Best Bets: Jurassic Quest, Foreigner at DECC
DULUTH — With performing arts seasons back in full force, fall fun outdoors and the usual buzz of ongoing Zenith City excitement, a six-event sampler can hardly do justice to the full range of what's going on this week in Duluth. Nonetheless, here goes!
You may read jokes about rock dinosaurs elsewhere; it won't be here. Simply be apprised that Jurassic Quest, the touring attraction featuring animatronic dinosaurs, will be at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center from Friday, Sept. 27, through Sunday, Sept. 29.
Don't mention the words "Cold as Ice" to a skittish tyrannosaur, but Foreigner is playing Symphony Hall on Friday, Sept. 27, during what's supposedly their "Farewell Tour." The classic rock gods will be joined by the Drummond (Wis.) High School choir (whose members "Want To Know What Love Is") and Lita Ford (who may or may not know what love is, but she knows what she likes, and knows she likes dancing with you) (decc.org).
If you've been itching for a spooky-season shopping opportunity that doesn't involve Spirit Halloween, Duluth's American Indian Community Housing Organization is here for you.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, AICHO is hosting a Spooky Times Market with 13 local vendors. Family-friendly activities at the event will include face painting, a costume contest and a photo booth (aicho.org).
If your kids have stopped being impressed by your stories of how rough it used to be in the old days, when you had to plug your car in on winter nights (and not to charge the electric engine), let them try the voyageur life on for size. The annual Lester River Rendezvous returns to Lester Park on Saturday, Sept. 28, celebrating 25 years of reenacting the days of the fur trade. Food vendors will be on hand in case you don't want to rely on your supply of bannock and pemmican (lesterriverrendezvous.com).
Duluth's Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is turning 30, but its East Hillside neighborhood building dates back to 1912. That's when a time capsule was sealed into the cornerstone of the former Christian Science church, and museum staff will be unveiling the capsule's contents at a Saturday, Sept. 28, anniversary party. (An early peek into the time capsule revealed hymnals and a copy of The Christian Science Journal.) The party will also include live music, kids' activities and "perhaps a mystery guest or two" (facebook.com/duluthkarpeles).
There's always a model train to see at the Depot, but an event this weekend goes way beyond the cute little setup in the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.
"Free-mo" is a model railroading term describing a flexible layout that "takes the boredom out of running trains monotonously around a double or even a triple track mainline," according to the informational site free-mo.org. The Minnesota Free-mo Modelers will take over the Great Hall with the Twin Ports' largest model railroad, available to view during limited hours Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29 (lsrm.org).
Girls just want to have fun — and world-class chamber music. On Sunday, Sept. 29, at UMD's Weber Music Hall, Borealis Chamber Artists present a program spotlighting women composers from Clara Schumann to Wendy Durrwachter, Duluth's own composer and city councilor.
