Today in the ArtZany Radio studio Paula Granquist celebrates National Library Week with highlights and happenings at the Northfield Public Library with Natalie Draper, Director of Library Services and Angelica Linder, Outreach Manager.

https://mynpl.org/home

Celebrate Asia Pasifika

Saturday, May 2, 2026

11:00am - 2:00pm

This third annual event, the result of an exciting collaboration between the Northfield Public Library and St. Olaf’s Asian Studies Department and Academic Civic Engagement Office, will feature entertaining and educational programming throughout the day. Join us for food, music, dancing, and more!

Concert: Northfield Handbell Choir

Sunday, May 3, 2026

3:00pm - 4:00pm

From classical (Grieg) to jazz (Dave Brubeck) to popular show tunes (Les Misérables), the Northfield Handbell Ensemble's annual Spring Concert offers a fun and eclectic mix of music for the entire family.

Roving Story Hour with Andrea Mazzariello

Tuesday, May 12, 20266:00pm - 7:00pm

Local artist, musician, writer Andrea Mazzariello makes a stop at the library on his Roving Story Hour circuit to read a portion of his in progress novel.

https://www.andreamazzariello.com/work/roving-story-hour

Aloha Storytime with Rose Oyamot

Thursday, May 14, 2026

10:00am - 11:00am

Sing along with Ms. Rose and her ukulele as we explore stories and interactive songs celebrating Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian heritage! Aloha Storytime is designed for a Pre-K audience. All are welcome. Registration for all participants is required.

Children's Day/ Book Day - Día de los Niños/Día del Libro

Thursday, April 30, 2026

4:00pm - 5:00pm

Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day with us!

Learn about and celebrate Puerto Rico through interactive storytelling, music, dancing, and a fun craft activity, along with an activity sheet to continue exploring cultures at home. Pamela Michelli, an Afro-Latina artist born in Puerto Rico, celebrates culture and language through dance, literature, and community programs.This event will be held at the Library Oasis at the Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC), 1651 Jefferson Parkway, and is free and open to the public.

Photo Exhibit: Minnesota Summer Birds

Photo Exhibit: May 18 - June 2

Presentation: Wednesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Most Northfielders are familiar with the birds one commonly sees in our neighborhoods, such as robins, crows, and starlings, or birds that come to our feeders, such as nuthatches, chickadees, and Downy Woodpeckers. But there are many other birds that nest in the area that are rarely seen by most people. Gerry Hoekstra will offer a talk on Minnesota’s summer birds, using his own photographs as illustrations and focusing especially on the birds most of us rarely, if ever, see.

Gerald Hoekstra is a resident of Northfield. Before retiring to a life of birding and photography, he was Professor of Music at St. Olaf College. As a photographer, he focuses primarily on wildlife, especially birds and insects, but also photographs landscapes and architecture. Hoekstra has birded and photographed wildlife internationally, as well as throughout the U.S. and Canada. His photographs appear in a number of publications and can often be seen on the home page of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (moumn.org).

CELEBRACIÓN DE LA HERENCIA HISPANA –

HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION 2026

Saturday, September 19, 2026

11:00am - 4:00pm

Join us for a vibrant celebration honoring the richness and diversity of Hispanic heritage. Weaving Community / Tejiendo Comunidad invites us to reflect on how our cultures, traditions, and stories intertwine like threads forming a strong and beautiful fabric. Enjoy cultural performances, traditional foods, arts and crafts, and family-friendly activities that celebrate and connect our community. The bookmobile will also be onsite with resources for all ages.

This event is free and open to the public.

Concept developed in collaboration with community volunteer Thais Gaona Brockway.

Today in the ArtZany Radio studio Paula Granquist welcomes Pauline Jennings, Performing Arts Manager at the Northfield Arts Guild and Jake Morton from Tractorhead to preview the next 411 Concert Series - The Singer’s Voice concert with Connie Evingson, a new production of Little Wars, and the Guild fundraising gala Gallop with the Guild with bluegrass from Tractorhead.

https://northfieldartsguild.org

411 Concert Series – The Singer’s Voice

Sunday, 19 April 2026

Connie Evingson with Dan Chouinard @ 7pm

Northfield Arts Guild Theater, 411 Third Street West, Northfield

https://northfieldartsguild.org/arts/music/411-series/

2025 – 2026 is the fourteenth 411 Concert Series season. (411 is the address of the theater!) This series features regional and nationally-recognized artists in the intimate venue of the Northfield Arts Guild Theater and offers a truly unique listening and viewing experience.

