Experience the ancient tradition of Chinese acrobatics in this exciting and colorful event Saturday, August 22 at 2 p.m. in the Minnesota Discovery Center amphitheater.

This two-hour Golden Dragon Acrobats performance will include such acts as umbrella, ball and hat juggling, a contortionist, “dancing plates,” “swaying board balancing,” “ladder act” “diablo yo-yo,” “tower of chairs,” “table hoop” “power act,” and “spinning wheel.” The 20 athletes, actors and artists who make up the company are all from the People’s Republic of China, and have studied their craft since early childhood.

“We’re very pleased to be bringing this kind of quality family entertainment to the region,” said Debra Rowbottom, Director of Visitor Services. “It’s not the kind of thing that if you miss it, you can catch it again next year.”

The performance will be held rain or shine: nearly all seats at the 1,600-seat Minnesota Discovery Center amphitheater are covered.

“The two hour-long sets are a good length for most kids to be able to handle, and the ticket price is affordable,” Rowbottom added.  ”Children of all ages will love the colorful costumes and acrobatics.”

Tickets are $16 for adults, $15 for seniors, $14 for students 7-17 and $7 for children 6 and under. Tickets, which are available by calling 800-372-6437,  include admission to the museum and trolley. Minnesota Discovery Center members receive discounted rates.

The performance is made possible in part by a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council. For more information contact Minnesota Discovery Center at 800-372-6435, email marketing@mndiscoverycenter.com or visit www.goldendragonacrobats.com

Hibbing Community College Theatre Director Mike Ricci has announced a major fundraising benefit for HCC Theatre, featuring the return of the original Blues Brothers who performed on the HCC Theatre stage in 2004. This event will be held at Hibbing High School Auditorium on Thursday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds go to funding assistance for the HCC Theatre program, which has been hit hard with the recent budget cuts from MNSCU.

In the wake of Mike Ricci’s announcement that he will be leaving HCC to pursue another opportunity down in the Twin Cities, the budget crisis has forced the college to make some difficult decisions. Amidst cutbacks in several areas, the search for a new theatre teacher and director had been suspended. However, with the help of a dedicated task force made up of community and college members, a workable solution has been agreed upon that will allow the college to hire a qualified candidate to take over the program. Since the current budget may still be hit with more cuts, the decision was made to make fundraising a part of this solution, thereby providing some outside revenues should the college not have the necessary funds to cover the theatre program.

“I am happy to see the community come together to arrive at an equitable solution to this crisis,” said Ricci. “The support from people up and down the Iron Range has been amazing. Doing this benefit is our way of showing our thanks, while also allowing people to help out in a tangible way.”

The show will be divided into two acts, with the first half featuring highlights from past HCC Theatre productions, including live performances from the recent hits The Pirates of Penzance, Beauty and the Beast, Phantom, Born Yesterday, and others. The second half will be a concert featuring the entire Blues Brothers Band, and the return of Jake and Elwood Blues, played by Jason Scorich and Jaime Tintor, who will be reprising their roles from the original production. Tintor will be flying in from Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works, to do the show, and both he and Jason are excited about the prospect of doing the show and being re-united on stage once again. When first produced at HCC Theatre in 2004, The Blues Brothers played to sold-out audiences every night, and it was even taken to the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, where it sold out as well. “This is an opportunity to re-live that magic, and to be part of what makes live theatre so special,” said Ricci.

Tickets to this special event are $20 for adults, and $10 for children, students with ID’s and seniors. There will be a goodwill box for donations available at the benefit as well. Tickets can be purchased at The Howard Street Booksellers in downtown Hibbing, Reed Drugs in Grand Rapids and Schmitt Music in downtown Virginia, or they can be reserved through the HCC Theatre Box Office by calling 218-262-7377. If you or anyone else would like to contribute to the Theater program’s fundraising efforts but cannot attend the performance, please consider sending a donation to:

HCC Theater Program
c/o Mike Ricci
1515 East 25th Street
Hibbing, MN 55746

For more information, contact Mike Ricci at (218) 262-7377. Help keep quality live theater alive during these tough times! Thank you.

Free will donation at the door.

Thursday
July 2, 2009
7:00pm

The First Stage
514 Chestnut Street
Virginia

Water colors and field drawings by artist Bonnie DuFresne.

June 11th thru August 29th

11am-3pm Thrusday-Saturday

Did you know Silver Lake is the home to the World's Largest Floating Loon?

