style, the Austin Symphony Chorus joins the orchestra and soprano soloist for one of French composer Francis Poulenc’s best known works and tribute to Russian friend, Igor Stravinsky. Tickets are also available at the Coffee House on Main Street and Hy-Vee in Austin. www.austinsymphonyorchestra.org

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330 21st Avenue S Minneapolis, MN 55455 University Dance Theatre: Dance Revolutions Choreographed by Sidra Bell, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, Susan

Marshall, and Carl Flink Directed

by Erin Thompson Presented on the Whiting Proscenium Stage Performance dates: December 7, 2017 December 10, 2017 The Dance Programs mission to promote contemporary dance in a global context will ignite the stage with fresh talent this December.

Jingle Jam Jazz - 8:30 pm | Free Gustavus Adolphus College 800 W College Ave. St. Peter, MN 56082 The jazz department presents its annual ‘Jingle Jam Jazz’ featuring the Jazz Combos and Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Gustavus jazz alumni are invited to come back to campus and join in on the fun!

Tonic Sol-Fa and the Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience Holiday Tour - 7:30 pm | $37.00 - Adult$20.00 Senior$20.00 Student Lourdes High School 2800 19th St. NW Rochester, MN 55901 Its A Holiday Tour 2017 Tickets to our holiday tour are on sale now! The best seats are yours for the taking!

Our 2017 Holiday Tour promises to be jam-packed with all your feel-good Tonic Sol-Fa favorites, plus a number of new songs well guarantee youll add to your holiday playlist. The sights, sounds and possibly smells of this tour will no doubt put you in the holiday spirit. Make it a family outing.

Make it a date night. Make it a party for your employees.

Sat Dec 9, 2017 15th Anniversary “The Nutcracker” Rochester Dance Company Directed by Ted Sothern - 3:00 pm | $18$22. Tickets on sale now.

Ticketmaster, Mayo Box Office and at the door the day of the

performances.

Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall 20 Civic Center Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904 Rochester Dance Company proudly presents the 15th anniversary performances of the timeless classic ‘The Nutcracker’ directed by Ted Sothern. Nearly 40 LOCAL dancers ages 6-18 and 3 professional guest dancers have delighted well over 15,000 audience members in 14 years from around the world and the Southeast Minnesota region. With elaborate costumes, timeless music of Tchaikovsky, the Christmas tree that magically grows, hand-painted sets and superb dancing by professional guest artists and company members, the production amazes audiences with its quality and beauty.

Casting Crowns and for KING & COUNTRY - 7:00 pm | Free Target Center 600 1st Ave North Minneapolis, MN 55403 To all $125 and $75 ticket purchasers: Ticket includes a special VIP Q & A with both artists. Includes early entry at 5:15PM and Q & A starts at 5:30PM. 15th Anniversary “The Nutcracker” Rochester Dance Company Directed by Ted Sothern - 7:00 pm | $18$22. Tickets on sale now.

Ticketmaster, Mayo Box Office and at the door the day of the performances.

Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall 20 Civic Center Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904 Rochester Dance Company proudly presents the 15th anniversary performances of the timeless classic ‘The Nutcracker’ directed by Ted Sothern. Nearly 40 LOCAL dancers ages 6-18 and 3 professional guest dancers have delighted well over 15,000 audience members in 14 years from around the world and the Southeast Minnesota region. With elaborate costumes, timeless music of Tchaikovsky, the Christmas tree that magically grows, hand-painted sets and superb dancing by professional guest artists and company members, the production amazes audiences with its quality and beauty.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Holiday Show - 7:30 pm | $38-$48.

Students $20 Sheldon Theatre

Sun Dec 10, 2017 University Dance Theatre: Dance Revolutions - 2:00 pm | $7-$17. $17 General public$12 U of M Faculty/Staff/Alumni/Retirees$7 Students (any college or under 18) Rarig Center-University Of Minnesota 330 21st Avenue S Minneapolis, MN 55455 University Dance Theatre: Dance Revolutions Choreographed by Sidra Bell, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, Susan Marshall, and Carl Flink Directed

by Erin Thompson Presented on the Whiting Proscenium Stage Performance dates: December 7, 2017 December 10, 2017 The Dance Programs mission to promote contemporary dance in a global context will ignite the stage with fresh talent this December.

Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some)! - 2:00 pm | $22 Rochester Repertory Theatre 103 Seventh Street NE Rochester, MN 55906 Instead of performing Charles Dickens beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors debate (then agree) to perform every Christmas story ever told plus Christmas traditions from around the world plus seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture, AND every Christmas carol ever sung. This madcap romp through the holiday season accomplishes the small miracle of making all Christmas myths seem both utterly ridiculous and absolutely essential.

What Sweeter Music - 2:00 pm | $22-$36. Please visit our website at www.singersmca.org for more details.

Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church 1900 Wellesley Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 A Twin Cities favorite each December, The Singers annual Christmas concerts are a meaningful mix of traditional carols (often in new arrangements), contemplative music of the season, and festive works from the Renaissance to today.

