Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
In this episode hear a wide variety of the performing arts both locally and abroad. Also stop in for some breakfast at Al’s diner before competing in Survivor Rochester.
0:15 – Question of the week – AQ
2:42 – Mexican Opera – Lizzie Ritchie
7:40 – Not-So-Gay 90’s – Charter Jacobson
15:10 – Al’s Breakfast – Ben Halom
22:10 – Survivor Rochester – Tosin Faseemo
“Like in real life, you have the low points and the high points. Their life had plenty of low points, but they always found the life in even the darkest of situations.” – Luke Votava
Bigfork native Luke Votava wrote a musical about the life and love of his grandparents who lived the majority of their lives in the Red River Valley. After writing one song about a barn as a project as an undergraduate in college, a song cycle began that has snowballed into a full-fledged musical. Tomorrow night at the Edge Center for the Arts, audience members will witness a unique theatrical experience. Professional musicans and vocalists will bring the story and songs of “Dee and Jack” to the stage in a rare occurrence for theater goes as they witness the birth of a musical. No sets, no special lighting, just high quality theatrical reading and professional musicians breathing life into the music and story of love, perseverance, overcoming and a life well-lived.
“I never got to meet my grandpa, because he died at a young age, so I had to do some hunting around. He would send these beautiful love letters to my grandma when he was in the war. I found the letters that he sent her and I got to read thru all these letters and get an idea of his syntax and how he thought and how he spoke and that’s how I got to know him better…it’s really been a way to discover who my grandpa was and how he lived… And my grandma, I was always very close with many grandma Denora, Dee was her nickname… I would meet her after schoon every day. She was one of those people that if you met her once, you knew, you would remember her.” – Luke Votava
“It was a vibrancy very much like Bemidji. A vibrancy of art, of spoke word, of theater and music and it was just this gorgeous little town and there were these sculptures on the corner and we thought, this is really cool to have an outdoor gallery lik this where artists are allowed to display the things they think about and work on. And, you can’t avoid it. You can avoid goinmg into a gallery. You can’t avoid the sculpture walk. So, it’s art on display. Everyboy has an opinion of one way sort of another about it. And it started to happen. We brought that back to Bemidji…It’s been an amazing project.” – Al Belleveau on how Grand Junction CO inspired the sculpture walk
Downtown Bemidji will celebrate 20 years of the Bemidji Sculpture Walk Saturday afternoon. Beltrami Avenue between 3rd and 4th street in downtown Bemidji will transform into a block party celebrating sculpture Saturday, May 22. From 4-8pm. The street will be sprinkled with living art experiences ….At designated times, local actors depicting sculptures and sculptors will share their stories. Al Belleveau will facilitate a community sculpture throughout the evening, Alan Milligan will conduct a bronze pour. Molly Wiste will demonstrate her chain saw art. Local musicians will stroll the street making music.
Cate and Al Belleveau were major forces behind its existenc. In this Area Voices segment, they talk about how the sculpture walk began and the celebration in downtown Bemidji Saturday.
“I love to watch people interacting with the art,” – Al Belleveau
Kelliher High School students recently submitted a video they created to the District Energy “Your Big Idea for a Sustainable Minnesota” video contest. The competition required Minnesota students in grades 6-12 to create video, no longer than three minutes, promoting sustainability and sharing their vision of a better Minnesota. In creating the short films, students had to consider how their video would inspire and educate others and also why their idea would help their community be more sustainable. The Kelliher video was a hit and won the competition, garnering a $5,000 gift for Kelliher Public School from District Energy!
Cede Waldo produced the winning video with fellow students Dorian Prentice, Jordan Ufford and Evan Waldo. The focus of invasive species and their impact on the lakes of northern Minnesota was a natural fit for the project. Kelliher students have spent considerable time learning about the topic and putting their new knowledge into action. The school has partnered with the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources to raise awareness of the invasive species. In recent years, students have implemented fabrication methods including digital modeling and 3D printing to create both giant and life size spiny waterfleas that accompany informational display cases in their school. They’ve even created video games that educate players on zebra mussels and spiny waterfleas. Invasive species are a big deal to these kids.
In the video, Cede explains the detrimental effects of invasive species and educates viewers on ways they can stop the spread of various species. She suggests simple, accessible actions like cleaning boats thoroughly, using local bait and taking time to educate yourself and others on the various invasive species in Minnesota lakes.
In this segment of Area Voices, Cede discusses the project, why invasive species are a matter of significant importance to her and more.
“I really appreciated the really well made, strong felt…I learned that to be able to wear something or use something, it actually has to be really well made. Rug making, in particular, was something that really caught my attention…I was invited to participate in a rug making class where there were some women from Kyrgyzstan teaching…by the end of that class I was completely in love with rug making and they invited me to come live in Kyrgyzstan for three months with them and study with them and help them with their English because they regularly travelled to the United States…The design work is what I have been really influenced from. Both the quality of their felt but also thinking about how to look at their designs and how they come from that sense of harmony and motion and movement in the landscape…I have taken from that…how they reflect that balance in life and that is something I work toward and inspires me with my designs.” Mary Reichert, rug and textile artist
“Haiku are kind of the most gem-like, jewel-like poem. They are very short. Unlike other poetry, they don’t use fancy words, metaphor, simile, rhyme. The lines aren’t even capitalized…and they are usually three lines of something fewer than 17 syllables that compare one image with another or reveal an image and then change it so there is a surprise.” –Marsh Muirhead
“It really opens your mind, it gets you exposed to a bigger world. It triggers a whole different part of our brain…It’s actually been proven that it boosts cognitive abilities and it’s something that absolutely everyone can enjoy.” Nicolle LaFleur on the importance of accessible arts experiences.
