Entertainment Briefs - Jan. 26

Church of Cash to perform in Little Falls

LITTLE FALLS-Church of Cash will perform at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Jan. 26, and Friday at the Great River Arts in Little Falls. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 each and are available at Great River Arts, online at www.greatart.org or by calling 320-632-0960.

Formed in 2010 by lead singer Jay "Jayder" Kalk, Church of Cash is known for being the premier tribute band to Johnny Cash with the sole intent of honoring his legacy. Kalk is joined by Jonathon TeBeest on drums, Kellie Nitz on bass, and "Sweet" Johnny Becker on guitar. Each of the members are seasoned musicians who are active around the Twin Cities area in multiple music scenes.

Sam Bruno, GRA program and venue coordinator, stated "Kalk is known for channeling Johnny Cash's voice meticulously with his deep baritone voice. I did a double take when I was listening to their promo video. Church of Cash is absolutely fantastic, I have been waiting to hear them since they got off stage at last year's show."

Since forming in Honolulu, the band has toured all over the United States, Asia and just finished a European tour this past fall. Church of Cash has more than 130 songs in their repertoire.

BHS students compete in music listening contest

A Brainerd High School team of Annika Christiansen, Megan Hensel and Mikaela Maki will advance to the state Music Listening Contest on Feb. 3 at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

The High School Music Listening Contest regional event took place on Jan. 20, in 10 different regional sites throughout Minnesota and Utah. Nearly 170 teams will participate in the contest this year, representing 59 different schools, home schools and private music studios.

Brainerd High School had four teams of three students each compete at St. Cloud Technical High School for the regional competition. Members are: Annika Christiansen, Samuel Dirks, Grace Erholtz, Lydia Halbach, Kyle Hensel, Megan Hensel, Dawn Hestrin, William Just, Mallory Maine, Mikaela Maki, Elizabeth Ortmeier and Mary Schaefbauer. The teams are coached by Spencer Frie, BHS orchestra director.

Christiansen, Hensel, and Maki placed second at the regional contest, earning them a place at state. A team from Buffalo placed first at the regional contest.

The mission of the Music Listening Contest is to assist teachers in their efforts to expand the music experiences of students, primarily through the use of Western art music, commonly referred to as classical music. The contest materials cover classical music, global perspectives and a variety of musical influences. The objective of the contest is to inspire students to become lifelong participants in the musical experience.

The Music Listening Contest is an ideal opportunity to enrich students' experiences with classical music in a fun and competitive environment. This statewide contest connects high school students with classical music and enhances their ability to identify composers, periods and styles. In the fall, teachers or coaches recruit three students to form a team. Team members receive a study guide and repertoire compact discs that contain all the musical selections they will need to compete effectively. All teams participate in regional competitions. The top two scoring schools from the regional contest advance to the championship competition in February.

The Music Listening Contest is a non-profit organization that has served thousands of students. Program sponsors for this year include Augsburg College, McNally Smith College of Music, the University of St. Thomas and Naxos Music Library.

Visit www.musiclisteningcontest.com for more information.

Exhibition on suicide planned for February

The Crossing Arts Alliance, with Essentia Health and Crow Wing Energized Mental Fitness, will present an exhibition titled "What's Left: Lives Touched by Suicide" that will be on display through Feb. 24 at TCAA in Brainerd.

This multimedia exhibit intends to create a proactive community dialogue about suicide and mental illness with a goal of reducing the stigma surrounding them.

An opening reception will be 5-7 p.m. Feb. 3 at The Crossing Arts Alliance located in the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd. Project Director John Bauer of Grand Rapids will speak at 5 p.m. The reception is $10 for TCAA members, or $15 for nonmembers. The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and is free and open to the public.

"Suicide and mental illness are major health problems that affect everyone," Organizers of the event, stated in a news release. "The topic is often viewed as taboo, and family members left behind can feel stigmatized and unable to talk openly about their experience and grief. What's Left provides a space for participating artists and the broader community to reflect on the impact of suicide and mental illness and explore the use of artistic expression in the process of grieving, healing, and expressing hope."

The project originated with Bauer, who lost his daughter Megan to suicide in 2013. Bauer's experience in the aftermath of his family's tragedy is what sparked the idea for an art exhibit as a way to encourage community conversation.

"Whether on the phone or on the street, most people just didn't know what to say to me," Bauer stated in a news release. "How could they if they haven't been through something so horrific. To develop a vocabulary for talking about suicide, we have to be able to talk about mental illness as well. Not in whispers or disrespectful laughter. We need a culture shift where we all take responsibility for addressing the stigma associated with suicide and mental illness. That burden should not be on me and my family alone, nor should it fall to other families who have come before or after us."

Over 45 of Minnesota's finest artists working in painting, poetry, sculpture, graffiti, glass, fiber, photography, and more have contributed artwork to the project. Audience members will have the chance to listen to an interactive audio installation of stories from survivors.

What's Left is a traveling exhibit with a goal of reducing the stigma surrounding suicide and mental illness and raising awareness about mental health recovery and suicide prevention. The exhibit is designed to be displayed in a wide variety of settings including community centers, art galleries, schools, and libraries and is available to travel to communities across the state through 2018.

