December 2011

Volume 17

Number 12

Your Community News & Information Source

Truth in Taxation meeting set for December 7

‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’

Tim SpitzackEditor

A stroll through Rice Park, located at West 5th and Market streets

in Downtown St. Paul, is sure to get you in the holiday mood. A tower-ing Christmas tree that sparkles with

20,000 lights around the clock dur-ing the holiday season is the signature attraction. Nutcracker figures, angel statues and other holiday décor are also featured throughout the park, which sparkles at night like the scene on a holiday greeting card.

Across the street is the Wells Fargo

WinterSkate, a free outdoor skat-ing rink. Bring your own skates and skate for free, or rent skates for $2. A warming house, hot chocolate, snacks and a bonfire help make this winter experience toasty warm. The rink is

Holiday Event Guide / Page 4

December has been called “the most wonderful time of the year” for good reason. It’s a time when people gather across the world to celebrate faith, family and friendship. Close to home there are a number of events that help you do just that; everything from live performances to lighting displays, to unique shopping opportunities. Our annual holiday event guide is filled with festive ways for you to enjoy the season.

Infusing art into the LRT corridor

Mary Diedrick HansenStaff Writer

Businesses along the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line that are feeling the heat from customer loss during

the construction phase will soon receive support from an unlikely ally. Coming to their aid is the artist com-munity, which is taking advantage of a $750,000 grant to create events and projects to attract more traffic to the corridor.

Over the next three years, a St. Paul art initiative dubbed, “Irrigate,” will provide community develop-ment workshops for artists. Upon completion of the workshop, artists will be eligible for $1,000 grants to launch art projects along the corridor. The funding comes from a $750,000 grant awarded to the city of St. Paul, Springboard for the Arts and Twin Cities Lo-cal Initiatives Support Corporation from ArtPlace, a national private/public initiative of 11 of America’s top foundations working with the National Endowment for the Arts and seven local federal agencies. ArtPlace is in-vesting $11.4 million in 34 projects across the country.

“The arts can play a central role in spurring on lo-cal economic activity, from temporary activities such as performances and chalked poetry, which leads to com-munity gatherings, to devising creative ways to navigate through the construction,” said Laura Zabel, executive director of Springboard for the Arts, a St. Paul based economic and community development organization for artists. “Lowertown has such a strong foundation of established artists. Ultimately the hope is to build new relationships between the artists and local businesses and residents.”

Artists of all experience levels are asked to use their creative talents to positively impact their neighborhood and local businesses along the LRT corridor. For more information, call Jun-Li Wang, art community orga-nizer for Springboard for the Arts, at 651-789-0679.

Mary Diedrick HansenStaff Writer

A public hearing for the proposed 2012 St. Paul

city budget will take place at 7 p.m., Wed., Dec. 7, in the City Council Chambers at

City Hall, 15 Kellogg Blvd. The proposed $556 mil-lion budget is one percent higher than last year’s bud-get and includes significant cuts in staff and revenue.

Once again, Local Gov-ernment Aid (LGA) is

an important part of the story behind a $12.2 mil-lion revenue shortfall. The 2011 certified (promised) amount was $62 million, but during the 2011 special legislative session the Legis-lature permanently reduced

LGA for St. Paul to $50.5 million, a $12.2 million reduction. To make up the difference, $6.1 million in property tax increases, or a 6.5 percent increase over last year, is being proposed. The remaining $6 million

comes from the elimination of 55 employees, primarily from the Library Agency (12) and Parks and Recre-ation (18). Library hours and some recreation sup-port services are tagged to be reduced, as is overtime in

the Fire Department. Man-agement of vacancies in the police and fire departments is also being looked at more closely, with positions being filled more slowly

Tax meeting / Page 2

Page 2 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011

Your community news and information sourceB usiness

The Downtown St. Paul Voice is published monthly and delivered to every apartment, condominium and skyway drop in St. Paul’s historic urban village, as well as other locations throughout downtown St. Paul.

Publisher & Editor: Tim Spitzack Copy Editor: Leslie MartinReporter: Mary Diedrick Hansen Contributors: Roger Fuller, Don MorganMasthead design by Nick GermanoAdvertising: Henry Torres, Mona Toft,John Ahlstrom Home Delivery: Independent Delivery Service Bulk Delivery: SC Distribution 651-285-1119

The Downtown St. Paul Voice assumes no responsibility for the opinions expressed by contributors and for the validity of claims or items reported. Copyright Downtown St. Paul Voice 2011. All rights reserved in compliance of Federal Copyright Act of 1978.

St. Paul Publishing Co.1643 So. Robert St., West St. Paul, MN 55118

Phone: (651) 457-1177 sppc@stpaulpublishing.comwww.stpaulpublishing.com

The Hinding Heating and Air Company in St. Paul, which is co-owned by Men-dota Heights resident Tom Costello, is celebrating its 75th year in business. Since 1936, the company has ser-viced, repaired and replaced furnaces, boilers, air con-ditioners, humidifiers and air purification systems for residents of St. Paul and sur-rounding communities.

“We have literally served three and sometimes four generations of homeowners, and we could not have succeeded this long without their friendship and loyalty,” said Pat Costello, who co-owns the company with his brother Tom. “It is simply amazing to get phone calls from folks who were referred to us by their grandparents.”

Despite its longevity, the company has not stood still. Within the past several years, Hinding has undergone a complete renovation of its headquarters at 915 W. Sev-enth St., St. Paul. With its clean brick edifice and the well-appointed, stylish black awnings imprinted with the company’s new logo, the building restoration is in complete harmony with the architecture of the area.

“The renovation not only adds value to the building and the neighborhood, but it was ac-complished almost entirely with the know- how and craftsmanship of contractors within the sur-rounding community,” said Costello.

The company’s website has undergone a total restruc-turing, as well. The new look includes a brief history of the company and a detailed list of the services it provides. It also permits a visitor to fill out an online estimate request.

While the building has been renovated and the website updated, the Costello brothers insist that very little has changed in the manner in which Hind-ing conducts its day-to-day business.

“We are an old-fashioned company that prides itself on providing great value and great customer service,” said Tom Costello. “We have a reputation to uphold and it is our pledge that the next generation of custom-ers will be treated with the same courtesy and respect as that first generation was 75 years ago.”

Hinding Co. celebrates 75 years of serviceIn St. Paul, 56 percent

of the City’s total local property tax levy falls on residential property. Nearly one-third of the city’s prop-erty is tax-exempt, which puts more of the burden on residential and commer-cial property owners. Other funding sources, such as LGA and local fees play a part in determining the size of the property tax levy, as well.

Property taxes make up 33 percent of general fund revenue. Services such as po-lice and fire, parks and rec-reation, and general govern-ment (mayor, city council, human resources, finance and other support services) are part of the general fund. Nearly half of the money in this fund goes toward health care benefit increases and pension obligations.

Here is a breakdown of the revenue sources:

• Property taxes - 34 per-cent

• LGA - 23 percent• Franchise Fees - 12 per-

cent: Utility companies such as Xcel Energy, Comcast, District Cooling, District Energy and Empire Builder pay the City a fee to use city streets and right-of-ways to deliver their services to the residents and businesses of St. Paul.

• Other revenue - 30 per-cent: interest earnings, para-medic fees, state pension aids, parking meters and fines, hotel and motel tax. Of those funds, 42 percent is budgeted to the general fund, 47 percent to city spe-cial funds and 11 percent to debt service. Public Works (snow plowing, street re-pair), makes up 23.8 per-cent of the budget. Fire and police account for 28 per-cent. Debt service takes 11 percent, and government administration makes up 12 percent.

Tax meetingfrom page 1

$5 Tuesdays!

$10 admission package $5 for additional packages

Concessions • Pull Tabs • ATM

CHRISTMAS PARTYThursday, December 22Matinee & Evening SessionsClosed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTYSaturday, December 317 pm and 9:30 pm sessionsFree Food 5:30 to 7 pm, compliments of Palace ConcessionsDoor Prizes at both sessions, including a year of free bingo ~ $10 pkg. every session in 2012. Special Drawing @ our 9:30 pm session for a BIG Screen TV!Open New Years Day - 2 & 7 pm

Receive a FREE $10 package for your birthday

CALL 651-450-9714 FOR SPECIALS

Sponsored by The Tapemark Charity

ProAm Golf Tournament

A-04888-004

Benefiting people with learning & developmental

disabilities1675 S. Robert St., West St. Paul

Open at 2 p.m. Tues., Thurs., Sat. & Sun., and 7 p.m. nightly

Just minutes away from downtown

They come from near and far to play at the Palace

An average of

$3,000paid out every

session

"Year of Beer" Card - $100The perfect gift to keep your loved

one happy all year long!

