This Week in Geek (7/1/19–7/7/19)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, July 1, to Sunday, July 7.

Monday Night Game Night

What: Gaming
When: Monday, July 1, at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Level Up Games (South St. Paul)

While it may be tough diving back into the workweek (at least for those of us with Monday-to-Friday jobs), this event seeks to add fun and levity to Mondays with games. This is your chance to game with your fellows in a fun environment, either bringing your own or borrowing from the store’s library. Decompress and make some new meeple-friendly pals.

Twin Cities Monday Night Backgammon

What: Gaming
When: Monday, July 1, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Minneapolis Richfield American Legion

Enjoy a night of backgammon with two tournaments. Entry to this event is $5, and this is a great chance for both pros and newcomers to learn this classic game of strategy.

Books & Bars: A Gentleman in Moscow

What: Books, Food & Drink
When: Monday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Dual Citizen Brewing

Books & Bars is an “open public book club show” hosted and moderated by Minnesota Public Radio senior producer Jeff Kamin that provides attendees with “a unique atmosphere for a lively discussion of interesting authors, fun people, good food, and social lubrication.” The book being read and discussed this month is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, a story of a “former person,” no longer needed following the revolution. A Gentleman in Moscow is a novel that is celebrated for its sense of style and atmosphere.

Creative Night

What: Arts, Community
When: Monday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Event Horizon at the Waterbury Building

Let your creativity shine with drawing, painting, crafting, or whatever your heart desires at Creative Night, a weekly event put on by Crafty Geek and the Geek Partnership Society. This is a free event, so bring some of your own stuff to work on, bring some snacks, and hang out in a collaborative space.

Surly Cinema: The Goonies

What: Movies, Food & Drink
When: Monday, July 1, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Surly Brewing Co.

Surly Cinema will be lighting up Minneapolis nights with beer, food, and most importantly, free movies in the Beer Garden. Attendees are encouraged to bring a towel or lawn chair, and enjoy this summer’s theme of blockbusters. This week’s showing is The Goonies, a cult classic with great turns from now-beloved actors like Sean Astin. So, come on down for a night of fun and nostalgia.

One-Shot Comics Book Club: Flocks

What: Comics
When: Tuesday, July 2, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Moon Palace Books

One-Shot Comics, a monthly comic series devoted to covering a diverse range of comics and graphic novels, returns with a discussion of Flocks, a story of growing up trans in the rural south, of community, and of family. Flocks is a highly celebrated work, known for a humane and sympathetic eye toward its characters. One-Shot Comics strives toward the goals of “creating an inclusive space” and “perpetual awesomeness.” As usual, you can pick up a copy for 20% off at Moon Palace Books.

Mystic Dawn/Amtgard: Park Day

What: Gaming, Sports & Fitness
When: Wednesday, July 3, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Oak Grove Park

Amtgard, a global organization focused on the sport of medieval-fantasy combat, will be hosting a gathering in Oak Grove Park. Participants can take part in glorious quests, battle, and more, all with the use of foam weapons for the sake of safety. Garb is encouraged, but not required, and loaner weapons are available. This is a free-to-play event, but long-term players are expected to support the organization with $6 or $10 dues.

Trivia Against Humanity Wednesdays

What: Trivia
When: Wednesday, July 3, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Modist Brewing Co.

This regular event at Modist, hosted by Sam Spadino and Bacon, represents the convergence of two geeky favorites: a brewery that geeks out for innovative beer, and absurd trivia. Trivia Against Humanity has other weekly events as well; see the Trivia Against Humanity Facebook page for additional events.

Harry and the Potters, with Larry Wish

What: Music, Books
When: Wednesday, July 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Cedar Cultural Center

Harry and the Potters, a band inspired by the Harry Potter books and films, will be playing the Cedar Cultural Center with Larry Wish. Harry and the Potters bring a certain type of punk-inspired lit-rock to the stage. Larry Wish, on the other hand, has been described as “bedroom-prog music,” and is known for very creative stage shows. Tickets are $13 in advance, or $17 day of show.

