This Week in Geek (11/4/19–11/10/19)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, November 4, to Sunday, November 10.

Twin Cities Monday Night Backgammon

What: Gaming
When: Monday, November 4, 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 4, 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.

An Evening with Illustrator Charles Urbach

What: Arts
When: Monday, November 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Geek Partnership Society

Join illustrator Charles Urbach as he discusses his work on tabletop games including Magic: The Gathering, A Game of Thrones, HeroClix, Everquest, and both the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings franchises. He will also be sharing his professional insights into the industry. Art signing and portfolio reviews will be offered as time permits. This event is free, and there will be art available for purchase from the artist.

The Loft Presents If: Big Ideas with Madeline Miller

What: Books, Community
When: Monday, November 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Loft Literary Center

The Loft’s If event series explores speculative fiction, their big “what if” questions, and how the genre can help imagine solutions to complex issues. This month’s event features award-winning author Madeline Miller discussing her novel, Circe, with Harmony Neal, and how “what if” questions can be used as a storytelling device. Tickets are $5 for Loft members, or $10 for general admission.

Action Movie: The Play

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Monday, November 4, through Saturday November 16; at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Strike Theater

There’s nothing more thrilling then a looming deadline and a project that just won’t come together. Follow the journey of a screenwriter climbing a sort of creative Nakatomi Plaza, facing the Hans Grubers of overplayed tropes, and story threads that just don’t click. This satire features serious homage to beloved ’80s and ’90s action-movie tropes. Tickets are $10–15.

Pokémon Go Trainer Tuesdays at Parkway Pizza

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Tuesday, November 5, 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.

Mystic Dawn/Amtgard: Park Days

What: Gaming, Sports & Fitness
When: Wednesday, November 6, 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.

Explore as One with NASA’s Robert Cabana

What: Science & Tech
When: Wednesday, November 6, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Bell Museum

Robert Cabana, former astronaut and current director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, returns to his home state of Minnesota to speak on his experiences in space, life as an astronaut, and the future of space exploration. He will also be presenting awards to University of Minnesota students on behalf of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. This event is free with registration. ASL interpretation, captioning, and assistive-listening devices will be available.

The Rocky Horror Show

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Thursday, November 7, through Saturday, November 9; at 7:30 pm, with additional midnight show on November 8
Where: Macalaster Theater and Dance Building

Help break in the new Theater and Dance Building at Macalaster with a performance of the cult icon Rocky Horror Show. The cult classic is a send-up of drive-in B movies, and features classic songs like “The Time Warp.” Costumes are encouraged, but props are to be left at home. Tickets are $10, or $5 for Macalester community members.

Kiersten White Discussion & Book Signing

What: Books
When: Thursday, November 7, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Red Balloon Bookshop

New York Times-bestselling author Kiersten White is stopping by the Red Balloon Bookshop while on tour for her latest novel, The Guinevere Deception. She’ll be joining teen librarian Amy Oelkers on stage to discuss magic, world-building, strong leading women, and more. This event is free to attend, but a ticket or book purchase is required for the signing line. More details and signing guidelines are available on Red Balloon’s website.

Star Party with Mike Lynch

What: Science & Tech, Educational
When: Thursday, November 7, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Metropolitan State University

Get a high-tech and informational look at the stars with WCCO meteorologist Mike Lynch. He’ll be bringing out his sophisticated equipment and aiming it up at Saturn, Jupiter, galaxies, and other stellar points of interest. Additional activities and light refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

Looking for more opportunities to stargaze? A statewide star party is happening all weekend! A list of locations around the Twin Cities and beyond can be found on the Bell Museum website. Each location is unique, so be sure to visit the event host’s websites for specific details.