15th Anniversary “The Nutcracker” Rochester Dance Company Directed by Ted Sothern - 2:00 pm | $18$22. Tickets on sale now.

Ticketmaster, Mayo Box Office and at the door the day of the performances.

Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall 20 Civic Center Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904 Rochester Dance Company proudly presents the 15th anniversary performances of the timeless classic ‘The Nutcracker’ directed by Ted Sothern. Nearly 40 LOCAL dancers ages 6-18 and 3 professional guest dancers have delighted well over

15,000 audience members in 14 years from around the world and the Southeast Minnesota region.

Choral Arts Ensemble Christmas at Assisi - 4:00 pm | $5-$30 Assisi Heights 1001 14th Street NW Rochester, MN 55901 Featuring a new Ketterling Carol from Minnesota composer Daniel Kallman, Choral Arts Ensemble will once again welcome the joyous season with a rich variety of music, new and old (including a set from the amazing Honors Concert Choir), in the glorious acoustics and ambience of Assisis Lourdes Chapel.

Tue Dec 12, 2017 All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 - 7:30 pm | $12-$20.

Students: $12 Adults: $20 Shattuck-St. Mary’s School 1000 Shumway Ave. Faribault, MN 55021 All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 is back by popular demand! The Western Front, Christmas, 1914. Out of the violence comes a silence, then a song. A German soldier steps into No Mans Land singing Stille Nacht.

Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, and peace. A remarkable true story told in the words of the men who lived it.

Wed Dec 13, 2017 Phantom Of The Opera - 7:00 pm | $30 Orpheum Theatre 910 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403 Opening for the first time in London in 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webbers finest achievement, The Phantom of the Opera, won both the Tony Award and the Oliver Award in its first year. The second-longest running West end musical in history, topped only by Les Miserables, the Phantom of the Opera has endured a lifespan of almost 40 years in production, and four years ago saw its 100000th Broadway performance the first musical in history ever to do so.

Movie Night at the Paramount National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (PG-13) - 7:30 pm | $5 The Historic Paramount Theatre 125 4th Ave NE Austin, MN 55912 Only $5 for a ticket! Purchase tickets at the concession stand on the night of the show; no advance ticket sales.

For more information or to request your favorite film for future shows, email info@austinareaarts.org or call 507-434-0934.

A dd y o u r e v en t f o r FREE to the TIMELINE ca l endar . G O TO w w w. s o u t h ern minn s c ene . c o m / c a len d a r & C l ic k + A d d a n E v ent

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A d d y o u r e v e n t f o r F R E E t o t h e T I M E L I N E c a l e n d a r . G O TO w w w. s o u t h ernminn . c o m / s c ene / c a len d a r & C l i c k + A d d a n E v ent

Shattuck-St.Mary’s Faribault, MN

Upcoming Acoustic Music Series Concerts Thursday, February 15, 2018 Malamanya Malamanya is a Twin Cities-based band known for their vintage Afro-Latin music with a respect and enthusiasm for traditional rhythms and melodies from Cuba and Latin America.

Adults $18, Students $11. www.malamanya.com Thursday, March 15, 2018 – Ring of Kerry Ring of Kerry is a bursting-with-energy Irish music group that captures the hearts of listeners. For this special show, Ring of Kerry is joined by a pair of Irish dancers.

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! Adults $20, Students $12. www.ringofkerry.us

Fesler-Lampert Performing Arts Series Thursday, November 16, 2017 Vienna Boys Choir The most famous boys choir in the world is coming to Faribault! Audiences and critics worldwide have praised the talented singers of the Vienna Boys Choir for their celestial voices, pure tone, irresistible charm, and above all a wide-ranging repertoire spanning centuries.

Adults $30, Students $18 *Tuesday, December 12, 2017 All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 presented by Theater Latte’ Da Back by popular demand! The Western Front, Christmas, 1914. “All is Calm—a theatrical concert—feeds our need for heroes, gives space to our dreams for human nobility, allows us to approach the enigma of Christmas and puzzle over the miracle that has stopped enemies from killing each other for one day.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune Adults $20, Students $12

Keep Calm THe

Thursday, January 11, 2018 Buckets and Tap Shoes Buckets and Tap Shoes are a super-charged blend of music, dance and drumming who started as performers on the streets of Minneapolis. “Utterly brilliant… they are virtuoso percussive players on, yes, buckets, and extraordinary tap dancers, as capable of channeling hip-hop as Astaire-like suavity.” -- New York Times Adults $18, Students $11

WeeKend Is ComIng

*Thursday, January 18, 2018 – In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater presents The Story of Crow Boy An imaginative, theatrical piece that combines puppetry, actors, music, projections, shadowplay and other devices to explore the intriguing life story of Japanese artist and author Taro Yashima.

Adults $18, Students $11

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*“This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.”

Visit Southernminnscene.com and click on the email newsletter link.

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On-Line Ticket Sales now available! www.s-sm.org/FeslerLampert package discounts: pick 4 or more shows (from either series) & save 10%! call for group Rates.

