Arts and Entertainment

Carleton professors Katie Ryor and Katie Sparling and staff member Jim Smith will be part of a panel titled “Reflections on Beauty: A Discussion of Chikanobu’s Jidai Kagami (‘Mirror of the Ages’) Album” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25 in the Carleton College Art Gallery. The discussion accompanies the Gallery’s recently opened exhibit “Chikanobu: Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints.” Both the exhibit and the discussion are free and open to the public.

Ring in prosperity, health and happiness at the Northfield Arts Guild Auction with the theme of the Chinese New Year. Think RED.

Think FUN. Think YEAR of the PIG! Northfield Arts Guild wishes you prosperity and happiness in 2007, and invites you to attend their annual Art Auction on Saturday, February 10.

This fundraiser supports the work of the Guild in Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Theatre, and Literary Arts. Everyone is invited to support this community organization. The evening will begin with a silent auction at 6:30 p.m., followed by the live auction at 8 p.m., featuring wonderful artwork by local artists. Admission is $15.

We are actively soliciting donations at this time!

If you have an idea of a donation you can add this year, please call Jonathan Reppe at 507-581-0844 or The Northfield Arts Guild at 507-645-8877. Donors receive two free tickets to the event and publicity on the website.

Ever wondered what Ann North may have been thinking?

Tonight you can sit back and hear the Northfield founderess recall winters past as they were in Northfield. Starting at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, at Millstream Commons.

Orrin DeLong and Marian Hvistendahl will play John and Ann North. The topic of "winter" just got more interesting - you won't want to miss it!

If music is more your style, head over to the Tavern and catch Mark Mraz tickling the ivories Thursday night. If Hip-Hop is more your thing, participate in Hip-Hop Night located in the upstairs section of the Rueb.

As always, Friday is full of entertaining happenings! Randall Kennedy will speak at Skinner Memorial Chapel, Carleton, Friday at 10:50 a.m. Kennedy is a law professor at Harvard Law School and will be speaking on "Race Lines in American Life."

Carleton is hosting a guest artist concert: The Irrelevants including saxophonist, Carrie Koffman, and violist, Tim Deighton will be accompanied by pianist Nicola Melville. The concert begins at 8 p.m., Friday, at Carleton's Concert Hall.

Musical events pervade on Saturday starting with the Twin City Playboys who will rock their country and cajun sound at the Cow from 8 - 11 p.m. Brat Pack Radio will rock the house at Dawn's Corner Bar in Dundas starting at 9 p.m. Relativity, with their blend of current and classic light rock with acoustic guitar and vocals, will entertain the crowd at the Tavern.

An unlikely pair, saxophonist Carrie Koffman and violist Tim Deighton, otherwise known as the musical group The Irrelevants, will present a concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19 at in the Carleton College Concert Hall. They’ll be accompanied by pianist Nicola Melville, an assistant professor of music at Carleton. The event is free and open to the public.

The Irrelevants united when Koffman and Deighton, then both professors at Penn State University, discovered the similarities between their teaching philosophies and approaches to music-making. In exploring the sonic possibilities created by the viola and saxophone, Koffman and Deighton have created a duo praised for its innovation and delightful programs.

The group’s name refers to the combination of these two underdog instruments. Finding music for such a duo was initially a challenge, but The Irrelevants now believe they’ve discovered a unique musical vehicle with which to contribute to developing innovative repertoire. They have commissioned and premiered many works by prominent modern composers, and their repertoire now ranges from J.S. Bach to Libby Larsen.

Writer and scholar Randall Kennedy will present a convocation titled “Race Lines in American Life” at 10:50 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19 at the Skinner Memorial Chapel at Carleton College. The event is free and open to the public.

Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division has an exciting SCUBA opportunity. By taking the SCUBA Open Water Certification Class, participants will become certified to dive the underwater world.  The SCUBA Open Water Certification Class is held on Wednesdays, January 17 – February 21.

For more information or to register for this class, stop at the Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division office located on the first floor of the Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC) at 1651 Jefferson Parkway in Northfield, call 664-3649, or go online to www.nfld.k12.mn.us and follow the Community Services link.  Space is limited, so register today.

What are we going to do now that winter has arrived?!!

You can choose from lots of great classes offered through Community Services.

• Pick up cooking skills in How to Boil Water; Jan 16.
• Get underwater in the SCUBA Certification class; Jan 17.
• Learn American Sign Language Jan 18.
• Pound on those keys with Intro To Blues Piano Jan. 20.
• Sock some money away in a mattress with Making Sense of Retirement.
• And don't forget about the first Friday Family Fun Night, Jan. 26, at Greenvale Park Elementary School.

