MN Shortlist June 26-July 2: Pride, the World’s Largest Rubber Duck and Park Point Art Fair
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The World’s Largest Rubber Duck comes to Minnesota (twice), myriad ways to celebrate Pride, soccer on the silver screen, Park Point Art Fair turns 54 in Duluth and more in this week’s MN Shortlist.
‘Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait’ at Walker Cinema — June 26-27
Are you a fan of global sports and contemporary art? Then the Walker Art Center has the event for you. On Friday and Saturday evening, the Walker Cinema screens “Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait,” a documentary about the playing style of former Real Madrid footballer Zinedine Zidane.
The film about the French-Algerian player was shot on 17 synchronized cameras during a match on April 23, 2005, and set to a score by Scottish band Mogwai (this is just over a year before Zidane’s infamous head-butt at the 2006 World Cup).
Hot tip: If it’s your first film at the Walker Cinema, it’s free! (Alex V. Cipolle)
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Andrew Walesch and his Orchestra at the Dakota in Minneapolis — June 27
To quote the musical “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “When you say Vegas, you’re saying the blues are always blue.” And the skies are certainly blue when jazz crooner Andrew Walesch steps up to the mic. The Minnesota native has a Bobby Darin quality to his voice, with a bit of Seth MacFarlane and Broadway leading man mixed in.
At the Dakota, Walesch brings his signature sound in a show titled “Vegas 1960,” which aims to evoke the feel of a Las Vegas showroom during the heyday of Sin City.
The show will feature songs made famous by the likes of Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, and with the setting of a cozy jazz bar like the Dakota, you’ll feel like ordering a Manhattan or a dry martini before hitting the casino after Walesch finishes out his set. (Jacob Aloi)
Mama Duck at Twin Cities Pride— June 27-28
What’s more than six stories tall, bright yellow and “filled with pure joy”? Well Mama Duck, of course, the World’s Largest Rubber Duck — and she’s coming to Twin Cities Pride.
The slogan for the 61-foot-tall ducky is, “The world is her bathtub,” and this weekend that tub is booth No. 159 at Loring Park, next to the shuffleboard court.
As TC Pride stated, Mama Duck is here “Because our community deserves moments of lightness. Because joy is part of resistance. Because sometimes, you just need to take a selfie with a 61-foot rubber duck.”
Post-Pride, big mama heads to New York and Ohio, but she’s back July 24-26 for the 20th anniversary celebration at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona. (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ with a live Shadow Cast — June 27
For some, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is the perfect oasis for the queer community — and I am among them. There’s something liberating about being in a room full of people who are celebrating a campy pastiche of low-budget science fiction films — full of fishnets, lace and lots of heels.
It seems fitting that the monthly screening of the movie put on by the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis is happening on Pride weekend, when hundreds of people will be celebrating the fight for queer visibility and rights. As always, the screening will feature a local shadow cast acting out the film in front of the screen with various gags and jokes. (P.S. listen closely for some Minnesota-specific callouts — they always make me chuckle.) (Jacob Aloi)
One Voice Mixed Chorus presents ‘Royalty’ concert — June 27-28
While Pride is a celebration of queer identity, it is also a commemoration of the struggle for civil rights and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community. Events like the Stonewall Uprising, the AIDS epidemic and the fight for marriage equality are part of the long history of why there is a Pride month. And that history serves as the inspiration for one of Minnesota Pride weekend’s most unique events: “Royalty,” a concert featuring drag, choral music and gay anthems.
“I think we kind of get into pride as a celebration — only as a celebration,” said Kimberly Waigwa, the artistic director of One Voice Mixed Chorus, who is presenting the concert. “Even though we know that [Pride] came from a lot of rebellion and a lot of covert-like attempts at freedom.”
For the program, Waigwa wanted to pay homage to drag culture, the cabaret nightlife scene and the pioneers of the queer movement. There are two performances of the concert, which features eight soloists and special guest Dick Von Dyke—a Minnesota drag king and a staple in the Twin Cities nightlife scene.
“I don't think there's anything quite like it going on in the Twin Cities this weekend, so I hope people come out and show up,” said Waigwa. (Jacob Aloi)
Park Point Art Fair in Duluth — June 27-28
There are likely millions of art fairs happening in Minnesota at this very moment, but I don't think there are any on a skinnier or prettier strip of land than Park Point in Duluth.
It’s the 54th annual visual art fair on this 7-mile sandy spit (the actual name for the type of landform Park Point is), and the work of 115 jury-selected artists from across the Upper Midwest will be on display, from woodwork and jewelry to painting, ceramics and, yes, “fantasy daggers” by The Guild of the Gilded Hilt out of Ely.
The free event offers free parking at the Park Point Recreation Area. (Alex V. Cipolle)