This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature's general and arts and cultural heritage funds. Additional funding is provided by the Blandin Foundation, Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation, Miller-Dwan Foundation, Northland Foundation, and many private donors.

Locally, this exhibit is supported by Wellness in the Woods, Lakes Printing, and Alpha Delta Kappa.

Go to crossingarts.org for more information.

'Unchosen Ones' to be on display

The Central Lakes College Art Gallery presents, "The Unchosen Ones," artwork by Minneapolis based photographer R. J. Kern to be on display Feb. 2-24.

Kern's work explores animal portraiture as it relates to ideas of home, ancestry and a sense of place. This exhibition showcases the beauty and spirit of county fair animals often chosen as last place in the lineup. The portraits invite people to examine the predilection to pick winners and the implications for those not chosen. The project consists of more than 60 portraits made at 10 Minnesota county fairs in 2016. Kern is interested in an animal's domesticity and explores the following within his work: what makes a goat, sheep or ram? How have we influenced their evolution? What are they becoming?

The question concerns why and how people have created this relationship with other species is a relationship that reflects intensively on humanity. This body of work contributes to the cultural heritage of the region and community, by documenting the state's cultural heritage tied to the value of and kinship we share with domesticated animals and the pastoral landscape, and by inviting the conversation examining our predilection to pick winners and the implications for those not chosen.

A gallery talk will accompany the exhibition from 3-4 p.m. Feb. 2 and the artist reception will follow from 4-7 p.m. Visitors will be invited to select a winner by voting for their favorite image before the conversation begins. The talk will consist of a two way exploration of the decision making that goes into selecting a winner, what are the criteria, what about those not chosen, what are they lacking. Conversations might also include how we do this in our everyday lives-choose winners, leaving others unchosen and the ramifications of this in our relationships with the human animals in our lives. Then everyone will be invited to choose a winner again. There isn't a right or wrong, but it will be interesting to see if the results change after more consideration.

The exhibition is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Kern is a fiscal year 2016 Recipient of an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Central Lakes College Art Gallery is located at CLC in Brainerd.

Brainerd library author event planned

The Friends of the Brainerd Public Library presents Mark Munger of "Boomtown" as its next acclaimed author at the Brainerd Public Library for the first Monday of every month author event. Munger will present his newest book at noon Feb. 6.

"Boomtown" is a new legal thriller/contemporary novel set in the mines in Ely, Grand Marais and Duluth. It is a story of environmental conflict, tragedy, and courtroom maneuvering and modern relationships.

Munger, a lifelong resident of Minnesota who currently lives north of Duluth, practiced trial law for nearly 20 years, became a District Court Judge in 1998 and serves a four county region of Northeastern Minnesota.

Munger's work has been published in Writer's Journal and his essay "Leaving Mayo" was a finalist for the 2000 Pirate's Alley Faulkner Writing Award. Munger's books are brought to the public by means of his own publishing house, Cloquet River Press.

People who attend the event are welcome to bring a packed lunch.

These presentations are sponsored by the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library through their volunteer and fundraising efforts, and are free of charge to the public.

For more information on the author events, go to www.facebook.com/brainerdpubliclibrary or call the library at 218-829- 5574.

Soup Supper Fundraiser planned

LITTLE FALLS-The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls will host an all-you-can-eat Soup Supper fundraiser from 4:30-7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the St. Francis Convent in Little Falls.

Varieties of homemade soup to include Chicken Wild Rice, Beef Barley Vegetable, Bean and Ham, a special option for children; fresh baked cracked wheat and white breads, homemade bars and beverages will be served. Ticket prices are $9 for adults; $5 for children ages 5-12 years; and children under 5, free.

Dinner tickets will be available at the door or by calling 320-632-2981. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit St. Francis Health and Wellness Center and St. Francis Music Center.

For more information go to www.fslf.org or info@fslf.org or contact 320-632-2981.

Thursday events planned in Crosby

CROSBY-The Jessie F. Hallett Memorial Library Friends Foundation and the Hallett Library present "SIZZLIN' THURSDAYS" in February.

As part of the "Hot Reads for Cold Nights" adult reading program, every Thursday in February, except Feb. 2 will be an event in the large meeting room of the JFHML.

• From 7-9 p.m. Feb. 9 will be "BEE NAY SHE-Bird Club."

• From 6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 will be "Soap Making Presentation" with Abbie Schramm.

• From 6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 will be an "Author Talk" with Donna Salli of "A Notion of Pelicans." These events, sponsored by the JFHML Friends Foundation, are free and open to the public.

People turn out to author event on cold day

WADENA-An Open Book in Wadena reported a good turn out Jan. 21 where avid readers and writers turned out to meet Lois Greiman, author of mystery and historical romance novels. Greiman was the third author who spoke as part of Book Ends, a monthly meet-the- author event at The Uptown, hosted by An Open Book.

The Wadena book store hosts a monthly author series titled Book Ends, held the second Saturday of the month.

** This list of events was updated to correct the title of an event scheduled Feb. 16, which is sponsored by the Jessie F. Hallett Memorial Library Friends Foundation and the Hallett Library.