Events

For the NDDC's Third Thursday event on August 17, we're going back to the movies. We'll be featuring "Downside Up," a documentary film about Mass MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams, Massachusetts. (Click the image at left for a full-size PDF poster for the event.) Experiencing a decline due to changes in the world economy, this community decided to build their economic development future on a base of art. It wasn't quick or easy but the early indications are that it was a solid plan and has been successfully implemented.

The short film will be followed by a discussion of the Mass MOCA story, the NDDC's August Downtown Forum on ArtsPlan'06, and the Arts and Northfield's Economic future.  Third Thursday will be held at the Grand Event Center in downtown Northfield and begins at 7 pm.  There is no cover charge and there will be a cash bar available. Call 663-0319 with questions or visit www.nddc.org.  Please join us.

Dan Bergeson is President of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC).

Week Seven Drawing:  James Gang Hideaway

We are proud to announce that our sixth "Dinner On Us" gift certificate is for $50 to the James Gang Hideaway.  By becoming a member of Northfield.org you will be entered into the Dinner On Us membership drawing.  The deadline for this week is midnight on August 20, with the winner being announced on Monday, August 21.

You don't have to contribute to enter, and if you don't win, your name will be forwarded to the next week's drawing. That means you'll have several chances to win.

To sign up now, just go to the New Member page. The suggested donation is $20 per year per person. Of course, if you'd like to suggest a higher number, we'd be thrilled and very grateful.

Where can you find out how the Cannon River got its name? Where can you see a chair that sat in John and Ann North's house? Where can you get your picture taken next to a life-sized cut-out of John North?

Well, the answer is the Northfield Historical Society's grand opening of the new permanent exhibit entitled "The Early Years of Northfield." The grand opening will be held on Thursday, August 17 from 7-9 p.m. at the Northfield Historical Society.

The exhibit chronicles the founding of Northfield from the early 1850's to the late 1880's! The event is free to NHS members and $2.00 for non-members. Refreshments will be served during the event.

Come on down and learn a little bit about this amazing town!

Stanton Airfield hosted the Midwest chapter of the Experimental Soaring Association (ESA) recently.  The gathering of 30 pilots met to discuss sailplane design, sailplane construction, and sailplane avionics.  A special visit was made by 3 pilots who own the new ultralight Sparrowhawk glider built by Windward Performance LLC at http://www.windward-performance.com/

These gliders represent the state of the art for Ultralight class sailplanes.  The gliders weight just 155 pounds and have a 36 foot wingspan.  They have a glide ratio of 36 and a top speed of 135 mph.  Each of the visiting sailplanes flew over Stanton during part of the workshop.

If you'd like to learn more about Soaring, including scheduling a ride, come visit us at Stanton Airfield or visit the website at http://stantonairfield.com.

Tom Rent is on the board of directors of the Stanton Airfield. 

5^th Bridge, a new Northfield organization committed to deepening the culture and habit of volunteerism in Northfield, will be hosting a “Movie Night” at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 17, to introduce Northfield youth to the “Utter Joy” campaign.  We are inviting all high school youth leaders to enjoy an evening of fun and an opportunity to learn about this new initiative.  The gathering will be hosted at the farm of Rick and Kris Estenson, at 10541 Ibson Avenue (see map), about two miles east of town.  The evening will start with music and root beer floats, followed by a short program and capped off with a fun movie projected on a huge screen.  You don’t need to sign up in advance.  If you are entering 9^th grade through 12^th grade come and join us for a great event.  If it’s raining, no problem—the event is taking place in a huge pole barn. To learn more about 5^th Bridge go to www.5thbridge.org.

First Ski-less Skidaddle raises $1,000

The Northfield High School Nordic Ski Team proved they could maneuver well in the heat as well. The team hosted its first Ski-less Skidaddle race and pancake breakfast last Saturday -- and raised more than $1,000 for their sport.

Michael Collins of St. Paul won the 5k with a time of 18:05, while David Beck of Northfield won the 10k with a time of 42:55. There were 33 runners in all, not bad considering the competition from 10 other races in the state and a host of activities throughout Northfield. In fact, runners came from around the area and as far away as Iowa.

How did they pull it off? I asked Nick Swanson, a junior and one of the four team captains. He provided a whole gallery of photos you can see here or by clicking on the photo above.

More inside...

Join us at the library at Noon on Thursday, August 24th to promote children’s school readiness through one-to-one reading of Wally Piper's The Little Engine that Could.

Northfield Public Library celebrates Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign to engage teens, adults and children all across America in setting the world record for the largest shared reading experience ever.

“Early learning experiences are crucial to the growth and development of young children,” said Kathy Ness and Leesa Wisdorf, Children's Librarians. Jumpstart’s Read for the Record provides opportunities for everyone in the United States to support quality early education and to engage in the powerful learning experiences that Jumpstart models in its classrooms every day.” We encourage readers of all ages to register at www.readfortherecord.org and sign up to read the campaign’s official book, The Little Engine That Could, on August 24.

