From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Last year, Jamie Daniels of St. Paul stumbled upon Wonderlust Productions’ mini audio stories, scattered about St. Paul. Season two of “Hidden Herald” kicks off this weekend, with a new batch of five-to-ten-minute audio stories written by Minnesota playwrights and recorded by professional actors.

This weekend’s launch includes a scavenger hunt with prizes. Maps with the audio play locations are available starting Thursday at several St. Paul businesses, listed here. To listen — this weekend and beyond — simply scan a QR code printed on a durable decal on the ground.

Jamie describes the wonder of discovering a new story: You scan [the QR code], and you are transported into a brief five-to-ten minute audio play that takes place in the place where you're standing.

It's kind of like a scavenger hunt all year round, because you can find these stickers all over the place, around Lake Phalan, on Payne Avenue and in downtown St. Paul.

Some of the plays are definitely kid-oriented, and some of them are not. Last year, there was one that took place in Mears Park that was a genuine horror story that gave me the chills. Some of the plays have a content warning at the top, if need be.

Pro tip: bring some headphones or a portable speaker so you can hear them better.

— Jamie Davis

Cindy Ihlenfeld is a visual artist from Mahtomedi who serves on the board of the Weisman Art Museum, and she recommends seeing “A Culture of Pots” at White Bear Center for the Arts, on view through July 25 in the Ford Family Gallery.

She notes that, for those with limited mobility, this exhibit is an accessible way to attend a pottery tour

Cindy says: “A Culture of Pots” is an exhibition of the artists that are typically part of the St. Croix Valley pottery tour in spring. And there are 68 artists, and I think 218 of their favorite pieces.

The most delightful thing about it is that one of the resident artists at the White Bear Center for the Arts has created a display that looks very much like what the artists have in their yards during the pottery tour. It feels very intimate because of the way the structure is built to display the pots.

— Cindy Ihlenfeld

Lou Ferreri, a visual artist from St. Paul, appreciates an exhibit by painter David Amdur entitled “At Play.”

The paintings show groups of people enjoying the outdoors. The exhibition is on view at the Hopkins Center for the Arts through Aug. 2.

Lou describes the paintings: They're impressionist, but they're also realistic figures. He incorporates sometimes 10, 15 figures in a setting outdoors, and they could be by the ocean, they could be mountain climbing, they could be by a lake or in a park. They are so celebratory, it makes me feel good looking at them.

He’s a fabulous colorist: he manages to combine primary colors in natural settings, so that the clothing that the people wear becomes part of the composition, and it brings your eye all around the surface of the picture plane.

— Lou Ferreri

Correction (July 10, 2025): An earlier version of this story misidentified Jamie Daniels and had incorrect information about “Hidden Herald.” The story has been updated.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Molly Johnston works for Springboard for the Arts in Fergus Falls and is the co-director of DanceBARN Collective in Battle Lake.

She got a sneak peek at Naomi RaMona Schliesman’s upcoming exhibit “Heilung Saaám (Healing Medicine)” at the Kaddatz Galleries in Fergus Falls. The exhibit runs July 8 through Aug. 16, with an opening artist reception Thursday, July 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Molly says: Naomi’s sculptures have always intrigued me with their textures, colors and materials from nature. This particular show excites me because she is examining healing through the senses.

The exhibit combines paintings and prints, sound and music and even smells to create an immersive experience, including creating two interactive murals that when they’re finished, they’re going to be placed around the community for everyone to experience.

Naomi’s work comes from her journey of healing and also [from] connecting with her German and Blackfeet [and also Blackfoot] heritage.

— Molly Johnston

Erik Jon Olson of Plymouth creates machine-quilted art from plastic waste. Recently, he visited the Visitor Center at French Regional Park in Plymouth to see the work of Beth Dorsey.

Her show of abstracts, entitled “Blocked View,” invites the viewer to take a closer look. The work is on view through Aug. 17, with an artist reception on July 31 at 5:30 p.m.

Erik says: I like the way she creates mystery and depth in abstract compositions.

Her work appears as though you can't see the whole image, and your mind fills in the missing information, not really knowing how much is missing and how much you are making up. It's kind of like looking at something through a fence or privacy screen.

— Erik Jon Olson

KQ Quinn of Minneapolis is a big fan of comedy, and they remember seeing “Endometriosis: The Musical” when it was a Fringe show. Now the full musical is at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis, and it runs through July 13.

