This Week in Geek (4/13/20–4/19/20)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, April 13, to Sunday, April 19.

Please note: Due to risks from the global COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tim Walz has declared a state of Peacetime Emergency, recommending social distancing (six feet from others in small gatherings), advising against nonessential travel, and ordering the closure of entertainment venues. In following current health guidelines, this column will exclusively share virtual events that can be enjoyed from the comfort and safety of home. During this time we will be including local, national, and international events, as well as separating them into weekly and daily categories. As time goes on and guidelines change, in-person events may be reintroduced.

One-Time and Weekly Events

Wordplay

What: Books
When: Tuesday, April 7, through Saturday, May 9; various times
Where: Virtual via Various Formats

The Loft Literary Center is presenting a series of virtual literary presentations under the banner of “Virtual Wordplay.” This is your chance to see a variety of authors reading their works, spirited conversations about the written word, and more. Events are presented free of charge. This event, will continue running until May 9, 2020. Authors for the week of April 13 include: Poupeh Missaghi, Rick Barot, Brian Laidlaw, Randy Ribay, Laila Lalami, Jack El-Hai, Jonathan Stutzman, Claire Comstock-Gay, and Clare Beams.

Family Story Time

What: Books, Family
When: Monday, April 13, and Friday, April 17; at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Virtual via Facebook

Library story time is live in your home twice a week from the Ramsey County Library. Expect story-time staples like colorful picture books, toy props, and large easels for learning fun. Videos of the streams are available for 24 hours, so you can watch it when it works best for your schedule, and have the opportunity to hit repeat on family favorites.

Educational Opportunities for Editors

What: Educational
When: Tuesday, April 14, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Learn about educational opportunities for editors in this virtual panel presented by the Professional Editors Network (PEN). This is a great way to learn about building new skills, breaking into the profession, or expanding into a new area of editing, with classes, certificate programs, and degrees. Erin Servais (founder of Dot and Dash LLC), Allison Juda (editor at Bearport Publishing Company), and Kellie M. Hultgren (owner of KMH Editing) will present.

TC Trek Trivia: Virtual Live Stream

What: Trivia
When: Wednesday, April 15, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Hosted by Master Trekkie, TC Trek Trivia consists of five rounds: General Trek (questions covering all things Star Trek); Identify the Image; Ships, Technology, and Cultures; Complete the Quote; and a “Wild Card” round. Questions for each of these five rounds are drawn from all Star Trek-television series and all 12 films. According to Master Trekkie himself, TC Trek Trivia is “all ages, no cover, food, drinks, and a whole lot of Trek!” This month takes the crew to a new, cyber-world. You will receive your trivia via subspace transmission (the internet), and all drinks and food will be enjoyed at home, with proper social distancing.

Merlins Rest Pub Quiz

What: Trivia
When: Wednesday, April 15, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Facebook

Merlins Rest will be presenting its weekly pub quiz via Facebook! Get ready to quiz and have some fun with pals from the safety of your own home. Karina will be running the quiz.

Virtual Transmission

What: Music, Nightlife
When: Wednesday, April 15, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Twitch

Radio, live transmission (or in this case, Twitch, live Transmission). The popular Transmission dance night is moving to a virtual space. DJ Jake Rudh will be bringing New Wave, Alternative, and more ’80s-centric greats, only from the safety of your homes. So, dance, dance, dance to the Radio (or Twitch stream).

Big Wigs Live: Tammie Brown, T-Rex, + Meatball w/Frank DeCaro

What: Theater & Comedy
When: Wednesday, April 15, at 9:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom & Facebook

Flip Phone is taking drag events digital while everyone is stuck inside. This Wednesday, they are presenting Big Wigs, an event featuring Tammie Brown (RuPaul’s Drag Race), T-Rex (Chicago drag legend), and Meatball (Dragula) join host Frank DeCaro for an exciting show! This is a free event, however tipping performers is always encouraged.

