Events

The Northfield Garden Club is holding their annual Plant Sale fundraiser Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. - noon on Bridge Square. Rain or shine, you can come downtown to purchase perennials, annuals, and houseplants from member gardens.

Class finds giant retailer's impact embedded in communities, society

Is Wal-Mart the enemy of our society or just a reflection of it?

About 200 people flocked to the Lion’s Pause at St. Olaf College Thursday night to witness the symposium: “WalMart America – Changing the Face of Our World”. The event, hosted by Professor Eric Fure-Slocum’s History 297 class (Wal-Mart America), drew a diverse crowd of St. Olaf students, faculty, alumni, and a number of Northfield community members.

The event included presentations of the students' research, ranging from an examination of how people of different faiths respond to Wal-Mart, to Wal-Mart’s impact on local crime rates, to the retailers' shaping of the music industry, to the enormous changes in the U.S. and global economies in recent decades.

The highlight of the evening was a lively panel discussion, moderated by students Max Wojtanowicz ’06 and Anna Gieselman ’06. Panelists [pictured, from left to right] included Rebecca Judge (Professor of Economics at St. Olaf), Ross Currier (Northfield Downtown Development Corporation), and Jenny Shegos (United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789). Shegos is also the local field coordinator for Wake-Up Wal-Mart.

Wednesday evenings throughout the summer, you are invited to enjoy fun, free family entertainment at various parks all over Northfield!

Booker the Book Bus opens at 6 pm, the entertainment begins at 7 p.m. 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!

Read the rest of this entry to view the full schedule.

St. Olaf College will host the symposium “Wal-Mart America: Changing the Face of our World” Thursday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the Lion’s Pause of Buntrock Commons. The event, sponsored by Assistant Professor of History Eric Fure-Slocum’s History 297 class, is open to students, faculty, staff and the public.

The symposium will feature a panel discussion on Wal-Mart and American society, which will include speakers Jenny Shegos from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789, Ross Currier of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, and a Wal-Mart representative. Panelists will discuss both sides of the controversy surrounding Wal-Mart’s role in American culture and politics, particularly regarding labor issues. The panel, moderated by St. Olaf students Anna Gieselman ’06 and Max Wojtanowicz ’06, will run from 7 to 8:15 p.m. and will be followed by a question and answer session.

About 200 people gathered on Monday night, May 1st, at Bridge Square for a candlelight vigil in solidarity with national (and international) actions in support of immigrant rights.

People gathered at Bridge Square at about 8 p.m. and were met by a contingent who marched downtown from St. Dominic's Church. As they turned onto Division Street we could hear chants of "Si se puede" ("Yes, we can") and "El pueblo unido jamás será vencido" ("The people united will overcome").

For an hour people held candles, chanted and talked. Gathered in the center of Northfield, first-, second-, third- and fourth-generation immigrants stood together in support of justice, dignity and human rights for immigrant workers.

The vigil was the culmination of a community effort that began last Tuesday in the Carleton ACT (Acting in the Community Together) Center. The ACT committee had sent out an e-mail announcing an organizing meeting to plan potential events for May 1 to coincide with immigrant rights events across the country.

The new issue of the Northfield Entertainment Guide (NEG) is now available free throughout the Northfield area and here via PDF.

Click the image to view it within your browser or right-click on the image to "Save link/target as..." and then view or print it from your computer.

The NEG is published by Rob Schanilec and Lora Steil at By All Means Graphics. We're partnering with them to keep N.org readers updated regularly on what's going on around town.

The one year old Arius Chamber Music Society will perform two Bach Cantatas, No. 21 I Have Had Much Distress and 140 Wake, Arise (Wachet Auf), and Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue for Strings at the Carleton College Concert Hall on Sunday, May 7, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. Arius will bring its own acclaimed orchestra and one of the Twin Cities’ premier choirs, Exultate. The Cannon Valley Elder Collegium of Northfield, in collaboration with Arius, has developed a lecture series on the same two Bach Cantatas. The series will culminate with the Carleton College performance.

Arius musicians are professionals who have played in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Sinfonia and Lyra Baroque Orchestra as well as many other national and international ensembles. They perform each of their programs at multiple venues throughout Minnesota. Programs include works for various ensemble sizes from string quartet to string orchestra and, occasionally, chamber orchestra. Arius plans to present one concert series each year that includes one or two Bach Cantatas and is currently working with the Carleton College administration to make this an annual event in Northfield.

How could sidewalk dining in downtown Northfield be a boon to the local economy? What are the disadvantages of having alcohol sold outdoors, within full view of minors? Is there a risk to restaurateurs?

