Minnesota Humanities Center

Rochester - Resistance, Voice, and Verse: A Latino Poetry Reading
2025-04-10 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Rochester Public Library, 101 2nd St SE, Rochester, 55904, United States
Join us for a special Poetry Month celebration of Latino poetry at the Rochester Public Library! This engaging event will feature readings of powerful poems, and opportunities for discussion and reflection. Students from Rochester Public Schools will read poems from the recently released anthology, “Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology” as well as their original work, and the event will be emceed by City of Rochester Poet Laureate, Jean Prokott.
Attendees will have a chance to win a copy of “Latino Poetry: Library of America Anthology” – come celebrate the rich tradition of Latino poetry, connect with fellow poetry lovers, and share in the beauty of language and storytelling. Free to attend, light refreshments provided. All are welcome!
Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home is a major public humanities initiative, planned for 2024–25, that celebrates and explores the multifaceted legacy of Latino poetry. It is directed by Library of America and funded with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Emerson Collective.
Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home es una iniciativa de gran alcance en el campo de las humanidades públicas que celebra el legado multifacético de la poesía latina. Esta iniciativa de realiza bajo el auspicio de Library of America con el generoso financiamiento del Fondo Nacional para las Humanidades y Emerson Collective.

Online - Let’s Animate! Poetry Craft Talk and Workshop with Heid E. Erdrich
2025-04-16 19:00 - 20:15 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-lets-animate-poetry-craft-talk-and-workshop-with-heid-e-erdrich/
Join us for an engaging and interactive online poetry craft talk and workshop! Featuring her most recent collection, “Verb Animate,” this workshop will be led by esteemed writer and the first poet laureate of the City of Minneapolis, Heid E. Erdrich.
In this session, participants will dip into creative activities using poems and prompts from “Verb Animate.” Heid will also read poems from this collection and share more about its creation; each poem included arose from a collaborative act with another poet or artist. Whether you are a seasoned poet or just beginning, don’t miss this opportunity to write and learn more about community centered, collaborative poetry.
About the Poet
Heid E. Erdrich is the author of a dozen books in both poetry and prose. She grew up in North Dakota and is Ojibwe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain. She curates art exhibits, teaches, researches, and collaborates with other artists. In 2024, Heid served as the Inaugural Minneapolis Poet Laureate. She is the 2025 James Welch Visiting Writer at University of Montana Missoula.
This event is presented in partnership with Trio House Press, publisher of “Verb Animate” and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, which engages visitors and the community with great art inspired by water; don’t miss the opportunity to see their current exhibit “Once Upon A Shore,” curated by Heid E. Erdrich.
Registration
Registration cost includes a copy of “Verb Animate.” Please register by April 9, 2025 to allow time to mail a book to you — you won’t want to miss this great opportunity! By registering you’ll also have a chance to receive two (2) complimentary admission tickets to the MN Marine Art Museum, compliments of Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Drawing for the tickets will take place during the workshop.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED

