MEMORIAL DAY LOOK

What I Wore On Memorial Day:   
               Red Gingham Shirt:  Merona
               Sweater Vest:  Polo Ralph Lauren
               Bow Tie:  The Bow Tie Shoppe
               Blue Shorts:  Izod
               Shoes:  Sperry Top-Siders

               Bracelet: KJP For Brooks Brothers

               Watch:  Timex

               Watch Strap:  Brooks Brothers

***What did you wear for Memorial Day?

STILL BY YOUR SIDE

Go ye to the graves and decorate,


Place flags for boys who have died;


Kneel down and say prayers for your loved ones,


But know they're still by your side!


~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, "Memorial Day—1945"

***How are you remembering our fallen heros?

MEMORIAL DAY PREPARATIONS

The grounds crew at Lakewood Cemetery was busy yesterday preparing for the Memorial Day weekend events and activities.  Everywhere we looked, people were mowing lawns, putting up flags (both along the driveways and at gravesites), and selling flowers to decorate the graves of loved ones.

***What preparations are being done in your area for the Memorial Day       weekend?

LUNCH AT THE CLUB

Each year, the School of Theology at St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, sponsors a Business and Theology lunch at the Minneapolis Club, and for the past few years I’ve been privileged to attend.  This year’s speaker was Chris Lowney, and the presentation was excellent as always.

Lunch was served . . . 

 . . . Before the presentation.

Perhaps, what I enjoy most, is that these lunches are hosted by the Minneapolis Club.  When I moved here fourteen years ago and began exploring my new city, one of the very first buildings I encountered was the Minneapolis Club.  In a sea of standard glass office towers, this beautiful ivy covered brick building stood out, and its sophisticated style and beauty, captured my attention.  It is by far one of the most distinguished buildings in downtown Minneapolis.

The club was founded by John Pillsbury and Charles Loring (prominent early figures in Minneapolis) in 1883, and was housed in several locations before finally settling at its current location in 1909.  Over the years the Club would host world leaders such a Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, as well as several U.S. Presidents and other noted figures.  It reminds me of the era of private “Men’s Clubs” but has evolved to meet the current times; doing so with the dignity and grace that befits the institution. 

The Minneapolis Club is still a private club, so membership is by invitation only, but unlike the stuffy stereotype of private clubs, their website reminds us that they seek out “A diverse membership with no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, disability, age, marital status or national origin.”  This is the forward thinking that has come to symbolize Minneapolis, and is the element that has allowed the Minneapolis Club to flourish while so many other clubs have folded.

The Club is ranked among the Five Star Platinum Clubs of the world, and it's an honor it truly deserves.  Their staff is amazingly friendly, helpful, and polite, and the Club always provides a gracious and welcoming atmosphere, rooted in the traditions of their past.  I’ve mentioned before how providing a contemporary environment while maintaining a traditional grounding is a difficult line to tow, but I truly feel the Minneapolis Club has perfected it to an art form.

While I suspect it is unlikely I will be asked to join, I feel honored and grateful to attend these meetings there each year, and to be hosted by the Clubs first-rate staff, which always makes me welcomed.  I have a great love for heritage and tradition which continues to draw me to the Minneapolis Club, but it is their genuine care, concern, superior service, and welcoming atmosphere that keep me coming back.  It is truly a privilege and an honor to be hosted by this fine institution.

***What private clubs are in your area?

CHILLY SPRING MORNINGS

Even though the calendar says that we are approaching the Memorial Day weekend, we have still had some fairly chilly mornings here in Minneapolis.  In fact it was downright cold here at the beginning of the week.  These somewhat unseasonably cool days make me glad that I haven’t put my sweaters away yet.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I went on a shopping trip to the outlet mall near my home, and was able to pick up some great products on sale.  One of the stores I always have to stop into is the Brooks Brothers outlet, and I’m glad I did this time.

As I was looking around, I stumbled on a number of supima cotton sweaters on sale.  Over the years I’ve come to love Brooks Brothers supima sweaters.  They are very comfortable, and just the right weight to keep out the chill, without becoming a sauna, making them perfect for spring.  I chose two sweaters in beautiful shades of purple and Kelly green.

With the cool mornings that still plague us from time to time here in Minnesota, I really appreciate these wonderful sweaters.  The colors are beautiful, and the 100% supima cotton fabric, makes them perfect for our northern spring!