Those questions and more will be discussed at the next NDDC Downtown Forum Tomorrow Morning (Tuesday, May 2) at 8 a.m. in the lower-level conference room of the Archer House.

Panelists will include Northfield Chief of Police Gary Smith, Contented Cow and Chapati owner Norman Butler, and attorney David Hvistendahl, owner of Froggy Bottoms. Also in the audience will be several restaurateurs, including Todd Byhre of the Ole Store Café and Joe Grundhoefer of the Rueb-n-Stein.

Coffee and cookies will be served, as always, and a lively discussion is the goal. For more information, visit www.nddc.org or call 663-0319.

A benefit concert will take place Saturday, May 6th, from 6-10 p.m. at Hogan Brothers. The concert will feature acoustic music from high school performers Andrew Wilson, Schuyler Huber, Nat Allister, Ben Cooper, Charlie Husman, Erik Eliason, and Damiel Lohmann. All proceeds go to a 15 year old girl named Brenna Hanson who is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic to treat her brain cancer.

There will be a small silent auction with a variety of art pieces available. There will also be a CD for sale produced just for this event, featuring the artists playing at the benefit. There is no cover charge for this concert, but a suggested donation of $3 is appreciated.

For more information or to donate artworks, please email me at magnetskateboards@gmail.com or give me a call at (507)645-5898.

Millstream Commons to host forum May 4

Pat Vincent, CEO of Three Links Care Center, will give a presentation on the history of the Oddfellows home, Three Links Care Center and Millstream Commons at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 4 at Millstream Commons.

Following Pat's presentation, Kathy Olson, Executive Director of Millstream Commons, will address senior housing options. Rich Falck, board member of the Northfield Historical Society and Millstream Commons, will speak on leaving a Legacy in Northfield. This event is free to the public and refreshments will be served.

Northfield Citizens Online celebrated its new look and new managing editor, extended a heartfelt thank you to its tech crew and kicked off our membership drive -- all in one grand time Thursday night.

An enthusiastic crowd listened to some great music (the Bratlanders, including our own Chair, Doug Bratland), heard some of our history and some of our vision vision, and met the new Managing Editor, Anne Bretts. Master of Ceremonies Rick Estenson, a board member since 2005, introduced a short history by yours truly, followed by a really great tale of the genesis of our on-line community from the early days of the revival of the salon (via the Utne Reader) by our favorite son, Griff Wigley, aka, the Hon. Mayor of NCO.

Just as the Internet has allowed us to redefine community, so has the changing technical climate allowed NCO to transform itself from its early techie beginnings to a more community and content-oriented organization. Our early goal of "access for all" has become "a voice for all" as we focus more on letting the community speak.  Unlike many media outlets, we are able to empower everyone to speak for themselves by removing the barriers to entry that dominate most media formats.

INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES AND GROUPS OF ALL SIZES NEEDED!

We’re looking for volunteers to help pick up trash along the Cannon River —help ensure that our river remains a clean and healthy part of our community!

Teams will meet at 9am at the rodeo grounds or at the Sechler Park picnic pavilion and pick up trash until about 11:30. Participants are invited to a picnic at The Science Center at Maltby Nature Preserve afterwards.

Gloves, bags, and drinking water will be provided. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. Parent permission form required for participants under age 18.

You should wear long pants, boots or sturdy shoes, and come prepared to get a bit damp and dirty!

For more information, click the image to open a PDF brochure about the event, or visit our website at www.crwp.net.

Community Celebration Tonight at The Grand!

Northfield Citizens Online, the organization responsible for this website and the ISSUES email list, is hosting a party from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. tonight at The Grand Event Center in downtown Northfield. Admission is free and the entire community is welcome.

In addition to live entertainment, appetizers and a cash bar, you'll get a chance to meet the folks behind the scenes of your favorite local website and provide us feedback about what you love, hate, or would like to change about Northfield.org.

Please join us for a swell evening with old and new friends!

Mark your calendars and bring your checkbooks, its time for the Northfield Arts Guild's annual Auction for the Arts this Saturday, April 29th.

Ed Kuhlman and Mary Rossing [pictured at left] SPRING into the Arts and host the evening's activities once again at the Guild's largest fundraiser. We depend on the funds raised to keep the doors open, the classes running, the theater lights on, and the art on the gallery walls.

The Silent Auction Runs from 7-8pm with the always entertaining Live Auction from 8-10pm. Admission is $15 at the door. 

The Northfield Arts Guild auction is so much more than just an auction...it's entertainment!