This Week in Geek (11/18/19–11/24/19)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, November 18, to Sunday, November 24.

Twin Cities Monday Night Backgammon

What: Gaming
When: Monday, November 18, 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.

Creative Night

What: Arts, Community
When: Monday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Event Horizon at the Waterbury Building

This event invites participants to let their creativity shine with drawing, painting, crafting, or whatever their hearts desire at Creative Night, a weekly event put on by Crafty Geek and the Geek Partnership Society. Meet at the Waterbury Building at 6:30 and carpool or walk to see creativity in action.

This Is Spinal Tap Movie Party

What: Movies
When: Monday, November 18, at 8:35 p.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse Twin Cities

Cheer, boo, quote, and sing along to your favorite movies at the Alamo Drafthouse’s Movie Parties, a series of film screenings that encourage fans to interact not only with the featured film, but also with each other and provided props. This week, the Alamo cranks it up to 11 with a screening of This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary that follows the successes, but mostly the hilarious debacles, of an aging rock band while on their American comeback tour. Movie parties are 18+, but younger fans can join the party with a parent or guardian.

Pokémon Go Trainer Tuesdays at Parkway Pizza

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Tuesday, November 19, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Parkway Pizza

A trainer strives to catch them all, and gain prowess and respect. This weekly event at Parkway Pizza is an opportunity to catch fun drink and food specials, meet other aspiring trainers, and square off against worthy opponents to win status and power. You can and will win, even if winning may just mean having a good time meeting other pocket-monster fans.

Hijinx and Hearsay on the Minnesota Scene

What: Music, Books
When: Tuesday, November 19, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Minnesota History Center

Get a sample of local musical history with Martin Keller and Greg Helgeson, coauthors of Hijinx and Hearsay: Scenester Stories from Minnesota’s Pop Life. They’ll be recounting their time as music journalists covering some of the biggest international and local acts during the 1970s and 1980s for the magazine Sweet Potato (the precursor to City Pages). This event is free to attend.

Not-So-Silent Planet: Puzzled

What: Books, Arts
When: Tuesday, November 19, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Red Stag Supper Club

The Twin Cities’ “first open-mic dedicated to speculative interpretations of myth” has its monthly event at Red Stag Supper Club on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. The featured performers for November’s session are Joshua English Scrimshaw, Michael A. O’Leary Jr., Molly Glover, and Melissa Kaercher. Others are invited to perform for five- to seven-minute sets and tell attendees about worlds “whose laws of physics differ from our own” and places “of which we’ve never dreamt.”

Surly Pizza Upstairs Game Night

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Wednesday, November 20 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Surly Brewing Co.

This weekly event at Surly Brewing is an invitation to enjoy some games, company, and food specials. Guests are invited to grab a drink, grab a game from their library, and be merry. This gaming is all supported by a special where $40 gets you a pitcher of beer, a pizza, appetizer or salad, and dessert.

Mystic Dawn/Amtgard: Park Days

What: Gaming, Sports & Fitness
When: Wednesday, November 20, 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.

Books & Bars: My Sister, the Serial Killer

What: Books, Food & Drink
When: Wednesday, November 20, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Urban Growler

Books and 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 My Sister, the Serial Killer, a novel by Oyinkan Braithwaite. This dark satire handles difficult sibling relationships and a sister with the unfortunate habit of slaying her boyfriends.

MCAD Art Sale

What: Arts
When: Thursday, November 21, through Saturday, November 23; various times
Where: Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Held every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving, the annual Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) Art Sale “is your chance to buy one-of-a-kind art created by students and recent graduates at unbeatable prices.” Tickets to opening night on Thursday cost $150; tickets to the second day of the sale on Friday cost $25 in advance or $30 at the door; and the final day of the sale on Saturday is free. All proceeds from this event “go directly to the individual artists or to the MCAD Art Sale Scholarship Fund.”

Swimming the English Channel with Karen Zemlin

What: Sports & Fitness
When: Thursday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: YWCA St. Paul

Join Karen Zemlin as she discusses her record-setting swim across the English Channel (21 miles! In 10:17 hours!) this past summer. She’ll also be sharing tips on confidence building and learning how to overcome weaknesses. Free RSVP tickets are required to attend and are available through Eventbrite.

The Big Lebowski with Dos Lobos

What: Movies, Music
When: Thursday, November 21, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Parkway Theater

His Dudeness, or El Dudorino, graces the big screen at the Parkway Theater this Thursday during a showing of the cult-classic film The Big Lebowski. Follow Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski as he endeavors to get recompense for his rug, ruined during an unfortunate event of mistaken identity, through a series of progressively absurd situations. But it’s totally worth it, man–that rug really tied the room together. This screening is preceded by a musical set from Dos Lobos, featuring Misisipi Mike Wolf and Actual Wolf.

The Loft Presents If: Catfishing on Catnet: Naomi Kritzer with Kelly Barnhill

What: Books, Community
When: Friday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Loft Literary Center

The Loft’s If event series explores speculative fiction, the big “what if” questions, and how the genre can help imagine solutions to complex issues. This month’s event features award-winning Minnesota author Naomi Kritzer discussing her latest novel, Catfishing on Catnet (review here), with Newbery Medal recipient Kelly Barnhill. They’ll also be exploring “coming of age in the 21st century, online friendships, and how much the Internet knows about you.” Tickets are $5 for Loft members, or $10 for general admission.

Russian Art after Dark

What: Arts, Nightlife
When: Friday, November 22, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: The Museum of Russian Art

Enjoy a night of cocktails, art conversations, music, and pop-up performances at the Museum of Russian Art (TMORA). This after-hours party invites adults 21 and over to explore the galleries after dark and learn the cultural context of the art through interactive discussions with artists, docents, musicians, and the community. Tickets are $20 for TMORA members, or $25 for general admission.

Tsuinishi Anime Club

What: Movies
When: Friday, November 22, at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Event Horizon at the Waterbury Building

Anime Twin Cities has joined forces with the Geek Partnership Society “to bring a little bit of fun to you on the second and fourth Fridays of each month with this cosponsored anime club.” The group will show various anime movies and series.

NaNoWriMo: Write-In

What: Meetup, Community, Books
When: Saturday, November 23, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Sencha Uptown

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is here! Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have taken up the challenge to write 50,000 words in just one short month. Are you one of them? This weekly meet-up invites local NaNoWriMo participants out for a morning of writing, advice, and community support.

Weekly Comics Chat

What: Meetup, Comics
When: Saturday, November 23, at 3:00 p.m.
Where: Midtown Global Market

The Girls Only Comic Club hosts a Weekly Comics Chat on Saturday afternoons where there will be shared opinions, drinks and fries for comics fans. 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, November 24, 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. See the calendar for more events!

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!