Totally Rad Vintage, 612 Turns 10, and a V-Day Haunted House: This Week’s Best Events

Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of the best events in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

THURSDAY 2.9

Message from Our Planet: Digital Art from the Thoma Collection

Weisman Art Museum

Good news, everyone—it’s spring. At least at the Weisman, whose spring 2023 exhibition, “Message from Our Planet: Digital Art from the Thoma Collection,” opens this week. Inspired by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which was used as a repository of human culture on Earth, the idea is to offer a sort of time capsule from artists working in digital media to the people of the future. To that end, the exhibit gathers the work of 19 artists who use software, video, and light technology as their media. Among those featured are Hong Hao, Jenny Holzer, Lee Nam Lee, Christian Marclay, Tabita Rezaire, and Robert Wilson. The opening night party from 7 to 11 p.m. this Thursday, February 9, will include ambient projects, DJ tunes, and food from Vinai Bites at Union Hmong Kitchen. Tickets are $25; admission is otherwise, as always, free. 333 E. River Pkwy, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through May 21—Keith Harris

FRIDAY 2.10

Cupid's Revenge Valentine's Haunted House

Nowhere Haunted House

You know what’s one of the scariest things out there? Love. And with that in mind comes Cupid’s Revenge, a Halloween-style, V-Day inspired haunted house out in Inver Grove. This high-horror walk through tells the tale of a funeral home fueled by ancient vampires, entombed deities, and a vengeful Cupid. While the folks at Nowhere annually celebrate Halloween, they’ve also been known to add a little fright to other holidays as well, including their most recent Christmas-themed haunted house. When they’re not dousing everything in blood, the space frequently hosts mini-golf. Spooky and romantic! Reservations are available for Friday and Saturday. 5300 S. Robert Tr. 300, Inver Grove Heights.—Jessica Armbruster

Frost Fest 

Pearl Park

Pearl Park, as Racket readers already know, used to be a lake. These days, it’s a large outdoor gathering spot for Minneapolitans who live east of I-35W—even in wintertime! Never more so than during Frost Fest, the annual family-friendly party for the constellation of neighborhoods who hold it down for the Minnehaha Bunny. Outdoor activities include: sledding, skating, food trucks, a luminary walk, a medallion hunt, snow art, hot cocoa, s’mores, live music, fat biking, and saunas. $5 suggested donation. 6-9 p.m. 414 E Diamond Lake Rd., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller

SATURDAY 2.11

My Bloody Valentine: Valentine's Day Market

Artspace Jackson Flats

Generally, Valentine’s Day merch is pretty one note. We’ve got chocolates in a heart box; we’ve got wholesome cards and candy hearts; we’ve got a red-and-pink color scheme. But at this all-day market folks will celebrate love in a different flavor. Think kinkier, queerer, and more creative. Over 25 artists, markers, and more will be at Artspace selling their wares. That includes AnnaBOMB, who dabbles in horror-inspired oils; Edie Makes Things, who has a few saucy takes on BDSM butts; and Matt’s Creepy Crafts, whose stuff is just… overall very unsettling! Find something for your goth sweetheart or just explore artists that celebrate the darker side of feelings. Free. Noon to 6 p.m. 901 18 ½ NE, Minneapolis.—Jessica Armbruster

10th Anniversary Party

612Brew

If an event page starts with “🚨‼️HUGE PARTY ALRRT‼️🚨” you can bet it’s gonna be good—that enthusiastic misspelling seems to signal a damn good time to us, at least. So 612 is turning 10 (“Time flies when you're making beer”), and to celebrate they’re throwing a big ol’ bash with music from The Night Caps (7-10 p.m.), a flash tattoo pop-up thanks to Nokomis Tattoo (2-6 p.m.), and Mexican food from Brothers Gutierrez. Will there be beer? You betcha, including a re-release of their flagship rye IPA RATED R. Free. Noon to 11 p.m. 945 Broadway St. NE, Suite 188, Minneapolis.—Em Cassel

Totally Rad Vintage Fest - Minneapolis

Minneapolis Convention Center

Thrift shopping at a tiny yard sale or dusty old shop can be a blast, but thrift shopping at a convention center is pretty epic. Think of one as a dainty chocolate, the other as one of those dessert challenges where you get a T-shirt if you make it all the way through. At Totally Rad Vintage you’ll find over 150 vendors peddling items of yore, from the futuristic '80s, the grunge-y '90s, and the super butt-ugly (and increasingly popular) Y2K era. Shop for concert tees, cartridge-based video games, and vinyl, or score some new (to you) jeans. In between examining old toys, play games in the arcade and listen to the DJ spin tunes. The odds are in your favor that you’ll find some awesome crap here. Find tickets online. $8 early/$12 at the event; $25 early bird admission at 8:30 a.m. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1301 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis.—Jessica Armbruster