GalaxyCon

What: Convention
When: Friday, November 8, through Sunday, November 11
Where: Minneapolis Convention Center

GalaxyCon, a festival of fandom, comes to Minnesota for the first time this weekend, along with a robust list of celebrity guests and creators. Special guests include Karen Gillan, George Takei, Catherine Tate, Steve Blum, Alex Kinsgston, John Cusack, Michael Rooker, and many more. Activities include Q&A panels, film screenings, cosplay competition, kid zones, gaming, an exhibitor hall, and Fantasy Super Cosplay Wrestling. Registration runs from $20 for a day pass on Friday to $60 for a full weekend pass, or $250 for VIP access, with special added costs for photo ops and autographs with special guests. Kids 9 and under can attend for free.

The Final Frontier Festival: In A World

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Friday, November 8, through Sunday, November 17; various times
Where: Rosedale Center

Gadfly Theatre Productions is “an inclusive queer [and] feminist organization hoping to highlight issues and showcase stories important to those communities in a way that everyone can relate [to] with uniquely universal plays anyone will love.” The theme of their Final Frontier Festival this year is “In A World,” which they will be using to explore “dystopian dreams, futurist fantasies and so much more” through a series of collaborative works and one-act plays. Tickets are $21.99 including service fees. Read more about Gadfly and the festival in our interview with cofounder Cassandra Snow!

Tsuinishi Anime Club

What: Movies
When: Friday, November 8, 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.

Bit Brigade Performs Contra and Metroid

What: Music, Gaming
When: Friday, November 8, at 10:00 p.m.
Where: Icehouse MPLS

Bit Brigade brings their unique brand of live video-game music and speedrunning to Icehouse MPLS this Friday. From menu screen to final boss, Bit Brigade dynamically plays a game’s entire soundtrack at the same time band member Noah McCarthy speedruns the game on the big screen for all to see. Tickets for this 21+ show, featuring the Nintendo classics Contra and Metroid, are $13 in advance, or $15 at the door.

NaNoWriMo: Write-In

What: Meetup, Community, Books
When: Saturday, November 9, 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.

Featherstone Pottery Annual Sale & Open House

What: Arts
When: Saturday, November 9, at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Featherstone Pottery (Red Wing)

Featherstone Pottery, a farm-turned-pottery workshop in scenic Red Wing, is the creative workspace of Tom and Jeff Larkin. This event is an annual opportunity to see the space, and pick up some pottery pieces for your collection.

Girls, Science, and Technology

What: Science & Tech, Educational, Family
When: Saturday, November 9, at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Science Museum of Minnesota

Fox 9 and the Science Museum of Minnesota are teaming up to introduce girls to a wide variety of sciences and inspire them through demonstrations and hands-on activities. Attendees will be able to learn more about chemistry, robotics, engineering, biology, coding, weather, and paleontology. A full list of activities and discount ticket information is available on the Fox 9 website. Tickets can be purchased at the event from the Science Museum of Minnesota box office at regular admission rates.

Tabletop Market

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Saturday, November 9, at 11:00 a.m.
Where: Minneapolis Cider Company

Shop gently used tabletop games, play demos from local indie publishers, and have a chance to win giveaways full of free games and goodies at the Fall 2019 Tabletop Market. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Weekly Comics Chat

What: Meetup, Comics
When: Saturday, November 9, 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.

The World Has No Eyedea Screening

What: Movies, Music
When: Saturday, November 9, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Parkway Theater

Celebrate the life and legacy of Minnesota hip-hop legend Michael “Eyedea” Larsen at a special birthday screening of The World Has No Eyedea. The award-winning documentary chronicles Eyedea’s life and creative career, from b-boy and rap battler, to his underground rise at Rhymesayers Entertainment, to his tragic passing in 2010, and beyond. This special screening also includes a roster of surprise musical guests. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door.

Shieldmaiden Sunday

What: Gaming, Meetup
When: Sunday, November 10, 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!

Galaxy Quest Movie Party

What: Movies
When: Sunday, November 10, at 6:15 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. Grab your ion nebulizer and prepare for alien adventures at this week’s showing of Galaxy Quest, a comedy where a cast of sci-fi actors need to play their roles in real life to save the world. This screening is 18+, but younger fans can join the party with a parent or guardian.

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!