All performances at 7:30pm in Historic Newhall Auditorium.

SSM Box Office: 507-333-1620 | www.s-sm.org • feslerlampert@s-sm.org FOLLOW US ON

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WOLDUM TV

RACHEL WOLDUM Rachel Woldum is a former television snob who has embraced the medium as it has entered its Golden Age. Contact her at editor@southernminnscene.com

The Enduring Excellence of

www.all4desktop.com

B

y now, Breaking Bad — AMC’s show about a high school chemistry teacher turned meth cook — is old news.

Most people, myself included, have watched dozens of new shows since it aired in 2008. True Detective (Season 1), Stranger Things, The Americans — these are just a few that stand out as particularly excellent. But still, none are quite as compelling as my memory of those five seasons of Breaking Bad. About a month ago, bedridden with bronchitis, I decided to give it a rewatch.

And I’m happy to report that it’s even better the second time around, and now I feel more able to articulate why it’s so good.

Literary critic Harold Bloom once said that the best stories are those that make us “feel at home in the strange, or strange when we’re at home.” Writers like James Joyce wrote about everyday people in everyday circumstances, but his stream-ofconscious style and increasingly complex prose elevated his otherwise simple subject matter to an existential level — thus making us feel strange even amongst the familiar. Conversely, Shakespeare created elaborate, extravagant plots involving ghosts, mistaken identities, and witches, but his characters and their behavior still ring true today — making us feel at home in the strange.

Breaking Bad manages to do both simultaneously, which is one of the many reasons that I think it’s the greatest TV show of all time.

Most likely, no one watching Breaking Bad is also a meth kingpin with multiple murders under his belt. We haven’t been stalked by axe-wielding members of a drug cartel, nor disposed of a body in a tub of acid, nor worked in a secret corporate

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drug lab. And yet, when we watch Walter White, we can so easily imagine ourselves in his shoes, and that’s because, like Shakespeare, creator Vince Gilligan wrote a character whose motivations and reactions so authentically reflect actual human behavior. But like Joyce, Gilligan also reserves a significant amount of air time to the mundane details of daily life — the annoyance of a housefly that can’t be killed, or a wobbly table with uneven legs — and uses this focus to illuminate Walt’s changing mental state and deteriorating conscience.

A character in a book I read recently said “Never do anything for just one reason,” another wise storytelling maxim that Breaking Bad inadvertently follows. Often, the plot of a story develops independently of the main character, or at best, the plot is manipulated with only the main character in mind. But on Breaking Bad, each plot point affects not only Walt, but the entire cast of recurring characters (his wife, his brother and sister in law, his partner Jesse Pinkman, his boss Gus Fring), as well as changes their relationships with each other, fosters character development, and brings the show one step closer to its ultimate conclusion.

Part of the reason Breaking Bad feels so realistic is because it portrays with both nuance and complexity how our choices affect our environment. It’s compelling to watch Walt’s reaction to the consequences of his choices shift from remorse to ruthlessness. Even when the reach of his influence begins to extend to Mexico and overseas, the action never feels contrived or coincidental, because everything that happens is driven by Walt and his decisions.

The idea of the anti-hero is nothing new, nor is depicting the redemption of a seemingly unredeemable character (think Darth Vader). But it’s rare to witness in such detail the complete

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transition from good to evil. Walt believably evolves from a loving husband, father, and teacher to a lying, murdering, drug lord who will do absolutely anything not to get caught. It’s compelling not because it’s sordid, but because it’s incriminating — we see how easily that could be us.

The descent into evil is less of a plunge than it is a careful testing of deeper waters. In the beginning, Walt makes a few bad (but understandable) decisions, but each time an “out” presents itself, something goes wrong that forces him to perpetuate the lie and cover his ass. Gilligan punctuates the tragedy of this decline with regular flashbacks, ones that show the characters in better, different times, when their desires and actions were far nobler, and driven by idealism rather than survival.

The fact that Breaking Bad achieves this level of excellence at all is impressive, but that it maintains this level for five seasons is truly remarkable. Only The Wire comes close in terms of sustained quality (though I would argue that Breaking Bad achieves a greater feat of storytelling, because it develops one story completely rather than many stories in part).

When you add award-winning acting, virtuosic editing, and intentional camerawork, you have a recipe for great television.

But none of this technical brilliance would matter at all if we didn’t care — why consume fiction if it doesn’t make you feel something? I can’t speak for anyone else, but the first time I watched Breaking Bad, I found myself accidentally praying for the characters as I fell asleep. “Dear God, please let Jesse Pinkman be okay. Please let Walt not get caught.”

If that isn’t evidence of how deeply this story has attached to my psyche, I don’t know what is. SMS

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This glossy, soft cover, 10.5”x14.5” coffee table book includes reproductions of historic pages from the Faribault Daily News dating back nearly 100 years!

A limited number of books remain – visit Faribault. com and click “Forms” to make your purchase or stop in at our downtown office and pick up your copy today!

DowNTowN oFFice locATioN: 514 Central Avenue - Faribault Please call 507-333-3111 if you’d like your copy shipped to you.