St. Paul’s nano brewery!

Vine Park Brewing Companywww.vinepark.com

1254 West 7th St., St. Paul | 651.228.1355

Bring Home TheHoliday Spirit

Give the...

Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011 - Page 3

Your community news and information sourceF uller Files by Roger Fuller

Farmers’ Market now open atGolden’s Deli

About three-fourths of last year’s 25 growers have returned to the indoor mar-ket of the St. Paul Farmers Market, located at Golden’s Deli, 275 E. Fourth St., St. Paul. The growers offer ev-erything from baked goods and greens to deli meat and Christmas trees. The market is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

City Passport events

The traditional Christ-mas Eve party of City Pass-port senior citizen center will be held at 11 a.m., Sat., Dec. 24, on the mez-zanine level of the Alliance Bank Building, 55 E. 4th St., St. Paul. Other events include: ice cream float so-cial, 1:30 p.m., Fri., Dec. 9; happy birthday party, 2 p.m., Mon., Dec. 12; writ-ers group, 10:30 a.m., Fri., Dec., 16; current events discussion, 11 a.m., Fri., Dec. 16; trivia, 10:30 a.m., Wed., Dec. 21; Melody Makers Chorus, 10:15 a.m. on Thursdays; movies at 1 p.m. on Thursdays.

CRC skyway commiteeseeks members

CapitolRiver Council/District 17 is seeking three members for it Skyway Committee, which moni-tors the operation of the skyway system, sets sky-way hours and determines whether skyway signs meet requirements. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 1 to the District 17 office, located on the skyway level of the US Bank building.

‘The Nutcracker’Ballet Minnesota will of-

fer its version of “The Nut-cracker” Dec. 14-18 at the O’Shaughnessy auditorium at the College of St. Cath-erine. Ballet Minnesota, which has studios at 249 E. 4th St. in Lowertown, gave its first presentation of “The Nutcracker” in 1989.

Conservatory concert

St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists will present a Vocal Arts Winter Choir Festival on Dec. 20. The Conservatory, which is based at Landmark Center, is a four year high school that offers instruction in dance, voice and theater.

McNally Smith concert

McNally Smith College of Music will hold a choir concert at 2 p.m., Sun., Dec. 11, at the Fitzgerald Theatre, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul. The Emerging Artists series will hold seven events at different venues in the St. Paul area Dec. 5-15. For more information, visit www.mcnallysmith.edu.

First Friday social

A silent auction will be featured at the First Friday social 4-6 p.m., Fri., Dec. 2, at Faces restaurant in Cray Plaza. Items have been do-nated from the Ordway Center, Schubert Club, Padelford Riverboats, the Minnesota Wild, Minneso-ta Opera and other down-town organizations.

The event is held monthly under sponsorship of Capi-tolRiver Council/District 17 to encourage downtown residents to become better acquainted. Last year’s event made a profit of $600.

Plug into St. Paul

Plug Into St. Paul will be held at the Amsterdam bar and restaurant at Sixth and Wabasha 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 15. Capitol-River Council/District 17 sponsors this event every other third Thursday to help downtown residents get better acquainted with the community.

Lowry LabTable Salt Productions

will present “Spiked 2,” a holiday variety show, Dec. 1-18, at the Lowry Lab The-atre, located at Fifth and St. Peter, St. Paul. Performanc-es will be given Thursday through Sunday.

A burlesque show will be held at 10 p.m., Fri., Dec. 9.

Thune retains council seat

Ward Two councilman Dave Thune was re-elected to the St. Paul City Coun-cil after receiving 53 per-cent of the vote under the new ranked choice system, which began this year. The system was not needed in the city’s other six wards because the lead candidate had over 50 percent of the vote on election night.

On Nov. 8, Thune led with 38.4 percent, followed by James Ivey with 26.5 and

Bill Hosko with 25.4. Un-der the system the ballots favoring the bottom two candidates were redistrib-uted and the second choice was given to the remaining candidates. Hosko picked up more than 100 votes than Ivey and moved into second place. In the end, Thune gained 53 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Hosko.

Park Square Theatre to expand

Park Square Theatre, lo-cated in the Hamm Build-ing at Seventh Place and St. Peter, plans to build a second stage. The new stage will seat about 200 and be located in the lower level. The main stage on the first floor seats 350. The new stage will be used primarily for classics and experimen-tal works and will supple-ment the more traditional works presented on the main stage. About 80 per-cent of the funds needed for the project have already been raised.

Central Library programs

A Books and Bars pro-gram will be presented at 7 p.m., Tues., Dec. 20, at the Amsterdam bar and restau-rant at Sixth and Wabasha. The title to be discussed is “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen. The program will be moderated by Jeff Ka-min under the sponsorship of Friends of the Library.

Joe Kimball will discuss his book “Secrets of the Congdon Mansion” at 2 p.m., Sun., Dec. 4.

Central Book Club will feature “Flim Flam Man, True Story of My Father’s Counterfeit Life” by Jen-nifer Vogel at 10:30 a.m., Thurs., Dec. 8.

History Book Club will discuss “Cleopatra: A Life” by Stacy Schiff at 2 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 22.

Blues at the Black Dog

Jeff Ray will give a blues guitar concert Dec. 3, at the Black Dog Café, 308 Prince St, St. Paul. Dean Magraw and Davu Seru will present guitar and drum music 7-9 p.m., Dec. 6. String Bikini will perform 6-8 p.m., Dec. 7. Felonius Bosch will per-form Dec. 9, and The Red Dog band will play on Dec. 10. Film for the Arts will present the film “The Art of Henry Moore” at 8 p.m.,

Thurs., Dec. 8. Film for the Arts is a student organiza-tion at McNally Smith Col-lege of Music.

St. Paul Prep hosts Arts Extravaganza

St. Paul Preparatory School will hold an Arts Ex-travaganza 3:30-5:30 p.m., Dec. 15. The event will in-clude student performances and artwork. The high school is located in Cray Plaza and has students from about 20 foreign countries.

Sinfonia concertViolinist Brandon Duffy

will perform at the holiday concert of the Minnesota Sinfonia at 7 p.m. Fri., Dec. 2, at Founder’s Hall at Met-ro State University. Duffy, a junior division winner of the Sinfonia’s young artist competition, will play Vio-lin Concerto No. 1 by M. Bruch. Evelyn Nelson, so-prano, will also sing several holiday favorites. Admis-sion is free.

Renovation plans for two downtownbuildings

Pak Properties has plans to renovate the Pioneer and Endicott buildings within the next month. Pak recently purchased the historic buildings, which have been vacant for several years. Based on its other downtown projects — The Rossmor and the Lowry, which were converted to condos — it is likely that a significant portion of the buildings will be used for residential purposes.

Skyway merchants celebrate

Merchants in the Alliance Bank building are celebrat-ing the reopening of the skyway bridge over Fifth Street by offering discounts

in a coupon book, avail-able at the Alliance Bank security desk and many merchants in the building. The promotion is intended to entice back customers who may have stopped vis-iting the center during the closure of the skyway from March to November.

The closure was neces-sary because part of the former skyway bridge was attached to the old Bremer Bank building, which was demolished for the Light Rail Transit project. Dur-ing the closure, the Alliance Bank building lost skyway access to the University Club, Degree of Honor and Pioneer Press buildings, and Crowne Plaza.

Downtown St. Paul

Johnson-PetersonFuneral Home & Cremation

“Ours is a Service ofSincerity”

Since 1927

Ken B. PetersonOwner-Director

612 So. Smith Ave.

651-222-3220www.johnsonpeterson.com

Se habla español. Call Erica.

Johnson-PetersonCasa Funeria y Cremación

“Lo nuestro es un servicio de sinceridad”

Desde 1927

Ken B. PetersonOwner-Director

612 So. Smith Ave.

651-222-3220www.johnsonpeterson.com

Se habla español. Llame Erica.

handyrepairguy.org651 260-4696

HOME REPAIRSMeeting All your

home repair needs! Appliance Repair & Installation Carpentry • Painting • Tile • Countertops

~ Insured ~

Page 4 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011

open through Feb. 5, 2012. Open skating is offered 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri-Sat.; and 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. A Christmas Eve Skate is offered 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Dec. 24 and a New Year’s Eve Skate 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Dec. 31. The rink is closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, 2012. For more information, visit www.wellsfargowinterskate.com or call 651-291-5608.