One of my favorite summer events to hit Virginia, Minnesota, is the famous Land of the Loon Festival. Like many Rangers, I see the Land of the Loon as the official beginning of fun and celebration of summer. The festival kicks off Saturday morning with an extravagant parade that travels down 5^th Avenue and Chestnut Street. Then the “Loonies” race to Olcott Park to indulge in a HUGE spread of ethnic foods-Gyros, Italian Sausages and Becky’s Egg Rolls-and to taste the most delicious desserts: sno-cones, cotton candy, funnel cakes and the famous mini-donuts (my son refuses to quit asking, “Can we get mini-donuts? Can we? Can we, Mom?”). The children, with their sticky faces and fingers, gather with their parents near the gazebo to dance and sing with the various entertainers. Talented artists and crafters share the park to sell their unique and beautiful creations year after year. After a day at the park, the nightlife fires up downtown at the Land of the Loon Street Dance; the roads are blocked and people party hearty while they dance in the streets and enjoy more food, drink and entertainment. With smiles and full bellies, Rangers can’t get enough. Most return on Sunday just to do it all over again. Rain or shine, everyone shows up.

Rangebuzz.com fans, let me give you a little inside information about what’s going down at this year’s Land of the Loon Festival. I’ll start with the food (since it’s my FAVORITE part). There’s absolutely no way I can walk by the Gyro stand and not get one. Last year, after standing in line for 20 minutes (it was worth it) my husband says, “Can I have a bite. ” “Ah…NO! Get your own!” was my response. I’m normally a sharing person, I am! But I just love every single bite. That’s not the only tasty treat at the Land of the Loon. I’m talking about the best Italian Sausages ever served up by the Italian American Club (these are my father’s favorites). The Virginia Lion’s Club always serves sarmas, turkey legs and Ukrainian sausage. There’s Pepe’s Mexican food, there are cheese curds, blooming onions, pita sandwiches, corn on the cob, BBQ ribs-the list goes on and on.

Later that evening, I always hit the LOTL Street Dance. There is one stop that’s automatic: I gotta get me some of Barb’s Fried Bread and a Becky’s Egg Roll or I’m not happy. And hundreds of other people share this vow, I’m sure. (I’ve been dieting all week just to gear up for this weekend!) But even better than stuffing my face, I look forward to hearing some great music. Four Horse Johnson and Livin’ Large will be rocking Chestnut Avenue this year. Downtown will certainly really rocking with good tunes, great people, food and drinks.

There’s something for everyone at the Land of the Loon. Here’s the link to the Land of the Loon web site for more information. www.landoftheloonfestival.com Get out there and enjoy! The Land of the Loon only comes once per year.

Virginia native, Bob Maki has been sketching for decades. Each sketch has a depth of character and fun. The First Stage gallery is open Thursday - Saturday and by appointment.

In spite of all the recent hullabaloo over Ironworld, I’m going to tell you about the great time I had at the Bob Dylan exhibit-“Tangled Up in Ore.” And I wasn’t the only one there, either. FYI-there were many-yes, many-people checking out the exhibit when I was there.

When city folk ask me where I’m from and I say, “Have you heard of the Iron Range?”  They say, “Nope.”

“Have you heard of Hibbing?” I ask.

“Um…I think so…” they reply, still with a look of confusion. (They are trying to be nice.)

“Have you heard of Bob Dylan? He’s from Hibbing.” Bam! The light goes on and finally, we connect.

Just about everyone has heard of Bob Dylan. As a child, I remember the first Dylan song I ever heard was “Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35” and always thought, “What does this title have to do with getting stoned?” As I grew older, I learned to appreciate his writing and lyrics and began to understand his humor. I find him eccentric, mysterious and one of those people who you know is very strange, but really, he’s some kind of genius. I generally prefer Dylan done by other artists. I’ve always been engaged with his poetic lyrics but that voice…well…I’ll be honest; I have a low tolerance. One of my favorite songs EVER is Tangled Up in Blue-performed by the Indigo Girls. They take the story and give it some attitude, some sass and turn the words into a dynamic and energetic, lively piece of music. My best friend would disagree, as her heart belongs to Bob. After visiting “Tangled Up in Ore,” I not only gained insight and appreciation for Bobby D., but his writings and memories of the Iron Range inspired me. Once again, I felt proud to be a “Ranger.”