Minnesota born-and-raised, Connie Evingson has a catalog of acclaimed albums that cover a wide range within the jazz genre. From jazz to Broadway standards, to covering Peggy Lee or The Beatles, the Twin Cities-based singer has an adventurous spirit that, like her music, knows no boundaries. Her ten albums released through Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the United States and Canada, and can be heard on radio stations around the globe.

For nearly four decades Dan Chouinard has been pianist and accordionist of choice for a who’s who of Twin Cities performers, an enabler of community sing-alongs, and writer and host of hit shows for radio, concert hall and theatrical stage.

Toward the Guild’s goal of lifting up the young and aspiring, every show includes a talented local young musician(s).

4.19.26 OPENER: Samantha ZenkSam is a junior and vocalist at Northfield High School. Out of all the music she has been able to perform, the styles she always comes back to are a mix of jazz, pop, and classic rock. You may recognize her from Rock and Roll Revival, as well as The NHS Choirs!

Little Wars

Presented by Out of the Mist Celtic Theater and Northfield Arts Guild Theatre

Friday, 24 April and Saturday, 25 April at 7:30PM

Sunday, 26 April at 2PM

Calvary Baptist Church (Glanton Theatre)

2608 Blaisdell Avenue, Minneapolis

http://outofthemistceltictheater.com/

Tickets are $20 and all proceeds will be donated to the Immigrant Law Center.

Little Wars is a co-production of Northfield Arts Guild Theater and Out Of The Mist Celtic Theatre.

Little Wars is set on the eve of Hitler’s WWII Invasion of France in 1940. The most influential women of their time (Gertrude Stein, Lillian Hellman, Agatha Christie, Alice B. Toklas, Dorothy Parker and more) gather for an imaginary dinner party to discuss the onslaught of fascism: they argue, laugh and console; there are confessions made, secrets shared and a mystery to solve. Written by Steven McCasland and hailed by New York Critics as brilliant and mesmerizing, this timely drama explores the impacts of antisemitism as it spreads across Europe.

Steven McCasland will join us for the Friday April 24th performance.

Gallop with the Guild on April 30th

The 2026 Guild Fundraiser at Reunion (501 Division St., Northfield) promises another fantastic evening filled with excellent food, drinks, entertainment, and fun — all to support the Guild’s mission of making art accessible for everyone in the community.

Derby-Inspired Cocktails – Buffet – Silent Auction

Thursday, 30 April at 5:30PMTickets: $75 each

northfieldartsguild.org

Don your best Derby Dubs and win a prize!

Today in the ArtZany Radio studio Paula Granquist welcomes guests from the Paradise Community Theatre at the Paradise Center for the Arts for the production of the Neil Simon play Jake’s Women. The story centers on Jake, a novelist who is more successful with fiction than with life.

paradisecenterforthearts.org

https://www.paradisecenterforthearts.com

(use while their main website is being repaired)

Jakes’s Women

Presented by Paradise Community Theatre

By Neil Simon

Directed by Palmer Huff

America's premier comic playwright makes another hilarious foray into the world of modern relationships. Jake, a novelist who is more successful with fiction than with life, faces a marital crisis by daydreaming about the women in his life. The wildly comic and sometimes moving flashbacks played in his mind are interrupted by visitations from actual women.

Performances:

Paradise Center for the Arts, 321 Central Avenue North, Faribault, MN

April 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 7:30 PM

April 19 and 26 at 2:00 PM

Tickets: Member: $19.50, Non-Member: $21.50, Student: $15.50 (Includes a $1.50 Processing Fee)

Thank you to our Season Sponsor ~ The Bahl Foundation!

“Jake's Women” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com