National Air and Space Museum Live Chat

What: Science & Tech, Arts
When: Thursday, April 16, at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Facebook

Join the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution for a live chat with one of their experts every Thursday. Ask questions and learn about different topics every week with subject matter experts. This series will continue until the museum reopens; check the Facebook page for up-to-the-minute information.

National Theatre at Home: Treasure Island

What: Theatre & Comedy
When: Thursday, April 16, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via YouTube

The National Theatre in London is opening up its archive and streaming its cinema-quality recordings. This week’s production is Treasure Island, a swashbuckling tale of pirate adventure. Streams are free and available to watch for one week.

Home Fitness with Justice Draconis

What: Sports & Fitness
When: Thursday, April 16, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Work out at home with a free online fitness class lead by Justice Draconis of Dragons Lair Performing Arts, a Twin Cities studio dedicated to circus arts. This 60-minute class focuses on flexibility, habits, and body-weight exercises, so no equipment is needed to participate. For those wanting more workout options, Dragons Lair also offers paid virtual classes in flow arts, belly dance, contortion, and yoga.

Virtual Third Thursday: Poetics of Home

What Arts, Books
When: Thursday, April 16, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual

The Minneapolis Institute of Art, or Mia for short, is bringing its monthly Third Thursday community event to the virtual space. The theme this month is “Poetics of Home,” for poetry readings focused on the theme of home, as inspired by Warsan Shire’s poem of the same name, a rallying cry for refugees around the world. This event will connect to Mia’s special exhibition, When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Art and Migration. Su Hwang and Sun Yung Shin of Poetry Asylum, with special guests Heid Erdrich, Roy Guzmán, and Michael Torres, will be presenting much of the poetry.

#ShowOfForceMajeure Poetry Reading

What: Books
When: Thursday, April 16, at 7:45 p.m.; tentative—check the Instagram link above to confirm date and time
Where: Virtual via Instagram

Dessa, Minnesota musician and literary star, will be reading poetry. This is a pay-what-you-can event, with funds being garnered using the Venmo platform. Dessa donated half of last week’s funds to the Domestic Abuse Project. Interested parties should check Dessa’s Instagram feed early in the week to confirm the time for this event.

The Guild Plays Dungeons & Dragons

What: Gaming, Community
When: Thursday, April 16, at 9:00 p.m. (CST)
Where: Virtual via Twitch

Enjoy a night of streaming D&D for a good cause with the creative team behind The Guild. The game begins at 7:00 p.m Pacific Time (so 9:00 p.m. CDT). The Guild plans to raise money for No Kid Hungry, a charitable organization focused on issues of food insecurity (especially relevant during a time of economic uncertainty like this).

The Gauntlet Community Open Gaming

What: Gaming
When: Thursday, April 16, through Sunday, April 19
Where: Virtual via Discord

The Gauntlet, an online community known for innovative tabletop gaming, will be holding open gaming. This is a free event with a Discord channel to muster for games. GMs are expected to use gaming-safety tools (and to explain those tools to players) in order to make sure everyone can have fun at the table.

Cyclops Con

What: Gaming
When: Friday, April 17, through Monday, April 20; event times listed in Eastern Standard Time
Where: Virtual via Various Services

Gamers: if you’re looking for some tabletop-RPG action, check out Cyclops Con, put on by Goodman Games. This weekend-long con is $5 for a badge, with additional costs per event ticket. Sign up for various RPG adventures including 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeon Crawl Classics, and Mutant Crawl Classics. Some of the events will be streamed to Goodman Games’s Twitch channel. Get ready to roll some dice, have some fun, and embrace chaos. Events will be run in various virtual mediums; event hosts will indicate in the description or via email what tool to use (i.e., Discord, Roll20, Zoom, Google Hangouts).

