To rephrase a popular aphorism, it's all stars and snowflakes until someone gets hurt...meaning, amid last-minute maker markets and star gazing this holiday month there's a "House of Cards" style production at the Guthrie to clear the senses and a concert to ground our sensibilities.
Stars and Snowflakes
Como Planetarium, St. Paul
December 13 & 20, 7-8 p.m.
$5
The 55-seat
Como Planetarium (located in Como Elementary School, not Como Park) has a state-of-the-art immersive video system that provides visitors of all ages with the opportunity to venture virtually though the solar system, while enjoying high-quality film productions on a 30-foot diameter screen. In December, two things we see a lot of when we look up
, stars and snowflakes, are explored. Discover new constellations. Learn how snowflakes are formed. How are stars and snowflakes alike and radically different? ‘Tis the season for star and snow gazing.
MSP Holiday Markets
Holiday markets continue popping up at a furious pace, providing citizens of The North with plentiful opportunities to purchase handcrafted gifts and artwork while supporting our burgeoning maker culture. Here are a few to check out this month:
Tim Monsters, December 10 & 17, Workhorse Coffee, St. Paul
Artspace Jackson Flats 3rd Annual Holiday Bazaar, December 10, Artspace Jackson Flats, Minneapolis
Modern Market, December 15, Fast Horse, Minneapolis
Procraftinate, December 10, Lakes & Legends Brewery, Minneapolis
Second (not so annual) Red Door Holiday Sale, December 10, Art in the Grove, St. Paul
Casket Arts Holiday Marketplace, December 10, Casket Arts, Minneapolis
Last Call: A Holiday Market, December 23, FOOD Building, Minneapolis
The Lion in Winter
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
Through December 31
Move over fast-talking Gilmore Girls. Step aside sinister Underwoods. King Henry II and his estranged (and imprisoned) wife Eleanor of Aquitaine are coming together for the holidays to decide on, and battle over, which of their sons will inherit the kingdom and the crown. In the
Guthrie’s riveting production, verbal sparks fly and tongues lash with impunity as the Queen (Laila Robins, “Homeland,” “Damages,” “Sopranos”) deftly holds her own against her menfolk—all of whom have it in for the imperious, mercurial, yet steadfast Eleanor. Humor tamps down the tempers, providing much-needed respite amid the vicious and rapier-like repartee. Best known for the film starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn, this “Lion in Winter” is a bracing antidote to family tension and holiday stress.
Honor the Earth Benefit Concert
Cedar Culture Center, Minneapolis
December 28, 7-10 p.m.
$20
With the Dakota Access Pipeline now on hold, a significant victory for the Standing Rock Sioux who’ve been protesting the proposed path near water supplies and sacred sites, supporters are celebrating. But protecting the earth is a task that never ends. Winona LaDuke’s organization Honor the Earth continues the effort with a
benefit concert featuring Nahko Bear (watch him perform
here at Standing Rock), Maria Isa (who has performed at Bedlam Theater in St. Paul), Bomba Umoya (a veteran of the Hip Hop Harambee in Minneapolis) and Nataanii Means. Proceeds will support ongoing efforts to keep Indigenous land and resources safe at Standing Rock and in Northern Minnesota.