Events

Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:

As Christmas is only ten days away, now’s the time to get out and gawk at the lights. Bentleyville, Glensheen, and Fairlawn are all up to full twinkle right about now, so peep the calendar to see when to schedule your visits.

Plenty of music on tap, this week — Sarah Krueger is releasing her latest album at the Red Herring, former Duluthian Haley Bonar is in town, and the Music Resource Center is holding an open-mic night for its students.

Add to this list a good amount of notable film events — there’s the Star Wars Holiday Special, an Iranian Vampire Western and a film where J.K. Simmons yells at a drummer until he cries — and you’ve got the makings of a pretty full pre-Christmas week.

Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:

On Monday, MnDOT is holding a public meeting on the Minnesota State Rail Plan. Get all the trains your brains can take.

Tuesday brings performances from the Brasil Guitar Duo, a little bit of magic at the West Duluth branch library, and the latest installment of Take it with You (which features the fresh-off-Prairie Home Companion Sarah Krueger, who also plays at the Red Herring, this week).

Charlie Parr’s a busy boy — in addition to appearing on the above Take it with You bill, he’s also doing this, this and this.

But perhaps the biggest event of the week is the revamped Christmas City of the North Parade, which will hit parts of Superior Street it hasn’t hit for the first time in over a decade. Add to this the Lake Superior Magazine 35th anniversary open house, the Northern Explorers gear swap and a long list of other events, and you’ve got plenty to tuck into.

Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:

Halloween is over, and it’s time to vote on Tuesday. Just don’t take the Oliver Bridge to get to your local polling place.

The games are afoot in the Twin Ports, with a Firefly-themed night, some Casual Magic happening at Dungeon’s End and Board Game Night and Casual Heroclix at Rogue Robot.

In diversity news, the Fagbug and its creator will be visiting to raise awareness of homophobia, And Baby Makes Seven is at the Dudley and the photography show Diversity opens at the Tweed.

Kick out the jams this week with Mary Bue, the “postmodern string” sounds of Hot Buttered Rum and Eisenstein meets Dosh at the Zinema.

Theater geeks should mark their calendars, as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens at Teatro Zuccone and The Tempest continues at St. Scholastica.

Finally, now that your paper skeletons and ghosts are packed away, get a glimpse of a White-House-bound tree to get yourself in the mood for Christmas. Yes. It’s that time. Already.

Here’s a little bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:

Ghosties and ghoulies are in abundance, this week, as the scares get ramped up in anticipation of Halloween. Evil Dead: The Musical is in action at the Underground, Glensheen has a few days worth of chills planned for its Jack O’Lantern Spooktacular, and Gooseberry Falls is offering creepy campfire tales.

Saturday’s the biggest day for frights, with a Terror Train, a Field of Screams, a Corn Maze, and a Haunted Shack, among other terrifying delights. (And don’t forget about the Haunted Ship, of course.)

Not everything this week is of the scary variety, though: get some Swedish meatballs on Tuesday, hear Egyptian scholar Dalia Basiouny perform her one-woman show on Tuesday and lecture on Wednesday, celebrate five years of Zeitgeist Arts with a flick, and see the District 7A State Representative candidates square off on Tuesday.

Why should you not throw a ukulele off the top of the Medical Arts Building? Because the Alworth Building is taller. Feel free to share your favorite ukulele joke in the comments. Get that out of your system, then check out Big Mama Lele at Red Mug on Tuesday and Savannah Smith at the Brewhouse on Friday.

There is never a shortage of organizations and individuals in need of a helping hand, and this week offers a tetralogy of options: On Thursday, the St. Louis County Historical Society holds its Culture & Cuisine fundraising event at the Depot while Clyde Iron Works hosts a benefit for Zeidan Zeidan, the former owner of Z’s Deli who has been diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. On Saturday, the Duluth Art Institute’s annual fine art auction will be held at the Kitchi Gammi Club and Mr. D’s hosts a spaghetti dinner and silent auction to benefit Mary Rogers as she battles angiosarcoma.

As for general hoopla, Champ the Bulldog will truly be in his element on Thursday, the Minnesota Ballet begins its season Friday night, and there will be another zombie pub crawl on Saturday.