Stupor Bowl

Eastlake Craft Brewery

Do you really care if the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl? (Racket co-found Em Cassel, a Philly native, really cares.) But we’re in snakebitten sports territory, so why not just get buzzed and ride your bike around? That’s the annual promise of Stupor Bowl, the Big Game-adjacent race that sends cyclists on a journey that, most likely, will be concussion-free (seriously though, everyone, please stay safe). Billed as “Stupor Bowl Lite,” this year’s event is downscaled, but it should still be a chilly blast. Registration begins at 11 a.m. at Eastlake Craft Brewery inside Midtown Global Market, and the boozy bike ride gets rolling at 1 p.m. The after-party goes down at Underground Music Cafe, with live music from Clams, Funk ‘N’ Spuds, and Velvetwolf. 1 p.m.  920 E. Lake St. find more info here.—Jay Boller

ONGOING

LAST WEEKEND: Art Shanty Projects

Bdé Umáŋ/Lake Harriet

One of the most unique festivals in Minnesota, the Art Shanty Projects returns this winter for wacky, wholesome, creative fun on a frozen lake. Actually, scratch that. This year’s unseasonably warm weather has made the ice too thin for the shanties, so they’re moving things to the beach and bandshell area of the lake. “We started off the new year celebrating 13” of good, clear ice,” says operations director Kerri Jamison via release. “Unfortunately the recent snowstorm created a warm cozy blanket over the whole lake, acting as insulation.” This year’s happening will feature 15 new shanties with three returning structures. Installments are leaning towards music and movement in 2023, with Booom Box providing DJ tunes, Klezmer on Ice doing just that, and tons of concerts from local artists. The Free Store Shanty will be back; pick up some free gloves or bring something warm to donate. The Winterized Chicken Coop will feature feathered friends and fortune-telling eggs, and American Ice Theatre will present ICE. COLD. JAZZ!, a modern ice skating show. If you’re 18 or older and looking to get hitched, the Chapsicle of Love will wed you and your beloved for free (and yes, it is a real, legal marriage). Walk-ins are welcome (very Vegas!). Other fun to be had includes frozen yoga, artsy parades, an ice sculpture garden, and climate walks. Find more deets about this rad event at artshantyprojects.org. Free; $10-$20 suggested donation. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy., Minneapolis. Through February 12 –Jessica Armbruster

Funhouse Waiting Room

Rosalux Gallery

Artist Mary Gibney draws inspiration from a variety of sources: dive bars, old circus photography, the Hamm’s sign, old-school matchbooks, a 1959 Wards Catalog. Her latest collection of pieces, featured in “Funhouse Waiting Room,” includes paintings, drawings, collages, and prints filled with bartenders, giant martini glasses, deer heads on walls, and ghost patrons from previous binge drinking expeditions. Her portraits of circus strong men examine  homoeroticism, gender expression, and fluidity (sometimes she swaps the men for cats because, why not?). This joyous exhibition should be a little odd, definitely a good time, and won’t give you a hangover. 315 West 48th Street, Minneapolis. Through February 26–Jessica Armbruster

Fluidity: Identity in Swedish Glass

American Swedish Institute

Glass artist Jo Andersson doesn’t just want you to gaze upon her works. She wants you to experience them as a meditative tool for self reflection. “Being is a light installation which is intended to help bring individuals into the present moment,” she says via artist’s statement. “I wanted to create a safe space where viewers could lose themselves and fully experience the work as well as their responses to the work.” So, what does that entail? At ASI, you’ll enter a dimmed room full of glass sculptures filled with water. You’ll be encouraged to use camera phones to illuminate pieces and place with the lighting. From there? Take some time for self reflection. (If nothing else, this show should make for some good visual ASMR.) In addition to Andersson’s ambitious installation, the exhibition will also showcase pieces by female glass artists from the museum’s permanent collection. Friday’s opening night party will feature an artist’s talk, live music, an outdoor glass and fire installation, and a hands on glass activity from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $25. 2600 Park Ave., Minneapolis.Through May 28–Jessica Armbruster

Argentine Noir

The Heights

The amazing thing about film noir is just how damn much of it there is, yet lots of us keep watching the same dozen (admittedly great!) Hollywood examples over and over. That’s where this annual series, now in its fourteenth year, comes in, exposing us to the dark corners of cinematic crime we might otherwise have overlooked. The four movies this year emerge from postwar Peronist Argentina, a time and place whose films I’m sure no expert in. I’m a little tardy bringing this to your attention: The festival began last week with Hardly a Criminal (Apenas un delincuente). But that still leaves us with three more installments, each with suitably noirish titles, none of which you’re likely to have seen before: The Beast Must Die (La Bestia debe morir), The Bitter Stems (Los tallos amargos) and The Black Vampire (El Vampiro Negro). 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights; find prices, showtimes, and more info here. Through February 23—Keith Harris

