‘Prince and princess’ matinees and ‘selfies’ set for Pequot Lakes

'Prince and princess' matinees and 'selfies' set for Pequot Lakes

"Princes and princesses" of all ages are invited to attend matinee performances of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 21 presented by Pequot Lakes Community Theatre.

The audience is invited to take advantage of a photo opportunity. Following these particular matinees, attendees may take a self-portrait with costumed characters from the show, complete with a scenic background from the set.

The complete schedule of the musical at the Pequot Lakes High School Theater is 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 13, 14, 19, and 20 and 2 p.m. Nov. 15, 21, and 22.

Attendees for the two special "royalty" matinees are encouraged to wear their royal finery such as gowns, suits, crowns, and tiaras to the performances Nov. 15 and 21.

Regional businesses and individuals have generously supported this project. Five service organizations are underwriting the children's ticket program:

Pequot Lakes – Ben Krueger American Legion Post 49 and Rotary Club of Central Lakes.

Breezy Point – Breezy Point Women's Club.

Nisswa – American Legion Post 627.

Jenkins – VFW Post 3839.

"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" donors include:

Pine River – Joe's Heating and Air, LLC.

Pequot Lakes – First National Bank, Expressions Shoe Center, Weise Clothing and Variety, Timberjack Smokehouse, Alibi Clothiers,  Lucky's Tavern, The Hungry Loon Café, Wild Hair, Ed and Judy Larsen, and Ann Hutchings.

Breezy Point – Commander Bar and Restaurant.

Crosslake – Shorewood Ceramic Tile, Inc.

"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" follows Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is actually a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end; he will be transformed to his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Essentia Health is the major sponsor for this production, and the Five Wings Arts Council, through appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, has also made the show possible.

The show is presented through an agreement with Music Theatre International.

Actors are from 10 area communities – Aitkin, Baxter, Brainerd, Breezy Point, Crosby, Crosslake, Ironton, Merrifield, Pequot Lakes, and Pine River.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors 60 years and up, and $10 for ages 18 and under.  They may be purchased at the door one hour before curtain on performance dates or in advance from Pequot Lakes Community Education at 218-568-9200.

PHOTO

Michael Loeffler of Breezy Point (left), and Daisy and Amelia Davis of Pequot Lakes wear their royal finery for the beautiful Belle (Joy Ciaffoni of Baxter) of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast." Matinees Nov. 15 and 21 will provide costumed attendees the opportunity for "selfies" with characters in the Pequot Lakes Community Theatre musical.

Tim Grimm to open Grassroots Concerts season Sept. 19

                                              


Tim Grimm to open Grassroots Concerts season Sept. 19

           NISSWA – Tim Grimm, an award-winning songwriter and stage/screen actor, makes his Grassroots Concerts debut on Friday, Sept. 19 in a 7:30 p.m. show that will include his wife, Jan Lucas, on vocals and harmonica.
           The event is the first of five fall concerts to be held at the Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar in Nisswa. The concert series is in its 26th year, and this will be the 287th concert.
          Tim Grimm has toured and recorded with his friend, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and appeared with Harrison Ford in the film "Clear and Present Danger." His recording, "The Back Fields" was named Best Americana Album in the 2006 Just Plain Folks Music Awards in Los Angeles.
           Critics compare Grimm's folk-country style to Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, and Bruce Springsteen. His songs and performances have established him as a unique voice in Americana music. Each of his past five recordings has reached the top of the Folk or American-roots charts.
            After several years working in Los Angeles (where he co-starred for two seasons on the NBC drama "Reasonable Doubts" and appeared in several films), Grimm returned home to rural, southern Indiana. He now lives there with his wife and sons.
           AmericanaUK says: "He sings of families being lost, the loss of rural America, returnees from Basra, slaves escaping a horrendous life, floods, yearning, anguish and the reason why people faced with such adversity carry on whilst being totally empathetic toward their plight or feelings."
           For more about Grimm go to www.timgrimm.com
         

The rest of the 2014 fall season:

Friday, Oct. 3 – Germaine Gemberling (www.germainegemberling.com) and Rich Mattson (www.richmattsonmusic.com). Lifelong musicians, their sensibilities have produced a delightful collaboration. They play "classic country music, the kind that Johnny and June made," says Tony Bennett of the Duluth News Tribune.
         

Friday, Oct. 24 – Eliza Gilkyson (www.elizagilkyson.com). Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and activist Gilkyson makes her second appearance on the Grassroots stage (first: September 2006). One of the most respected musicians in folk and Americana circles, she has won Folk Alliance International awards for best artist, best songwriter, and record of the year and has been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame. "Like the master she is, Gilkyson packs a political punch that is as entertaining and blue-collar as the work of Woody Guthrie," says William Michael Smith of the Houston Press.

Friday, Nov. 14 – Erik Koskinen (www.erikkoskinen.com). Koskinen is a native of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Since moving to the Twin Cities 10 years ago, he has earned a following as a musician, songwriter, bandleader, producer, and recording engineer. He is Minnesota's "best pure country singer/songwriter," says Jon Bream of the StarTribune.