St. Paul - Many Fronts: Poetry and Memorials at the Capitol Mall
2025-04-18 13:00 - 15:00 | Veterans Service Building, 20 West 12th St, St. Paul, MN, 55155, United States
Many Fronts: Poetry and Memorials at the Capitol Mall provides participants an opportunity to reflect on the experiences and perspectives of service members, Veterans, and civilians in how we understand the nature of military conflicts, and how the public remembers and interprets the experience of war and service through memorials, monuments, and ekphrastic poetry. The program will include an interactive writing activity and participants will have the opportunity to share their stories and experiences. Facilitators will guide participants through the writing activity and there will be time for group discussion about monuments and memorials on the Minnesota State Capitol Mall.
Participants will meet in the Veterans Service Building and then walk to the Lower Capitol Mall, where most of the program will occur. Most of this event will take place outdoors, weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, the program will be conducted indoors at the Veterans Service Building.
About the Facilitators
Jessi M. Atherton is a mother, healer, Veteran, poet, lover of scrabble and charcuterie. Her writing touches on lived experiences and themes of motherhood, military, mental health, grief, healing, and humanity. Jessi is a Minnesota Humanities Center 2019 Veterans Voices awardee, a member and facilitator of Warrior Writers, a board member of the League of Minnesota Poets, and the Minnesota Assistant Counsel for Veterans. She is a 2023 Pat Tillman Scholar and US Army Veteran who served in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jessi’s work has been published throughout the years with Nodin Press, The Cuddy Foundation, Iliad Press, McGregor Publishing, the International Library of Poetry, and Middle West Press. Her first full collection, “The Time War Takes,” came out in April 2023 and received honorable mention in Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole Inaugural Biennial Award for Distinguished Book in Veterans Studies, 2024 and made Community of Literary Magazines and Presses must read for Women’s History Month, 2024. Jessi is the mom to three amazing daughters, a mental health nurse, and recently graduated as a Psychiatric Mental Health nurse practitioner.
Paul Van Dyke holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. He is an Army Infantry Veteran of Iraq, and a recipient of the Purple Heart. His work has appeared in journals such as Water-Stone Review, Upstreet, Hippocampus, O-Dark-Thirty, “War, Literature & the Arts,” and Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors. Paul is the founder and lead instructor of Veterans Telling Stories, an arts nonprofit which teaches free creative writing courses to Veterans and their family members.
This event is presented in partnership with Veterans Telling Stories – a Minnesota-based nonprofit dedicated to teaching creative writing to military Veterans and their family members – and Warrior Writers – a national nonprofit whose mission is to create a culture that articulates Veterans’ experiences, build a collaborative community for artistic expression, and bear witness to war and the full range of military experiences.
Registration
This event is free, however registration is required. K-12 educators can receive 2 clock hours for attending.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Minneapolis - Minnesota Writers Off the Page: Tarik Dobbs
2025-04-23 18:00 - 20:00 | The Loft at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, United States
Join us for a special Poetry Month event featuring poet Tarik Dobbs in conversation with Sagirah Shahid, discussing Dobbs’ powerful collection, “Nazar Boy.” This thought-provoking work explores themes of identity, surveillance, and the complexities of Arab American life through sharp, evocative verse.
Following the discussion, audience members are invited to participate in a Q&A session, enjoy light refreshments, and have further informal conversation with the featured speakers. Copies of “Nazar Boy” will be available for purchase, and the evening will finish with a book signing.
About the Author
Tarik Dobbs (b. 1997, Dearborn, MI) is a writer, artist, and Poetry Foundation Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow. Dobbs holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Minnesota and an M.F.A. in art, theory, practice from Northwestern University. Dobbs is assistant professor of English in creative writing (poetry) at Southwest Minnesota State University. The debut poetry collections by Dobbs, Nazar Boy (2024) and Dearbornistan (2026), are from Haymarket Books.
About the Moderator
Sagirah Shahid is an African American Muslim poet, editor, arts administrator, and performance artist from Minneapolis, MN. She is a recipient of awards, fellowship, and residencies from the Loft Literary Center, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Twin Cities Media Alliance, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art and Muslim Advocates, Strive Publishing, Wisdom Ways, Nicollet Lanterns, and 826 MSP. Sagirah’s prose and poetry have been published by Mizna, The Drinking Gourd, Insight News, Winter Tangerine, Pollen, Blue Minaret, Puerto Del Sol, Paper Darts, Juked, Walker Art Center, About Place Journal, the Saint Paul Almanac, and elsewhere.
This event is presented in partnership with New Arab American Theater Works, a Minnesota based collective of SWANA (Southwest Asian/North African) playwrights, musicians, and performing artists, and is part of the Minnesota Writers Off the Page series, bringing the inspirational voices of Minnesota’s authors directly to you.
Registration
This event is free, however registration is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Northfield - Threads of Tanka: A Reading and Poetry Writing Event
2025-04-26 11:00 - 12:30 | Northfield Public Library, 210 Washington St, Northfield, MN, 55057, United States
Celebrate National Poetry Month this April with the Poet Laureate of Northfield, Russ Paladin, and the Minnesota Poet Laureate, Gwen Nell Westerman! Russ and Gwen will come together for an interactive event that includes poetry readings, a conversation on craft and inspiration, and writing – with a focus on the poetic form of tanka.
As part of the event, participants will have the chance to dive deeper into the art of tanka with a short, guided writing activity—an opportunity to create your own verse, no matter your level of experience. We’ll have also have light refreshments and each participant will receive a complimentary copy of “Songs, Blood Deep” to take home.
Whether you’re a seasoned poetry lover or simply curious about exploring this unique art form, come celebrate the power of words with the laureates!
About the Poets
Under his pen name Russ Paladin, Russel Boyington has published work in The Brasilia Review, DISTURBED Digest, and Medusa’s Laugh Press. His novel SOUND OF DARKNESS was runner-up for the Joanna Catherine Scott Novel Excerpt Prize. When not slaving over one pencil sketch or another, practicing piano, or directing middle school or community theater, he supervises the Before/After School Care program at Prairie Creek Community School. Northfield, Minnesota, located in the Upper Mississppi River Valley, has been his home for 10 years. Russel is the current Northfield Poet Laureate.
Gwen Nell Westerman is a poet, visual artist, and scholar. Her roots are deep in the landscape of the tallgrass prairie and reveal themselves in her art and writing. She is an enrolled citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and her father’s family is from the Heipa District. Her mother’s family is from the Flint District of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Neither of her parents spoke English when they were sent as small children to boarding schools in Oklahoma and South Dakota. Singing and writing for as long as she can remember, Gwen understands from experience the important ways language and the land shape who we are. She was appointed as the Poet Laureate of Minnesota by Governor Tim Walz in 2021.
Registration
This event is free to attend, however registration is required. Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited so register soon!
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

St. Paul – Feeding Our Souls: The Essence of Juneteenth Joy with Dr. Jessica B. Harris
2025-06-18 17:15 - 20:00 | Minnesota History Center, 345 W Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN, 55102, United States
Culinary historian, author of 15 books, including the New York Times bestseller High on the Hog, winner of two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award, and James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement award winner Dr. Jessica B. Harris will be in conversation with MHC CEO Kevin Lindsey about the role food plays in shaping our identities and understandings of cultural heritage.

After the program, guests will be invited to mingle and taste samples of several local chefs’ signature dishes.

Featured Chefs

Chef Lutunji Abram – Lutunji’s Palate
Chef Jamal Hashi – Lux Catering
Chef James Johnson – Cooks of Hope
Chef Mateo Mackbee – Krewe Restaurant
Chef Rayo Odedina – Jokky Catering Services
Chef Robert Taylor – Dreamland Culinary Heritage

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation services will be available at this event.

Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org

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Thank you to our sponsors!

Minneapolis – Juneteenth Brunch & Conversation with Sherrilyn Ifill
2025-06-19 09:15 - 11:15 | Quincy Hall, 1325 Quincy St NE, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
Sherrilyn Ifill is the current Vernon Jordan Professor of Law of Civil Rights at Howard University School of Law and was the former President and Director–Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (LDF). Her book, On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, is credited with laying the foundation for contemporary conversations about lynching and racial reconciliation. She is also a frequent commentator on affirmative action, policing, judicial nominees, and the United States Supreme Court.

Ifill recently launched the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy at Howard University and is currently completing a new book about race and the current crisis in American democracy entitled, Is This America? Register now to fill your body and soul with a delicious breakfast while hearing from renowned civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill.

Two meal options will be available depending on dietary restrictions.

Brunch Brisket Quiche: Pastry crust with egg custard, barbecue beef brisket, peppers, and onions served with breakfast bean hash (seasoned baked beans, diced potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno), and seasoned grilled watermelon.

Vegan Scramble (Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten and Dairy Free, No beef option): Vegan eggs with with spinach, onion, and mushroom served with breakfast bean hash (seasoned vegan baked beans, diced potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno) and seasoned grilled watermelon.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation services will be available at this event.

Registration
Registration Questions: jessica@mnhum.org

Individual Tickets – $100

Individual Registration

Group Tickets

Full Table (10 Tickets) – $800Half Table (5 Tickets) – $400

Group Registration

Thank you to our sponsors!

St. Paul – Juneteenth Family Day with Anika Foundation
2025-06-21 12:00 - 18:00 | State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN, 55155, United States
Minnesota Humanities Center is proud to sponsor the Anika Foundation Juneteenth Family Celebration! Join us for family friendly fun, games, and community.
This event is free and open to all.
Learn More

Minneapolis – Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-06-25 18:00 - 21:00 | Capri Theater, 2027 W Broadway, Minneapolis, 55411, United States
Reconstruction Destructed, sixth in the “Juneteenth Reckoning with Slavery” film series, aims to shine a light on the most misunderstood period in American History and why it remains critically important to understand today. “It challenges our understanding of the impact of slavery and its ongoing impact throughout the United States,” said Monique Linder, Film Director and CEO, OMG Studios. “As our nation struggles to come to grips with our history of racial caste, the legal luminaries, civil rights leaders, and educational scholars are excellent guides not only to illuminate the past but more importantly to provide a path forward,” added Kevin Lindsey, CEO, Minnesota Humanities Center.

The film features Minnesota Federal District Court Judge Jerry Blackwell, Bryan Stevenson, Esq., Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, Dr. Josie R. Johnson, University of Minnesota Regent and First Lady of Minnesota Civil Rights, and Dr. Duchess Harris, Special Assistant to the Provost and American Studies Professor at Macalester College. Some of the Filming of Reconstruction Destructed occurred at The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, one of America’s premiere museums examining America’s history of racial injustice.

K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.

Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org

Register Now

Thank you to our sponsors!

St. Paul – Kumbayah, The Juneteenth Story: Special Edition
2025-06-27 14:00 - 16:00 | The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55105, United States
This theatrical experience, written by Rose McGee, takes audiences on a journey into the past, addressing the origins of Juneteenth and the imagined impact on the lives of individuals hearing the news of the Emancipation Proclamation and that the Civil War was over.

Presented in partnership with Sweet Potato Comfort Pie.

Registration
This performance is free to attend, but registration is required.

Registration Questions: oshaughnessy@stkate.edu

Register Now

Thank you to our sponsors!

St. Paul - Summer on the Lawn: Shakespeare in Our Parks
2025-07-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) enthusiastically welcomes Classical Actors Ensemble back to the MHC front lawn for the 11th season of Shakespeare in Our Parks. This season, the Classical Actors Ensemble will present one of William Shakespeare’s lesser-known comedies, “All’s Well That Ends Well.” Follow the trials and tribulations of the heroine Helena as she faces deception, duress, and death in her quest to win the heart of the snobbish and nowhere-near-good-enough-for-her Bertram. Guffaw, jeer, and cheer as a memorable cast of characters galivant through royal courts and battlefields and satirize social mores.
Picnics, lawn chairs, sun umbrellas, and blankets are welcome. Note that the performance is in an open field with minimal shade. Please plan accordingly. Restrooms will be available for use at the Minnesota Humanities Event Center. Can’t make it on July 13? Check out Classical Actors Ensemble’s full calendar for other performances across the Twin Cities this summer.
From Classical Actors Ensemble: “The Theater is a sacred place. It is a public forum where actors and audience gather to contemplate what it means to be human. Shakespeare and his contemporaries grappled with that question in some of the English language’s best poetry, leaving behind a canon of compelling stories with universal themes that provide invigorating challenge for actors and an awe-inspiring legacy for audiences. Classical Actors Ensemble performs the plays of the English Renaissance as they were originally intended: as popular entertainment for everyone. By demonstrating why these works of art are considered classic, we freshly prove their relevance in today’s world.”
This event is part of MHC’s 2025 summer “Summer on the Lawn” series.
Registration
Registration is encouraged but not required. There is no cost to attend.
Register Now

