This Week in Geek (11/25/19–12/1/19)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, November 25, to Sunday, December 1.

Twin Cities Monday Night Backgammon

What: Gaming
When: Monday, November 25, 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 25, 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.

Pokémon Go Trainer Tuesdays at Parkway Pizza

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Tuesday, November 26, 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.

Fighting GameWorks

What: Gaming
When: Tuesday, November 26, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: GameWorks Esports MoA

Bring your own controller, your own mettle, and your own skill for a night of fighting games at GameWorks’s Mall of America location. The organizers will have a bunch of monitors available for attendees to bring their own consoles, and a variety of games on demand including classics like Super Smash Bros. and Mortal Kombat 11. This is a free event. There’s a limited supply of controllers for rental.

Terror Tuesday: Blood Range

What: Movies
When: Tuesday, November 26, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse Twin Cities

Terror Tuesday, a horror-screening series at the Alamo Drafthouse Twin Cities, seeks to liven up weeknights with blood-pumping terror. Tickets are $5, and as always, the Alamo Drafthouse has a variety of food and drink available to enjoy with the film. This week’s screening is Blood Rage, a Thanksgiving-slasher film with twin brothers, axes, extreme gore effects from Ed French (of Terminator 2 fame), and a great synth score. Tickets are $5.

Surly Pizza Upstairs Game Night

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Wednesday, November 27, 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 27, 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.

First-Annual Girding of the Loins

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Wednesday, November 27, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Parkway Theater

Gird your loins in anticipation of Turkey Day with local comedy hero Mary Jo Pehl (of MST3K fame) and a night of comedy, storytelling, show and tell, and a dad-joke-off. This event will feature a number of special guests, and the world’s first “performance knitting.” Get ready to join the crew on stage to share your own horror stories. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

The Escape Game’s Turkey Day Trials

What: Gaming
When: Friday, November 29, and Saturday, November 30
Where: The Escape Game (Minneapolis)

Take part in the first-annual Turkey Day Time Trials at the Escape Game. The team with the best time during the Friday and Saturday event will earn bragging rights, and a free ticket for their next game. See the website for registration details.

SIX

What: Music
When: Friday, November 29, through Sunday, December 22; various times
Where: The Ordway

The wives of Henry VIII had a rough go of it, between the divorces and decapitations. What SIX looks to do is create a pop-concert theater event focused on telling the stories of these six women, and bring their identities out of the shadow of the king. Tickets are $45–108.50.

Up All Night at the Trylon

What: Movies
When: Friday, November 29, at 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Trylon

Spend a full night with nocturnal film fanatics. This event will feature five mystery films beginning at 9:00 p.m. and ending at dawn. Titles to be revealed when the films begin. Expect comedy, adventure, exploitation, and romance. This event is $40, and will likely feature rare 35mm prints of films.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Vilification Tennis Goes to Hell

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Friday, November 29, at 10:00 p.m.
Where: Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater

Local structured-improv battle show Vilification Tennis returns to the Bryant Lake Bowl for a night of comedy focused on a sinful theme. This month, Vilification Tennis will be exploring the classic seven-deadly sins, including gluttony, wrath, and lust. Tickets are $13.59 with a service fee.

Weekly Comics Chat

What: Meetup, Comics
When: Saturday, November 30, 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.

Transvestite Soup Presents: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

What: Film, Theater & Comedy
When: Saturday, November 30, at 11:55 p.m.
Where: Uptown Theatre

At 11:55 p.m. on the last Saturday of every month, the Uptown Theatre screens The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the “longest-running midnight movie of all time.” Transvestite Soup is the Twin Cities’s shadow cast for the showings, performing for your pleasure as part of the cult classic’s well-established tradition.

Shieldmaiden Sunday

What: Gaming, Meetup
When: Sunday, December 1, 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!

Al Church’s Cinematic Orchestra Presents: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

What: Movies, Music
When: Sunday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Parkway Theater

Al Church, a prolific and versatile musician in the local scene who plays with a variety of bands and has backed up local greats like Gaelynn Lea, brings his musical talents to this monthly movie series. This Cinematic Orchestra will provide live backing tracks to classic films, and December’s film is Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a holiday classic about martians abducting Saint Nicholas.

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!