The show follows a woman who is trying to climb the corporate ladder but has debilitating pain each month from endometriosis. KQ acknowledges that this hardly sounds like the subject for a comedic musical, but it works:

KQ says: They tell this story in such a way that is so funny and relatable, and you’ll see through these amazing songs that when we start talking about our health and consulting with medical providers that we trust life can change and be really, really awesome.

It is super fun and lively and also extremely impactful, because we are talking about health and people's experiences with the medical system, and how often, you know, people aren’t believed. Theatre in the Round is like the most beautiful venue for this show, because you can literally look across and see people relating and reacting to all of the content in the show.

The songs are, like, truly phenomenal. They’re super catchy. Expect big songs, big chorus numbers, dancing and an amazing band to keep it all rolling.

— KQ Quinn

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Former arts administrator Taylor Barnes of Jamestown, North Dakota, has a cabin in Detroit Lakes, and she admires the work of Project 412 in engaging the community to create public artworks.

Last year, they welcomed Danish artist Thomas Dambo to create a series of large trolls, which remain on view in and around Detroit Lakes. Now, the trolls have company: artist-in-residence Olga Ziemska has created four large sculptures of natural materials, entitled “Of the Earth.”

Three of the site-specific sculptures are temporary, but the fourth — a butterfly, currently in the works —will remain at the Ortenstone Gardens & Sculpture Park in Detroit Lakes.

Taylor says: I think they had probably 300 volunteers that worked for over 100 hours with her creating the pieces [three of which portray women built at large scale].

One woman is emerging from the earth. Another head is lying on its side, kind of listening. The third one is the woman's head and torso. I particularly like this one, because she's just got this hair that looks as though it's being blown back by a hurricane that's all made out of twigs and branches and sustainable materials.

— Taylor Barnes

Lux Mortenson of Brooklyn Park is excited for people to see the one-woman musical “Penelope” at the Elision Playhouse in Crystal. It runs June 20–28.

Lux says: I’m so thrilled that “Penelope” at Theatre Elision is coming back this month! I was fortunate enough to see it last year, and it was all I could talk about for weeks.

Christine Wade is a marvel, a true multi-hyphenate who guides the audience on a tight and beautiful one-act journey through the eyes of Penelope, Odysseus' devoted, incredibly patient wife, as she waits for her husband to return home.

Everything comes together to leave the audience spellbound. This is absolutely one NOT to miss this summer.

— Lux Mortenson

Art enthusiast Doris Rubenstein of Richfield recommends visiting the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska to check out the new exhibit in the Reedy Gallery in the visitor center.

It’s called “Wax, Wire, Wood, and Clay,” and four artists use natural materials to create scenes from nature. It runs through July 28. It's recommended that visitors to the Arboretum book a ticket online in advance; children 15 and under are free with an adult.

Doris says: Lynn Sarnoff-Christensen is the driving force behind the exhibition. Lynn is an encaustic artist; she explained it to me as the process of painting with molten beeswax.

For this show, she's taken photos of birds’ nests, incorporating them into the picture, along with other media like oils and pastels. Lynn invited three of her friends to join in the challenge of recreating nature with natural materials.

Jodi Reeb sculptures weird seed pods and boulders from wire. Jim Gallop makes sculptures and bowls from knobby tree burls, and Cindy Syme carves tree portraits into clay tiles.

So what better place could art lovers look for a show about the beauty of nature than the Arboretum, especially at this glorious time of year in Minnesota?

— Doris Rubenstein

Correction (June 12, 2025): An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Lux Mortenson's name. The story has been updated.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the original submission.

Jean Shore of Balsam Lake, Wis., recommends crossing into Wisconsin for an evening of American roots music.

Minnesota singer-songwriters Emmy Woods, Sarah Morris and Laura Hugo will perform at The Historic Auditorium in St. Croix Falls this Saturday, June 7 at 7 p.m.

Jean says: Each performer brings a unique voice and style to the stage, blending folk and country and heartfelt storytelling. But what makes this even more exciting is the venue itself.

The Historic Auditorium was built in 1916 and was recently renovated in 2023, and it’s quickly becoming a cultural hub for this area.

— Jean Shore

Twin Cities theater maker Kurt Engh recommends seeing Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Passion,” staged by Theater Latté Da at the Ritz Theater.