Take a holiday light tour

St. Paul’s Phalen Park, 1615 Phalen Dr. E., is transformed into a won-derland of lights 5:30-10 p.m. nightly through Jan. 1, 2012. The park fea-tures more than 50 holiday sculptures and animated displays. New this year is an enchanted castle with a handsome prince, beautiful princess and a fire-breath-ing dragon. Cost is $8 per vehicle Sun.-Thurs., and $10 per vehicle Fri. and Sat. and on the holidays. This event is sponsored by the International Brother-hood of Electrical Work-

ers to raise funds for local charities. Proceeds support Second Harvest Heartland, the Union Gospel Mission, St. Paul Parks Conservancy and UnderConstruction, a program that helps youth explore career opportunities in the construction field.

Enhance your experience by purchasing “Holiday Lights Christmas CD Vol. 3,” featuring holiday music

performed by some of the finest musicians in the Twin Cities. It is available at all Kowalski’s Markets, and at Phalen Park during the tour. Cost is $10, but the CD in-cludes a complimentary ve-hicle pass for the light tour. For more information, visit www.lightsinthepark.org.

Attend a concert or play

There are a number of live entertainment options during December that help make the holiday season more festive. Here are some of them:

“Sister’s Christmas Cat-echism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold” is presented Dec. 13-Jan. 1, 2012, at the Ordway Center, 345 Wash-ington St., St. Paul. It’s CSI: Bethlehem in this holiday mystery extravaganza, by the author of the Late Nite Catechism series. Audiences partake in the journey as Sister takes on the mystery that has intrigued historians

throughout the ages: what-ever happened to the Magi’s gold? Tickets are $35. For more information, call 651-224-4222 or visit www.ord-way.org.

The 5th Annual New Standards Holiday Show is presented at 8 p.m., Fri., Dec. 2, and Sat., Dec. 3, at the Fitzgerald Theatre, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul. The New Standards Jazz Trio — John Munson, Chan Poling and Steve Roehm — gather with some special friends to perform traditional holiday songs and some not-so-clas-sic holiday favorites. Tickets are $32.

“Holiday Jam with the Hegg Brothers” is present-ed at 7:30 p.m., Tues., Dec. 20, at the Fitzgerald Theatre. This musical showcase fea-tures the talents of a 9-piece band playing Christmas classics and contemporary new arrangements. This show features stories of the season, messages for the heart and music to lift the spirits. Tickets are $25-$35. For more information, call 651 290-1200.

“A Civil War Christmas” is presented through Dec. 18, at the History Theater, 30 E. Tenth St., St. Paul. It is Christmastime 1864 in Washington, D.C. and President Lincoln is try-ing to heal the wounds of a nation. Soldiers on both sides are bravely holding on to the promise of a bright-er future for the country, and people of every walk

of life long for wholeness and celebration as Christ-mas Eve draws near. This epic musical incorporates folk songs, spirituals and traditional Christmas car-ols, such as “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen,” “Silent Night,” and “O Tannen-baum.” Filled with intrigue and surprise, this Christmas musical reveals a world that is simultaneously torn apart by war and held together by the hope for redemption. Tickets are $30-$38. For more information, call 651-292-4323 or visit www.his-torytheatre.com.

“It’s A Wonderful Life - A Live Radio Play” - The Saint Paul Hotel offers lunch and dinner perfor-mances of “It’s A Wonderful Life - A Live Radio Play.” Actors present a 1946 ra-dio broadcast in the famous Promenade Ballroom of the Saint Paul Hotel, located at 350 Market St., St. Paul. Matinee performances fea-ture a three-course lunch and the evening shows fea-ture a three-course dinner. Cost is $55 for matinee performances and $75 for evening performances. For more information, call 651-228-3860 or visit www.saintpaulhotel.com, search special events.

“Fezziwig’s Feast- A de-lightful telling of a Christ-mas Carol” is presented Dec. 9-11 and Dec. 15-19 at the Harriet Island Pavil-lion. Travel back in time to 1843 to be the guest at one of London’s most famous Christmas parties, hosted by Mister Fezziwig, a dear friend of Charles Dickens. The event includes a Vic-torian holiday feast. Tickets are $74.50 for adults and $39.50 for children age 12 and under. To order, visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-982-2787.

St. Paul’s Phalen Park is transformed into a wonderland of lights 5:30-10 p.m. nightly through Jan. 1, 2012.

111 Kellogg Blvd., #140DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL

651-224-6878

Prada's Cafe

óSandwiches (tortas)óSoups & SaladsóCoffee & more

$6 Breakfast Specialsserved all day

Like us? Like us500 likes @ facebook.com/myspnn

Call 651-731-1068520 White Bear Ave.

Tuesday - Friday11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Must order 4 or more large pizzas.One day advance notice recommended.

Business Delivery!

Voted #1 traditional pizza by AOL City Search

We also offer salads for large groups.Acupuncture

$15-$40 sliding scale, pay what you can

Pain & many other health conditions

Little Needles Community Acupuncture651-705-6522

www.lncamn.com1635 Robert St.

West St. Paul, MN

Your community news and information sourceH oliday Event Guidecontinued from page 1

Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011 - Page 5

“A Christmas Memory” is presented at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 1, 2, 8 and 9, at the James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Tru-man Capote’s beloved holi-day story about a young boy growing up in the south during the Great Depres-sion is brought to life by Twin Cities’ actors Linda Sue Anderson and Sam Landman. This one-hour readers-theater program

will include several holiday songs performed by Minne-apolis singer-guitarist Dan Hylton. The program will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. Tours of the Hill House will also be available after the performance. Tickets are $10. Reservations are recommended. For more information, call 651-297-2555 or visit www.mnhs.org/places/sites/jjhh/.

‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!’ - Stepping-Stone Theatre will present “The Best Christmas Pag-eant Ever!” December 2-23. Now in its 20th season, this popular play shows the an-tics of the Herdmans, “the worst kids in the whole his-tory of the world,” as they bring chaos and disaster, and then miraculously turn what should be the worst show into the best Christ-

mas pageant ever. Perfor-mances are in Stepping-Stone Theatre’s new home at 55 Victoria St. N. in the Historic Hill District of St. Paul. Tickets are $14 for adults and $11 for children and seniors. For more in-formation, visit www.step-pingstonetheatre.org or call 651-225-9265.

Hill House holiday tours are offered 1-3:30 p.m., Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18. The bustle and excitement of a Victorian Christmas is brought to life as the servants of the James J. Hill House prepare for the holidays. Costumed actors portray people who worked for the Hill family in a portrayal of servant life and holiday preparations at the Hill family’s Sum-mit Avenue mansion. The script is based on letters and oral histories of people who worked for the Hill family during the first decade of the 20th century. Tours be-gin every 30 minutes. Cost is $10. Reservations are recommended. For more information, call 651-297-2555 or visit www.mnhs.org/places/sites/jjhh/.

A Victorian Christmas at the Ramsey House - Ex-

perience the sights, sounds and tastes of a Victorian Christmas 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, and noon-3 p.m. Sundays, at the Alexander Ramsey House, 265 S. Exchange St., St. Paul. Step back in time to the Christmas sea-son of 1875. Visitors can taste homemade cookies fresh from the wood burn-ing stove, listen to popular holiday music of the era played on the family’s Stein-way piano and view origi-nal family ornaments and Christmas gifts. Discover how the Ramsey family and their friends, neighbors and servants prepared for and celebrated the Christmas season. Christmas gift items are available in the Carriage House gift store. The house is closed Christmas Day. Cost is $11 adults, $9 se-niors and college students, and $7 ages 6-17. Reserva-tions are recommended. For more information, call 651-296-8760, or visit www.mnhs.org/places/sites/arh/

“A Christmas Carol” ra-dio show - Riverview Bap-tist Church, 14 Moreland Ave. E., West St. Paul, is presenting a radio show pre-sentation of Charles Dick-

ens’ “A Christmas Carol” at 7 p.m., Sat., Dec. 3. This re-telling of the classic is done in the format of a ’40s radio show, where studio audi-ences watched the actors at their microphones, saw the sound effects created, and participated in cheering for the hero or booing the villain. The presentation is free. For more information, call 651-457-3831. 

