Entertainment Briefs - March 30

'Work of Art' at the Brainerd Public Library

The Brainerd Public Library will host a free series of five workshops called "Work Of Art."

The series offers business skills and professional development for artists in all disciplines-visual, performing and literary arts. Artists can take the whole series, customized combinations, or individual workshops that best suit their needs.

The first workshop "Portfolio Kit" will take place at the Brainerd Public Library from 5-7:30 p.m.

April 13. Participants will sharpen their artist statement, tailor their artistic résumés and select and format their work samples. All participants will have one-on-one assistance from Naomi Schliesman, Springboard for the arts artist development coordinator. To register for this free workshop call the library at 218-829-5574.

Springboard's Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists curriculum is also available as the Work

of Art Toolkit, a 12-part workbook and video series that guides artists through every facet of building a successful and sustainable career. Go to

for" target="_blank">springboardexchange.org/workofart/

for free digitally via the Creative Exchange platform. These programs are made possible with funding from Kitchigami Regional Library through the

State of Minnesota's Legacy Amendment funds to preserve arts and cultural heritage.

Other workshops in the series are:

• 1-3:30 p.m. April 26: "Legal Considerations," where participants will obtain general information about intellectual property, contract basics and structuring your artistic business.

• 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 6: "Pricing," where participants will discover an analytical approach to defining key elements that will help them calculate the costs and prices of your art for a variety of markets.

• 2-4:30 p.m. May 6: "Time Management," where participants will discover analytical and tool-based approaches to tackle hurdles related to efficiency, flexibility and your work-life balance.

• 1-3:30 p.m. May 18: "Funding," where participants will learn how to think creatively about diversifying their funding streams by exploring traditional and new models for generating value, resources and revenue.

BHS to present Showcase Concert

The Brainerd High School Music Department will perform it annual Showcase Concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Tornstrom Auditorium in the Washington Educational Services Building in Brainerd.

The concert will feature the top ensembles at BHS, including A Cappella Choir, Chamber Orchestra and the Wind Symphony Band. Each group will present the music performed at the recent Central Lakes Conference music festival, this year held in Alexandria.

This concert is the only formal concert that features all three ensembles. Usually, each program presents their concerts separately. Audiences see all choirs, or all bands, or all orchestras. This event offers concert-goers the opportunity to see the students from each program in one night.

Admission to this concert will be free-will donation or food items, all to be donated to the Warrior Warehouse, the in-house food pantry in BHS.

Book sale at Westgate Mall planned

The Friends of the Brainerd Public Library's Spring Used Book Sale will be April 6-8 at the south side of Westgate Mall in Baxter, by Herberger's.

Thousands of adult and children's fiction and nonfiction books in hardcover and paperback, as well as movies and audiobooks will be available, many priced at 50 cents or less. Most items are donated by the public or withdrawn from the Brainerd Public Library.

Sale hours begin at 9 a.m. each day and run through 7 p.m. April 6-7 and to 4 p.m. April 8.

On April 8 there will be a $2 bag sale. Book sellers are welcome after noon on April 6.

All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library. For more information call the library at 218-829-5574.

'The Addams Family' to set Aitkin stage

AITKIN-The Aitkin High School Concert Choir will present "The Addams Family," a new musical April 5-8 in the high school auditorium.

"The Addams Family" features an original story based on the characters from the popular television series, "The Addams Family." The story is about every father's nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. Wednesday's parents, Gomez and Morticia Addams, are unaware that Wednesday and Lucas plan to get married. When Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother, Gomez Addams must do something he has never done before-keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. As the Addams's host a dinner to meet Lucas and his parents, Mal and Alice Beineke, everything changes for both families as love conquers all.

The cast of characters includes the beloved members of the Addams Family; Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Wednesday, Pugsley, Lurch, Cousin It and a whole cast of the Addams's ghostly ancestors. The book is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Music and lyrics are by Andrew Lippa.

The musical opens with a matinee at 2 p.m. Wednesday and then will be performed at 7:30 p.m. April 6-8. All seats are $6 with reserved center seats for $8. Tickets purchased at the door are $10 and center and wing seats are $8. Tickets may be purchased in the AHS District Office from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by calling 218-927-2115, extension 3431.

St. Francis Music Center student wins honor

LITTLE FALLS-Isaac Olson, a flute student at St. Francis Music Center in Little Falls, was

named one of the Youth Concerto Competition winners for the Heartland Symphony Orchestra.

Students from throughout central Minnesota were invited to audition before a panel of judges.