***What are you favorite springtime sweaters?

SINGING OF KING DAVID

I love pleasant surprises, and there is just an incredible feeling I get when amazing opportunities present themselves unexpectedly.  One of those opportunity came up over the weekend.

Last Thursday, a coworker of mine, invited me to go with her to see the Oratorio Society of Minnesota's final concert of their season.  You will remember that I had gone to two of their Downton Abbey themed concerts last year (here and here).  I like the OSM but don’t get to their concerts that often, so this was a wonderful surprise, and I immediately said “Yes!”

Waiting for the concert to begin.

Matthew Mehaffey, conductor for the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, 

welcomes everyone to the concert.

Dr. Rolf Jacobson's pre-concert presentation.

The performance opened with a short presentation by Dr. Rolf Jacobson from Luther Seminary, who spoke on “The Psalms, David and Hebrew Poetry.”  The presentation gave wonderful background to the different types of psalms, and how they were used, and spoke of their poetic nature and relationship to King David.  David, we learned, is mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) more times than anyone else – more than Moses, and even more than Abraham.  The presentation was a fascinating look at a complex man.

The choir . . .

. . . And soloists perform Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.

The concert consisted of two works, the first was Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, a contemporary arrangement of seven psalms sung in their original Hebrew.  The piece was an excellent example of how the different types of psalms, mentioned in Dr. Jacobson’s talk, could be used.  I hadn’t heard this piece before and really enjoyed it.

Conductor, Matthew Mehaffey, introduces Honegger's King David.

After a brief intermission the OSM performed their main piece, Arthur Honegger’s King David.  I wasn’t familiar with this piece beforehand, but it was nothing short of amazing!  The piece - a combination of narratives, solos, instrumentals, and choir selections - was divided into three parts showing David as a youth, an adult, and an old man.  The feel of each section offered a wonderful portrayal of the complex person that David was.  

Narrator, Andrew Stoebig, was an unexpected highlight of the performance.

While the music was incredible, the highlight, for me, was Andrew Stoebig, who served as narrator for the piece.  Stoebig was simply awesome, and I hope I have an opportunity to hear him again.  His interpretation of the narrative was truly the cohesive element of the piece.

Roseville Lutheran Church hosted this magnificent performance.

I have always enjoyed The Oratorio Society of Minnesota concerts I’ve attend over the years, and this one was no exception.  It was a spectacular performance, which helped to once again showcase how fortunate we are to have such quality groups here in the Twin Cities.

***Are you familiar with either the Chichester Psalms or King David?

ART-A-WHIRL

A few weeks ago my friend Marisa and I attended the Art Crawl in Saint Paul, and this weekend I joined my friends Steve and Todd at Art-A-Whirl, the art crawl held each year on the third weekend of May in Northeast Minneapolis.  This was my first year attending Art-A-Whirl, and we got there a bit late so we were limited as to how many studios we were able see.

The old Grain Belt Brewery is one of the most beautiful buildings 

in Northeast Minneapolis.

We had inadvertently started at the least busy area, and by the time we had reached the section with most of the artists it was nearing closing time, but now we know which locations to spend our time at in the future.

Northeast is the oldest area in Minneapolis.  It began as a separate city named St. Anthony (not to be confused with the current cities of St. Anthony and St, Anthony Park) along the east bank of the Mississippi River, near St. Anthony Falls.  The area grew as a milling community and was eventually merged with Minneapolis in 1872.  Over the next several decades, many industrial and manufacturing companies would come call Northeast home.

This painting is of a coffee house near where I live in Uptown. 

Steve and Todd getting ideas for remodeling their new house.

I love this old typewriter.

Today many of these manufacturing building – most noted the Northrup King Building, the Thorp Building and the Casket Arts Building - are home to hundreds of local artist’s lofts and studios, and Minneapolis officially recognized the area as the Arts District in 2003.  Today the Art-A-Whirl art crawl, run by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), encompasses more than 400 art studios. 

Local flair.

The area is home to many ethnic churches including 

St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral.

This was my first year attending the event, and I will definitely go back.  Now that I know which areas have the most studios to see, it will make planning the day much easier.  I will also need to make sure I get there earlier so that I have time to see everything.  If you love art, and like supporting local artists, you will want to check out Art-A-Whirl, as it’s an event not to be missed.  See you next May!

***Do you have local art crawls in your community?