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Go to Winjumsshadyacres.com to see our extensive menu or give us your special requests! Call 507-334-8778 to book your date!

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STAY STRONG! WeekeNd iS cOmiNG SOON

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Get fit in SOMINN

NICOLE SWEENEY Nicole Sweeney is a fitness freak who loves nothing more than coffee, laughter & sharing a good workout with anyone and everyone. If you think of any crazy fitness fads you think she should try hit her up on her Instagram account @sisufit or Twitter @APGnsweeney

Surfing on Land

S

urfing … indoors? Yeah, it’s pretty much as awesome as it sounds.

When Surfset Minnesota reached out challenging me to a class, I have to admit I was a bit nervous. So I did a little research and discovered that Surfset Fitness was a dream that was pitched on the television series Shark Tank, (a show where budding entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors) and became a reality.

Check out their pitch here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=nqt3Oyqiqfk As a fan of the show and after watching a few clips, I was definitely game for some Surfset fun.

But I still had a few concerns: 1 – I’ve never been a board athlete. I have only skied twice in my life, have never snowboarded, am awful at wakeboarding, have fallen off of every skateboard I have ever tried to step on to, and have never had the opportunity to surf.

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So I felt like I was going into this completely blind. I have to have some sort of background in order to be “good” at this, right?

2 – If we’re being honest, I’ve never been a board athlete for a reason. That whole balance thing … I consider myself lucky if I can get through the day walking on my own two feet without tripping more than a handful of times. Balance and I just don’t get along. This is bound to be a disaster, right?

3 – I honestly didn’t know how a surfing class could be held indoors. I was worried it might be kind of corny. And without the resistance of the water, how can it be a workout? It just didn’t make sense to me.

Well, I was wrong. About it all.

There are 4 different classes at Surfset Minnesota: Burn, Balance, Build and Blend. They all have their own unique design with a specific purpose in mind and change often to provide variety for those who regularly attend classes. All classes are led by an instructor, are about 45 minutes long, and usually include one-five other people to suffer through the class with.

The classes combine a mixture of bodyweight movements for exercise and bal-

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ance, plus a few yoga movements both on the ground and on the board. The class called Build includes some resistance band work. If you look closely in some of the pictures, you can see bright colored bands fastened to the front of the boards.

The boards also have different levels of difficulty, depending on your experience and how brave you’re feeling. The boards are sitting on top of some inflated balls, and fastened with two bands on each side. The more experienced/brave you are, the more you can deflate the balls, or release the bands to make the board a little wobblier.

It’s the “wobbly” part of the experience that truly provides a unique workout. While you do step-ups, push-ups, squats and other fun movements on the wobbly boards, you are trying to keep yourself still and balanced on top.

It’s a great way to activate your core and really engage every muscle from head to toe without necessarily realizing it.

I will say that my concerns of not being the most experienced, the best at balancing, or the most coordinated individual were kind of ridiculous. You do NOT have to be a pro in order to step into one of these classes. When the balls are fully inflated, and all of the bands are fastened, the board is pretty steady. All four of the classes really ease you into the whole balancing on the board part of the workout too. The instructors do a wonderful job of easing any nerves, and providing support when you need it.

I was fortunate enough to try all four of the classes, and have to say that Build was my favorite. I love to lift weights and feel that kind of burn, so using the resistance bands felt a little bit more familiar to me. I would say that Balance was probably my second favorite because, well, that is something I am NOT a natural at.

Surfset Minnesota is absolutely NOT corny in anyway. It’s a no-nonsense workout that you can power through while jamming out to some awesome music. SMS

Surfset Minnesota 120 W Park Square, Owatonna, MN 507-774-2916 Check out our Facebook page.

The two cuties in the pictures are Tara’s daughters (the owner of Surfset Minnesota.)

They jumped in on a class with me and a few others & totally showed us all up!

So let’s get down to business, here’s the dish: What I liked: It’s amazing how different parts of my body, from head to toe, were so sore after just one of the classes. While I wasn’t necessarily winded during the workout, I was certainly sweating quite a bit. I don’t do a lot of balance work, so all those little muscles that you engage while on-top of the board definitely get a workout!

What I learned: Well… “What I was reminded of” might be a little more accurate. I was reminded of how great it can be to be in a small boutique style fitness class. I’m used to large gyms like LA Fitness, Lifetime Fitness & Crossfit boxes up north in the Twin Cities (closer to where I live) so being in a smaller, more intimate class was nice! There aren’t as many people to duck and dodge, you don’t have to battle for equipment to use. It’s not intimidating in any way, because you are greeted with smiling faces and a very warm welcome. The instructors were there to help me through movements I didn’t necessarily understand, and we got to joke and laugh throughout the entire workout.

What I did not like: Because I wasn’t used to the balance work, my knees were actually ridiculously crabby afterwards. While we did do a cool-down/stretch after the workout, I should have done a little bit of a longer one.