More inside...

Nationally-known professional chef and local-eating advocate Jessica Prentice will speak at Just Food Co-op on Monday, August 14, at 7:30 p.m. about her new book, "Full Moon Feast." This event is free and open to the public.

Full of recipes, lore and inspiration, Prentice's book follows the thirteen lunar cycles of the agrarian year to provide the reader with a connection to the seasons and the food they provide. Limited copies of the book are available now at Just Food Co-op and can be signed by Prentice on Monday night.

Looks like one of Minnesota's famed weekends ahead - mid- to low-80s and plenty of sunshine!

There's outdoor theater in Central Park ­ Tartuffe's last performances are tonight, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. ­ Tickets are available through Northfield Arts Guild, 645-8877 or online at www.northfieldartsguild.org. Tonight is Hip Hop Night at the Reub and Anton Ryan will be playing at the Tavern, and Friday night should be a great night to catch the soothing sounds of Harmonic voodoo on the Tavern deck.

ArtSwirl is in full swirl Saturday with a Village School Tour, Artists Studio Tour and the Dolce Recorder Quartet playing at 4 p.m. at NAG. Into the evening catch Charlie Parr's great acoustic blues at Hogan Brothers and John Manners at the Tavern. Sunday the Artists Studio Tour continues, while Mike's Bikes is the kick-off site for Tours de Nick - a 10- to 55-mile bike benefit for Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. And at 2 p.m. The NAG will be the site for storytelling by Real Lives Aloud.

The 4th annual Tours de Nick, the annual bicycle tour in memory of Nick Sansome, will be held Sunday, August 13, 2006 at 1 p.m.

Join the Northfield Bike Club on a 10, 25, 35 or 55 mile ride leaving from Mike's Bikes at 1 p.m. This is a family event and fund raiser for SAVE: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.

For more information, see http://www.northfieldbikeclub.org. And be sure to check out the Tours de Nick 2005 photo set.

Submitted by Joey Robison

It's estimated that our food travels an average of 1,300 miles from field to fork. Eating food produced locally is better for the environment and better for the local economy. But where do you start if you’d like to adopt a more regional diet?

You can begin by taking the Eat Local Challenge, which runs from August 15 to September 23. Just Food Co-op is challenging community members to eat 80 percent of their diet from food produced in the five-state region for six weeks.

The Eat Local Challenge will kick off with a book talk and reading by professional chef and locavore Jessica Prentice at 7:30 p.m. Monday, August 14, at Just Food.

“It’s a big commitment, but it’s good to be able to support your friends and those who are good stewards of the land,” says Rollie Jacobsen, lead cashier at Just Food. The Co-op labels its locally produced foods to make them easier to find, and the Farmers Market and Community Supported Agriculture farms are also great places to find local fare.

The Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra will be at Central Park Wednesday night! This is the traditional finale of the Books & Stars schedule (see this photo gallery of last year's season-closer with CVRO). Come listen to beautiful music at a beautiful park. (Rain site is the NHS Auditorium.)

Booker, the Book Bus opens at 6 pm. This free, family oriented show starts at 7 pm. Booker has library materials for all ages. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and settle in for fun! The Cocoa Bean returns to sell their refreshing Hawaiian Shaved Ice and half the proceeds are donated to Booker!

Kathy Ness is a children's librarian at the Northfield Public Library.

Week Six Drawing:  The Tavern of Northfield

We are proud to announce that our sixth "Dinner On Us" gift certificate is for $50 to the Tavern of Northfield.  By becoming a member of Northfield.org you will be entered into the Dinner On Us membership drawing.  The deadline for this week is midnight on August 13, with the winner being announced on Monday, August 14.

You don't have to contribute to enter, and if you don't win, your name will be forwarded to the next week's drawing. That means you'll have several chances to win.

To sign up now, just go to the New Member page. The suggested donation is $20 per year per person. Of course, if you'd like to suggest a higher number, we'd be thrilled and very grateful.

I was disappointed that I couldn't make it to any of the Young People's Theater performances this year, but I did manage to take in a couple of swell ArtSwirl events yesterday, and I added a batch of photos to the ArtSwirl 2006 gallery.

At lunchtime I snuck over to Carleton College's Japanese garden ("The Garden of Quiet Listening") for a tour led by Margit and Eric Johnson, who work as volunteers in the garden every Thursday morning throughout the growing season. It was my first visit to this amazing space in the four years I've been living in town, but certainly not my last.

And last night I hit the opening reception for the annual Members Exhibition at the Northfield Arts Guild downtown gallery. It was a great show, with a lot of new artists showing their works.