Holiday events at Au-gustana Lutheran - Au-gustana Lutheran Church is hosting a free Elva Kaffe event 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat., Dec. 3. Elva Kaffe, which is Swedish for “eleven o’clock coffee,” is a Scandinavian custom of inviting friends for coffee, cookies and fel-lowship, while preparing for the holidays. This event will include coffee and cookies, craft demonstrations, in-cluding rosemaling, quilt-ing, spinning, cross-stitch and woodcarving, as well as musical performances and samples of traditional Scan-dinavian holiday foods. This Christmas festival has been celebrated at Augus-

Landmark Center will host the 33rd Annual Holiday Bazaar Dec. 1-3.

Your community news and information sourceH oliday Event Guide

The Largest & Most Elegant Chinese, Japanese & American Cuisine Restaurant

NOW OPENin Signal Hills

Shopping CenterWest St. Paul

$2 OffPer Table

Not valid with other offers. Dine-in only. Expires 1/31/12.

$2 OffPer Table

Not valid with other offers. Dine-in only. Expires 1/31/12.

$2 OffPer Table

Not valid with other offers. Dine-in only. Expires 1/31/12.

Lunch$7.99

11 am - 3:30 pm

Dinner$11.99

11 am - 3:30 pm

SUNDAY

All Day Dinner

Traditional Chinese

Japanese

American

Italian

Mexican

Kid-Friendly

Sushi

Vegetarian

Barbecue

Desert Buffet

Holiday Events / Page 10

Page 6 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011

Your community news and information sourceS ample St. PaulArtists’ Quarter

The Artists’ Quarter, located in the Historic Hamm Building at Sev-enth Place and St. Peter in downtown St. Paul, offers live entertainment through-out the month, including jazz bands, poetry nights and the popular B-3 organ night, held at 9 p.m. every Tuesday. For a complete schedule of events, call 651-292-1359 or visit www.art-istsquarter.com.

Children’s Museum

“Rainforest Adventure” is presented through Jan. 8, 2012. This mulit-sensory expedition introduces  visi-tors to tropical rainforests around the world, high-lights the challenges fac-ing these unique ecological wonders and suggests ways that people can make a dif-ference.

“Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Fa-vorites” is featured through Feb. 5, 2012. This exhibit brings children and adults into the world of seven be-loved picture books. From the gardens of “The Tale of

Peter Rabbit” to the urban snowscape of “The Snowy Day” and the tropical is-land of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” Storyland engages visitors in early lit-erature adventures. Tickets are $8.95. The museum is located at 10 W. Seventh

St., St. Paul. For more in-formation, call 651-225-6000 or visit www.mcm.org. Explore the museum free of charge 9 a.m.-5 p.m. the third Sunday of each month.

History Center“1968” is presented

through Feb. 20, 2012. The year 1968 was a year of extremes: of comedy and tragedy, of love and hate, of a president stepping down and a leader being gunned down, of violence on the front lines and on the home

front, of graceful athletes and powerful protests, and of the promise of law and order. In one single year America saw it all and the highlights of that year are featured in this exhibit.

Museum tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and college students, and

$5 for children ages 6-17. The center offers free ad-mission on Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m. For more information, call 651-259-3000 or visit www.mnhs.org.

History TheatreSample Night Live, a

sampling of local produc-tions, is featured at the History Theatre at 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month, except February. The format features 12 acts per night, including theater, film, dance, improv, visual arts, folk and opera. The next performance is Dec. 7. Tickets are $20. The His-tory Theater is located at 30 E. Tenth St., St. Paul. For more information, call 651-292-4323 or visit www.his-torytheatre.com.

Landmark Center

PipJazz Sundays con-cert - Esera Tuaolo, for-mer Minnesota Viking and current recording artist, will perform in the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium at 5 p.m., Dec. 4. PipJazz Sundays is hosted by Inde-pendent singer-songwriter Pippi Ardennia, a nation-

Photo illustration by Jeanne Kosfeld

“Cinderella” is presented Dec. 13-Jan. 1, 2012, at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

Building Saint Paul’s Energy Future

HEAT RECOVERY SOLAR BIOMASS BIOGAS

www.districtenergy.com

DEenergyfuture-Voice.indd 1 11/10/2010 11:54:19 AM

A Ramsey County Property

33rd Annual Landmark Center Old Fashioned

December 1-2 | 10 am - 8 pm December 3 | 10 am - 5 pm

$4 - Under 12 Free

Get in the Holiday mood...Stroll through a marketplace of over 75 exhibits featuring beautiful and unique gift items, all hand-crafted by the Midwest’s finest artists.

75 W 5th Street | Saint Paul, MN | 55102www.landmarkcenter.org

Backstreet GrillDine in Monday-Friday only. Second meal must be equal or lesser value. Valid only with coupon.

Not valid with other offers. Exp. 12/31/11.

Half Off

BREAKFAST EntreeBuy One, Get Second

Mon. 8-2:30, Tues.-Fri. 6-2:30 & 4-8, Sat. 7-1:30, Sun. 8-12:30

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Backstreet Grill 195 S. Robert St.

St. Paul

Expanded delivery menu!Call 651-228-1526

Half Off

LUNCH EntreeBuy One, Get Second

Backstreet GrillDine in Monday-Friday only. Second meal must be equal or lesser value. Valid only with coupon.

Not valid with other offers. Exp. 12/31/11.

Holiday Gift Certificates!$5 off a $35 gift card

$10 off a $65 gift card

Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011 - Page 7

Your community news and information sourceS ample St. Paulally recognized jazz/blues artist. Each month, the concert series features local guest performers, as well as a core ensemble of local musicians. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For more informa-tion, call 651-472-9331 or visit www.pipjazz.com.

Saint Paul City Ballet will perform excerpts from “The Enchanted Toy Shop” at noon, Dec. 13. For more information, call 651-690-1588.

Red House Record art-ists Robin and Linda Wil-liams will perform in the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Audito-rium at 8 p.m., Fri., Dec. 16. Favorites on “A Prairie Home Companion,” the duo performs a blend of bluegrass, folk, old-time and acoustic country music. For more information, call 651-292-3063.

The Landmark Center is located at 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul. For more informa-tion, call the Event Hotline at 651-292-3225.

Fitzgerald Theatre

Kevin Kling’s “Of Mirth and Mischief” is presented at 8 p.m., Fri., Dec. 16 and Sat., Dec. 17, and 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 18. This per-formance is a fantastical journey that explores the world of broken fairies and mischievous elves that rule the dusk and dawn — all through the wondrous tale of a young boy’s experi-ence. Tickets are $29. The Fitzgerald Theatre is located at 10 E. Exchange St., St.

Paul. For more informa-tion, call 651 290-1200.

Ordway Center“Cinderella” is presented

Dec. 13-Jan. 1, 2012, at the Ordway Center, 345 Washington St., St. Paul. The timeless enchantment of this magical fairy tale is reborn with the Ordway’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella. “First presented on televi-sion starring Julie Andrews, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” was the most widely viewed program in the history of the medium. It has been elegantly adapt-ed for the stage, with great warmth and a touch of hi-larity. The hearts of children and adults are guaranteed to soar when the slipper fits. Songs include: “In My Own Little Corner,” “Im-possible,” “Ten Minutes Ago,” “The Prince is Giving a Ball,” and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” Tickets are $27-$98. For more information, call 651-224-4222 or visit www.ord-way.org.

Park Square “Hot Chocolate” is pre-

sented Nov. 30-Dec. 18, at

Park Square Theatre, locat-ed in the Historic Hamm Building at 20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul. A young couple juggles competing family expectations, literally shop-ping ‘til they drop. When they finally stop for a cup of hot chocolate, they discover the “secret recipe” that can weave the diverse threads of their lives into new tradi-tions. Filled with contem-porary and classic music, this simple story reminds us all that love and family are at the heart of the season. Tickets are $38-$58.

“The Soul of Gershwin: The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer” is pre-sented Dec. 8-Jan. 1, 2012. Travel with George Gersh-win to the city that stirs his soul – bustling with Yiddish theater, cantor chants, pop-ular tunes, folk songs, blues, jazz and opera.