Entering the exhibit, Bob’s voice and song welcomed me. The hallway’s walls were lined with posters announcing Dylan playing here, there and everywhere. As I started to make my way through the exhibit, there were Bob’s words against a big red background along with photos, artifacts, memorabilia and more. Up until this moment, I really didn’t know how much Bob wrote about the Iron Range. After hearing about the tales of his travels-how he lied and said he was from anywhere but Hibbing, Minnesota-I had the opinion Bob wasn’t proud to be from Hibbing. That’s not what I felt as I read excerpts from, “The Chronicles” and “My Life in a Stolen Moment.” I’m not an expert, but I didn’t get the feeling he hated Hibbing. Maybe he just hated some of the negative experiences he had growing up. Maybe the “Hibbing” life just wasn’t his thing and being who he was, he found happiness elsewhere. My point is, it really doesn’t matter how Dylan feels about Hibbing. He became the voice of a generation unintentionally because of his writing and music. Dylan wouldn’t be who he was or is if he wasn’t from the Iron Range and it’s this fact that makes him remarkable. Bob Dylan is a huge part of Iron Range history and culture; coming from this little rural area, he became a music legend-an icon-and that will continue to be celebrated.

I thought Ironworld did an excellent job creating the exhibit. It was dynamic, educational and exciting and there was something for everyone. Local works of art-sculptures, paintings, photographs, drawings, writing-created by children and adults really enhanced the experience. People have the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about Dylan. Toward the end of the exhibit, there was also a bulletin board featuring on-the-spot artwork visitors created with provided materials. Check out my “blue” portrait of Dylan. Also, the Community Gallery features even more Dylan interpretations including essays, photos, paintings and more.

From now through August 2, tune in on Saturday afternoons as local artists share their musical talents with Iron Range Originals Unplugged, in the museum’s restaurant, The 43. This Saturday, July 19, Bittersweet will play songs from their new CD release “Mary & Jay …Do Bob.” I was fortunate to talk with Jay Hoiland about their new release.

“Never before has a local Iron Range Band cut a CD dedicated to Bob Dylan. And we thought, ‘Hey. It’s about time.’” Hoiland explains. Hoiland produced engineered, mixed and mastered this production for Blue Wolf Records, a local recording studio. Both Mary Jo Gizzard and Jay Hoiland have been playing their music for years. Gizzard (pronounced Giz-ard) traveled the United States and Canada as a professional musician and returned to the area a few years ago. Since then, she and Hoiland formed Bittersweet and play their music often at local venues.

“This isn’t a Bob Dylan sound alike CD.” We add a new twist and our own interpretation to Dylan’s songs. Our whole idea was to bring the music up-to-date. We wanted to achieve a modern sound that you’d hear on the radio today. I think we accomplished that.” says Hoiland. Click here to listen to a couple samples of their CD. If you’d like to order a copy (which I recommend; I’ve been listening to it for two weeks straight in my car) you can purchase the CD online or email jayhoiland@hotmail.com.

Love him or hate him, I would recommend taking the time to visit Ironworld and experiencing “Tangled Up in Ore.” It’s not just about his music; it’s about part of our history. It’s about reflecting on a part of time that shaped Hibbing and the Iron Range.  It’s about a guy named Robert Zimmerman who came from a small town in northern Minnesota and became known to the whole world. And I think that’s something awesome.

I was visiting Ironworld last week and had the opportunity to view Requiem-the collection of photographs taken by photographers who died in died in Vietnam and Indochina.

I have been sheltered from war, thankfully. I grew up on the Iron Range and I had no brothers, sisters or close relatives who have been active in the military. I have never lost anyone close to me as a result of war. And, like most Americans, I certainly never have experienced the disaster of war in my back yard. I have never suffered or been uprooted from my home due to firing weapons and I have never had to dodge bullets while carrying my children. As I slowly browsed the gallery and read the captions, tears were brought to my eyes several times as I felt the pain of war through the faces of its victims. I then thought about how fortunate I was to live here-in the United States-virtually free of violence (in relative terms). In my heart, I developed a deeper respect for the brave men and women who have died in battle and who are today fighting in yet another war.

I speak from my heart, and I share with you my thoughts: I believe as we become consumed by all the hustle bustle of our everyday lives, it’s easy to forget about war. It’s easy to want to forget about war, I realize. It’s disturbing. It’s painful. It’s violent and sad. However, I think it’s important to be reminded of what war brings us so that we may never take war lightly.

My recommendation: go see Requiem! You will be moved emotionally and you will leave the exhibit touched. In addition to the photo exhibit, there are a variety of events related to war and Vietnam including films, writing workshops and lectures. View the complete schedule of events by visiting Ironworld.com.