My advice: Grab a pal and start with a Balance or Blend class. They are good intro classes to take to get used to the boards and the atmosphere of the studio.

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BOOK REVIEWS The Bookworm Sez:

“Black Dahlia, Red Rose”

by Piu Eatwell

The Bookworm Sez:

“The Deal of a Lifetime”

by Fredrik Backman

The Bookworm Sez:

“Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker”

by Gregory Maguire

The Bookworm Sez:

“Strange Weather”

by Joe Hill

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By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER One hour. Then it’s all tied up.

It happens every week: a mystery is solved, nice and neat, just as soon as your favorite TV detective has his AHA! moment and before the last commercial has run. As the credits flash, you feel satisfied: you’ve just armchair-sleuthed an easy whodunit that practically explained itself. And, as in “Black Dahlia, Red Rose” by Piu Eatwell, it didn’t take seventy-plus years.

Betty Bersinger only wanted her toddler daughter to get some fresh air.

But on that January morning in 1947, while walking past a vacant lot in their California subdivision, Betty noticed that something had been discarded, possibly a mannequin. She called the Los Angeles Police Department, who sent a squad car. Newspaper reporters, as they did those days, arrived at about the same time.

What they found shocked the community: the mannequin was human, a fresh corpse of a young woman, nude,

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER A banana for a cupcake was always a good trade.

When you were in grade school, Mom was great about packing lunch with foods you liked but every now and then, it was good to eat something different. So you swapped, just as you did with toys and games and love, as you grew older. But, as in “The Deal of a Lifetime” by Fredrik Backman, what would you trade for a life?

The letter started off innocent enough: “Hi,” it said.

“It’s your dad.”

But, of course, the young man would’ve suspected that. He’d always had a father.

Just not one that he knew.

Years before, when the young man was a boy, his father was gone a lot, chasing fame, money, and

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER You never knew you could hold a note.

But then one day – you just did. You opened your mouth and music poured forth from a talent you didn’t even know you had. Keep it up, and you might have something there. As in the new novel, “Hiddensee” by Gregory Maguire, a little practice and you could do amazing things.

Dirk never knew his parents.

The old man and the old woman who raised him always told him that they’d found him in a basket among the leaves. They took him in, fed him, and cared for him – until the day Dirk had “grown about as tall as a broom handle” and the old man said it was time that he learned to cut wood.

On that morning, things went horribly wrong: Dirk struck a tree, which toppled and struck back, knocking him to the dirt. He thought he was dead, but

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER Sometimes, you just need a little fresh air.

A gasp of ice on a sub-zero night. A whiff of sunshine and hot concrete. The smell of fallen leaves and crisp bonfires. Each inhalation reminds you of the season, so with the new book “Strange Weather” by Joe Hill, breathe deep.

You’re about to scream.

Michael Figlione had known Mrs. Beukes for most of his life. She’d always lived just down the block and was his family’s housekeeper once but by that summer of ‘88, those days were over. By then, she could only wander the neighborhood, addled and half-dressed, mumbling about a man with a Polaroid camera. Thirteen-year-old Michael figured – as did every adult on the block – that she’d become some crazy old lady but, in “Snapshot,” the truth was nothing to say “cheese” about.

In “Loaded,” Randall Kellaway said he didn’t do it.

He never put a gun to his six-year-old son’s head, never

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 | W W W. S O U T H E R N M I N N SCENE. C O M

mutilated, scrubbed clean, and cut in two. There was no ID near her body and few identifying marks but police took fingerprints and quickly learned that the dead woman was Elizabeth Short.

Born in a small town near Boston, Short was just 22 when she was murdered but though her death was tragic, it was almost no surprise. The beautiful middle daughter of five, often unemployed, she was a troublemaking, rudderless drifter who was known to enjoy the company of many men – some, married.

That, hints Eatwell, may have been Short’s undoing.

With the name of the deceased known, the LAPD began solving the crime with help from a department psychiatrist and, as tips poured in – including then-shocking suggestions that Short was a lesbian – they ultimately settled on not one, but three viable suspects to question. Unbelievably, just when it seemed like the “Black Dahlia Murder” was nearly tied up, everything fell apart: scandal shook the LAPD and departmental changes affected the Dahlia investigation, which didn’t end, so much as it fizzled out.

For seventy years, the question has lingered: who killed Elizabeth Short?

Through old interviews, released documents, and good old-fashioned sleuthing, author Piu Eatwell thinks she

knows.

It’s as good a hypothesis as any – and yet, it’s not easy getting there. “Black Dahlia, Red Rose,” starts out somewhat like an extremely gruesome vintage movie with hard-bitten, choppy sentences, bloody details, and late-1940s slang that falls just short of noir and that, according to Eatwell’s endnotes, come directly from decades-old memoirs, written in that manner. That lends an authenticity that readers can appreciate, but it can be hard to follow; it lends a sense of time but, even with footnotes, expect occasional roughness in both style and story.

