Electric Eyes: New Music & Media Festival 
The 2nd annual New Music and Media Festival
is right up your alley, if your alley is cluttered with electronics,
video, and weird/cool music, that is. Get futuristic with performances
by The Cosmic Engine, Super Marimba, Unfamiliar Geometry, and more, along
with amazing video and electronic art. Equal parts appropriation,
experimentation, and advanced technology, Electric Eyes translates the
marriage between new school and old school into NOW school — in a most
entertaining and visually stunning way. Runs this weekend and next.
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. (through June 7th), Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. N., West Bank, Minneapolis; $15 (1 show), $25 (2 shows).
MUSIC
MN Homegrown Kickoff Festival
Get your bluegrass fix at this three-day outdoor music and camping extravaganza featuring numerous local and regional musicians performing bluegrass, old-time stringband, and more. Held at El Rancho Mañana Campground and Riding Stables,
the festival includes workshops, tons of jam sessions, music
and craft vendors, delicious food, and possibly kickin' it old-timey
around a campfire with some bearded gent named "Bud" who talks about
the good old days and smokes hand-rolled cigarettes in between
banjo-jams (that's where my imagination takes me anyway).
Friday through Sunday, all day; El Rancho Mañana Campgrounds, 27302B Ranch Rd., Richmond, MN; $20 (single day), $40 (3 days with camping).
FILM
La Corona/Septimebre
The Walker's Cinematica
series, which focuses on contemporary Latin American filmmakers,
continues tonight with a double feature that includes films from Columbia and Spain. La Corona (The Crown), an Oscar-nominated documentary short set in a women's penitentiary in Bogotá,
Columbia, follows four inmates vying for the crown in the prison's
annual beauty pageant — with dramatic results. The second film, Septiembres,
(keeping with the prison theme) focuses on eight inmates who pine for
their loved ones through songs performed in a competition at a
Madrid penitentiary. Director Carles Bosch tracks down the subjects of
these songs outside the prison walls.
Friday at 7:30 p.m., Walker Art Center Cinema, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; $8.
Also this weekend, The Rape of Europa opens at the Edina Cinema. Read Max Ross's review.
ART
Red Hot Art
This annual art festival typically marks the start of summer for me,
but with this year's obvious absence of spring, I'm not sure what it's
marking — hopefully, good weather of some sort. At any rate, I
love Red Hot Art because of its DIY eclecticism; one year, I bought
delicate hand-made paper art, the next, a neon orange anti-Bush stencil
on a piece of cardboard, made-to-order by a dirty punk rocker. At Red
Hot Art you'll be sure to walk away with an armload of fun and
affordable art-ifacts, and possibly ear damage — a number of bands rock
the heck out of park all weekend long.Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Stevens Square Park, Between 18th & 19th St., and Stevens & 2nd Ave., Minneapolis; free.
BENEFIT
Off the Shelf Gala
Love books? You can prove it tonight at Hennepin County Library's "Off the Shelf" gala fundraiser.
Proceeds from the event will go directly to benefit K-12 programs at
libraries city-wide and other bookishly good programs. Enjoy a wide variety of
entertainment, including music by the MacPhail Faculty Jazz Quartet and Tambuca — plus the chance to mingle with notable authors,
an opportunity to bid on unique literary items, and of course,
delectable food and drink for all. With a whimsical Alice in
Wonderland-style theme, you can bet Off the Shelf has put enough
imagination into this event to impress even Lewis Carroll himself.
Saturday at 7 p.m. ($150 level) and 8:30 p.m. ($50 level), Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Downtown Minneapolis; $50-$150, order tickets HERE.
SPECIAL EVENT
Grand Old Day
A clear memory of my youth centers around nearly being trampled while a motorcade carrying Mikhail Gorbachev
cruised Summit Avenue during Grand Old Day in the early '90s — at least I think it was during Grand Old Day (that part — not
so clear). Either way, I got a cool temporary tattoo in the shape of Gorby's infamous head-birthmark, which made up for the near-trampling. My point is, Grand Old Day,
while a potential hazard to your health, is bound to entertain, with
concerts on multiple stages, a parade, an all day art fair, a huge beer
garden, and tasty food — literally as far as the eye can see. So, wear
your hiking boots because this party spans a good couple of miles down
Grand Avenue.
What Light Poetry Reading
Join our friends at mnartists.org
for a lovely Sunday evening of poetry at Magers & Quinn.
Tonight will include readings from Patricia Kirkpatrick, Brenda Hellen, Jason Ericson, and other winners from the latest series of
mnartist's "What Light" poetry contest. Make an afternoon of it with a stroll around Lake Calhoun, or a bit of Uptown shopping and/or eating!
Sunday at 5 p.m., Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Uptown Minneapolis; free.
LATE ADDITION
One More Thing — If You're into Cosmos and Jimmy Choos
After pressure from multiple sources to write about the Sex and the City premier, I've finally relented. Not that I'm anti-SATC — the fashion in the show is amazing — it's just that I'm not really the type of gal who enjoys gossiping about boys
and handbags over a Cosmo. I also don't get a weekly "mani" or "pedi",
nor do I drool over Jimmy Choo shoes — which I can definitely
appreciate, but don't ever expect to own. Despite my thinly veiled
sarcasm, there are quite a few events going on in conjunction with the premier tonight, so rock those Minolos if you've got 'em, and grab your girlfriends for a fabulous night on the town.
FRIDAY: Official premier party with SATC-themed drinks, Bliss Lau Handbag Giveaway, and more. 7 p.m., Bellanotte, 6th St N & 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis; free.
SATURDAY: An evening with Sex and the City: Pre-movie cocktail hour, door prizes, giftbags, and free post-drink at the Chambers. 8 p.m., Drama, Gaviidae Common, 1st Floor, 651 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; $25.
