The Erratic and Occasional Newsletter of the Minnesota Garlic Festival
WWW.MNGARLICFEST.COM
ENTERTAINMENT EDITION
(Yes, we know this is online with some cool pictures, but this issue has additional tidbits not on the website just for our readers)
- THE WEDGE CO-OP LOCAL FOODS/LOCAL ARTS STAGE
- THE KIDS STAGE
- THE PECULIAR PRAGMATIC PROMENADE
- OTHER EVENTS
- SCHEDULES
THE WEDGE CO-OP LOCAL FOODS/LOCAL ARTS STAGE
CELEBRITY CHEF DEMOS
These cacophonies of cuisine commence every hour, under the direction of our Chef Wrangle and Maven of Mmmm, Mary Jane Miller. We’ll announce the line up in July.
THE GARLIC DIVA
Her Royal Pungentness, Allicin Alio, the reigning Garlic Diva of the Known Universe, the Vanquisher of Vampires, the Princess of Pesto, etc., etc., returns to the festival* to perform songs about the King of Herbs and other gastronomical adventures, while giving practical tips on using garlic to improve your love life**. Offstage, she is Kitty Karn, a Professor of Musical Theatre at Western Illinois University*** and veteran of the operatic and musical theatre stage. The Garlic Diva will be joined by the sensational songstress, Mariénne Kreitlow, composer of the top 10 hits about garlic (check out her YouTube video and the two-headed cow).
MU COMMUNITY TAIKO DRUMMERS
The Mu Community Taiko Drummers (www.muperformingarts.org) return with their highly physical and riveting Japanese drumming – kind of like if Bruce Lee had been a percussionist. As zestful and potent as garlic itself, these enthusiastic and impressive players will thunder and shake the performance stage.
STORIES FROM INDIA
Zaraawar Mistry performs stories he heard during his colorful childhood in India, such as Akbar and Birbal and Tales from the Panchatantra, interwoven with enticing questions and clever riddles. Greg Herriges enhances the stories with live accompaniment on the guitar, bouzouki and zither. Zaraawar is the director of Dreamland Arts in St. Paul, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune called Greg a “guitar renegade”.
CELTIC MUSIC from CLAIRSEACH
Ann Heymann is a master of the Gaelic harp and leads the instrument’s revival today. With her husband and multi-instrumentalist/singer, Charlie, they are the entrancing duo, “Clairseach” (Gaelic for “Harp”). They appear in concerts and festivals throughout the world, get all kinds of rave reviews, and we’ve been trying to get them to the festival since we started. If we’re really lucky, their lovely daughters, Honor and Orla, will be along to so some Irish dancing with them.
THE NARREN
The Narren of New Ulm is an entire village of elaborately masked characters – funny, quirky and just a bit scary – each with their own personality and story. An old German festival tradition (“narren” means fool), think of them as the relatives everyone has but no one wants to own. And what’s not to love about a whole village of idiots!
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE PIPE & DRUM CORPS
Slainte Mhath!**** If all that great garlic hasn’t scared the vampires away, this should do it: Scottish bagpipes and drums at their finest!
THE KIDS STAGE
MUDBOOTS CREW MARCHING BAND: Just to prove that the Garlic Festival is still on the cutting edge of whackiness, we’ve recruited this merry band of mudboot wearing musicans and marchers from Western Minnesota. Read more about them below in PECULIAR PRAGMATIC PROMENADE, and in the last issue of Stinky News.
Also: THE NARREN & STORIES FROM INDIA
Plus: A workshop preparing kids to participate in the PECULIAR PRAGMATIC PROMENADE!
And Old Time Games, like sack races, veggie bowling and more.
THE PECULIAR PRAGMATIC PROMENADE
YOU can be a part of the parade! Bring your costume, your act – can you juggle? Hula Hoop? Dance? – or just your peppy promenading self and join in! Meet at the twin silos at 1:20 p.m.
The Promenade proceeds at precisely 1:37 p.m. to perambulate the public party already in progress at the Festival.
Also marching: Mudboots Crew Marching Band, Minneapolis Pipe and Drum Corps, The Narren, Mu Community Taiko Drummers, The Garlic Diva, The Garlic Princesses, and many more…and YOU!*****
OTHER EVENTS
KITE MAKING & FLYING
2:00 – 4:00: Kids of all ages can build and decorate your own kite, and then go fly it! All under the direction of Dave Herzig, former director of The Minnesota Kite Society, with the help of his lovely assistant, Mike Lilja, renewable energy consultant, Crow River Sustainable Farming Association Board Member and farmer, who has never done anything like this before but that hasn’t stopped him yet. Now, that’s what we call wind power!
WINE TASTING
Heartland Wine Trail is putting together one heck of a WINE TASTING for this year’s festival. Minnesota vineyards will serve up their very best, and you can sample it all for $6.00 (in addition to the $5 festival admissions). Tasting goes from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. We’ll write more about this later.
ORGANIC FASHION SHOW
Sponsor by Crow River Arts, and directed by fabric artist Careen Pierson, our very first fashion show sallies forth at 11:30 in the Argibition Building. Careen is looking for models – contact her at 320-587-5602.
SCHEDULES
WEDGE CO-OP STAGE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
10:30 The Garlic Diva
11:00 Chef Demo #1
11:30 The Garlic Diva
12:00 Chef Demo #2
12:30 Stories from India
1:00 Chef Demo #3
(12:37) Peculiar Pragmatic Promenade
2:00 Chef Demo #4
2:30 Clairseach
3:00 Chef Demo #5
3:30 Clairseach
4:00 Chef Demo #6
4:30 The Narren
4:45 Mu Community Taiko Drummers
5:00 Chef Demo #7
5:30 Mu Community Taiko Drummers
5:55 Minneapolis Pipe & Drum Corp closes the festival
KIDS STAGE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
10:05 Mudboots Crew Marching Band
10:30 Games
11:00 The Narren
11:30 Games
12:30 “Be In the Promenade” Workshop
(12:37) Peculiar Pragmatic Promenade
3:00 Games
4:00 Stories from India
5:00 Games
6th Annual
MINNESOTA GARLIC FESTIVAL
Saturday, August 13, 2011
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
McLeod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson
All Weather Event!
Adults $5, Kids $3, Babies Free, Free Parking
No Pets please.
www.mngarlicfest.com
Contact:
Jerry Ford
Events Coordinator
Sustainable Farming Association of MN
(320) 543-3394
jerry
sfa-mn
org
* The Garlic Diva graced our gathering in the first and second years, but then revolution spread through her home kingdom of Sativum, during which her otherwise loyal subjects presented a list of demands that included free tickets to the Garlic Festival, greater control over the national menu (to which she responded, “Let them eat garlic”), and an additional Saturday in every calendar month. The issues have, thankfully, been resolved – though her subjects only got 2-for-1 coupons like everyone else – so the Garlic Diva is free to travel, and there will be even more of her once again loyal subjects in attendance.
** Tip #1: Garlic is the Food of Love, as long as both partake.
*** But she was born in Albert Lea, so she’s still a Minnesotan.
**** Scottish Gaelic for “to your health,” equivalent to “cheers.”
***** We actually give prizes for this stuff. You can win in the categories of “Most Peculiar,” “Most Pragmatic,” and “Most Promenadish.”
MN Garlic Festival is produced by the Crow River Chapter of Sustainable Farming Association of MN