St. Paul - Summer on the Lawn: Outdoor Movie Night!
2025-08-01 21:00 - 23:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center’s 2025 Summer on the Lawn continues with a special movie screening under the stars! In partnership with TriLingua Cinema, MHC presents the early aughts classic, “Holes.” Based on the acclaimed young adult novel by Louis Sachar, “Holes” follows the trials and misadventures of Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBoeuf), who is sent to a juvenile detention camp in the Texas desert after a wrongful conviction. The cruel camp staff force inmates to spend their days digging holes in search of a historic outlaw’s lost treasure. Through the efforts of Stanley and his companions, the mystery of the treasure and the history of the campgrounds are revealed, and injustices are brought to light in this comedy drama featuring performances by Sigourney Weaver, Eartha Kitt, Tim Blake Nelson, and Khleo Thomas.
This film is rated PG and runs for 111 minutes. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to consult Common Sense Media for more information on film content.
Showtime begins right after sunset (approximately 9:00 p.m.). Light refreshments will be provided by TriLingua Cinema and MHC. Picnics, lawn chairs, and blankets are welcome. Note that the screening is in an open field with minimal shade. Please plan accordingly. Restrooms will be available for use at the Minnesota Humanities Event Center. In case of inclement weather, the screening will be moved indoors to the Minnesota Humanities Event Center.
This event is part of MHC’s 2025 summer “Summer on the Lawn” series.
About TriLingua Cinema
TriLingua Cinema is a nonprofit traveling cinema with the mission of utilizing films to build community among the diverse residents of Saint Paul’s East Side. Their ultimate goal is to open a brick-and-mortar movie theater in Payne-Phalen or Dayton’s Bluff.
Registration
Registration is encouraged but not required. There is no cost to attend.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Duluth - Minnesota Writers Off the Page: Michelle Filkins, Margret Aldrich, Julie Gard, Jennifer Hopkins & Leslie Miller
2025-08-07 18:30 - 20:30 | Wussow’s Concert Cafe, 324 N Central Ave, Duluth, MN, 55807, United States
What can we discover when we reclaim the term ‘locker room talk’ and the intimate conversations between women in personal spaces? The Minnesota Book Award winning anthology, “Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces,” lays bare some of these conversations shared by women from Minnesota and beyond, demonstrating how women show up and care for each other, and the power of women to create safe and supportive spaces. Join us for a discussion with editors Michelle Filkins and Margret Aldrich, and contributing author and Duluth resident Julie Gard and contributing authors Jennifer Hopkins and Leslie Miller for readings and a conversation about the book. Following the discussion, audience members are invited to participate in a Q&A session, and have further informal conversation with the featured speakers. The café will be open during the event with food and drink available to buy. Copies of “Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces” will available for purchase, and the evening will finish with a book signing.
About the Speakers
Michelle Filkins is a founding editor of Spout Press and a contributing author to “The Evolution of Human Cooperation and Community Development” (Lexington Books), and “Creating a Transformational Community: The Fundamentals of Stewardship Activities” (Lexington Books). She is a Little Free Library steward and one of the Daunte Wright Memorial caretakers. Currently she is a professor and reference and instruction librarian at Metro State University in St. Paul. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two teenage sons.
Margret Aldrich is the author of “The Little Free Library Book” (Coffee House Press), a ten-year veteran of the publishing industry, recipient of an Innovator Award from the Book Industry Study Group, and former Princeton University writing fellow. She has published her work with The Atlantic, Utne Reader, Huffington Post, Book Riot, and others. Today Margret is the director of communications and media relations at the Little Free Library nonprofit organization.
Julie Gard’s most recent prose poetry collection, “I Think I Know You,” won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award and was a finalist for the INDIES Book of the Year Award. “Home Studies” (New Rivers Press) was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, and additional publications include “Scrap: On Louise Nevelson” (Ravenna Press) and two chapbooks. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota and is a Professor of Writing at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Jennifer Hopkins has a spectacular cast of characters in the story of her life. Her hope is that anyone reading her story is reminded to build communities of love, strength, and laughter. Jennifer has been in love with the ying to her yang for over twenty years, and they raised a son together. Both men impress her daily with their integrity, devotion, and comedic timing.
Leslie Adrienne Miller’s collections of poetry include “Y,” “The Resurrection Trade,” and “Eat Quite Everything You See” from Graywolf Press, and “Yesterday Had a Man In It,” “Ungodliness,” and “Staying Up For Love” from Carnegie Mellon University Press. Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas, she holds degrees in creative writing and literature from Stephens College, University of Missouri, Iowa Writers Workshop, and University of Houston.
This event is presented in partnership with Wussow’s Concert Cafe, an inclusive and supportive home for local artists, musicians, writers, and everyone in between, and Spout Press, a small, all-volunteer, non-profit literary publisher that publishes and promotes the finest in contemporary experimental writing — mentoring young writers and bringing new and/or under-appreciated voices to the attention of a larger audience. This event is part of the Minnesota Writers Off the Page series, bringing the inspirational voices of Minnesota’s writers directly to readers.
Registration
This event is free but registration is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