In the end, there were many years and many players in this tale, almost all of which are deceased, so Eatwell’s speculations are just that: speculation. Even so, determined readers will enjoy this books’ overall tone of fedora-wearing, hands-on murder-solving – and if that sounds appealing, stop here, start “Black Dahlia, Red Rose” and clear your calendar.

Your time will be all tied up.

recognition, never being the dad he might’ve been.

There was a time when he knew the boy loved him, but after he’d come home from a trip and it took two days to notice that his wife had left him and taken the boy, the father knew things would never be like before.

And now he was dying.

He’d been told it was cancer, and that his time in the hospital would be his last. Smoking on the balcony (oh, how the nurses hated that!), he noticed a small girl, and she waved at him; never one for children, he waved back anyway, and told her that he’d watch over her one night. Just five years old, she included him in her prayers. She said that she, too, saw the lady in the grey sweater.

He feared the lady in the grey sweater; everyone did.

He knew who she was because he’d seen her before, at birth, at age five, at age fifteen, at perilous times of his life. Now she walked the cancer ward with a clipboard, silently and efficiently, and when he stole that clipboard and ran from the hospital in anger and fear, raced off in his sports car, and promptly had an accident, it was she who pulled him from the wreckage.

It was she who made him an offer…

Like many people, you’re already dipping your toes into the holiday season, making lists, pulling decorations from the attic. What kind of gifts will you give this year – or will you, like “The Deal of a Lifetime” – give of yourself?

It’s an age-old question, and author Fredrik Backman asks in a brief, but most exquisite manner. Indeed, at just sixty-five pages with illustrations, this book is short but every word counts and that’ll hit you square in the heart. Backman’s lady in grey is worthy of sympathy; his father-character is regretful and cynical, wearing his loss like a badge he never wanted, but he’s not as savvy as he thinks he is. When that becomes apparent to both reader and character, beware.

You may shed tears over this book. You may need to savor it a second time, to feel its words again. However you read it, “The Deal of a Lifetime” is an experience you’ll never trade.

no; instead, after speaking with a bird about having murdered the tree, he pulled a small creature from the forest floor and it became a knife. That was handy, because the old man had been terribly hurt, and needed a crutch to take him home.

Though he was still a mere boy, Dirk knew the accident meant that he had to leave home, so he followed a river to a village where he was taken in by a kindly minister. When the minister sent him to another city, Dirk found work as a handyman for a Baron. He also found a friend who loved him – but was Dirk capable of returning it?

He doubted it. He “knew a little about longing,” but it seemed that he was meant for a solitary life of carving toys for children, though he never really liked children. He’d known some, and felt that he never understood them, but one stole his heart: his friend’s granddaughter, Klara.

Klara begged for his time, and for the toys he carved, and the stories he told. She gave him an ear for his tales. And when she fell ill, it was Klara who gave him something he never knew he wanted…

As told through a charmingly droll narrator, “Hiddensee” reads somewhat like an old Grimm’s Fairy

Tale, with quaint language and character mannerisms that, sadly, seem to get carried away sometimes.

Indeed, author Gregory Maguire keeps readers in the palm of his hand with this pre-tale based loosely on Tchaikovsky’s ballet, but there are times when its fancifulness is just too head-scratching much. That comes-and-goes distraction doesn’t last long before the story returns to its delightfully Old World tone but it may, however briefly, cause some discombobulation.

Thankfully, the wonderful characters, the dialect, and the lush German scenery make the occasional bewilderment worth enduring.

This book feels like something you might’ve found on your grandmother’s bookcase on a snowy winter weekend, years ago. It can be hard to follow sometimes, but try anyhow. For readers of childhood fairy tales and fantasy, or fans of the iconic ballet, “Hiddensee” should strike a note.

threatened his wife, but that accusation was the latest of a long string that began when he was kicked out of the Armed Forces in disgrace. Now he wasn’t even allowed to own guns and he certainly wasn’t allowed to have one at his Mall Security job; still, it was a good thing he was armed when a love-affair-gone-wrong turned into a bloodbath at the mall’s jewelry store.

Rand had shut the situation down and everyone was calling him a hero – everybody, except that female reporter from the local newspaper, who’d been digging a little too much into Rand’s past.

She’d pay for that. She’d burn for it.

Aubrey loved Harriet. Though it wasn’t reciprocated, he loved her enough to parachute from a plane in honor of her best friend, who’d died. He didn’t love parachuting above the clouds, though, but he jumped anyhow and in “Aloft,” he fell…. and landed on something frighteningly solid.

And finally, Honeysuckle Speck was over-the-moon that her girlfriend, Yolanda, was moving to Denver.

Finally! It even looked like a good day to do it: sunny, with sprinkles possible, but in “Rain,” the weatherman was dead wrong…

I need a new easy chair. I read “Strange Weather” and ruined the old one by repeatedly hanging on to the

edge of my seat.

That’s when I wasn’t clenching my teeth, grimacing or gasping, or forgetting that what author Joe Hill has written about is not real.

Or is it? Hill has a way of turning words to make them glitter, and casually speaking to readers to convince us that the world he presents entirely, physically exists. There’s actually a man with a camera.