Tickets are $38-$58. For more information, call 651-291-7005 or visit www.parksquarethe-atre.org.

Science Museum“Nature Unleashed: In-

side Natural Disasters” is presented at the Science Museum, 120 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. From earth-

quakes and volcanoes to hurricanes and tornadoes, nature’s forces have shaped our planet. Throughout his-tory, these catastrophic phe-nomena have affected peo-ple around the world. This exhibit reveals the causes of these natural disasters and explains how people cope and adapt in the aftermath, and how science is helping to better predict, respond to and prepare for future events.

“Amazon” is featured in the Omnitheatre. This film explores the wonders of the Amazon, from its exotic animals to its indigenous people.

Museum tickets are $11 for adults and $8.50 for children and seniors. Om-nitheater tickets are $8 and $7 respectively. For more information, visit www.smm.org or call 651-221-9444.

Xcel CenterTrans-Siberian Orches-

tra will perform at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., Sun., Dec. 4. Tickets are $31-$65.

Disney On Ice presents “Treasure Trove” Dec. 8-11. The show is an all-new magical medley of Dis-ney tales spanning the years

from the first animated film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” to the 50th film, “Tangled.” Tickets are $16-$65. For more infor-mation on events at the X, visit www.xcelenergycenter.com.

Photography exhibit

A 26-piece photo exhibit by James Robins is featured at Jerabek’s New Bohemian coffee shop and bakery through January 2012. An opening reception will be held 4-6 p.m., Fri., Dec. 2, at Jerabek’s, 63 W. Winifred St., St. Paul. The exhibit fea-tures “Essential Saint Paul” with a focus on the West Side, as well as “Immense Personalities” portraits, and “Diverse Landscapes” from around the world. A resi-dent of the West Side, Rob-ins is a semi-professional photographer with more than three decades of expe-rience dating to his years as

a journalist in Minnesota and North Dakota. This is his first public exhibi-tion. For more information about the exhibit, contact Robins at Jim@Scooter-Maxi.com.

Live at FiveToki Wright will perform

Dec. 6 at the Live at Five series, hosted by McNally Smith College of Music, 19 Exchange St. East, St. Paul. Write is a spoken word and hip-hop artist, as well as the program coordinator for the country’s only hip-hop diploma program in the country. Live at Five fea-tures McNally faculty/art-ists, with performances by solo musicians and groups in a variety of styles. The event takes place in the Mc-Nally Smith auditorium, with student performers opening for each act. For more information, call 651-291-0177, or visit www.macnallysmith.edu.

Sibley CourtA P A R T M E N T S

Sibley ParkA P A R T M E N T S

651-224-9003 651-291-1622

* Income Restrictions May Apply

484 Temperance StreetSt. Paul, MN 55101

211 East 7th StreetSt. Paul, MN 55101

Call About

Our Move In

Specials!

Upscale Urban Living YouCan Afford in Downtown St. Paul..

Experience Germanywithout leaving Minnesota

Celebratethe Holidays

with us!

www.glockenspielrestaurant.comVisit our Facebook Fan Page!

A Glockenspiel GIFT CERTIFICATE will please anyone!

605 W. 7th St., St. Paul(1 mile west of the Xcel Center)

651-292-9421

St. Paul’s German Restaurant

Open Daily 11 AM

"Neighborly Service at Big Box Prices or Better."

• Premium Pet Food• Grooming• Hygiene Products

• Accessories• Treats• FREE DELIVERY

Your Holiday Grooming and Pet Gift Headquarters!

197 East 7th St., St. Paul 651.291.PETS (7387)

www.lowertownpetsupply.com

FREE bag of dog/cat treats

with first grooming Please mention ad. Limited time offer.

952-934-1525www.ChanhassenDT.COM

“…a must-see!”– Metro Magazine

Presented by

“A rousing,riotous blendof color andsong!”

– Pioneer Press

TO: YourRecipientFROM: You

Gift Certificate

There’s no betterholiday gift than

an evening atChanhassen!

Page 8 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011

St. Paul author releases book

St. Paul architectural historian and author Larry Millett has written a new book that explores the deca-dent mansions that once graced the Twin Cities. In-cluded in his book, “Once There Were Castles: Lost Mansions and Estates of the Twin Cities,” are man-

sions of St. Paul neighbor-hoods, which remains one of the largest repositories of pre-Civil war area hous-es (at least two dozen) in the Twin Cities. The book contains over 250 illustra-tions highlighting the saga of extravagant dreams, lost wealth and urban develop-ment in the Twin Cities.

Millett will present a slideshow, talk and book signing at 2 p.m., Mon. Dec. 2, at the St. Paul Pub-lic Library, 90 W. 4th St. He is author of “Lost Twin Cities,  Twin Cities Then and Now,” “AIA  Guide to the  Twin Cities,” and six mystery novels featuring Sherlock Holmes, all but one of them set in Minne-sota.

OWL relocatesOpen World Learning

Community (OWL) re-cently opened at 65 E. Kel-logg Blvd. in downtown St. Paul, in the space formerly occupied by the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Elemen-tary School. The school is holding an open house at 6:30 p.m., Tues., Nov. 29. OWL is a city-wide magnet with city-wide busing, serv-ing 220 students in grades 6-12. It is a member of the national network of Expe-ditionary Learning Schools, based on the Outward Bound model that promotes learning through hands-on experience. For more infor-mation, call 651-293-8670.

Saturday Live series at Central Library

The Saturday Live series will continue in December with weekly performances at the St. Paul Public Cen-tral Library, 90 West Fourth St. All programs begin at 11:15 a.m.

The Loki Players puppet troupe will perform “The Gingerbread Man, a.k.a Su-per-Cookie!” on Sat., Dec. 3. Storyteller Carla Vogel, with guest Klezmer musi-cian Judith Eisner, is fea-tured Dec. 10. Ten Penny Tunes will present music and dancing on Dec. 17. On Dec. 31, children are invited to make party hats with Artstart’s Scrapmobile. For more information, visit www.sppl.org.

Studio Sendero opens in Jax Building

Studio Sendero, a dance and music studio, recently opened in the JAX Building in Lowertown, 253 E. 4th St., Suite #502. The studio specializes in flamenco and is home of Sendero Flamen-co, a flamenco performance group established in 2004.

Studio Sendero will hold at grand opening Sat., Jan. 21, 2012. The event will feature yoga, a dance work-shop for performers of all levels, and an evening per-formance at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar. Half-hour yoga sessions begin at 2:30 p.m. with dancer and yoga practitioner Michelle Farinella. Workshops run from 3-5 p.m. Instructors Tara Weatherly and Amy Danielson will teach stage presence, musicality and building character within performances. Participants are encouraged to wear yoga pants, bring a water bottle and their own yoga mat. From 5-7 p.m., visi-tors may shop for art, hand-made jewelry, hair pieces and other items, and sign up for dance classes. Private dance lessons, small group classes and workshops are also available. Classes range from $5-$20 per session and are taught by Weath-erly, who performs with Sendero Flamenco and is founder of Studio Sendero. She has studied Flamenco since 2002 and performs in flamenco shows around the Twin Cities every month.

Lowertown Holidaze Holiday Art Sale

The Northern Warehouse Artists’ Cooperative, 308 Prince St., and other Low-ertown artists’ buildings are hosting a Holidaze Holiday Art Sale, 6-9 p.m., Fri., Dec. 2 and 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat., Dec. 3. This open-studio tour and sale features unique handcrafted items and original artwork created by Lowertown artists. Oth-er participating buildings include Lowertown Lofts Artists Coop, 255 E. Kel-logg Blvd., JAX Building, 253 E. 4th St., and ACVR Warehouse, 106 Water St. ACVR will only be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat., Dec. 3. For more information, call the St. Paul Art Collective voicemail line at: 651-292-4373.

Rep. Mariani receives “Out-standing Legis-lator” award

State Representative Carlos Mariani (DFL, St. Paul) recently received the “Outstanding Legislator for 2011” award from the Min-nesota School Board As-sociation (MSBA). He was selected for his “thoughtful consideration of school is-sues and support of MSBA’s legislative interests, policies and priorities.” Rep. Mari-ani is in his 11th term in the Minnesota House of Repre-sentatives. He is the DFL lead member on the Edu-cation Reform Committee and serves on the Education Finance Committee.