Friday, Dec. 5 – Tim Sparks (www.timsparks.com). Sparks is an award-winning guitarist whose blending of musical styles has won extensive praise from listeners in all corners of the world. Sparks has captivated guitar fans with some of the finest finger-style guitar playing around. "He's really one of best musicians I know," says Leo Kottke.
          Admission is $10 at the door for adults and $5 for children under 12 with listening attention, when accompanied by an adult. At all shows, seating is first-come, first-served. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30), and you are encouraged to come early to claim your choice of seats.
The Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar, 5459 CR 18, is located in the Journey Church across from the A & W Restaurant and next to the school in Nisswa.
          Nonprofit Grassroots Concerts are sustained in quality and low cost with the help of a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council through the Minnesota State Legislature.

       At each concert, the all-volunteer series welcomes your non-perishable food or cash donation to a local food shelf.

        For information go to www.grassrootsconcerts.org, call (218) 829-4092.

Pequot Theater to present state premiere of comedy

PEQUOT LAKES – Rehearsals are under way for a Minnesota premiere of the 

Pequot Lakes Community Theater production "Mom's Gift" by Phil Olson.

Cast members are Michael Johnson of Crosby, Sharon Hartley of Baxter, 

Mary Nelson of Cushing, Ann Collman and Dan Rohr of Brainerd, and Julie Friday of 

Crosslake.

This heartwarming family comedy reminds us that forgiveness may be the 

simplest path to love. Mom has always taken good care of her family. She expects to go 

to heaven, but 11 months after she dies mom is still an earthbound ghost. Like Clarence 

in "It's a Wonderful Life," she has to accomplish a task to earn her wings.

Performances are July 10, 11, 12 and 15, 16, 17 at 8 p.m. on the stage of the 

theater at Pequot Lakes High School.

This play, first performed six months ago in Los Angeles, has won numerous 

awards for playwright Olson. He has written three popular shows performed in recent 

summers on the PLCT stage.

"We are excited to bring this new play to our state," said Director Nancy 

Waller of Breezy Point, who previously directed Olson's "Crappie Talk," "Don't Hug 

Me" and "Don't Hug Me County Fair" for Pequot Lakes Community Theater.

The production team for "Mom's Gift" includes Stage Manager Meredith 

Bjorkquist and Technical Director Craig Friday, both of Crosslake; Set Designer Peter 

Herzog, Pequot Lakes; and Costumer Mary Chapp, Breezy Point.

Tickets are available by calling Pequot Lakes Community Education at 218-568-

9200. Information is available at www.glapa.info, the web site for Greater Lakes Area 

Performing Arts.

Photo:

The cast for Minnesota's premiere of "Mom's Gift" includes from left, front, Julie Friday, 

Michael Johnson, Sharon Hartley, and back Mary Nelson, Dan Rohr, and Ann Collman. 

Shows are at 8 p.m. July 10-12 and 15-17 in the high school theater at Pequot Lakes.

Mary Bue to make concert series debut Nov. 22

NISSWA – Mary Bue will make her debut Friday, Nov. 22 in the Grassroots Concerts series at 7:30 p.m., at the Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar, Nisswa. It is the final concert of the fall season, closing the 25th year for the non-profit series.
         

"With a name like Mary Elizabeth and a reputation for playing piano, one might expect a more demure presence than Mary Bue brings to the stage. At once soothing, spunky, cathartic and full of vigor, when she appears behind the keys or guitar, her energy radiates to the back of any house.
         

Since 1998, at age 17, Bue has been writing songs and taking them on the road – to 38 states, and counting. Now entering her thirties, she has honed a sound that earns the "emotional sucker-punch" an early reviewer felt upon hearing her songs.

         "Bue's fourth studio album, "Apple in the Ocean," was recorded at an old cathedral turned music studio in Duluth, funded with the help of Kickstarter.

          Her voice is perhaps the apple: bobbing along, bouncing off the vaulted ceilings like the heavenly creature many would say that she is.

         Bue describes her music as "the retellings of adventures, mishaps, and pains-in-the-ass." Through her experiences touring the country, studying yoga from 2008 to 2011 in Seattle, attaining a bachelor's degree in psychology and falling in and out of love, she has a lot of wisdom to retell.

         "The songs are a map she has drawn through the depths of the ocean of human experience, and although the lyrics are often pulled from secret, dark places, Mary's presence is a positive one, full of laughter and light." - Amy Clark, KAXE

         "When the show ended and she was leaning against the stage, zipping up her boots, I had the urge to run up, hug her and then immediately beg her to sing the soundtrack of my life.  Mary Bue's an amazing, must-see talent, and by far, one of the sweetest voices I've heard live in years."  - Zosia Blue from howwastheshow.com

           Admission is $10 at the door for adults and $5 for children under 12 with listening attention, when accompanied by an adult. At all shows, seating is first-come, first-served. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30), and you are encouraged to come early to claim your choice of seats.

The Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar, 5459 CR 18, is located in the Journey Church across from the A & W Restaurant and next to the school in Nisswa.

          Grassroots Concerts are made possible in part by a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council through the Minnesota State Legislature.

         The concert series encourages donations of non-perishable items from those attending. Volunteers will deliver them to the food shelf.

        For information go to www.grassrootsconcerts.org, call (218) 829-4092, or e-mail information@grassrootsconcerts.org

Author Anthony Bukoski is next Speaking of Books presenter

Author Anthony Bukoski is next Speaking of Books presenter

 

Anthony Bukoski is the next presenter in the Speaking of Books series of programs at Prairie Bay Grill and Catering, Baxter. The free event Thursday, Aug. 15 starts promptly at 4:30 p.m. and concludes at 6 p.m.

Bukoski, of Superior, Wis., is a Polish-American fiction writer, essayist and short-story author. He has written five short-story collections: "North of the Port," "Time Between Trains" (a Booklist Editors' Choice), "Polonaise," "Children of Strangers," and "Twelve Below Zero."

The New York Times review of "Children of Strangers" said: "Mr. Bukoski is a sure-handed, lyrical writer with a good ear for regional and ethnic cadences."

Bukoski's stories have been aired on Wisconsin Public Radio's "Chapter a Day" program and on National Public Radio's "Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story." He has received awards from the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, the Wisconsin Library Association, the Council for Wisconsin Writers, and other organizations.

Booklist, in a starred review, praised one of Bukoski's short stories as "some of the most beautifully written since Sherwood Anderson's in "Winesburg, Ohio.'"

Publishers Weekly, reviewing "Time Between Trains," wrote: "These atmospheric tales are a moving testament to a wintry region and its hardy inhabitants."

This is the second year for the literary venue featuring regional authors, publishers, book photographer, literary publicists, and illustrators. Joe Plut, author and a retired Central Lakes College English and humanities instructor, created and hosts the series.

Speaking of Books is a free series offered on the third Thursday of each month. The final program of 2013 will be Sept. 19 presented by Krista Rolfzen Soukup, Brainerd literary publicist and owner of Blue Cottage Agency.

Each program in the series includes complimentary appetizers and time for the presenter to answer questions and sign books. Guests also receive a $5 discount toward dinner at Prairie Bay that evening.

Photo:

Anthony Bukoski, book reviewer, essayist and short-story author, will present the Aug. 15 Speaking of Books program at Prairie Bay Restaurant in Baxter.

CLC ustomer service classes produce results

A small amount of attention to customer service has large benefits, says a leading customer service trainer.

"Customer service classes are highly valued in the professional community," said  Fred Bayley, who writes, speaks and teaches courses on extraordinary customer service.

Bayley teaches a new online course called Extraordinary Customer Service, sponsored by Central Lakes College through Customized Training in the Business and Industry Center.

"The online course is relevant for anyone who works in customer service, and it is part of a two course online Certificate in Customer Service," says Kori Busho, Customized Training representative at Central Lakes College.

 "Most customer service courses focus only on individual skills," said Bayley. "But people also need to know how to manage customer service functions, so we include those important skills in our courses."

Bayley emphasizes his students have fun with the subject matter while taking away something they can use immediately.

Bayley has a MEd in Community College and Adult Education from North Carolina State University. He's currently a senior consultant at LERN. His former positions include: Facilitator at Leadership Rutherford, Dean of Continuing Education at Isothermal Community College, Director of Adult Education at Western Piedmont Community College, and 4-H Agent at North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service.

The next online courses begin in February and March. The course costs $145 or $245 for both courses and certificate upon completion.

For additional information about Extraordinary Customer Service or other online courses and certificates, contact Beverly Berg, Central Lakes College, 501 West College Drive, Brainerd, MN 56401, (218) 855-8142 or bberg@clcmn.edu

“Taxes and Spending: What’s Ahead for the U.S. and Minnesota?” at CLC

            The Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL) at Central Lakes College, Brainerd, will present Dr. Louis Johnston with "Taxes and Spending: What's Ahead for the U.S. and Minnesota?" on Monday, Jan. 29 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Business and Industry Center.

            Taxes, spending, and the size of government are important issues at all levels of government.  In this talk, Johnston will address three questions:

• What are the current and future challenges faced by the state and federal governments?
• What are the differences between the political challenges and the economic challenges (they are not the same)?
• How can individual citizens make sense of these issues and get involved in their solution?

The fee is $6 for non-members but free to members of the Center for Lifelong Learning.

Register with a personal debit/credit card by calling (218) 855-8142 or online at http://clcmn.augusoft.net  and clicking on "courses."

Information is available from bberg@clcmn.edu.

 

 

 

 

                         Central Lakes College, a community and technical college in Brainerd and Staples, is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system of 32 public universities and colleges -- Equal Opportunity employers and educators.

                         This document is available in alternative formats upon request, by contacting Disability Services (Andria Belisle), disabilityservices@clcmn.edu or 218-855-8175.  TTY users may call MN Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-627-3529.