Olson, the son of Jean Anderson, Steve Olson and the stepson of Brian Anderson, currently studies flute at the Music Center under Kevin Stueven, who has been his teacher since he was 10. Olson is now a sophomore at the Little Falls Community High School and is involved in Jazz I and II, Concert Band, Wind Symphony and the school's flute choir.

At the Music Center, Olson has participated in URock and performed with the St. Francis Community Chorale and the Concert Orchestra.

"Isaac was a featured soloist with the St. Francis Concert Orchestra in December. What a

joy to work with him," Bobbi French, director of the strings program at the Music Center, stated in a news release. "His performance talent on flute was immediately evident. I am thrilled that the Heartland Symphony Orchestra has also recognized Isaac's ability by naming him one of this year's concerto competition winners."

Jonathan Laflamme, director of bands at the high school stated: "Isaac Olson is one of the most accomplished young musicians that I have ever encountered in 17 years of teaching music. Isaac recently asked me to push him harder as a student; this is the first time I have been asked this. Furthermore, what is extremely remarkable, is the humility under which Isaac plays, relates and works with other students and adults. Isaac is the real deal. This gem of a person comprised of an awesome blend of courage, talent, perseverance, desire for technical rigor, humility and a 'big-picture' disposition who accomplishes small or enormous endeavors with resplendent aplomb. I know his love for music will be contagious to everyone in the orchestra and in the audience."

Olson will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 1 at the Charles Martin Auditorium in Little Falls, with HSO. He will also perform with the orchestra Friday in Pequot Lakes and Sunday in Brainerd.

Go to www.heartlandsymphony.com for more information or for tickets.

Jaques Art Center upcoming events

The Jaques Art Center encourages businesses to hang original local art to brighten up any bare walls in their establishments. This will help the business enhance the look of their workplace while helping artists get their work noticed. The work may or may not be for sale. All an interested buyer would need to do is contact the Jaques Art Center at 218-927-2363.

The art center has connections with many artists who would be delighted to display their art in a public setting. Currently the Jaques arranged for a large watercolor entitled, "Spring Runoff" to be displayed at the Neighborhood Bank.

In other Jaques news, the Kaleidoscope Class will be 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday and will feature an April Fools Day optical illusion art project. Artist and instructor Mary White will show the class how to make anything look like it's 3D.

There also will be a new exhibit opening April 7 titled "Floral Explosion - Double Exposure" featuring local twin sisters, Kimberly Heft Cook and Pamela Heft Andell, with an opening reception from noon to 3 p.m. April 8. The walls will be bursting with colorful expressions of floral photographs and paintings. There will also be other artistic subjects that will add a dimension of interest to round out the show. Come to this exhibit and see an innovative presentation of photographs.

Just For Kix dancers compete this past weekend

Brainerd Just For Kix dancers competed this past weekend in the Together We Dance Competition at Brainerd High School. There were 87 performances throughout the weekend with teams from all Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Brainerd teams that took first place were the Wee Hip Hop, Wee Kix, Twinklers, Wee Lyricals, all second- and third-graders; Sparkers Jazz; Rec Hip Hop, sixth-12th-graders; Showstoppers, sixth-eighth grade; Starmakers Jazz, ninth-12th grade.

Brainerd teams taking second place were Sparklers Kix; Wee Kix, made up of second- and third-graders; Senior Lyrical and Senior Kix, all ninth-12th-graders; Middle Lyrical, sixth-eighth-graders; two Mini Kix classes, Mini Hip Hop, Mini Lyrical and Mini Jazz, all fourth-fifth-graders. Middle Kix, sixth-eighth-graders took third place and sixth-eighth-graders Middle Kix took fifth.

Art contest extended to April 15

AITKIN-Submissions for the Great River Strings art contest has been extended to April 15.

For this contest, the artist is charged with developing the theme of time using a medium of their choice. Each entrant should create art that shows how people internalize, distinguish themselves and/or communicate the concept of time.

Entries can be dropped off at the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin.

All entries will be displayed at the Great River Strings Spring concert, "Time Versus Eternity" on April 22-23. Entries will be displayed at a location to be determined for one month following the concerts. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place, along with a few "people's choice awards."

For more information contact Mary Aulie or Lynn Foote, the executive directors of Great River Strings, at maulie@isd1.org or llfoote@mlecmn.net or calling 218-839-1085 or 218-678-3034.

Sen. Franken's poetry contest set

CAMP RIPLEY-The Minnesota Military Museum supports recognition of the Month of the Military Child and National Poetry Month this April.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., announced he is hosting his sixth annual poetry contest for Minnesota students. The theme of this year's contest is "Celebrating the Veteran in My Life."

"There are thousands of students all across Minnesota who have seen or experienced the sacrifices veterans and their families have made for our country," Franken stated in an email. "Some of them are children of current service members, while others know men and women who have served. This poetry contest will allow students to honor those veterans and to put into their own words what those sacrifices have meant to them."