Written by the same team that created “Into the Woods,” the show runs through July 13.

Kurt says: “Passion” is one of Stephen Sondheim’s lesser-known musicals, but one of his most complex and most honest and emotional.

It is a melodramatic story set in 1860s Italy during the unification of Italy. It is an uneven love triangle between a beautiful married woman, a very handsome army captain and a in the terms of the musical, a “troubled, ugly woman.” And it is about how love and desire are reflected through beauty and beauty standards.

It is a very fascinating musical in that it is directed as almost a chamber opera at a breakneck speed. There are no applause breaks. It does not let you go. It just keeps moving.

— Kurt Engh

Michael Krefting of Minneapolis loves the improv scene in the Twin Cities, and he recommends the Twin Cities Improv Festival, happening Thursday through Sunday, June 8.

This is the annual festival’s first year at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis, following the closing of HUGE Improv Theater last year.

Michael says: They have artists coming in from all over the world, a couple artists coming in from Japan. There are a lot of local names. When they select the artists for the festival, they’re always trying to get the local groups that are doing either the most interesting things or doing something new and creative that's picking up steam.

The whole improv community is very welcoming. And I would, I would come ready to not just laugh but also feel. I would say to expect the unexpected!

— Michael Krefting

(Want more improv? Krefting also recommends Improv A Go-Go at Strike Theater in Minneapolis. Every first, second, and fourth Sunday, four or five improv groups are chosen by lottery to perform, offering an affordable evening of “yes, and” energy.)

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the original submission.

Ruth Sloven is a St. Paul-based artist. She recommends the group exhibition “WITNESS עֵד,” a group art show by Jewish artists for Palestinian liberation, at Modus Locus in Minneapolis.

Ruth says: This exhibit includes ceramics, sculpture, community, quilting, painting and video. Many of the works are traditional Jewish subjects, which have been repurposed in non-traditional ways.

What I’m excited about is that it’s a doorway into experiencing and expressing the grief about the destructive war in Israel and Gaza, and hopefully can be part of a path to healing.

— Ruth Sloven

Joseph “JoJo” Howsley is a music enthusiast based in Fargo. He recommends a showcase by Human Artistic Collaborations on Saturday, May 31, starting at 6 p.m. at Brühaven in Minneapolis.

Joseph says: I met Kyle Krause last weekend. He is the head of Human Artistic Collaborations, whose aim is primarily to champion human-led art in a space that's constantly being inundated by artificial intelligence.

They’re doing an event with one of my favorite producers in the scene. His name is Deerskin, and they have over, I believe he said, 12 artists who will be showcasing and selling their art.

— JoJo Joseph Housley

Kari Olk is a Brooklyn-based teaching artist who grew up in Minneapolis. She recommends “Orlando: A Rhapsody,” playing at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis through June 8.

Carrie says: “ORLANDO: A Rhapsody” by Vinora Epp and Steven Epp is a thoughtful reflection about art, gender, storytelling. It’s both based on Virginia Woolf — a few of her writings: “The Waves,” “A Room of One's Own” and, of course, “Orlando” — and it’s also combined with writing from Vinora and Steve.

To see them working together is really special. And so it’s really exciting to see her directorial debut, and it’s really exciting that she’s doing this work with her dad, Steve.

The story of “Orlando” is a story about a person who, over 300 years, goes back and forth between being a young woman and a young man, and they both perform as Orlando, and they both perform as versions of themselves.

— Carrie Olk

Correction (May 29, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled Kyle Krause. The story has been updated.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the original submission.

Jeff Schmidt, owner of Lizzards Art Gallery & Framing in Duluth, recommends visiting a retrospective show for Duluth painter Oddio Nib. Nib is a prolific artist whose work includes still lifes as well as abstract and narrative paintings.

Over 100 of Nib’s paintings spanning more than 40 years of work will be in the exhibit, which opened this week at Zeitgeist’s Gallery Cafe and runs through July 30. The exhibit will expand to the Zeitgeist’s Atrium July 2–30, where some of Nib’s larger works will be hung. The paintings are for sale as well.

Amanda Helling is an improviser from Minneapolis, and she appreciates the musical improv abilities of Hannah Wydeven. Her ability to make up engaging songs on the spot is on full display in her show “Sad Songs for Happy People,” which runs Fridays in May at 9:30 p.m. at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis.