Your community news and information sourceN ews Briefs

Office: 763-535-9751• Fax: 763-537-4018Email: graphics@lakespromo.com

Thanks for your business!

FINAL PROOFFor Verification Only. We own the rights to this ad.

November 2011 IssueApproval by Tuesday, October 4th 2011Is your phone number correct? ........................................ ❑Is your address correct? ..................................................... ❑Are the expiration dates correct? ..................................... ❑Do your coupons read correctly? ..................................... ❑Is everything correct? ........................................................ ❑

If we do not hear from you by the above deadline your ad will be published as shown.Note: Ads that contain color may vary from this proof sheet to the printed guide because of differences in printer inks.

Since 1984

ClipperTwin Cities

In Home DateOctober

26th & 27th, 2011

651-288-3845iPod Nano

16GB OR

FREE

New Patient Exams Will Receive a $15 Gas Card

Excludes Free Consultation.

FREE

Invisalign®

Now Available! Call for details.

We Provide a Wide Range of Services for the Whole Family• Bridges • Extractions • Perio • Crowns • Implants • Invisalign®

• Oral Sedation • Dentures • Braces • Emergency Appointments

Oakdale1033 Helmo Avenue

651-288-3845

Benefits of choosing an in-network provider:• Dental work at a contracted rate! • We process your insurance claims for you!

St. Paul408 St. Peter Street Suite 412

651-224-2011

SCHARADE TISTRY

651-288-3845SCHARA

DE TISTRY

Must present coupon.Void with other offers. Expires 11/30/11 (H)

1 gas card per coupon only. Must present coupon. Void with other offers. Expires 11/30/11 (H)

651-288-3845SCHARA

DE TISTRY

Contracted ProvidersDelta DentalMetlifeAmeritasDHA Fortis

Wilson McShane UCARE for Seniors

PremierAetna United Concordia Health Partners

iPod Touch 8GB

For all new Comprehensive Ortho

PatientsMust present coupon.Void with other offers.Expires 12/31/2011 (H)

1 gas card per coupon only. Must present coupon. Void with other offers. Expires 12/31/2011 (H)

‘World’s Largest Balloon Arch’ A balloon arch created by Greg Arrigoni of West Side-based Unique Balloons is featured in the recently released “The Recordsetter Book of World Records” by Workman Books. The arch was 340 feet tall by 600 feet wide. Arrigoni and his crew used 65 tanks of helium and over 1400 3-foot diameter Qualatex balloons to make the arch.

FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT ................Carbone's Pizza in West St. Paul has two pizza coupons.

EDUCATION ......................................Laurel Music Studio in West St. Paul offers one free music lesson on (acoustic or electric) guitar, violin,voice or piano. HEALTHCARE ....................................Simply Grounded Therapeutic Massage in West St. Paul offers $12 off a massage service with Heather or Karen.

School Choice Directory

BILINGUAL

Bilingual Childcare Education Center18 months to age 101514 Englewood Ave., St. Paul651-644-2405www.bilingualchildcaremn.com

PUBLIC/CHARTER

Academic Arts High School60 E. Marie Ave. West St. Paul651-457-7427www.academic-arts.org

Community of Peace AcademyK-12471 E. Magnolia Ave., St. Paul651-776-5151www.cpa.charter.k12.mn.us

St. Paul City SchoolPreK-8260 Edmund Ave., St. Paul651-225-9177www.stpaulcityschool.org

PAROCHIAL

St. Michael School of West St. PaulK-8335 E. Hurley St., West St. Paul 651-457-2510www.smswsp.org

In Minnesota, you have many choices on where to educate your child, from public to parochial to charter schools. Here are some schools using innovative approaches that address specific needs and interests.

Visit www.stpaulpublishing.com/schoolchoice.html for a link to explore these schools and for tips on how to choose

a school that best fits your student's and family's needs.

Access these special offers at www.stpaulpublishing.com/marketplace.html

APPLIANCES

All Inc.651-227-6331www.allinc.com

CEMENT, CONCRETE & MASONRY

Hamland Construction651-319-3515info@hamlandconstruction.comwww.hamlandconstruc-tion.com

DRIVEWAYS, PATIOS, PAVERS & ASPHALT

Field Outdoor Spaces, Inc.612-209-5223field@fieldinc.netwww.fieldoutdoorspaces.com

GARAGE DOORS

All Style Garage Doors651-552-1333aliejax@comcast.netwww.allstylegaragedoors.com

GENERAL CONTRACTORS

A. DeTomaso Construction651-789-3100ron@detomasoconstruction.comwww.detomasoconstruction.com

Nilles Builders, Inc.651-222-8701www.nillesbuilders.com

Superior Home Remodeling651-434-5291superiorhomeremodel-ingllc@gmail.comwww.shr-mn.com

LANDSCAPING AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Field Outdoor Spaces, Inc.612-209-5223field@fieldinc.netwww.fieldoutdoorspaces.com

Living Space LandscapesScott Solomonson612-868-7787scott@livingspacelandscapes.comwww.landscapesbyscott.com

Kern Lawn Service651-207-5396john@kernlawnservice.comwww.kernlawnservice.com

WINDOWS & DOORS

Borden Window, LLC651-338-7163jborden@bordenwindow.comwww.bordenwindow.com

TREE SERVICE

Twin City Tree Service651-645-2933info@tctreecareinc.comwww.tctreecareinc.com

IMPROVEMENT& REMODELING SERVICES

Visit www.stpaulpublishing.com/contractors.html for website links to view the craftsmanship

of these fine contractors.

NOVENA FOR IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Nov. 29-Dec. 7, 12:30 p.m.

except Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m. & Dec. 4, 11 a.m.IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Dec. 8, Noon & 5:30 p.m.SANTA BREAKFASTDec. 18, 9 a.m.-NoonRECONCILIATION

Dec. 22, 5:30 p.m.CHRISTMAS MASSES

Dec. 24, 5:30 p.m. & Dec. 25, 7:30, 10 & 11:30 a.m.

• Weekend Masses: Sat., 4:30 p.m.; Sun., 7:30, 10:00 and 11:30 a.m.• Daily Noon Mass• Weekly Reconciliation: Saturdays, 3:30-4:15 p.m., and by appointment.• Ample parking and handicapped accessible

Since 1865

THE CHURCH OF SAINT MARYWelcomes You!

A vital Catholic Faith Community

261 Eighth St. E., St. Paul 651-222-2619www.stmarystpaul.parishesonline.com

Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011 - Page 9

dec 13 - jan 1 ordway.org l 651.224.4222Groups (10+): ordway.org/groups l 651.282.3111The Ordway is a nonprofit charitable organization.

Tickets start at $35 Including fees

AN ORDWAY PRODUCTION

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S

Cinderella

timeless enchantment reborn for the holidays

cinderella 6.75x6.indd 1 11/3/11 12:32 PM

Your community news and information sourceR iver Connections

Tim SpitzackEditor

I’m a Mississippi River guy. I love most every-

thing about it: its beauty, its history and its ties to our culture and commerce. I’ve been covering issues and activities along St. Paul’s riverfront for over seven years and have come to un-derstand that having one of the world’s mightiest rivers in our backyard makes us a special city, or more aptly, a special river town.

Inspired by the book “Saint Croix Notes,” which I purchased at a library book sale recently for 50¢, I thought I’d add a new twist to my coverage of the river. “Saint Croix Notes,” written by Noah Adams, former host of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” program, is a collection of essays that Ad-ams penned about his life in the St. Croix River Val-ley. Many of us who live in the Mississippi River Valley share some type of affection

for the river, or at least have an affiliation to it. For the next 12 months, I’ve de-cided to spend 30 minutes along the Mississippi river-front at roughly the same time—12:30 p.m.—at the same place—a park bench in Harriet Island Regional Park—on the first Friday of each month to observe what happens around me and re-flect on what it means to live in a river town.

November 4, 201112:30 p.m.53 degrees; sunny; cool breeze

As I sit in the warm con-fines of my truck in the parking lot at Harriet Island Regional Park, the day out-side my windshield looks glorious. The sun is shin-ing brightly in a cloudless sky, the wind is fluttering a nearby American Flag perched high on a pole, and the river is a sparkling blue. The baring trees and the swirling leaves are the only things that visibly differen-tiate this day from the more temperate days of weeks past, when summer ruled the land.