People are walking around on clouds right now. And guns…? Entirely plausible, considering current events, which only makes that story, and its three individual companion tales, psychologically tighter, OMG surprising, and hard to shake for hours after you’ve finished them.

Yes, these stories are creepy, but not too Out There.

They’re tense, and absolutely scream-worthy. “Strange Weather” will leave you with an atmospheric chill but sometimes, you just need a little fresh scare.

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Black Dahlia, Red Rose by Piu Eatwell c.2017, Liveright $26.95 / $35.95 in Canada 368 pages Terri Schlichenmeyer is a book reviewer based just across the river from SoMinn in LaCrosse, WI. She can be contacted at bookwormsez@gmail.com

The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman c.2017, Atria $18.00 / Higher in Canada 65 pages Terri Schlichenmeyer is a book reviewer based just across the river from SoMinn in LaCrosse, WI. She can be contacted at bookwormsez@gmail.com

Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire c.2017, Wm. Morrow $26.99 / $33.50 in Canada 287 pages Terri Schlichenmeyer is a book reviewer based just across the river from SoMinn in LaCrosse, WI. She can be contacted at bookwormsez@gmail.com

Strange Weather by Joe Hill c.2017, Wm. Morrow $27.99 / $34.99 in Canada 433 pages Terri Schlichenmeyer is a book reviewer based just across the river from SoMinn in LaCrosse, WI. She can be contacted at bookwormsez@gmail.com

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BOOK REVIEWS The Bookworm Sez:

“This Blessed Earth

by Ted Genoways

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER You really have to play it safe.

You can’t afford to lose, can’t handle anything but a safe bet, can’t see anything without a guarantee. No big chances for you; risky behavior just isn’t something you like. You’re no gambler, no rebel or wild child.

And in the new book “This Blessed Earth” by Ted Genoways, you’re obviously no farmer.

Kyle Galloway had a lot riding on the line.

His girlfriend-almost-fiancé, Meghan’s father, Rick, made no bones about being ready to pass the family farm to what would be its sixth generation of farmers.

Meghan had been preparing for it all her life and, because there’d been talk of marriage soon, Kyle was working toward that goal, too. So when Rick gave Kyle the task of figuring out a crucial task for planting, Kyle understood the seriousness of the responsibility.

Through the decades, the farm had been through many changes. It was inherited, sold, re-purchased, and redrawn; it had seen bad weather, plagues, drought,

cattle rustlers, and family feuds. Now Kyle, Meghan, and Meghan’s brothers would farm their mother’s portion of it with computers, GPS, genetics, chemicals, and the understanding that consumers didn’t want the latter near their food.

It takes constant effort to make a living. Because crops are commodities, prices are never guaranteed.

Moisture in the ground means different things for soybeans and for corn; they mean different things for different kinds of soybeans and corn, in fact, and knowing when to plant is guesswork as much as knowledge. The same goes for knowing when to take crops to market and when to hold off.

Figure wrong, and financial disaster mightn’t be far away.

Atlantic City gamblers, in other words, have nothing on Rick and his Nebraska neighbors. There are years when Las Vegas gamblers wouldn’t touch the odds that America’s farmers face.

And yet, said Meghan, “… we’re still here, still going...”

Where did your breakfast come from this morning?

If you know, then you’re likely not going to be surprised by what’s inside “This Blessed Earth.” If you’ve no idea where breakfast was grown, though, be prepared to have your eyes opened wide.

What you’ll see doesn’t always have a Happily Ever After, though author Ted Genoways, great-grandson of a Nebraska farmer, offers appealing glimpses of good here: readers can almost feel sun-warmed dirt and smell corn growing; we can imagine sunsets seen from a tractor cab and blissful quiet through Genoways’ words.

But then he shows the flip-side: markets gone bad, failing crops, late harvests, bank loans due, and weather gone wrong, not to mention environmental concerns and what happens when farm meets government meets Big Business. Though Genoways’ subjects indicate that they can’t imagine life any other way, that kind of ending will leave readers with a sobering narrative and a forlorn feeling.

If you farm, you live this story and you’ll want to read it, too. If you don’t farm but you’re concerned about agriculture, the environment, or what’s on your plate, “This Blessed Earth” is still a good bet.

This Blessed Earth by Ted Genoways c.2017, W.W. Norton $26.95 / $35.95 in Canada 226 pages Terri Schlichenmeyer is a book reviewer based just across the river from SoMinn in LaCrosse, WI. She can be contacted at bookwormsez@gmail.com

ALBUM REVIEW

By DANIEL G. MOIR editor@southernminnscene.com

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Robert Plant Carry Fire

ith his new album, the former Led Zeppelin frontman continues to warm the ears with slow-burning nuance.

Album Grade: AIn some ways, Robert Plant will never escape the band that introduced him to the world. It finally seems to him that this is not necessarily a bad thing. While the side of Led Zeppelin’s sound built with hard rock riffs and Plant’s banshee wails may be more recognized by “Rock Radio,” it is their subtler world-exploring work like “Kashmir,” “Bron-Yr-Aur” and “The Battle of Evermore” that give their music depth. On Carry Fire, Plant continues to work in this more nuanced side of the band’s legacy.

