If you’re waiting with bated breath for the Minnesota State Fair this year, I have a few ideas to get you started. Check it out below, along with other arts things happening this week. Kiss the Tiger will make an appearance at Surly Brewing Beer Garden, as part of Summer of Sound, and Marsgarb holds its album release party at Cloudland Theater. Douglas Flanders & Associates hosts a State Fair reject show along with an exhibition of paintings by Dieterich Spahn. SooVAC takes a deep dive into Ekphrastic art, and early next week, Freeman Ng, author of the young adult book “Bridge Across the Sky,” will be in conversation with Sun Yung Shin.
Summer of Sound ft. Kiss the Tiger
Surly Beer Garden continues its Summer of Sound series, curated by Lazerbeak, with a free concert by Kiss the Tiger. Enjoy these last days of summer with Kiss the Tiger’s indie cred and rock and roll power.
Thursday, Aug. 22 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Surly’s Beer Garden (free). More information here.
State Fair Ideas
Making your game plan for your visit to the Minnesota State Fair this year? Check out these ideas of things to do and see!
Marsgarb album release
Since 2021, Marsgarb has been developing its sound blending the talents of Chris Hepola, playing keys and drums, singer/synth player Jenna Wyse, who brings a pop-y energy to her emotional, image-rich lyrics, and Josh Granowski on bass/fx. They’ll be releasing their new album at Cloudland, with the hypnotic sounds of multi-instrumentalist Crystal Myslajek and The Nunnery opening. Thursday, Aug. 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Cloudland ($12). More information here.
Dieterich Spahn: Lone Ranger and the State Fair Reject Show
Douglas Flanders & Associates hosts artists who didn’t make it into the gallery at the Fine Arts Center at the Minnesota State Fair this year, in its “State Fair Reject Show,” showing alongside an exhibition featuring the late German-born Minnesota artist Dieterich Spahn. Known for his stained glass creations, including works at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN, and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, this show highlights Spahn’s paintings.
Saturday, Aug. 24, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (free). More information here.
Ekphrastic 4.0 Closing Reception and Short Story Readings
Soo Visual Arts Center wraps up its 4th Ekphrastic experiment, mingling artistic disciplines in a collaborative mash-up of art and writing. Organized by artist Megan Vossler, the project invited at least 44 artists to draw on-site at SooVAC, layering the work of the different artists in one big, growing mural-drawing. The artists employ an “exquisite corpse” technique, where one artist continues on the edges of the drawings of the artists before them. In the final 10 days, a team of writers then take in the composite drawing and compose narratives based on it.
You’ll be able to view the final artwork and hear the new writings Saturday, Aug. 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at SooVAC (free). More information here.
Freeman Ng, Bridge Across the Sky – with Sun Yung Shin
In “Bridge Across the Sky,” author Freeman Ng writes in verse about a Chinese teen facing racism as part of the U.S. immigration system, and experiencing prison-like conditions at the Angel Island Immigration Station. At Red Balloon, Ng will be in conversation with local poet and author Sun Yung Shin.
Tuesday, Aug. 27 at Red Balloon Bookshop (free but registration is required). More information here.
Sheila Regan
Sheila Regan is a Twin Cities-based arts journalist. She writes MinnPost’s twice-weekly Artscape column. She can be reached at [email protected].