St. Paul - Summer on the Lawn: Puppets & Performance
2025-08-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
MHC concludes its 2025 “Summer on the Lawn” series with a fun-filled, festive, family friendly music and puppetry double feature! The event begins with a children’s concert by local favorites Rose Lani and The Rosie Posies, who will lead the audience in singalongs and games through musical storytelling. After that, Open Eye Theatre’s Driveway Tour performers will present “The Adventures of Juan Bobo,” a puppet show inspired by Puerto Rican folk stories. Open Eye performers will remain after the show to give curious kids and adults a behind the scenes peek and a closer look at the featured puppets.
Please note that this event will be outdoors, weather permitting. MHC will provide light refreshments during the event. Picnics, lawn chairs, and blankets are welcome. Both performances will be in an area with some shading, but audience members should expect exposure to the sun. Please plan accordingly. Restrooms will be available for use at the Minnesota Humanities Event Center. In case of inclement weather, the performances will be moved indoors to the Minnesota Humanities Event Center.
This event is part of MHC’s 2025 summer “Summer on the Lawn” series.
About Open Eye Theatre
Open Eye Theatre is nationally recognized for bringing a visual feast of evocative figure theater to the stage. The company’s whimsical yet profound work surprises and delights whether experienced in the company’s historic jewel box theater in Minneapolis or in neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities with the Driveway Tour. From experimental object works to puppet shows in backyards to community pageants to miniature spectacles, Open Eye consistently creates a unique, contagious exchange between artists and audiences.
About Rose Lani and The Rosies Posies
Rose Lani is a children’s musician who combines her love for music & literacy with children of all ages! She delights kids and families with her ‘ukulele and fun, original songs which promote learning, positivity, and community.
Musician friends Caitlin Halmrast Lucic and Miz Kathleen are The Rosie Posies, who bring on the energetic beat! Caitlin (on drums and percussion) is a longtime music educator and musician in the Twin Cities and beyond. Miz Kathleen (on electric bass) is a Saint Paul librarian who performs music in libraries and other venues.
With upbeat and positive original songs, plus new spins on traditional tunes, Rose Lani and The Rosie Posies can’t wait to music-a-long with you!
Registration
Registration is encouraged but not required. There is no cost to attend.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

St. Paul - Minnesota Writers Off the Page: Mubanga Kalimamukwento
2025-09-10 18:30 - 20:30 | Black Garnet Books, 1319 University Ave W, St. Paul, 55104, United States
Join us for a special evening with Mubanga Kalimamukwento, author of “Obligations to the Wounded,” winner of this year’s Minnesota Book Award for novel/short story. Mubanga will be in conversation with Mona Susan Power, and along with readings from the book, their discussion will explore creative writing, the short story craft, family, culture, emigration, and more. Audience members will be invited to participate in a Q&A session, enjoy light refreshments, and have further informal conversation with the featured speakers. Copies of “Obligations to the Wounded” will be available for purchase, and the evening will finish with a book signing.
About the Speakers
Mubanga Kalimamukwento was born in Lusaka, Zambia. Her creative work has appeared or is forthcoming in adda, Aster(ix), Contemporary Verse 2, Kweli, Overland, The Ex-Puritan, Menelique, on Netflix, and elsewhere, and her editorial work can be found or is forthcoming in Shenandoah, the Water~Stone Review, Doek! Literary Magazine, and Safundi. She founded Ubwali Literary Magazine and co-founded the Idembeka Creative Writing Workshop. When she’s not writing or editing, Mubanga serves as a Mentor at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. She is a PhD student in the Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies at the University of Minnesota (Twin-Cities), where she is also an Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC) Scholar. Mubanga lives in Minnesota with her husband and their two children.
Mona Susan Power is the author of four books of fiction and has written short stories and essays that have appeared in publications and anthologies such as The Atlantic, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and Granta. She received a bachelor’s degree and JD from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her first novel, “The Grass Dancer,” was published in 1994.
Mona is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna Dakhóta). She was born and raised in Chicago and now lives in Minneapolis.
This event is presented in partnership with Black Garnet Books, an independent bookstore in Saint Paul, MN that offers a curated selection of books and art by authors and illustrators of color in an environment that encourages learning, joyful interaction, and communal care for everyone who visits. This event is part of the Minnesota Writers Off the Page series, bringing the inspirational voices of Minnesota’s authors directly to readers.
Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
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Red Wing – Minnesota Children’s Book Festival
2025-09-13 11:00 - 16:00 | Anderson Center at Tower View, 163 Tower View Drive, Red Wing, MN, 55066, United States
The Anderson Center at Tower View is pleased to announce that the 26th annual Minnesota Children’s Book Festival will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. This beloved event features presentations of new books by award-winning authors and illustrators writing for young readers through middle grade. Taking place at the Anderson Center’s beautiful, historic Tower View campus, the Children’s Book Festival is an ideal opportunity for families to connect, learn, and play.
Throughout the afternoon, each author or illustrator presents their work, reads from their book, and participates in a meet & greet and book signing booth. Taking place outdoors, the event also features hands-on activities that engage the mind, body, and imagination. With balloons, face painting, art-making, kid-friendly food trucks, and more, there’s something to delight the inner child in all of us.
This event is FREE and all ages are welcome!
The Minnesota Humanities Center will be tabling throughout the day — stop by to say hello, learn more about our book projects, and let us know you saw the event on our website to win a prize!
For a complete schedule of events, please visit the Anderson Center website.
Schedule of Events