A bit of PDD shop talk to wrap things up: Lawrence Lee has exited as calendar editor and we’ll be announcing soon the identity of his successor. Cheers once again to Lawrence on two-and-a-half years of keeping us informed about the concerts, plays, lectures and other instances in which four or more people gather in our region.

We should also note that during this transition period we’ve fallen a bit behind in our work. If you’ve submitted an event to the calendar, please be patient. There is a backlog right now of over 300 events. We’ll get them in … eventually.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

As election day approaches here are some opportunities to see candidates discuss their views:

• Poverty forum with candidates from several local races at Trepanier Hall tonight.
• District 7B State Representative Candidate Forum at Morgan Park Community Rec Center Tuesday hosted by the League of Women Voters.
• Eighth District Congressional Forum at the Duluth Playhouse hosted by the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. (Note: Registration for this forum is not open to the public.)
• District 7A State Representative Debate at UMD on Thursday.

Want to learn Swedish? There are classes for beginners and intermediates at the Nordic Center starting this Tuesday.

Renegade Theater Company presents Grace, a play about an evangelical Christian couple having a crisis of faith, at the Teatro Zuccone on Thursday and it runs three weekends. There will be talk back sessions hosted by yours truly after the show on Thursdays.

Let your colors fly. The Duluth East Greyhounds host the Denfeld Hunters at Ordean Stadium on Friday.

Mystical Nights features area dancers at Weber Hall this Saturday.

There are also a few Halloween themed events this week, including Boo at the Zoo and a Zombie Pub Crawl.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

Love Chester Park? Want to see the city’s “mini-master plan” for the park? Check it out and give your two cents on Tuesday at Myers-Wilkins.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a musical about glam rock and a botched sex change. It opens at the Undeground on Thursday and runs two weekends.

On the other end of the theater spectrum, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House opens at UMD on Friday and also runs two weekends.

The William A. Irvin once again becomes the Haunted Ship for the month of October starting on Friday. You can check out all of the Halloween related events on the calendar.

Want my job? Okay.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

The place you recently chose as the best coffee house in Duluth will be celebrating our music scene all week by recording local musicians playing live. This is the 13th year of Beaner’s doing One Week Live, celebrating the shop’s 15 years in business. Festivities run tonight through Saturday.

Also celebrating 15 years is the Lester River Rendezvous at Lester Park on Saturday.

The folks from Renegade Improv heckle the movie Twilight at Zinema 2 for your amusement on Thursday.

In the theater scene, The Elephant Man opens at the Encore in Cloquet on Friday and runs two weekends and Wise Fool’s production of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing at the Teatro Zuccone and the Playhouse’s production of One Man, Two Guvnors are both in their final weekend.

Bone Appetit is back for one night only in a reunion show at R. T. Quinlan’s on Saturday.

And if, after reading this, you think you can do this better, then please, take my job. No, really.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

Summer isn’t over yet! Know how I know? Road construction is still going on! There are bridges out and roads closed. And while I’m on the subject, does anyone else who sees these construction signs marked “ITS” start humming Sousa’s “Liberty Bell March“? No? Just me?

On Tuesday you can join the Parks and Rec folks for Invasive Bamboo Blasting, which needs to be a band name or a game I can play on my iPhone. Someone get on that now.

Always wanted to learn to speak Norwegian? You can get your start at the Nordic Center this Wednesday.

Wise Fool Shakespeare opens its season with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing on Friday at the Teatro Zuccone. The show runs for two weekends.

And there is plenty of festing to be done this weekend with the Chester Bowl Fall Fest, Oktoberfest, Hawk Weekend Festival at Hawk Ridge and Le Festival des Montgolfières à Duluth (otherwise known as the “Where are the damn balloons?” festival).

And, for all you Browncoats out there, there’s gonna be a gorram Shindig at Glensheen mansion on Sunday with dancing and the world premier of a Firefly-themed spaceship bridge simulator. Shiny.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

A note to all bears who might be reading, today is not a good day to be a bear, but it is a good day for parking.

The YMCA and Yoga North are both having weeklong open houses and free classes and such to kick off their fall seasons.