It’s part of The Residency at the venue that pairs two 25-minute improv shows in an evening; Darth Hogbeef is the partnering act.

“Sad Songs” will also help kick off the Twin Cities Improv Festival, which runs June 5–8 at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis.

Amanda says: Hannah is an engaging musical improviser, and her show is very interactive. I'm always blown away by people who can improvise songs that sound almost preplanned, and Hannah is at the top of that game. Between the total 4th-wall break and the music that, despite being called “sad songs,” is often riotously funny.

Hannah's show is a tour de force. “Sad Songs” would be at the top of my list of suggested shows to introduce someone to long-form improvisational theater.

— Amanda Helling

Peter Bretl of Minneapolis calls himself an enthusiastic amateur storyteller, and he’s really been enjoying taking classes and attending open mic nights at the American School of Storytelling in Minneapolis.

He appreciates the coaching to help him tell stories more comfortably before a crowd, and he recommends that anyone who is interested show up at an open mic night and add their name to the list of speakers for an opportunity to tell a story of up to 10 minutes in length.

Open mic nights for storytelling are the third Monday of the month (next event: Monday, May 19 at 7 p.m.) and open mic nights for poetry are every fourth Monday (next event: Monday, May 26 at 7 p.m.)

Peter says: The venue itself is delightful. I think seating capacity is 36, so you feel almost surrounded by friends. There's an intimacy to it that I really, really like. And the crowds there are very supportive. Everyone wants you to succeed.

— Peter Bretl

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Sabrin Nur is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Minneapolis, and they are excited to see “Dhaxal-suge: the Somali Museum Dance Troupe Showcase.” The Somali Museum has maintained a youth dance troupe since its inception, teaching young people the widely varying folk dances from across Somalia.

This will be the first performance by the museum’s dance group residency program. There are two upcoming performances: at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud, Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m., and at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis next Sunday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Sabrin reflects on the themes of the show: The storyline is “when a beloved leader falls, who carries the crown?” and I think the question they're asking is a big question for Gen Z and also the Somali millennials who have grown up in the wake of the war, right? I'm 25 years old. For people like me, we've never known a peaceful Somalia.

We've had a lot of our elders looking down to us and being like, “This is your history. This is what we used to be like. Now, what are you gonna do?” They've put a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, and a lot of us are ready to take it on, but it's like, what kind of future do we envision for ourselves? How do we carry that responsibility? How do we wear that crown?

— Sabrin Nur

Peggy Korsmo-Kennon of Eagan, a former museum and arts administrator, recommends that people see “Building/Books | Karen Wirth: A Retrospective Exhibition” at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts Main Gallery in Minneapolis.

The exhibition spans 40 years of Wirth’s work, and the pieces spread through the space include architecture, photography, sculpture, books, and the spaces where these disciplines meet. The exhibition is on view through June 8.

The exhibition also marks the 25th anniversary of the Open Book Building and the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.

Peggy says: Karen has an extraordinary ability to think spatially and structurally, creating work with both conceptual depth and visually engaging images. Her projects range from small handheld artist books to major public artworks. Her art is playful, both thought-provoking, blends clever wordplay with striking visuals.

You'll see this in her handwritten text that spirals through the Gale See staircase and in the whimsical assemblages of the Grammar of Architecture. Upstairs there are more works: my favorite are her “Follies.” She takes books and found architectural objects and put them together in a really interesting way.

— Peggy Korsmo-Kennon

Gabriel Brito of Minneapolis is a graduating senior at the University of Minnesota and an Arts and Entertainment reporter for the Minnesota Daily.

He wants people to know about “No More Turning Away,” a photography exhibit about homelessness in the Twin Cities by photographer David Fallon. The exhibit is on view at the Kenwood Burroughs Gallery in Minneapolis through May 31.

This exhibit is a fundraiser for People Incorporated, a nonprofit mental health provider that also serves people experiencing homelessness.

Gabriel says: [David] spent months in the Twin Cities, photographing homelessness in a very raw, real, captivating way. His photographs are raw, unflinching depictions of life on the street meant to challenge our society's tendency to look away from homelessness.

— Gabriel Brito

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

It’s that time of the year when, for eight days, local music reigns in Duluth and Superior. The Homegrown Music Festival continues through Sunday.

Emily Lee of Duluth is attending Homegrown for her twelfth year, and like many music lovers, she’s studied up on the Field Guide to make sure she can see her favorite bands. Check out the schedule here.

