This Week in Geek (12/2/19–12/8/19)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, December 2, to Sunday, December 8.

Six

What: Music
When: Monday, December 2, 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 to 108.50.

Twin Cities Monday Night Backgammon

What: Gaming
When: Monday, December 2, 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, December 2, 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.

Fighting GameWorks

What: Gaming
When: Tuesday, December 3, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: GameWorks Esports Mall of America

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.

Pokémon Go Trainer Tuesdays at Parkway Pizza

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Tuesday, December 3, 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.

Surly Pizza Upstairs Game Night

What: Gaming, Food & Drink
When: Wednesday, December 4, 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, December 4, 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.

Scrooged Movie Party

What: Movies
When: Thursday, December 5, at 6:30 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. Get in the holiday spirit and sort out your bah humbugs with a screening of Scrooged, the 1988 dark-comedy spin on Charles Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol, starring Bill Murray. Movie parties are 18+, but younger fans can join the party with a parent or guardian.

Lords of Baddassery Book Launch and Reading

What: Books
When: Thursday, December 5, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Irreverent Bookworm

Join author Reinhardt Suarez this Thursday to celebrate the release of his debut novel Lords of Badassery, an action adventure that sends LeRoy Jenkins (no, not that LeRoy Jenkins) on a quest to solve a retro video-game mystery and locate long-lost prizes. There will be additional nerdy readings from Isabel Harding, Brett Elizabeth Jenkins, M. H. Rowe, and Kristin Fitzsimmons. This event is free and includes light refreshments.

It’s an Honorable Life: A Star Trek Fan Production

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Friday, December 6, through Saturday, December 28; various times
Where: Historic Mounds Theatre

This year, the Historic Mounds Theatre has a brand new Klingon holiday production for Star Trek fans. It’s an Honorable Life features a blend of holiday classics through the perspective of a great Klingon warrior afraid to die outside of battle from old age. The show is presented in Klingon with English subtitles. General admission tickets are $18 in advance, and VIP tickets are $35.

PLAY/TEST

What: Educational, Gaming
When: Friday, December 6, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: GlitchHQ

PLAY/TEST is a monthly series hosted by tech nonprofit GLITCH that offers the “opportunity to play works-in-progress, debug recent builds, test out new concepts, and connect with community.” At PLAY/TEST, attendees will find “alphas, betas, and even paper prototypes of games made by students and local game developers.” Creators, players, and game lovers of all skill levels are welcome.

UGG FSA BattleTech Tabletop

What: Gaming, Meetup
When: Friday, December 6, 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.

Holiday Geek Expo

What: Community, Arts, Books
When: Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8; at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul)

Hang out at Hallie Q. Brown Center for a weekend of geeky shopping, snacking, and meeting artists and authors. Meet and mingle with your fellow geeks, and just have fun! Costumes welcome. Don’t forget to bring a donation for the Twin Cities Geek Holiday Toy & Book Drive!

Our Home: Native Minnesota Exhibit Opening

What: Arts, Educational
When: Saturday, December 7, at 11:00 a.m.
Where: Minnesota History Center

The Minnesota History Center opens its newest exhibit, Our Home: Native Minnesota, with a day of free admission and activities. “Learn about Minnesota’s Native communities,” from the historical to the contemporary, as well as enjoy traditional games, musical and dance performances, and artwork demonstrations.

First Saturday Science: Body Works

What: Educational, Science & Technology, Family
When: Saturday, December 7, at 12:00 p.m.
Where: Metropolitan State University Science Education Center

Learn about the anatomy and physiology of the human body, and how everything works in harmony to support life. First Saturday Science, a monthly program at Metro State, seeks to improve accessibility to science with open programs that can lead folks towards scientific careers, or just greater curiosity. No RSVP required, though young people under the age of 18 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Weekly Comics Chat

What: Meetup, Comics
When: Saturday, December 7, 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, December 8, 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!

Jane Austen Birthday Tea

What: Food & Drink, Books
When: Sunday, December 8, at 2:00 p.m.
Where: Bingley’s Teas

Celebrate the life and works of renowned author Jane Austen by sipping character-inspired teas, nibbling on bites catered by chef Terry John Zila, and sharing the company of fellow Janeites. All Jane Austen teas will be discounted during the event, but attendees can also receive a free half-size character tea with a donation to the Twin Cities Geek Holiday Toy & Book Drive. Regency attire and costumes are encouraged. This event has a suggested donation of $20 per person.

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!