Black 2 the Future: An Afrofuturistic Experience

Artspace Jackson Flats

Does the future look bright or is it bleak and dystopian? That glass-half argument is up to the artist, but the future is definitely Black in this group show. Coined in the ‘90s, the term “Afrofuturism” is an art movement that speculates on the future while celebrating Black culture, history, and perspectives, be it through literature (Octavia Butler), movies (Black Panther), music (Janelle Monae), and more. See it in action at this gallery show, which will feature the artwork of Ron Brown, Christopheraaron Deanes, seangarrison, Shae Maze, Christopher E. Harrison, Dio.Mpls, and Jordan Malcom. 901 18th ½ Ave. NE, Minneapolis. Through February 29--Jessica Armbruster

The Minnesota Ice Maze

Viking Lakes

Getting lost in a pile of ice and snow in nature? Potentially deadly! Getting lost in an ice maze during this ongoing party in Eagan? Potentially a lotta fun! This year, Vikings Lakes has brought in over one million pounds of ice to create an epic maze that will take guests through a half-mile of disorienting twists, turns, and beautiful icy spectacle. Oh, and there’s also a slippery ice slide, of course. Once you make it out, you can enjoy the trappings of Winter SKOLstice, a free festival featuring a warming house with drinks and food from Omni, plenty of bonfires, and free ice rinks for skating, curling, and pond hockey (just bring skates). Special events scheduled during the winter include trivia nights, live music, a winter princess gathering, and a Cry Baby Craig’s hot sauce night where the maze will be lit red and orange and a special spicy menu will be offered. Find tickets and more info at minnesotaicemaze.com. $14.14-$26.14. 4-10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  2645 Vikings Circle, Eagan. Open daily through February 19 –Jessica Armbruster

Minnesota Ice Castle

Long Lake Regional Park

Folks, this is the big one. This is the ice castle that has more square footage than your own home. It starts as a single icicle, but by the end of construction it becomes an epic thing you can wander through and enjoy. There are architectural marvels, sparkling caverns, slick tunnels that funnel you to more adventure, and slides made of ice. In addition to the big frozen structure, there’s also an illuminated trail to explore and an ice bar serving up wintery adult beverages. The castle was supposed to be ready in mid-January, but our weather sucks so hard this year that the event was able to open a few weeks early. Lucky us! Find dates, times, and tickets at icecastles.com/minnesota. $11-$15 weekdays; $15-$20 weekends. Wednesdays through Mondays in January; Thursdays through Sundays in February. 1500 Old Highway 8, New Brighton. Now through February 23’ish –Jessica Armbruster

Out There 2020: Sarah Michelson, /\ March 2020 (4pb)

Walker Art Center

For nearly 20 years, U.K.-born, NYC-based performer Sarah Michelson has created pieces often performed outside of traditional stages, tumbling about the Walker’s galleries and even the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. She works hard to create movements that may look impromptu or off-the-cuff, but are typically planned and practiced down to the breath. But her latest work, “Sarah Michelson: /\ March 2020 (4pb),” is an exhibition, not a performance piece. Here guests will be able to peruse a variety of ephemera, all laid out with the Walker in mind (the pieces are now part of the museum’s permanent collection). 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Through April 23 –Jessica Armbruster

Paul Chan: Breathers

Walker Art Center
Can those inflatable tube guys used to drive people to sales be art? If it’s in the Walker Art Center then, yes, it can. But that would be oversimplifying the work of Paul Chen, a Hong Kong-born, Nebraska-raised, NYC-based writer, publisher, and artist. In the ‘90s and ‘00s, Chan garnered attention releasing videos, animations, fonts, and more, often for free on his website, nationalphilistine.com. These pieces explored pleasure, war, politics, and human interactions. But by 2009, he had burned out, tired of looking at a screen. Relatable. Five years later, after a brief, you know, “breather,” he found a new way to explore movement and meaning without a computer, instead using physics, fabrics, and fans to create shapes that move about in interesting ways (and, thankfully, won’t try to sell you a car).  You can see these kinetic sculptures at the Walker; the show will also include some video installations as well as pieces from his publishing company, Badlands Unlimited, which releases poetry, erotica, artists’ writings, and more. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Through July 16, 2023—Jessica Armbruster