This Week in Geek (11/15/21–11/21/21)

Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, November 15, to Sunday, November 21.

Virtual Events

SocietyX: Making a Home for Houseplants

What: Educational
When: Monday, November 15, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Virtual event

Learn best practices for being a good host to your plant comrades in this weekly class taught by Jocelyn Perez-Blanco. Perez-Blanco is the founder of Herban Garden and an educator, herbalist, naturalist, conservationist, flower-essence therapist, essential-oil coach, and avid gardener with a background in biology, animal husbandry, ethnobotany, and agriculture.

The Architecture of the Villain’s Lair

What: Books, Movies
When: Monday, November 15, at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual event

Take a deep dive into the iconic architecture of villain lairs in film. In this free event, architect and author Chad Oppenheim will discuss his book Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains, and look at some of the outlandish buildings in films like Star Wars, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Ex Machina.

Navigating the Rare Maps & Atlas Collection at the New York Public Library

What: Educational
When: Monday, November 15, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Explore the rare maps and atlases housed in the New York Public Library with Atlas Obscura and the curator of NYPL’s map division. The collection contains more than 450,000 artifacts from the past 500 years, including traditional cartography, star charts, local guide maps, and more. Tickets are $22.85, including fees.

Minnesota Zoo Virtual Yoga

What: Sports & Fitness
When: Wednesday, November 17, at 7:45 a.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Start your morning with yoga at the zoo! Each week, the instructor teaches a yoga routine live from exhibits around the zoo. These classes are appropriate for both beginners and experienced yogis. Each class is $8 for nonmembers, with reduced rates available for zoo members or when registering for multiple classes at the same time.

Petri Dish Conversation–Back to the Beginning: Investigating the Origin of Life

What: Science & Tech
When: Wednesday, November 17, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Petri Dish is a series of conversations about biology’s effects on our lives and futures with University of Minnesota experts hosted by UMN’s College of Biological Sciences. This free event explores the origin of life, how that impacts our understanding of Earth, and the seemingly impossible task of studying the elusive beginning of it all.

Twin Cities Playtest

What: Gaming
When: Wednesday, November 17, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Twitch

This online-only playtest event ran by the Twin Cities chapter of the International Game Developer’s Association highlights in-development games by streaming them to Twitch, and by allowing participants to test them with a service called Parsec. See the event for all of the details on how to participate as a developer or a player.

Virtual Transmission

What: Music, Nightlife
When: Wednesday, November 17, and Saturday, November 20, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Twitch

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

Twin Cities Geek Art Club

What: Arts
When: Thursday, November 18, and Sunday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Discord

The Twin Cities Geek art club meets every Thursday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the Twin Cities Geeks Discord. Hop on voice or video and chat while you create art, then share your finished pieces on the #art-club channel! This event is open to all. You can join by visiting twincitiesgeek.com/discord.

Reverend Matt’s Monster Science: Doctorate of Octopuses

What: Theater & Comedy, Educational
When: Thursday, November 18, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Twitch and YouTube

Reverend Matt’s Monster Science is a recurring comedic-lecture series that focuses on monsters. This week’s free livestream focuses on creatures inspired by squids and octopuses, as well as the oddities of cephalopod paleontology.

GalaxyCon Live

What: Community, Conventions
When: Friday, November 19, through Sunday, November 21
Where: Virtual via video chat

GalaxyCon, a convention for fans of various genre properties, is returning to live virtual events throughout the fall. These events are a great way to bring the convention experience home with panels, chats, autographs, virtual shout-outs, and more. Check the website for full details and pricing information, but this week includes events for fans of Back to the Future, Fire Force, and more.

Virtual Star Party: Artemis I, Returning to the Moon

What: Science & Tech, Educational
When: Friday, November 19, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual

Learn about the upcoming Artemis I mission and future history-making missions to the moon with the Bell Museum. The planetarium team will be discussing the launches as well as sharing images of the moon and interesting sky objects through their telescopes.

Zoom Discussion of A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

What: Books
When: Saturday, November 20, at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

The Rivendell Discussion Group of the Mythopoeic Society is hosting an online discussion of A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher, the winner of the 2021 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Young Adult Literature. This event is free and open to all.

Drink & Draw—Costumed Model Drawing

What: Arts
When: Saturday, November 20, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Gallery Girls is a Los Angeles–based event organizer popular for its themed-drawing nights, often featuring models in fantasy, comic-book, and science-fiction costumes. Now, due to the pandemic, it’s shifted to online sessions that can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere. Each session is $10 and offers a mix of posing times. Artists of all levels are encouraged to dress up (if they like), grab a drink, and share their work on social media. This week’s theme is “The Grecian” with Sara Streeter. Discount tickets are available for students and when buying for multiple sessions.