Michael Perry will be doing readings from his new YA novel, “The Scavengers,” at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday.

Twin Ports Stage opens Sealed for Freshness at the UWS Manion Theater on Thursday and it runs for two weekends.

Renegade is well known for their short form improv. This week you can see some of your favorite improv artists tackle long form improv, building an evening’s worth of entertainment with just a suggestion or two from the audience, at the Teatro Zuccone on Friday and Saturday.

Pride has ended with its drag shows, but there’s going to be drag racing on Garfield Ave. this next weekend. We really should combine the two events, don’t you think?

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

You have your choice of geekery tonight with the Doctor Who Peter Capaldi era debuting at Marcus Cinema and Zinema 2 offering a Joss Whedon Sing Along hosted by the Zenith City Browncoats and some local online calendar editor.

Pride Festival is this weekend, running Thursday through Sunday, and opens with the Mayor’s Reception at the Depot. The celebration includes an art exhibit with a Friday opening at Zeitgeist and a 5K run on Saturday.

School hasn’t started yet, but the Denfeld Hunters have their football season opener on Thursday at Public Schools Stadium as they host the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

There is a Freedom of Information workshop at the library tonight, hosted by Public Record Media.

The Head of the Lakes Fair opens on Tuesday and runs through Sunday at the Head of the Lakes Fairgrounds.

Duluth native, De’Lon Grant, is back from touring to do a one-man cabaret at the Teatro Zuccone on Wednesday.

On Thursday the Leap Frogs (the U.S. Navy Seals Parachute Landing Team) will be landing in the parking lot of the Duluth Heritage Sports Center.

Tribute Fest, a celebration of cover bands and very loud music, emanates from Bayfront Park Friday and Saturday.

There will also be loud things in the sky this weekend with the Duluth Airshow, running Saturday and Sunday.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

The Found Footage Film Festival is at Zinema 2 tonight, featuring VHS finds from rummage sales and thrift stores.

On Tuesday George Sherman (president of Sherman Associates) and Christine Seitz (director of the Duluth Playhouse) talk about Restoring the NorShor Theater at the Kitchi Gammi Club.

Renegade presents Things to Ruin, a rock cabaret, at the Teatro Zuccone starting Thursday and running three weekends. Also opening on Thursday at The Underground is Bare: A Pop Opera, running two weekends.

Head down to the DECC this weekend to see some world class roller derby as teams from all over the U.S. (and beyond) compete in the WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs hosted by our own Harbor City Roller Dames. Competition starts on Friday and runs through Sunday.

For the festival lovers out there, this weekend is the Bike Duluth Festival and the Hoghead Festival in Proctor.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

It’s a town hall meeting with booze! Mayor Don Ness is holding his first “town hall forum” at The Underground tonight with a cash bar because, in the words of our mayor, “serving alcohol will definitely increase the likelihood of complete disaster… It’ll be like nascar, everybody shows up hoping for a huge crash.” Sounds promising.

Tuey Wilson, comic juggler, performs at the Duluth Public Library on Tuesday on the outdoor stage, and, if it’s anything like his show at the Renaissance Festival, it is  not to be missed. Especially if he pulls out his “flaming beanie of death.”â„¢

The Karl Oskar Choir (from our sister city, Växjö, Sweden) will be singing at Lake Place Park on Wednesday. Umlauts for everyone!

Hamlet and Thoroughly Modern Millie open at the Duluth Playhouse on Thursday and Friday. These two plays are being done in rep with the cast of one show operating as the crew for the other show. This is the product of the Playhouse Summer Teen Intensive Program. Last year they produced Metamorphoses which many people on this blog, you may remember, voted as the best play produced in Duluth all year.

The Bayfront Blues Festival runs this weekend, Friday through Sunday. You can see it at Bayfront Park or hear it from practically anywhere within 5 miles of downtown.

You may or may not be able to hear the Blues Fest at the first annual Lake Superior Art Festival at Brighton Beach on Saturday. Someone will just have to try it out.

Sunday is the last game of the regular season for the Duluth Huskies at Wade Stadium. They face off against the St. Cloud Rox.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.