Fort Snelling - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-09-13 13:00 - 14:30 | Fort Snelling State Park, 101 Snelling Lake Road, St. Paul, MN, 55111, United States
To understand the challenges African Americans still face in being seen as full citizens in America today, it is important for us to understand the origin story of the path of formerly enslaved people becoming citizens. The past is not dead; it is not even really the past.
This film, created with our movie production partner OMG Studios, features Federal Minnesota District Court Judge Jerry Blackwell, author of Just Mercy and prominent civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Macalester University Professor Duchess Harris, and a cameo by Minnesota’s First Lady of Civil Rights, Dr. Josie Johnson.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: ftsnelling@mnhs.org
Register Now

Winona - Shorelines and Storylines: An Artist Gathering
2025-09-19 18:00 - 21:00 | Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Drive, Winona, 55987, United States
Join us for a special evening of reflection, story, and shared warmth around the fire (weather permitting). This gathering offers an opportunity to connect with the artists of Once Upon A Shore through a special panel conversation moderated by guest exhibition curator, Heid E. Erdrich. Enjoy passed appetizers, and purchase drinks from Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM)’s Water Bar Cafe & Provisions. The Minnesota Humanities Center is excited to partner with MMAM to highlight artists Gwen Nell Westerman, Tashia Hart, and Cole Redhorse Taylor who have contributed to the Native American Lives Series, books by and about Dakota and Ojibwe Minnesotans, for middle grade readers. Guests are also invited to purchase a variety of books created by exhibition artists, including the newest publications Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector, Charles Albert Bender: National Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher, Peggy Flanagan: Lieutenant Governor, and Carrie Cavender Schommer: Dakota Language Teacher, and have your copy signed and personalized.
Registration
Shorelines and Storylines is organized by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Registration through the Minnesota Marine Art Museum is required to attend.
Register Now

Fergus Falls - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-10-02 18:00 - 19:30 | Westridge Theater, 2001 West Lincoln Ave, Fergus Falls, 56537, United States
To understand the challenges African Americans still face in being seen as full citizens in America today, it is important for us to understand the origin story of the path of formerly enslaved people becoming citizens. The past is not dead; it is not even really the past.
This film, created with our movie production partner OMG Studios, features Federal Minnesota District Court Judge Jerry Blackwell, author of Just Mercy and prominent civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Macalester University Professor Duchess Harris, and a cameo by Minnesota’s First Lady of Civil Rights, Dr. Josie Johnson.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
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St. Paul & Online - Minnesota Writers Off the Page: Bronson Lemer
2025-10-09 18:30 - 20:30 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Join us for an engaging reading and discussion exploring the collection of contemplative essays that form “The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship” by Bronson Lemer. Bronson will be joined by poet and Veteran Jessi Atherton as they consider how the book chronicles a journey for a sense of self, community, and belonging, Bronson’s experiences of serving in the military, gaining awareness of his sexual orientation, and living abroad as a gay man. Following the discussion, audience members are invited to participate in a Q&A session, enjoy light refreshments, and have further informal conversation with the featured speakers. Copies of “The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship” will be available for purchase, and the evening will finish with a book signing. This is a hybrid event; participants can join in-person or online.
About the Speakers
Bronson Lemer served as a carpenter in the Army National Guard for six years, including deployments to Kosovo in 2000 and Iraq in 2003. Besides “The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship,” he is the author of “The Last Deployment: How a Gay, Hammer-Swinging Twentysomething Survived a Year in Iraq” (University of Wisconsin Press, 2011). In 2019, he was named a McKnight Writing Fellow. He lives in St. Paul and teaches writing at the University of Minnesota, Rochester.
Jessi Atherton is a mother, healer, Veteran, poet, lover of scrabble and charcuterie. Her writing touches on lived experiences and themes of motherhood, military, mental health, grief, healing, and humanity. Jessi is a Minnesota Humanities Center 2019 Veterans Voices awardee, a member and facilitator of Warrior Writers, a board member of the League of Minnesota Poets, and the Minnesota Assistant Counsel for Veterans. She is a 2023 Pat Tillman Scholar and US Army Veteran who served in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jessi’s work has been published throughout the years with Nodin Press, The Cuddy Foundation, Iliad Press, McGregor Publishing, the International Library of Poetry, and Middle West Press. Her first full collection, “The Time War Takes,” came out in April 2023 and received honorable mention in Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole Inaugural Biennial Award for Distinguished Book in Veterans Studies, 2024 and made Community of Literary Magazines and Presses must read for Women’s History Month, 2024. Jessi is the mom to three amazing daughters, a mental health nurse, and works as a Psychiatric Mental Health nurse practitioner.
This event is part of the Minnesota Writers Off the Page series, bringing the inspirational voices of Minnesota’s authors directly to readers. This event is presented in partnership with Quatrefoil Library; based in Minneapolis, Quatrefoil Library collects, maintains, documents and circulates gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer materials and information in a safe and accessible space, in order to promote understanding, an appreciation of diversity and history, and the value of communities.
Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
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Duluth - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-10-10 15:00 - 16:30 | Zeitgeist Center for Arts, 222 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN, 55802, United States

