The Angler
Midsummer should be the time to kick back and relax, but here in Bridgeland, people are as busy as ever performing, gardening, socializing and celebrating a wide variety of accomplishments. Here’s the neighborhood news for July:
Double congratulations to Como resident and author Holly Day, who is celebrating the publication of two books, Music Theory for Dummies and Shakira, a biography of the Latina pop star. Day also co-authored the Insider’s Guide to the Twin Cities (5th ed.) last year with her husband Sherman Wick.
Congratulations also to another prolific author, Marcy-Holmes resident John Bessler, who is celebrating the publication of his fourth book, Writing for Life: The Craft of Writing for Everyday Living. This latest book is a departure for Bessler, who previously published three books on capital punishment, including Kiss of Death: America’s Love Affair with the Death Penalty. Wow, from Kiss of Death to Writing for Life — that’s an author with a wide metaphysical range.
Another talented Marcy-Holmes resident, ballet dancer Abdo Sayegh, has won a McKnight fellowship, one of just six Minnesota dancers to do so. The award carries with it a $25,000 stipend. Those of you lucky enough to see the Minnesota Dance Theater’s (MDT) “Nutcracker Fantasy” this past Christmas will remember Sayegh, an artistic associate with MDT, dancing the lead role of the Nutcracker.
Another local artist, Craig Harris (who happens to live right across Sixth St. SE from Abdo Sayegh) has begun work as managing director of the Playwrights’ Center at 2301 E. Franklin Ave. in the Seward neighborhood. Harris, who is a composer, new-media artist, and specialist in nonprofit arts development and management, had worked since 1999 as the executive director of the Ballet of the Dolls dance troupe in Northeast Minneapolis, and he oversaw the renovation of the Dolls’ new home, the historic Ritz Theater at 345 13th Ave. NE.
Congratulations to Katherine Christian, a 2005 graduate of South High School, who has received a Director’s Award, the Jason Leidahl Scholarship and the Bette Jones Hammel Scholarship from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, awards all based on academic achievement. Katherine is the daughter of Seward resident Allen Christian and Holly Christian, a former Seward resident who now lives in Northeast.
When you’re downtown this summer, you may see some familiar (and very large) faces on the corner of South Seventh Street and Hennepin Avenue, where the second floor of the Stimson Building is wrapped with a large mural showing dozens of portraits of multilingual students from Marcy Open and Seward Montessori schools. The mural, called Many Views, One Vision, was created by Norbert Marklin, an award-winning photographer, and is the second phrase of Spontaneous Storefronts, a project sponsored by FORECAST Public Artworks, whose founder and executive director, Jack Becker, is a Seward resident.
If you’re looking for a fun circus show in the style of the famous Cirque du Soleil, check out Circus Juventas’ summer production, Atlanticus: An Underwater Adventure, which runs from July 26 to Aug. 12. You’ll see two Seward youths performing: Anneliese Eckhardt and Eli Schlatter. Anneliese, who just graduated from South High School, will perform in three acts: the Spanish web, the French trap and the bungee trap. Eli, who will be a junior at South in the fall, will portray a scuba diver, one of the show’s comedic roles and perform in several circus acts.
Tickets go on sale July 5 and are $15 for adults and $10 for children up to age 10 and seniors over 65. Tickets for Family Package Saturdays — matinee shows on July 28, Aug. 4 and Aug. 11 — are $45 for two children and two adults. To buy tickets, call Circus Juventas at 651-699-8229.
Circus Juventas, located at 1270 Montreal Ave. in St. Paul, is the country’s only year-round, all-youth performing arts circus school.
Summer means it’s also time for the Annual Driveway Tour of the Open Eye Figure Theater, which brings delightful free puppet shows to driveways and front yards in neighborhoods all over Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Open Eye folks will be coming to the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood to put on a new production, Little Grandpa’s Back Yard Adventure, on Wed., July 25, 5:30–7:30 p.m. at the home of Rod and Sally French, 424 SE Fifth St. The event is free and refreshments will be served (and gratefully accepted). Bring a lawn chair or a blanket to sit on. The production is co-sponsored by Southeast Seniors, the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association and the French family.
For a complete list of Driveway Tour performances, go to www.openeyetheatre.org.
Speaking of Southeast Seniors, the organization would like to remind seniors in the Southeast area that Eastside Services offers medical and grocery shopping transportation. Call 612-788-9186.
The R & R Social Club holds its next gathering the evening of Thursday, July 19, at Spill the Wine, 1101 Washington Ave. S. Come meet some of the many people who enjoy living, working and socializing on the Mississippi riverfront. For more info, go to www.rrsocialclub.com.
And finally, we were very happy to hear about a lovely birthday party held June 9 at Luxton Park. Franklin Avenue resident (and proud mom) Julia Cross reports that Pratt students Istar Ali (9), Mackenzie Cross (9) and Greta Cross (5) revamped the Peace Garden at Luxton in honor of Istar’s 9th birthday. “On a rainy June Saturday,” she said, “the girls weeded out years of overgrowth, reworked the soil, replanted overgrown perennials and used approximiately 30 new shade plants arranged and donated … by the Prospect Park Garden Club.” You can admire the girls’ excellent gardening work around the peace pole at Luxton’s front entry.
If you have community news you’d like to share, please e-mail Linda Lincoln at lmlincoln@comcast.net or call her at 612-379-4301.
last revised: July 5, 2007