Gentle Yoga for Terrible Times

What: Sports & Fitness
When: Saturday, November 20, at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Between the continued global pandemic, distressing news about climate change, and other things in the news, it’s easy to be stressed. This gentle yoga experience aims to help center and calm yourself to move out of the fight-or-flight mode that a distressing world can create. This is a free event and intended to be accessible to all—however, folks are encouraged to donate if they enjoy and have the means.

Thanksgiving Traditions and Mayhem at the Macy’s Parade

What: Educational
When: Sunday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Zoom

Explore Thanksgiving traditions throughout history. This talk will explore the holiday’s early customs, modern traditions like football games, weird facts, and, of course, infamous incidents at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Tickets are $9.17, including fees.

Alamo Drafthouse OnDemand

What: Community, Movies
When: Daily, various times
Where: Virtual via Scener

The Alamo Drafthouse has taken its curated approach to film online to keep bringing the weird, great, bad, and amazing-to-the-public in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. Check this space for live events like watch parties, exclusive releases, and more (only this time you’ll be required to provide your own snacks and drinks). Check the website for all of the current and upcoming films, events, and prices.

Sofi Tukker Presents Daily DJ Sets

What: Music
When: Daily at 12:00 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual via Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook

House-music duo Sofi Tukker present live DJ sets every day that include popular dance tracks, original music, and community interaction. Noon sets are performed by the duo or guest DJs from around the world. On Tuesdays, Sofi Tukker plays an extended evening set. These shows are a great opportunity for a dance break, to interact with other music fans, and see new music evolve before it hits streaming services. Be advised that the music and hosts are not censored, and this may not be the best livestream for younger music fans.

In-Person Events

Please note: Due to risks from the ongoing pandemic, we urge all readers to take appropriate safety measures when choosing to attend in-person events, such as masking, physical distancing, and frequent handwashing. We also urge all eligible Minnesotans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to wear a mask in indoor settings even if vaccinated. If you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms, please get tested and follow Minnesota state guidelines on isolating from others. See our COVID-19 resources page for more information on vaccination, health and safety, financial and other assistance, and more.

While we cannot guarantee the safety of anyone attending an event we are not affiliated with, our aim is to include only those hosted by groups and venues that list clear, reasonable COVID safety precautions. If you feel something in this column does not meet those criteria, we encourage you to contact us at info@twincitiesgeek.com with your concerns.

Creative Night

What: Arts, Community
When: Monday, November 15, 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 new people, show off your creative side with them, and maybe learn a thing or two.

Crafty Geek/Make It Sew

What: Arts, Community
When: Thursday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Geek Partnership Society and virtual via Google Meet

The Geek Partnership Society’s Crafty Geek club and its subclub Make It Sew meet Thursday evenings at the Waterbury Building and invite you to “bring your crafty stuff to do” and “chat with other geeks!”

MasterChef Live!

What: Food & Drink, Family
When: Thursday, November 18, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: State Theatre

MasterChef Live! is bringing the energy, drama, and food masterpieces to the stage. Former contestants from MasterChef and MasterChef Junior will be doing cooking demonstrations and going head-to-head in culinary challenges. Tickets start at $35, with additional options available for groups and VIP experiences.

Finding Chippewa City

What: Educational, Community
When: Saturday, November 20, at 2:00 p.m.
Where: Minnesota History Center

Chippewa City, also known as Nishkwakwansing, was home to nearly 200 Anishinaabe families in the 1800s. But the existence of this once-vibrant village near Grand Marais has all but vanished from the area. At this free event, author Staci Lola Drouillard will discuss the history of this lost community and her award-winning book, Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe.

Transvestite Soup Presents: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

What: Film, Theater & Comedy
When: Saturday, November 20, at 11:30 p.m.
Where: Parkway Theater

Transvestite Soup has a new home at the Parkway Theater! Watch a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the “longest-running midnight movie of all time.” Transvestite Soup is the Twin Cities’ shadow cast for the showings, performing for your pleasure as part of the cult classic’s well-established tradition. Doors open at 11:30 p.m. and tickets are $10.

Charlie Berens Q+A and Book Signing

What: Books
When: Sunday, November 21, at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Mall of America

Comedian, journalist, and musician Charlie Berens will be stopping by the Mall of America to discuss his debut book The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat… Everything with Ranch. The Wisconsinite is known for his YouTube series The Mantiwoc Minute, podcast Cripescast, and featured videos on Funny or Die. This event is free.

Wondering why we didn’t include your geeky event? We are only including in-person events from organizers and venues with responsible, clearly advertised COVID-19 safety precautions that meet our standards. If you’d like to be considered for future listings, send your safety info to info@twincitiesgeek.com!