Edina - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-10-21 18:30 - 20:30 | Edina Mann Theatre, 3911 W. 5th St., Edina, MN, 55424, United States
To understand the challenges African Americans still face in being seen as full citizens in America today, it is important for us to understand the origin story of the path of formerly enslaved people becoming citizens. The past is not dead; it is not even really the past.
This film, created with our movie production partner OMG Studios, features Federal Minnesota District Court Judge Jerry Blackwell, author of Just Mercy and prominent civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Macalester University Professor Duchess Harris, and a cameo by Minnesota’s First Lady of Civil Rights, Dr. Josie Johnson.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
This screening is part of the Twin Cities Film Festival (TCFF). Tickets must be purchased through TCFF.
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Minneapolis - 50th Anniversary Joint Commemoration Immersive Digital Experience
2025-10-25 10:00 - 17:00 | Royalston Square, 501 Royalston Ave, Minneapolis, 55405, United States
Walk through a history of the shared – similar yet very different – journeys of the Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese communities, and Minnesota’s U.S. Vietnam Veterans, as they navigated war, refugee camps, and their eventual new lives in the United States. Floor to ceiling images allow for an immersive experience that will transport you, educate you, and offer a new perspective on the resilience of these communities. Recommended for children older than 10.

https://www.mnhum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/immersive_promo.mp4
This event is part of the 50th Anniversary Joint Commemoration programming recognizing the end of the Vietnam War, Secret War in Laos, and Southeast Asian conflict
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St. Paul - 50th Joint Commemoration Community Events
2025-11-01 12:00 - 19:00, 2025-11-02 10:00 - 17:00 | Union Depot, 214 4th St E, St. Paul, 55101, United States
Enjoy food concessions, craft vendors, entertainment, exhibits, artifacts, and much more, representing Minnesota’s vibrant Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese communities, and Vietnam War era Veterans from their experiences in 1970s Southeast Asia to refugee camps and their harrowing journeys to Minnesota.
Schedule of Performances

Saturday, November 1

12:00p.m. to 12:30p.m. – National anthems (Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese, United States)

12:30p.m. to 2:00p.m. – “America’s Secret War | Minnesota Remembers Vietnam” (Twin Cities PBS) film screening followed by a moderated panel conversation

2:00p.m. to 2:15p.m. – Lam Mahasay Dance, Lao Culture Dance Fashion MN, traditional Lao dance

2:15p.m. to 2:30p.m. – Ánh Hà, Vietnamese musical instruments

2:30p.m. to 3:00p.m. – Larry Johnson, 11 Times on the Vietnam Wall, storytelling

3:00p.m. to 3:15p.m. – Simon Ecklund, original music, vocal performance

3:15p.m. to 3:30p.m. – Open

3:30p.m. to 4:00p.m. – Trần Thị Minh Phước & Viet Youth Storytellers Troupe, storytelling

4:00p.m. to 4:15p.m. – Lao Culture Dance Fashion MN, Ket Insisiengmay, vocal performance

4:15p.m. to 4:30p.m. – Open

4:30p.m. to 4:45p.m. – Yan Roeun, One Man Band

4:45p.m. to 5:00p.m. – Ánh Hà, Vietnamese musical instruments

5:00p.m. to 5:15p.m. – Gigi Yau, vocal performance

5:15p.m. to 5:30p.m. – Open

5:30p.m. to 6:00p.m. – Ya Rath Official, Ya Rath and Rothana Seng, traditional Cambodian musical instruments and vocal performance

6:00p.m. to 6:05p.m. – Charles Yang, Hmong vocal performance

6:05p.m. to 6:10p.m. – Chee Nou, Hmong vocal performance

6:10p.m. to 6:15p.m. – Ryan Lee, Hmong vocal performance

6:15p.m. to 6:30p.m. – J2Smooth, Hmong vocal performance

6:30p.m. to 6:45p.m. – Sun Moon & J.I.M. Music, Hmong vocal performance

Sunday, November 2

10:00a.m. to 10:30a.m. – National anthems (Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese, United States)

10:30a.m. to 10:45a.m. – Faith Xiongblaxang, Hmong vocal performance

10:45a.m. to 11:00a.m. – Wattanak Dance Troupe, classical Cambodian dance

11:00a.m. to 12:30p.m. – Moderated Veteran Panel Conversation

12:30p.m. to 12:45p.m. – Narate Keys, Khmer poetry and storytelling

12:45p.m. to 1:00p.m. – Open

1:00p.m. to 1:30p.m. – Hippee Song Revival, David West vocal performance

1:30p.m. to 3:00p.m. – “And a Time to Heal” (Twin Cities PBS) film screening followed by a moderated panel conversation

3:00p.m. to 3:15p.m. – Lao Culture Dance Fashion MN, Ket Insisiengmay, vocal performance

3:15p.m. to 3:30p.m. – “Aries” and “NkaujHmoob Ci”, Hmong traditional dance

3:30p.m. to 3:45p.m. – NewSONG, Nancy Thor, musical instruments

3:45p.m. to 4:00p.m. – Open

4:00p.m. to 4:15p.m. – Tu Bi Tu, Vietnamese Dragon Dance

4:15p.m. to 4:30p.m. – Official Lina Lee, Hmong vocal performance

4:30p.m. to 4:45p.m. – Saint Lydia, Lydia Yang vocal performance

Vendors

cacTEA House
Dearest Baker
Hello Boba
Jaidee Food Company
Jasmine

Kruncy Munchies
Mochinut
Oppa Sweets Cotton Candy
Papaya Witch
Ruam Mit

Ao dai Boutiques MN
Gaginang Greetings
TAKL Insurance
Ybeauty Nails

This event is part of the 50th Joint Commemoration programming recognizing the end of the Vietnam War, Secret War in Laos, and Southeast Asian conflict.
Learn More