Now eleven albums deep in his solo career (not counting live albums or collaborative side projects), Plant explores a world of multi-cultural sounds mixing Appalachian, Celtic and Middle Eastern forms shaped together in unique fashion.

Backed once again by the Sensational Shape Shifters, the music on Carry Fire remains true to each genre while charting a path distinctly its own.

Carry Fire won’t be for everyone. If you are looking for the riff-heavy stomp of his former band, you might not find much here that will satisfy. If the more esoteric qualities of Zeppelin were your forte, then this album will be right up your alley. It will depend on your answer to this question – “Which song to you prefer? ‘Black Dog’ or ‘That’s The Way’?” There is no wrong answer here, just personal preference.

The voice of the 69-year old British singer remains one of rock’s finest treasures, and Carry Fire serves up another fine example. On many songs, the vocals appear to have been sung very softly during the recording with Plant’s voice later brought up high in the mix to stand out prominently among the other instruments. This technique gives his performance a soft, warm, intimate feel, as if he is standing behind the listener singing cozily into the ears. The effect is trance-like on the spare, piano ballad “A Way with Words” and allows the softer timbre of his voice to intermingle with the uncomplicated melody, mixing with the muted low drumbeats that pulse softly in the background. It is an otherworldly sound that gives him room to allow his voice to crescendo with the strings and piano in intense contrast.

It is a stunning performance and ranks among his finest.

Lyrically, Carry Fire addresses similar themes of mortality and reflection that have marked the recent works of his contemporaries. Unlike his peers however, Plant isn’t interested in resurrecting past sounds, but is willing to hide bits of his past

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out in the open with hints to “dancing days and wondrous nights.” It is hard to miss the “Stairway to Heaven” reference with an opening track entitled “The May Queen.” For the Zeppelin fan, the clues are spread liberally almost like an inside joke.

Possessing one of the most powerful voices in rock, it is strange that it isn’t until the end of songs like “Dance with You Tonight” and “Bluebirds Over The Mountain” that Plant really comes close to using his full voice. His ability to lay back gives the material a greater emotional weight and soul as a result. Pared with Jimmy Page’s guitar, this technique allowed Zeppelin’s music to explore with power and passion. On Carry Fire, it helps illustrate the deeper sonic worldly textures he is now working in. Mixing solemn plodding drumbeats with Middle-Eastern styled scales played with clean guitar tones lend an exquisite, ethereal quality to the album. The only missing ingredients are scarves over lamps and burning incense.

Historical references to the endless repetition found in the legacies of past empires inform the timely “Carving up the World Again…A Wall and Not a Fence.”

Plant connects the Great Wall of China and Hadrian’s Wall as examples of the attempt by past societies to fortify security While expending vast human and economic resources into structures that time eventually renders meaningless. Lyrically, there is no doubt Plant is pointing on the questions of today. He doesn’t provide answers or opinions beyond pointing to the irrelevance of these past structures. His opinion is subtly advanced in the music. Here he combines elements of fifties-styled rock & roll with a Middle Eastern stomp. It is as if Elvis had joined up with a Moroccan caravan and is a delightful example of the benefits of the intermingling of cultural sources to create new and adventurous worlds.

The other key standout track on Carry Fire is “Bones of Saints.” Probably the closest to a traditional rock song, the churning guitar rhythms of the verses set up a catchy chorus before spinning into the unexpected bridge two-thirds of the way through. Shades of the Zeppelin wailing, nasalized, vocal cord compressed melodies of the past are heard in the background and help to drive the song home.

Carry Fire is a subtle triumph for the fan willing to journey beyond the stomp into an intimate world-oriented voyage and is among the best releases of 2017.

Bottom Line: With Carry Fire, Robert Plant delivers a warm, worldly and intimate 49-minute audio tour that goes best with late nights, reflective thought and the urge to mentally travel the world. SMS Daniel G. Moir has forgotten more about music than all the rest of us know combined. Reach him at editor@southernminnscene.com

Dr. Jacob Conway, DC

Dr. Bridget Conway, DC

Cannon Pointe Chiropractic We offer a multitude of treatment options including:

Chiropractic Spinal and Extremity Adjustments • Acupuncture Craniopathy • Nutrition • Functional Neurology • Cupping Kinesiology Taping • Instrument Assisted Myofascial Release Electrical Stimulation • Balance Training and More!

CALL

507-645-8000 1040 HWY 3 Northfield, MN

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EARN THE LIFE YOU WANT. Manufacturing Career Opportunities are Endless South Central College’s manufacturing apprenticeship programs follow a Learn Work Earn model. Apprentices work for area manufacturers while going to school, allowing them to earn wages while gaining experience inthe field. By combining on-the-job training with traditional classroom instruction, we help you master your technical skills and earn the life you want.

Learn more at southcentral.edu/earn or call 507.389.7200 This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

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