The contest is open to all students in Minnesota grades K-12, with three age categories: Kindergarten to fifth grade; sixth to eighth grades; and ninth to 12th grades. Students can celebrate any veteran or active military member, including a relative, family friend, or neighbor who has had a positive impact on their lives.

Winners will be chosen in each age category. Those selected will receive an invitation to attend a reception at Sen. Franken's St. Paul office. Guests include Franken; and honorary judges; Minnesota Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen; Minnesota National Guard Major General Rick Nash; Minnesota National Guard Brigadier General Sandra Best, and Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius.

Top winning poems in each category will be framed and displayed in Sen. Franken's offices in St. Paul or Washington, D.C. The overall winner in each age group will receive an autographed book by famed Minnesota author Garrison Keillor.

To participate in Sen. Franken's poetry contest, submit a poem by April 21 to poetryOffice of Sen. Al Franken, c/o "Poetry Contest," 60 Plato Boulevard East, Suite 220, St Paul, MN 55107.

Participants may submit only one poem, no longer than 250 words. Each entry must include the name of the child, the parent/guardian's name, a phone number, and the name of the child's school. Clearly indicate the participant's age category.

Great River Strings to present 'Time Versus Eternity'

"Time Versus Eternity" is the theme of the Great River Strings Spring Concert to be held 7 p.m. April 22 at Salem Lutheran in Deerwood and then at 2:30 p.m. April 23 at First Lutheran in Aitkin.

Prior to the concerts and during intermission the group will have their annual spring silent auction. The focus of the auction items will be on time and eternity.

This year, the group will offer some examples of steampunk jewelry. Steampunk jewelry, fashions and literature combine the best and most stylish elements of the British Victorian-Edwardian period-the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is a sub-genre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th century industrial steam-powered machinery.

The term was first coined in 1987 by K.W. Jeter who used the term to describe a genre of fiction in which steam, not electricity drove technological advancements. Since then it has been used to describe an artistic or cultural movement.

Although the Steampunk genre began as a form of fiction, it has evolved into a popular style to wear or create. At the auction, attendees will be able to bid on rings and pins made from old watches. A North Carolina potter who wanted to take a break from miniature pottery items is finding a market for her steampunk jewelry.

HSO features Youth Concerto winners

The Heartland Symphony Orchestra closes out its 40th season with their concert titled "Destinations" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Charles D. Martin Auditorium in the Little Falls Community High School and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.

Under the direction of Conductor Alexander Corbett, the orchestra will showcase performances by Isaac Olson and Jared Campbell, winners of the 2017 Youth Concerto Competition. Olson, a student at Little Falls Community High School will perform the Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, op.107, and Campbell, a student at Paynesville Area High School will perform the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op.16.

The HSO will be performing musical selections from Aaron Copeland, Fanfare for the Common Man; Bela Bartok, Romanian Folk Dances; Cecile Chaminade, Concerto for Flute; Edvard Grieg, Concerto for Piano; and Ludwig van Beethoven; Symphony No. 5, Op.67. There will be a Conductor Chat with Corbett and flautist, Lauren Nickisch before the concert at 1:45 p.m. Concert tickets may be purchased online at www.heartlandsymphony.com or at the door or by calling 800-826-1997.

The HSO is a 50-piece volunteer, nonprofit, community orchestra located in and serving the central Minnesota area of Brainerd, Little Falls, and the surrounding rural communities. Musicians, from amateurs to professionals, come together once a week from all over the region to rehearse and perform three full-length orchestral music concerts each season in both Little Falls and Brainerd.

Special guest artists and conductors, local soloists and ensembles, area youth concerto winners and commentary all help to make each concert unique and entertaining. The HSO also contributes its service to communities through music education programs, special events and ticket giveaways.

For more information about upcoming concerts or to get involved either as a player or HSO sponsor, email HeartlandSymphony@gmail.com or call 800-826-1997.

Fiddlers Contest set April 8

PILLAGER-The 33rd Annual Fiddlers Contest will be 7 p.m. April 8 at Pillager High School.

Cost is $5 and there will be a grand raffle. Tickets are $2 each, sold by fair members and if at the event if any are left. Only 1,000 tickets will be printed.

There also will be an in-house raffle.

Prizes include Savage Axis II black XP 270 with Accutrigger and Weaver scope, 48" flat screen television and gift cards.

Event is sponsored by the Cass County Fair Board Pillager.

Anyone can join the competition that is divided into age groups. No registration fee is required. Call Lisa Fletcher at 218-330-8383 for registration information.