Once out of my truck, the cool breeze reminds me that it is indeed autumn. I pull the zipper of my jacket to my chin and walk briskly to a bench near the riverfront. There are over a

dozen similar benches scat-tered throughout the park, all empty, so I have my pick. I choose one that is near the middle of the park, one that affords me a good view of the river and the surround-ing area.

It’s not long before people begin to pass by. Some are young, some are old, and all are dressed for their activ-ity. The runners and bikers wear light, breathable at-tire, while the walkers are covered in sweatshirts and polar fleece; some are even donned in heavy winter jackets and puffy ear muffs. They all pass by without looking directly at me. They are engaged in conversation, the exertion of their sport, or are deep in thought, as it should be along the river. An elderly couple walks by hand-in-hand, silent. A group of women follows them and I hear a fragmented three second conversation about a dif-ficult workplace situation. Nearby, a couple stands on opposite sides of a massive cottonwood tree, hugs its girth and tries to clasp each other’s hands, unsuccessful-ly. They step back, eye-up the tree, smile broadly and continue on their way.

Upriver are the boats of the Padleford Riverboat Company, which this spring mourned the passing of its founder, Captain Bill Bow-

ell. Downstream the boys at Upper River Services are busy moving barges around the harbor so a towboat can take them down river. Around Thanksgiving each year, the last of the barges is gone, and about nine million tons of commodi-ties will have been shipped to distant ports. Some of the crew on the last trip south will ride the season all the way to New Orleans and experience the height of autumn in nine states. In New Orleans today it is not much warmer than here—64 degrees—but the forecast calls for upper 70s in the coming days. Ours calls for lower 40s.

This past weekend, while watching the Vikings squeak out a narrow vic-tory in North Carolina and seeing the warm, sunny weather surrounding the stadium, my brother-in-law posed the question: “Why do we live in Minnesota?” It’s a fair question, espe-cially from someone who grew up on the Iron Range and endured his share of brutal winter weather. It’s a question that occupies our conversations these days as we brace ourselves for the approaching season. Many are hustling to get outdoor chores done before the snow arrives, and I’m no different than the rest. This week I purchased firewood,

cleaned our windows and garage, and am planning to spend the upcoming week-end mulching the many leaves that are blanketing my yard.

Although a busy time, the changing of the seasons is an exciting time, and it’s these days that keep many of us in this state, especially the six to eight weeks in the spring that make us for-get about sub-zero temps, snow and wind chill, and the same amount of time in the fall that erase from our memories the long, hot, muggy days of summer.

Winter is coming, and with it the festive holiday season. Across the river I can see the St. Paul Library on the skyline. On the oth-er side of the library is Rice Park, which becomes a win-ter wonderland in Decem-ber. It is home to St. Paul’s Christmas tree, thousands of holiday lights and other seasonal decorations. This year’s tree — a 65-foot tall, 25-foot wide, 50-year-old spruce — was donated by David and Therese Rice of St. Paul.

I glance at my watch and see that my time has expired. A brittle, heart-shaped cot-tonwood leaf is shaken from the tree overhead and gently spins its way into the cold river. It floats with others in the quiet water near the river’s edge. Waiting.

Reflections from the

Riverfront

Stevens Tax and Accounting, Inc.DBA EQUI-TAX 651-773-5000

John Stevens, EA

IRS problems

Federal and all states

Individual and small business

Certified Quickbooks advisor

Estates, trusts, planning

Free e-filing with return prep

Licensed to practice before the IRS

1870 East 50th Street, Inver Grove Heights(Corner of Babcock Trail and 50th St. E.)

Sun. - $10 BBQ Rib DinnerMon. - $9 Steak DinnerTues. $6 Burger Night Wed. - $20 2 lbs. of Crab

Thur. - FREE Birthday Steak NightFri. - $20 Steak & LobsterSat. - $1 an ounce Prime Rib

West St. PaulSo. Smith Ave. & Hwy 13

651-457-2729

Make Your Reservations Today!

Holiday Bash & CashBook your Holiday Bash with us. Still time to reserve!FREE HOLIDAY CASHBuy a $100 Gift Certificateget a $25 Certificate FREE

Page 10 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011

tana since 1967. Augustana is located at 1400 S. Robert St., West St. Paul. For more information, call 651-457-3373 or visit www.augus-tana.com.

The 54-member Gar Lockrem Community Choir will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m., Fri., Dec. 9, at Augustana. The theme is “Sure On This Shining Night.” Selections include “Candlelight Carol” by John Rutter, “Cantate Domino” by Claudio Mon-teverdi, “Gloria” by Franz Joseph Haydn, “Yedid Nef-esh” by Andrew Bleckner, “Rockin’ Jerusalem” by An-dré Thomas, and selections from Eric Whitacre’s “Five Hebrew Love Songs,” and Paul Christianson’s arrange-ment of the Southern folk hymn “Wondrous Love.” For more information, call Geoff Crane at 651-777-7657.

Mendota Plaza - Men-dota Plaza at Highway 110 and Dodd Road in Men-dota Heights is hosting a tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 8. The event will feature hot coca,

holiday music, raffle draw-ings and gift certificates. Anyone who brings a toy for the Toys for Tots dona-tion will be entered into a drawing for prizes.

Holiday Shopping

Christmas Trees - Boy Scout Troops 95, 219 and 288 are selling Christmas trees, wreaths, garland, swags and canes through Dec. 17 in the Cub Food parking lot on South Rob-ert Street in West St. Paul. Lot hours are 4-9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekends.  Proceeds will support Scouting programs.

Holiday Boutique and Bake Sale - St. Michael Church, 335 E. Hurley St., West St. Paul, is hosting a holiday boutique and  cafe 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat., Dec. 3, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Sun., Dec. 4. For more informa-tion, call 651-457-2334 or visit http://stmichaelwestst-paul.org.

Holiday Gift Stroll - The Merchants of Rice Park will host their 4th Annual Holi-day Gift Stroll in downtown St. Paul Dec. 1-3. Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Dec. 1- 2,

and 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Dec. 3. Participating merchants include Artist Mercantile, Sophist-A-Gifts, Landmark Jewelers and Landmarket Gift Shop.

Shoppers may pick up a Gift Stroll Postcard at any of the four locations and bring it to each of the shops to receive a sticker. No pur-chase is necessary. When all four stickers have been col-lected, shoppers will receive a complimentary pair of tickets to History Theatre’s “Sample Night Live” per-formance showcase, held the first Wednesday of every month, as well as have their card entered into a drawing for prizes such as tickets to Ordway’s holiday perfor-mance Cinderella, and an assortment of theater tick-ets, restaurant and shop-ping certificates and more. Artist Mercantile features unique Minnesota-made gift art, jewelry and acces-sories. Sophist-A-Gifts of-fers whimsical and funky gifts, jewelry, home décor and more. Landmark Jewel-ers offers a collection of fine diamonds, pearls, estate jewelry, vintage watches, gemstones and fine gift-ware. Landmarket Gift

Shop features a variety of gifts, personal accessories, Minnesota and Twin Cities-themed books and more. Postcards are available at

Artist Mercantile, 24 W. 7th Place, 651-222-0053; Sophist-A-Gifts, 405 St. Peter St., 651-291-7948; Landmark Jewelers, 402 St

Peter St., 651-222-2282; and Landmarket Gift Shop, Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St., 651-292-1239.

Your community news and information sourceN ews Briefs

Neighborhood House receives $10K for food shelfPCL Construction recently donated $10,000 to the Neighborhood House food shelf. The company made similar contributions to support the food shelf programs at Second Harvest Heartland and NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, and also gave $10,000 to 360 Communi-ties to support social service initiatives in Dakota County. Receiving the check is Susan Rostkoski, director of corporate and foundation relations at Neighborhood House. Also pictured are Ed Kegle, director of finance, Tiffany Rivera-Prescott and Maria Rebeca Bravo Gomez.

READERSHIPSURVEY

Complete our readership survey for the chance to

WIN FOUR FREE TICKETS to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre

We Value Your Opinion!

The survey takes only a few minutes to complete and your responses will help us improve our newspaper

to include the items you want to see. Visit www.stpaulpublishing.com

Drawing held each month. One entry per reader email address. If you don't have Internet access, call 651-457-1177

to request that a survey be mailed to you.

Holiday Eventscontinued from page 1

Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011 - Page 11

Southview Square • 651-455-1249

30% OFFAny One Fabric Cut

Limit one coupon per customer. Excludes sale items. Not valid on gift cards, special orders, prior purchases or with other coupons or discounts. Expires 12/31/2011.