Emily says: I’m going to see [Blues-rock band] The Adjustments Saturday night. Strikepoint is playing this year, which is kind of unique. They're an amazing hand bell choir here in town. My husband can't wait to see Bratwurst, and you have to watch out at that show, because Bratwurst throws raw meat off the stage. So a lot of people show up in ponchos.

Something new this year is the Homegrown Variety Showcase on Friday night at Studio Four, and it's kind of like a variety talent show with poets, comedians and dancers. So that's something cool this year to check out.

There's also different dress up nice each week for Homegrown, so that's kind of fun to see what everyone wears. Tonight is Eccentric Art Teacher & Gym Coach Night. Friday is Leather & Lace Night. Saturday is Pirates & Princesses Night. Sunday is Relaxation Sunday; they have a couple of daytime shows on Sunday because that's the last day of the festival.

— Emily Lee

Actor Silvestrey P’orantes of Minneapolis highly recommends checking out “Framed Differently,” an evening of four short films by local Native filmmakers with a Q&A to follow. Hosted by Sequoia Hauck, the event is Saturday, May 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Public Functionary’s Main Gallery 144 in Minneapolis.

The films are Ajuawak Kapashesit’s “The Comedian,” Rosy Simas’s “yödoishëndahgwa'geh (a place to rest),” Oogie Push’s “Hunting Morels: Mushroom Secrets” and Moira Villiard’s animated film “Love Lessons in a Time of Settler Colonialism.”

Silvestrey says: [They’re] all doing different films about Indigenous perspective outside of just the title of being Indigenous. There's a lot of pressure sometimes to fit into the stereotype of like, well, we got to talk about language and reclamation and what have you.

But sometimes, you know, we just want to talk about what we want to talk about. We're really emphasizing that we are artists who have things to say outside of just who we are.

— Silvestrey P’orantes

St. Paul musician Mary Adamek wants people to know about a musical opportunity in Marshall, Minn., this Saturday. Southwest Minnesota StringFest invites string players aged 13–18 to rehearse and perform alongside professional musicians on Saturday, May 3.

The event is free and sign-ups are still open for students in Minnesota and southeast South Dakota. The festival culminates in a free concert performance, open to the public, on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Fine Arts Theater of Southwest Minnesota State University.

Mary says: The festival is organized and funded through a partnership by three organizations: the St. Joseph School of Music, St. Paul Conservatory of Music, the Southwest Minnesota Orchestra and Southwest Minnesota State University.

This is the only string festival available to string students in southwestern Minnesota.

— Mary Adamek

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Shari Aronson is the creative Co-Director of Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, whose work was featured on Art Hounds last week.

Continuing the chain of paying it forward, Shari recommends a “charming project” by Felicia Cooper called “The Agency for Tiny Tourism,” which is on view at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre. Cooper was selected by the National Humanities Center’s 2025 Being Human Festival.

She conducted interviews asking people about their favorite Twin Cities landmarks and also led workshops to make dioramas of those landmarks. Visitors to the free exhibit can get a new view of the Twin Cities on Friday evening from 7 to 10 p.m., with additional showings Saturday and Sunday.

Shari said: Everybody loves a diorama and peeking into a miniature world. I also am really curious to see which sites people depicted.

— Shari Aronson

Kevin and Pam Bishop of Glenville enjoy the Bluff Country Studio Art Tour that spans southeast Minnesota each spring. Kevin is a custom wood furniture builder, and Pam calls herself an admirer of the arts. The art tour this year includes artists in 22 locations on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Bishops each have a favorite artist. Kevin likes the work of Ryan Palmer, whose studio in Lanesboro is called Livingstone Carver.

Kevin said: He does very unique work, sculpting natural stone, and we’re totally enamored with the outcomes of what stone can be with some correct tooling and knowledge of what you’re working with.

Pam recommends visiting Lanesboro potter Sue Pariseau.

Pam said: She’s got a really unique place where she designs and creates her pottery.

What I really appreciate is every year she does a special invite so that we can open the kiln as part of the weekend and get to see what’s been in the kiln, and have the first choice of what we want to maybe purchase while we’re there. But as important as that is just being with other artists.

— Kevin and Pam Bishop

Kylie Linh Hoang is the assistant curator at the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Last week she attended the standing-room-only opening of graffiti artist SHOCK’s gallery show at the Chambers Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.