ARTech's Arts for Martin celebration kicked off Northfield's MLK activities Friday night.  Performers from around the community, including the Northfield High School Band, an original composition by Northfield composer Dan Kallman, and Prairie Creek Charter School's Elmquoia Singers, joined a standing room only crowd of over 300 Northfielders in honoring Dr. King's life and work through song, dance, and visual arts.  Dr. Cherif Keita, professor at Carleton, offered his insight as the evening's keynote speaker.

(Editor's note: A full schedule of Northfield events commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be found here.) 

Sarah Hale is on the staff of ARTech, the Northfield School of Arts and Technology.

Carleton College will celebrate its annual observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with two special events. Both events are free and open to the public.

On Sunday, January 14, a candlelight service of remembrance and celebration will take place at 5 p.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. The service will be led by Reverend Oliver White, senior pastor of Grace Community United Church of Christ in St. Paul. White first came to Carleton in the 1980s at the request of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, then a Carleton political science professor. White has returned to campus many times and has said he considers an invitation to speak at Carleton to be one of his highest honors. This special service will include performances by two of Carleton’s a cappella singing groups, Intertwining Melodies and the Knights. A soup supper will follow the service.

Award-winning author and researcher James Loewen ’64, who has made a career of demonstrating how the history Americans learn often omits important events and distorts others, will present a convocation at 10:50 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at Carleton College’s Skinner Memorial Chapel.

His presentation is free and open to the public. Loewen’s most recent book, “Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism” (New Press, 2005), explores how African Americans and other minorities were excluded from thousands of towns across the United States.

His is the first book ever written about this practice, and many Americans have no idea that such exclusive towns exist—particularly in the northern United States. He is also the author of “Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong” (Norton, 1999), which shows how monuments, museums and other historical landmarks have actually confused the facts about America’s history.

Is this Minnesota? The weather has been so mild that it feels like Spring ... get out of the house and run to one of the many happenings in Northfield.

The Northfield Arts Guild Gallery is hosting an Opening Reception: Art of Reflection, 7-9 p.m. Thursday. James Loewen will speak at Skinner Memorial Chapel, Carleton, 10:50-11:50 a.m. Friday about “History I Never Learned at Carleton — and Why it Matters!” Jeff Ray brings excellent guitar to The Tavern Friday and Marty Anderson and the Goods bring classic rock ‘n’ roll to the Contented Cow.

On Saturday you won’t want to miss the craziness that is the Just Food Cabaret at the NAG Theater at 7:30 p.m. All ages welcome – on & off stage! Jack Knife & the Sharps will have ‘em dancing at The Grand, 8:30–12:30 — the self-proclaimed “longest performing rockabilly band in history!” Lonesome Dan Kase is at Hogan Brothers – think O Brother, Where Art Thou? with a hint of ragtime and bluegrass. Enjoy!

This information was gathered from the Human Rights Commission, St. Olaf College, Carleton College, and ARTech.

Friday, January 12
All Day @ St. Olaf - Day of Silence: Students will observe a day of silence to symbolize how different the atmosphere at St. Olaf would be if no minorities were present. This activity is open to all students.  Students will receive a “tag” identifying them as participants as well as a short description explaining their silence.

7:30pm @ ARTech - Arts for Martin: ARTech hosts its third annual community celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Guest presenter is Dr. Cherif Keita, Carleton College professor.

Now that Christmas is over and things have gotten back to normal, it's a good time to announce the winner of our Christmas Photo Contest: Mary Mueller.  Her still life of a snowboarder catching some air in her living room beat out many other very good pictures to win.  You can see the full gallery if you click here.

Congratulations to Mary and many thanks to all the others who entered.  Keep an eye on Northfield.org for more exciting contests and give-aways!

The board of Northfield Citizens Online, the group that runs this little website, will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, at Carlson Capital Management.

We have a lot of good ideas for the year ahead, from environmental and health columns to online book clubs, in-person issues salons and and arts and authors sections. We will be prioritizing all the projects, setting timelines and lining up volunteers to help make them happen.

If you have ideas or comments, please send them our way and we'll add them to the mix!

The Carleton Choir, led by conductor Lawrence Burnett (pictured), will perform in concert Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. in the Carleton College Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The concert is a reprise of a program the choir presented last fall at the Congregational United Church of Christ–Faribault as part of that congregation’s sesquicentennial celebration. The program is centered on the theme of light—the universal symbol of hope, reassurance, and goodness. Selections include Olaf C. Christiansen’s “Light Everlasting,” Imant Raminsh’s “Songs of the Lights” (using texts from the Algonquin and Navajo peoples), Moses Hogan’s “Hold Out Your Light,” Keith Hampton’s gospel piece “True Light,” and Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna.”

The Carleton College Concert Hall has limited disability accessibility. For more information and disability accommodations, call Carleton’s music department at (507) 646-4475.