THIS SATURDAY IN SAINT PAUL: 3RD ANNUAL LOWERTOWN SANTACON
For the third year running, the streets of Lowertown will be overrun by a mob of costumed Santas, elves, reindeer, and other colorful holiday-related characters and objects. Saint Paul’s answer to Minneapolis’ popular zombie-themed bar hops, Lowertown SantaCon is part spectacle and part mobile party.
Led by Foxy Tann, who heads the Twin Cities’ only African American burlesque troop, and accompanied by the most mischievous Minnesotan marching band in history, The Brass Messengers, the 2010 Lowertown SantaCon is a jolly jaunt around the seven bars/restaurants that make up the Lowertown Entertainment District.
Saturday December 18th at 5pm at the Hat Trick Lounge, followed by Trattoria da Vinci, Barrio, The Bulldog, and the Black Dog around 8pm, followed by Station 4 and finally Senor Wong, around 10pm. Arriving late or don’t want to get lost? Text “follow santacon55101” to 40404 for Twitter updates!
21+ only. Get really creative: come as a Santasaurus, Kwanzaa Ham, or Hannukah Chicken. Drink specials for those in costume. More info at http://tilsner.net/santacon
Watch the Brass Messengers perform during the 2009 Lowertown SantaCon
NEW WRITING FROM JEWEL HILL MAYER, CHUCK TOMPKINS AND ALELI BALAGTAS
Search for a Home for the UGM Sign
By Jewel Hill Mayer
I was fascinated by everything about the mission—I tutored boys there in the 1970s—and I fell in love with that sign. I saw the north side of it whenever I drove into town from my home in Roseville. When I learned in 1981 that the mission had found a new home and the building at Seventh and Wacouta was to be razed, I called the salvage company and asked if I could have the sign. The owner said, “Okay, if you move it.”
Saint Paul Hotel
By Chuck Tompkins
It’s 5:15 p.m. in the entryway of the old Saint Paul Hotel. It’s early winter, cold, and snowing. The lights across the street in Rice Park twinkle with the frost and people are rushing in to get warm and have the early evening cocktail at the famous bar where F. Scott Fitzgerald mulled over thoughts of The Great Gatsby. I just talked to the overworked, borderline frantic, new valet-parking operator, and he told me, “It will take a few minutes to get your car, we’re really busy.”
Welcome to Mount Como
By Aleli Balagtas
The sign mysteriously appears when the snow starts, at the foot of the golf club driveway, announcing the start of the ski season at Como Park: “Welcome to Mount Como.” When my husband tells a friend visiting from Switzerland, a snowboard instructor, that his kids took downhill ski lessons there, the Swiss fellow looks puzzled. “But there are no hills,” he says.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
COMING LOWERTOWN READING JAMS IN 2011
The entire 2010–2011 season will be presented at the Black Dog Café, a popular Saint Paul venue for spoken word artists, and a co-sponsor of the series. Check back with us, or join our e-mail list or Twitter feed to be informed of coming events.
- Jan. 10, 2011 – May Lee-Yang
- Feb. 14, 2011 – Tou SaiKo Lee
- Mar. 14, 2011 – Carol Connolly
- Apr. 11, 2011 – Marcie Rendon
- May 9, 2011 – Desdamona
- June 13, 2011 – Melvin Giles
- July 11, 2011 – Diego Vázquez, Jr.
SAINT PAUL FACTS: WE GOT ’EM, NOW YOU KNOW ’EM
DID YOU KNOW? Winter can be dangerous! In 1869, Saint Paul photographer Charles Zimmerman was struck by an icicle weighing several hundred pounds while taking images of Minnehaha Falls. He was only slightly injured.
DID YOU KNOW? Saint Paul does not have any domed buildings that collapse when it snows. Minneapolis, on the other hand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5NXx4YP4iA
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