Robert and MarieWest St. Paul

More than jewelry...we’re the people you trust.1901 Robert St. S. • West Saint Paul, MN 55118

vandrakejewelers.com • 651-457-4407

DISCOVER THE DESIGNER IN YOU

Legacy American Martial Arts1891 S. Robert St., West St. Paul 651-343-2320

Self Defense • Fitness • Life Skills

Legacy American Martial Arts teaches life skills while improving fitness and

teaching self defense.

Classes for students age 5 and older. For more details, call 651-343-2320

1885 South Robert St.West St. Paul 651-451-1910

M-F 10 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m -5 p.m.

FREE

FREE ESTIMATES

Carpet removaland recycling, plus pad upgrade!

See Sales Consultants for details. Some restrictions apply. Expires 12/31/2011.

Register Today! Classes in

Tap Hip Hop Jazz All Boys Hip Hop Lyrical Music & Movement Ballet Dance Team Pointe Yoga

Still enrolling for the 2011-2012

dance season!

www.rhythmandshoes.comRandSDanceStudio@gmail.com

651.554.1142

Jodi Endahl’s

A studio for dancers age 2 and up!

TaekwondoTai Chi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Southview Square

A Family Tradition since 1926

1905 S. Robert, W. St. Paul • 651-455-88642073 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul • 651-698-8603

www.reginascandies.com

$1095 lb.

A locally owned family business making quality chocolates since 1926

Handmade Chocolates, Salted Nuts, Gift Baskets & Sugar-free Candy

HOLIDAY SPECIALOur homemade

PEANUT BRITTLE Also available for corporate gift giving

in 2 lb. and 3 lb. boxes!

1875 S. Robert St., West St. Paul651-330-6716

www.moderndaymusic.netM-F 10 am - 9 pm, SAT 10 am - 6 pm

This Holiday Season...Give the Gift

of Music

Purchases over $10020% Off

With coupon. Not valid with other offers.Excludes lessons, repairs and consignment.

Expires 12/31/2011.

Music LessonsInstrument Rental & Repair

Buy/Sell/Trade

Looking to lose weight or find the perfect holiday gift? Try our holiday special: 8 weeks for $88 in one of our martial arts programs — uniform included!

Page 12 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - December 2011

Your community news and information sourceB ack in Time

Don MorganContributor

These days, with so few of us living on farms,

most people’s exposure to products directly from the land comes from the super-market produce isle or a trip to the State Fair. Yet even at the State Fair, most people only visit the Ag and Indus-trial exhibits after sampling something on a stick, and that exposure is over by La-bor Day.

One hundred years ago this month folks in St. Paul were ready for a land prod-ucts show that would make the State Fair Ag build-ing look like a local farm-ers’ market. Exhibits from seven states plus one terri-tory enticed people from all over the state into making a winter trip to St. Paul. They would enjoy the facilities of the city, when a lot of downtown was new.

That wasn’t all that went on in the city that month. There was Christmas, of course, and the new phono-graphs were the hot home entertainment gift item. Dyer Brothers music on

Fifth Street was on both sides of an early format battle with deals on both Edison (cylinder records) and Victor (disc records) machines. Being on both sides is what would win that format battle as consumers eventually opted for the two songs on a disc over the one on a cylinder. Prices ranged from $20-$200. Elsewhere in the city, customs officials seized over 600 glass eyes from a Wabasha Street opti-cian. They had been smug-gled from Germany. Also, city police were obviously not in the Christmas spirit. Armed with shotguns, they made a sweep through Low-ertown and killed over 50 stray dogs on city streets. Many turned out to be fam-ily pets.

Opportunityawaits

The Land Show was defi-nitely the big deal in St. Paul that month, causing even Christmas to take a back seat. Officially titled the Northwestern Land Products Show, it would oc-cupy the 4-year-old St. Paul

Auditorium on Fifth Street (where the Ordway is to-day) for two weeks, ending on Christmas Eve.

The show was a creation of the Northwest Develop-ment League, a federation of county and state officials from seven states. It was formed earlier that year for the purpose of “developing the resources and settling the American Northwest with the best class of people on earth.” The show was in response to a few others around the country — one in Chicago in 1909 cen-tered on the Midwest states of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, and one held in the spring of 1911 in New York City’s Madi-son Square Garden exhib-ited the Northeast. The St. Paul show would feature exhibits from Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and the terri-tory of Alaska.

The reason for the exhibit was simple, to get people to locate to that part of the United States. Population in the area was very thin. In 1911, Detroit, Cleveland,

Buffalo and Milwaukee all had larger populations than Los Angeles. As the Devel-opment League put it: “the section represented is the best place on earth to real-ize the worthy ambitions of men and women: that nowhere is life more worth the living; nowhere is labor more liberally rewarded, the soil more fertile or capital more safe.” Exhibits includ-ed agricultural and indus-trial products, but the true exhibits were the towns, cities, counties and states, all trying hard to attract set-tlers and investment. Every booth was to be “a picture, an information bureau, a demonstration and a guide to the particular section represented.” The idea was to give prospects the next best thing to a visit to the area. Special rates to St. Paul were available on all rail-roads, which were among the biggest backers of the exhibition.

Little had been spared to make the show a success. The governors of the eight states (plus Alaska) were in St. Paul, via a “Governors’ Special” train on James J. Hill’s Great Northern line. Each attended the exhibit on the days their particu-lar region was highlighted. A 12-day entertainment program included vaude-ville features, coronet solos and Scotch dancers, with

all acts being “crisp and to the point.” There was a special motion picture hall, the program mostly related to the exhibit and the films showing orchards, grain fields, country homes, ranch houses, etc. The ter-ritory of Alaska sent along an impressive exhibit of Na-tive American art, includ-ing several full sized totem poles. Also, there were four concerts daily by the Min-nesota State Band. All this was done to convince folks their future lay in the “last available section of the United States,” and it was all available for an admis-sion price of only 25¢ for the entire day.

The show’s opening on Mon., Dec. 11 drew big crowds downtown. Many from rural Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin took advan-tage of the bargain rail fares to combine the exhibit with their Christmas shopping. The arrival the next day of the Governors’ Special was a big event. There was a pa-rade from the depot to the auditorium in decorated motor cars (about half the cars in St. Paul were bor-rowed for the event), and a gala reception with music and fireworks that night at the seven-year-old state cap-itol. The governors’ party all stayed at the one-year-old St. Paul Hotel, across Rice Park from the Auditorium.

The Auditorium was filled to capacity with exhibits. It was reported that many ex-hibitors had to be turned away. The facility itself was one of the stars of the show. Having the almost new Au-ditorium was the main rea-son St. Paul was selected to host the exhibit in the first place.

Record crowds attended from the first day. Total at-tendance for the two weeks was just under 100,000. The entire year was excel-lent for downtown busi-nesses, and the Land Prod-ucts Show was just what was needed to cap a record Christmas season. Even the weather cooperated. The first winter storm held off until Dec. 27, giving every-one a chance to travel home safely.

It’s hard to say what the total effect of an effort like the Land Products Show had on the area. The far Pacific coast boomed of course, but the area be-tween the Twin Cities and the Cascade Mountains is still pretty thinly settled. Minnesota has wonderful farmland but many who tried to farm the Dakotas and Montana came to grief. However, North Dakota is now an oil boom state, and who knows what may draw people next to the last avail-able section of the United States?

December 1911: All the best from the Great Northwest

Find the perfect holiday gift.Make it easy. Shop downtown.

Art & Gifts by Local Artists

M-F 10 AM to 5 PM SAT 11 AM to 5 PM

24 West 7th Place (between Park Square Theatre and Great Waters)

651-222-0053 www.artistmerc.com

Performing Endometrial Ablations and Essure ProceduresAccepting new patients!

Doctors Professional Building280 Smith Avenue North, Suite 460St. Paul, MN 55102

651-224-4897

Satellite Location1185 Town Centre Drive, Suite 220

Eagan, MN 55123www.Advancedcare.com

Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility Providing Lifelong Personalized

Attentive Care for WomenWishing you health

and happinessthis holiday season.

Bumper to Bumper Auto Care from Certified Computer Technicians

1247 S. Robert St. • West St. Paul 651-455-9048

All Brands of TiresWe accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Amex

Family owned & operated