The exhibit “Daydreaming at Midnight” runs through May 10. It’s a unique space for a show, dressed up with couches and plants for an “anti gallery space” feel, says Hoang, and the work on display derives from a unique artist residency.

As Hoang describes it, SHOCK was on his way home from St. Louis when his car broke down in Springfield, Ill., on a holiday weekend, so he set about doing some graffiti work at an abandoned flour mill. The building owners took a liking to his work and invited him to create an art installation in the space.

Kylie said: They couldn’t pay him, but they did tell him that he could take whatever he wanted from the building, because it was going to be demolished. And so a lot of the work in this show is their assemblages and paintings on found materials from that mill.

And so you’ll see things that were see things painted on, like doors from the facility, signs from the facility. He also created a number of lamps from materials found at the facility. He taught himself how to wire lamps. It’s a very cool assemblage of multimedia work.

— Kylie Linh Hoang

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Oogie Push is a Minneapolis-based actor and playwright. She wants people to know about Z Puppets Rosenschnoz’s upcoming performances of “Tales of ᏓᎦᏏ Dagsi Turtle & ᏥᏍᏚ Jisdu Wabbit,” a time-traveling, Cherokee-language-learning puppetry adventure for ages 5 and up.

Shows are Saturday, April 19 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis. There are also upcoming performances at two libraries: April 26 at 10:30 a.m. at East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul and April 29 at 5:30 p.m. at Hosmer Library in Minneapolis. The show runs 45 minutes.

Oogie Push described the show: It’s a musical adventure that goes into Cherokee futurism, and it’s just a really fun sort of sci-fi adventure. Dagsi Turtle and Jisdu Wabbit are racing through time and space to save Grandmother Turtle. So they hop aboard their Turtle Ship and travel across space and time.

I find it amazing that they find a way to get to historical, important events in Cherokee history. So you visit Sequoyah and Ayoka when they are coming up with the Cherokee syllabary, for example.

Chris Griffith, who is Cherokee and part of Z puppets Rosenshnoz, was an adult language learner of the Cherokee language, and so the language came to him in the form of song. And so he thought, How can I incorporate this into a puppet theater? And so he just started envisioning futurism, sci-fi, fantasy and just sort of like this hero's journey.

— Oogie Push

Terri Thao of St. Paul loves the Funny Asian Women Kollective (FAWK), and she booked her tickets early to see The FAWK Hmong (+ Friends) Super Show this Saturday at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. 

Thao remembers when FAWK was packing the house at Indigenous Roots Studio in East St. Paul, and she’s looking forward to a night of laughter as a mix of familiar FAWK members, stars and some local newbies bring their comedy to the Ordway stage. 

Thao said: When they came together, I just thought this, this is a great idea. You know, Asian American women can be funny! My understanding about comedy is a lot of people talk about real life, right? They’re making observations about things happening.

And I think so many times in communities, you know, refugee communities, there’s been a lot of strife but at the same time, we’ve used humor to cope with so much. I just think they’re able to just offer a lens into that experience with some humor. Seeing people on stage who look like you matters.

— Terri Thao

Joshua Preston grew up in Montevideo, Minn., and he’s proud of western Minnesota’s poetry heritage, including the work of Minnesota’s first poet laureate, Robert Bly (1926-2021). Preston’s looking forward to the launch of Mark Gustafson’s new book “Sowing Seeds: The Minnesota Literary Renaissance & Robert Bly, 1958-1980.”

The book explores how Minnesota became the literary hub it is today. Mark Gustafson will discuss his new book with poets Jim Lenfestey and Nor Hall at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis this Saturday, April 19 at 6 p.m. People are encouraged to pre-register here. Preston says people who arrive early can see a slide show of The Loft through the years. 

Preston shared why this history matters to him: I believe Robert Bly is one of the most consequential poets of the 20th century. And I’m not just saying that as a Minnesotan from western Minnesota who’s very proud of our literary tradition, but I’m saying this as someone who has had the immense fortune of being able to grow up in a state that takes its arts and culture seriously.

How do you get to a point in a state’s culture to where that is seen as a civic good? It begins with poets. It begins with our creatives. And “Sowing Seeds’” is about the influence of one individual, by no means the only, famous writer from Minnesota, but from someone who is very intentional of wanting to go out and set a new course for American poetry.

— Joshua Preston