Rochester - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-11-01 13:00 - 14:30 | Historic Chateau Theater, 15 1st Street Southwest, Rochester, MN, 55902, United States

Red Wing - Art and War: A Conversation
2025-11-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Anderson Center at Tower View, 163 Tower View Drive, Red Wing, MN, 55066, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center and Anderson Center for a moderated conversation with artists who either focus on the representation of war and armed conflict in their art, or who have created art that addressed these subjects. Artists will discuss their creative output, what it means to interpret experiences of warfare, what happens in the act of interpretation and artistic creation, and what the viewing public can learn from interaction with and communal discussion of these works.
About the Artists
Mary Horgan is an artist and retired Staff Sergeant (U.S. Army). Among multiple activations, she served in the Iraq War in 2006. Horgan’s art confronts the harsh realities of war and the honorable pursuit of peace for all. Since retiring, art has become her tool for healing, peace, and resistance. Horgan’s work includes the memorial to women Veterans, “You Will Not Erase Us,” commissioned by the City of Ramsey in Minnesota. She also creates a range of two and three-dimensional art pieces that explore themes of conflict, survival, resistance, nature, beauty, and truth-telling.
Besides her artistic work, Horgan is a mother and grandmother, and caretaker of animals and gardens. She is passionate about our nation’s democracy and creates work rooted in justice, resilience, and deep personal truth and recovery.
Justin Newhall is an American artist currently based in Minneapolis. His work has been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Royal Academy of Arts (London), Galerie Lichtblick (Cologne), Museum of Art at Rhode Island School of Design (Providence), Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and Jen Bekman Gallery (New York), among others.
Newhall is the recipient of artist fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, and Jerome Foundation. His work is represented in public and private collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Walker Art Center, and George Eastman House (New York).
Megan Rye is a visual artist and teacher. She was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1975, and currently lives in Minneapolis. Through paintings, drawings, photography, and artists books, Rye uses visual storytelling to explore themes of migration, citizenship, remembrance, war, and democracy. Rye’s first significant body of work, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” was a series of paintings based on photographs Rye’s brother took while serving in Iraq. This project debuted at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (2007), and was Rye’s first solo exhibit in New York City at Forum Gallery (2011). The aftermath of the Iraq War continues to reverberate, and the paintings have been studied and exhibited widely, including a recent exhibition at the Kunsthalle Emden (Germany).
Rye’s work has been sustained by significant support from the Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board.
About the Moderator
Monica Moses Haller is an artist whose work spans photography, writing, sound, and focuses on personal details that explore violence and possibilities within social and environmental systems. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. Moses Haller has exhibited and lectured at locations including Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, Leipzig; and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Her artist books are collected by intuitions ranging from the Tate Modern, London, to MOMA, New York. Moses Haller works internationally and is based in her hometown of Minneapolis, where she is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Department of Art.
This program is presented in partnership with Anderson Center at Tower View, a Red Wing-based arts and humanities organization that celebrates the imagination and support the development of new arts and ideas through residencies, studios, and public engagement.
Registration
This event is free to attend. Registration is encouraged. Light refreshments will be served at the event.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

St. Cloud - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-11-08 13:00 - 14:30 | Atwood Memorial Center, St. Cloud University, 720 4th Ave. South, St. Cloud, MN, 56301, United States

St. Paul - Reconstruction Destructed Film & Community Conversation
2025-11-09 13:00 - 14:30 | Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington Pkwy N., St. Paul, 55104, United States

The Great Northern Festival: Poets Building Community
2026-01-29 17:00 - 19:00 | The Loft at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, United States
Join us at The Great Northern Festival for an evening of poetry, conversation, and civic imagination as The Loft hosts Poets Building Community, a special gathering of Poets Laureate from across Minnesota. This event is the culminating public program of Minneapolis Poet Laureate Junauda Petrus’s 2025–2026 laureate year.
Guided by Petrus’s central question—“What does community look like for you?”—Poets Laureate will share original poems and reflect on the civic and cultural work they carry into their communities. The evening will weave together art, storytelling, and public purpose, offering a rare glimpse into how poets help shape the places we call home.
Featured poets will include:

Junauda Petrus, Minneapolis Poet Laureate
Gwen Nell Westerman, Minnesota State Poet Laureate
Jean Prokott, Rochester Poet Laureate
Donte Collins, former St. Paul Youth Poet Laureate
Heid E. Erdrich, inaugural Minneapolis Poet Laureate
Joyce Sutphen, former Minnesota State Poet Laureate

The conversation will be moderated by Cristeta Boarini, Partnerships Manager at the Loft.
We will also take a moment to recognize Andrea Jenkins for her contributions as a poet and her pivotal role in establishing the Minneapolis Poet Laureate position – (City Council Member 2017-2025).
Come celebrate the power of poetry to build connection, spark change, and imagine new futures together.
Registration
This event is free and open to all, however registration through The Loft is required.
Registration Questions: loft@loft.org
Register Now