CONvergence 2019: The Next Celebration

What: Convention
When: Thursday, July 4, through Sunday, July 7
Where: Hyatt Regency Minneapolis

CONvergence is an annual four-day convention for fans of sci fi and fantasy of all kinds. The event has a different theme every year, and this year’s theme is “The Next Celebration,” to honor the CON’s new location. Special guests include Guy Consolmagno, Peter David, Bridget Landry, Chuck Tingle, Allen Turner, Bryan Thao Worra, and The Doubleclicks. Come for panels, people watching, room parties, or more. For many local geeks, CONvergence is a yearly place to reconnect with their extended family of geekdom, and this new location brings new opportunities to connect. See the website for registration details.

Crafty Geek/Make It Sew

What: Arts, Meetup
When: Thursday, July 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Event Horizon at the Waterbury Building

The Geek Partnership Society’s Crafty Geek club and its sub-club Make It Sew meet Thursday evenings at the Waterbury Building and invite you to “bring your crafty stuff to do” or to “hang out and work with the crafty stuff we have here!”

Friday Night Magic

What: Gaming
When: Friday, July 5, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Mischief Toy Store

Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul invites you to experience some magic with them this Friday night for this Magic: The Gathering draft event. Entry is $15, and all players will receive prizes, including a “fancy promo card.” This weekly event is limited to 24 players and typically lasts until about 9:00 p.m. All skill levels are welcome. Mischief Toy Store hosts other events throughout the week, which are listed on Meetup and Facebook (check out the full calendar on the event page linked above).

UGG FSA BattleTech Tabletop

What: Gaming, Meetup
When: Friday, July 5, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Fallout Shelter Arcade

Come on down for an evening of tactical-mech combat! The United Geeks of Gaming meet Friday nights for a beginner-friendly session of the tabletop-mech game BattleTech at Fallout Shelter Arcade in Northeast. FSA’s Virtual World gaming pods also run the immersive video-game version of BattleTech.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Cereal Party

What: Movies, Food & Drink, Family
When: Saturday, July 6, at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse Twin Cities

Are you ready to dip your feet back into the MCU for some post-Endgame fun with your friendly neighborhood Tom Holland? If so, the Alamo Drafhouse has you covered with this screening and cereal party. Your ticket entitles you to a cereal buffet, and a fun new summer blockbuster from Marvel. Per the event description, pajamas are encouraged. Tickets are $12.43, and are also running out.

GPS UGG Open Gaming

What: Gaming, Meetup
When: Saturday, July 6, at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Event Horizon at the Waterbury Building

The Geek Partnership Society’s United Geeks of Gaming group offers its open-gaming session, to which gamers of all ages and abilities are invited to “spend the day hanging out with fellow geeks playing, learning, and teaching games.” Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite board games, card games, and role-playing games, but the group has amassed an impressive library of its own games as well.

Weekly Comics Chat

What: Meetup, Comics
When: Saturday, July 6, at 3:00 p.m.
Where: Minneapolis Central Library

New or neck deep into comics? It doesn’t matter! Share what comics you’ve read this week, get plenty of recommendations, have a drink, share fries, sit back, and have a great time. Additional information about this event is posted on the Girls Only Comic Club’s Facebook group. Individuals interested in attending are encouraged to join.

Shieldmaiden Sunday

What: Gaming, Meetup
When: Sunday, July 7, at 12:00 p.m.
Where: Source Comics & Games

Shieldmaiden Sundays are a dedicated space for female nerds and geeks at Source Comics & Games. This is a recurring weekly event providing a space for women to play games, chat about comics, cosplay, or just enjoy the company of other geeks.

Solaris

What: Movies
When: Sunday, July 7, at 7:00 p.m.; continuing into the following week
Where: The Trylon

An essential work of Russian science-fiction cinema, and a great entry in the space-madness subgenre, Solaris is hallucinatory and strange. The film focuses on a psychologist, who travels to a station in orbit of a distant planet to help the crew after they begin experiencing hallucinations that appear to be connected to the past. Tickets are $8.

So, which of these events will you be attending? What events would you like to see featured in the future? Let us know in the comments section below or contact us via email. And don’t forget to add your events to the Twin Cities Geek Community Calendar!