Daily Events

Met Opera Streams

What: Theater & Comedy, Music
When: Daily, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Video Stream

Even though the Metropolitan Opera in New York has gone dark in these challenging times, the show will go on. “Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website.” This week’s performances include Dvořák’s Rusalka and Puccini’s La Rondine. Streams will be available for a full 23 hours and can also be accessed through the Met Opera On Demand apps.

LeVar Burton Reads

What: Books, Family
When: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; various times
Where: Virtual via Twitter

LeVar Burton is once again sharing the joy and adventure of reading. The former Reading Rainbow host will take a look in a book and livestream a story narration three times a week. Mondays at 11:00 a.m. will feature children’s books; Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m. will be stories geared towards young adults; and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. will include selected readings for adults. For even more stories narrated by Burton, he also hosts a podcast with the same name.

Get Your Pets

What: Community
When: Daily (most days), at 3:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Instagram

John Hodgman, humorist, writer, actor, and podcaster best known for his performances on The Daily Show and performances as “a PC” in Apple advertisements, has been hosting a pet-focused talk show on Instagram Live. On the show, participants will video chat with the host and allow him to chat with their pets.

Ben Gibbard: Live From Home

What: Music
When: Daily, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via YouTube

Connect musically with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie fame as he performs daily from his home. Check out Death Cab for Cutie’s Twitter feed for more information regarding daily shows.

#GadBookClub

What: Books, Family
When: Daily, around 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Twitter & Instagram

Young geeks and Disney fans can enjoy a story time with Josh Gad, who plays LeFou in the live-action Beauty and the Beast and is the voice behind Olaf in Frozen. Each night, Gad gives a reading performance of a children’s book live on Twitter and Instagram. Previous readings have been at 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.—check the linked social-media accounts for a post with that day’s exact reading time. You can also search #GadBookClub for videos of previous readings.

Marie’s Crisis Virtual Piano Bar

What: Music, Nightlife
When: Daily, at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Facebook

Historical New York piano bar and musical-theater hot spot Marie’s Crisis is going virtual during the COVID-19 shutdown. Just like a normal night, performers play crowd favorites, take requests, accept tips, and encourage everyone to sing along. To get in on the fun, join Marie’s Group on Facebook; it’s normally closed, but they’re accepting and approving all applicants at the time of this publication.

Global Citizen’s #TogetherAtHome

What: Music
When: Daily, various times
Where: Virtual via YouTube

Global Citizen, an organization focused on positive social change, is looking to assist with COVID-19 relief via streaming concerts. Check the hashtag or the website to find times and artists. Global Citizen’s #TogetherAtHome page also includes possible action steps regarding the current pandemic.

#ASonnetADay

What: Books, Theater & Comedy
When: Daily, various times
Where: Virtual via Facebook

Patrick Stewart projects stability and calm, two things much needed in this time. This virtual event is an opportunity to see Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek, X-Men, and I, Claudius fame) return to his Shakespearean roots as he reads a sonnet daily. Times vary for the event. Additionally, fans of Patrick Stewart may be pleased to know that the entirety of his new series, Star Trek: Picard, is available to stream for free via CBS All Access until April 23, 2020.

Vienna State Opera Livestreams

What: Theater & Comedy, Music
When: Daily, at 12:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Vienna State Opera Live App

Another opportunity to watch world-class opera and ballet while at home comes from the Vienna State Opera. Through their streaming app platform, recordings of previous live shows will be available to watch for 24 hours. The service usually has a subscription fee but is “free of charge until further notice.” This week’s performances include Schwanensee and Der Rosenkavalier. See the full schedule and program details in their announcement post.

Friendly Local Game Drop

What: Community, Gaming
When: Daily
Where: Virtual via Web

Atlas Games, a local producer of board games, is seeking to help local gaming shops during the pandemic. Gaming shops act as community gathering places for many in the geek community and are especially hard hit by the social distancing–based closures. Atlas is allowing customers to order from their local shop and have product shipped directly to them from the warehouse.

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!