Also during this year’s Defeat of Jesse James Days, local performers will take the stage in the semi-annual Vaudevesque variety show at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater.  

This year’s show features singing, dancing and comedy.  Local choreographers and dancers join together as “The Welcome Committee” led by Kate Southwick. Regulars, the Pogue-u-leles, Randy Ferguson, and The Blacklights will perform, as well as Peter Webb on piano, dancers from several schools, and Esme Etter, Louisa Lawler and Synneva Bratland with a special treat.  It'll be rip roarin' fun - a little bit naughty and a whole lot of nice! 

Vaudevesque performs at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater, 411 Third Street West, Northfield, on September 8, 9 and 10 at 7:00 pm.  All tickets for this fundraiser are $10.00 and are available at online at NorthfieldArtsGuild.org or by calling (507) 645-8877.   

From film maker, Paul Krause, comes this invitation:

"Hope you can make the world premiere of my new documentary. It will take place tomorrow (Thursday, Aug 25) at 7pm at the Northfield High School auditorium (just off Division street).

It features the creative energy of 13 high school art students as they work together to create the marvelous sculpture now exhibited in front of the Northfield Library on Division Street. 

It is one hour in length and is free and open to all."

Fall is often the time of year people begin to think about making healthy lifestyle changes.  At the Y, we're just everyday people, your neighbors, people that shop at the same stores you do.  Come take a tour and consider the Y to be one of your healthy resources. 

Deb Olien, the Y's Member Coordinator is providing personalized tours to give you a chance to check-out the Y and see what we have to offer.  Maybe we fit what you are looking for. 

Stop in for a tour anytime - OR - stop in for a tour during one of the times below with Deb: 

Weeks of Aug 22nd and Aug 29th: 

Mondays at 1:00 pm 

Tuesdays at 10:30 am or 6:00 pm 

Thursdays at noon or 6:00 pm

The Bridge Chamber Music Festival, now in its 18th season, will present a vast repertoire of classical and jazz music by accomplished students and professional musicians in Northfield, MN August 21-27.

The first concert is the Young Artist Recital that features talented youth from southern Minnesota. Violist Cate Carson expressed her excitement to take part in the BCMF. “It gives me the chance to meet and hear other young local musicians,” said Carson who will be performing the Concerto in G Minor, by Max Bruch. Carson said it is a piece she’s wanted to play for a long time, and that’s she happy to now be performing it. “It is a piece with many different moods and lots of musical drama – it’s very virtuosic but has beautiful melodies in it as well,” Carson said.

Enso String Quartet www.ensoquartet.com out of New York is marked for the second day of the Festival. The Grammy-nominated quartet, founded at Yale University, has built their acclaim by achieving high awards at the Concert Artists Guild and Banff International Spring Quartet Competitions. 

The Northfield Public Library and the Arts and Culture Commission (ACC) are pleased to announce the appointment of local poet Rob Hardy to a three-year term as Northfield’s first Poet Laureate.  In establishing the program, the Library and ACC envision the Poet Laureate as a coordinator and creative leader for poetic and literary arts in the community.   The Laureate will be part of an overall effort to advance the visibility, quality, and appreciation of poetic arts in schools, among practicing poets, and for public audiences. The project will build on current efforts to cultivate a poetry-rich community in Northfield.

The nation's 2,700 YMCAs serve 22 million people in 10,000 communities and are spread across 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.   We work hard to serve our communities and the new Fall Brochure is now available.  Take a moment to view programs and services for people of all ages.  The Y is committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.  We believe strong communities are possible only when we invest in our kids, our health and our neighbors. 

Join the Y - as a member or community participant - we have an abundance of things to do. 

The City of Northfield's Arts and Culture Commission and the Bridge Chamber Music Festival are pleased to announce an evening of poetry and music on Tuesday, August 23rd, at 7:30 pm at The Grand Event Center.  Please join us as the 2016 Sidewalk Poets share their winning entries, with musical performances by the Artaria String Quartet (performing works by Gershwin and Villa-Lobos), vocalist/cellist Parker Ousley (performing jazz standards), and the Glider Trio with Dave Hagedorn (performing Brazilian jazz). Admission is free - free will donations accepted.

Five stunning women – created by acclaimed “Flower Bomber” artist David W. Cook and based on the characters of the Twin Cities hit musical “Lemonade for the Lawnboy”—have arrived in Northfield to celebrate the grand opening of ArtMakers,  a new arts group that develops, supports and features artists with disabilities.

ArtMakers debuts “Read Me a Story,” its first show in its new studio, on Saturday, August 13 at 10:30 am at the Hotspot, 801 Division Street. The one-hour performance combines stories, songs and puppets for a fun, interactive show for the kid in all of us.

Did you know that a Supreme Court seat is the only statewide race on this year’s primary ballot? This rarely happens—and it could deter many from going to the polls on primary day, August 9. The Minnesota Bar Association is providing information about the candidates here:  http://www.mnbar.org/public/judicial-candidate-information#.V5QAgdArIkj. In addition, there are 2 seats on the 3rd District Court. 

We Want to Hear from You. 

Y Community Needs Assessment

Survey closes August 30, 2016

In an effort to provide strong, effective programs, the Northfield Area Family YMCA is conducting a community needs assessment. We want to hear from you.

Based on this community needs assessment, the Y, in partnership with other organizations, will design and deliver new programs and services that address critical issues in the areas of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The focus is to identify needs that are not currently addressed in our community.

Northfield's 14th annual Community Youth Fairs are coming on Wednesday, August 10th. These events will take place at Greenvale Park Elementary from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. and at Bridgewater Elementary School from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the fairs will be held indoors at each school.

RAD Zoo's presentations are fun, engaging, and interactive. They provide an enjoyable experience for the audience, while instilling a greater understanding of these unique animals and the incredible lives they live.

The program will include ten different kinds of fascinating reptiles and amphibians, which could include frogs, a salamander, turtles, lizards, snakes, and a small alligator.

We offer an opportunity for our audience to touch some of our animals in a controlled setting, after which we provide hand sanitizer.

We maintain the highest standards of safety in animal handling, and do not use venomous animals in our presentations.  The show begins at 7 pm and Booker, the Book Bus opens at 6:30.  NO CHARGE!

It’s Carnival time! The Long Term Care Center at Northfield Hospital & Clinics held its first-ever carnival for residents, staff, families and friends on July 26. Highlights included a petting zoo, pie-baking contest, carnival games and treats (mmm, cotton candy) and a dunk tank.

Director Gretchen Murr was the first to brave the dunk tank that sunny Tuesday. Residents and staff together dressed up at the photo booth, and played with baby animals. The ringleader who organized the Carnival is Tasha Patrick, Life Enrichment Assistant at the Long Term Care Center.