It’s December! Hold on to your hats, and make sure those hats are warm enough! With Thanksgiving in the rearview and Christmas and Hanukkah coming your way, it’s time to gear up for the marathon that is the holiday season. To get to New Year’s Eve in one piece, we recommend mixing up your activities to do things that nourish your soul, your community, your belly, and more. Enjoy!
What to Watch
Jesus Christ Superstar is at the Ordway this month. This celebrated musical has been a stage staple since its groundbreaking premiere in 1971. Our contributor Denzel Belin says the show is “rock opera at its most rock opera,” and he’ll be taking in the show on Christmas Eve.
(James Napoli / City Cast)
After years of building a reputation nationally as a force in Afro-Beat music, Black Market Brass seems to have found their perfect partner right in their own backyard. Music phenom Obi Original is now on his second 7-inch with BMB, and the combination of the two together is truly something to witness. With Obi’s larger-than-life persona and his charismatic vocal delivery and Black Market Brass’s impassioned and studied approach to Afro-Beat, the sky is the limit. The latest single features the funk-inflected tune “If I Do My Own” on the A-side, and the B-side contains the powerful tune “I No Be (Colonizer)”. The collaboration will be supported throughout the night by members of Black Market Brass pulling vinyl from their collection and the Twin Cities groove mainstays, Purple Funk Metropolis, opening the show.
(courtesy of The Splendid Table / James Napoli)
It’s not every year that a homegrown culinary and media juggernaut turns thirty years old, but that’s precisely what’s happening on Friday, December 5, at the Fitzgerald Theater. Host Francis Lam will be joined by a veritable who’s who of great names in the world of cuisine, including Sean Sherman of Owamni and Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel. Plus, the night features the music of rising star and friend of City Cast, Lamaar. (City Cast Twin Cities is a sponsor of this event!)
(Courtesy Sarah Morris)
Sarah Morris is a talented singer-songwriter who offers up her gifts in many different ways, including on stage, via podcast, and sometimes even from her bathroom. But she turns her attention in December to her holiday show, which has become a beloved Twin Cities tradition. Morris is gifted at putting her own mark on classic tunes, and she’s also added some of her own writing into the holiday canon. Expect Icehouse to be filled to the gills with fans, friends, and family as they mark the holiday season with one of the Twin Cities’ most beloved artists.
Where To Go
(Courtesy Watershed Spa / Rhianna H)
A couple of years ago, my wife gave me the gift of an afternoon to myself with no kids in sight and a gift card to Watershed Spa right by Saint Anthony Main. It was truly one of the most rejuvenating afternoons I’ve ever had. I didn’t use headphones, and I didn’t look at my phone. I didn’t get a massage, I didn’t get a facial. I spent time in saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, and cold baths while taking breaks on comfortable couches. It was an amazing experience and frankly a steal at $63 for two and a half hours of bliss.
Tii Cup on 2645 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis. (Tiffany Bui / City Cast)
Why not toss some business to a part of town that could really use some extra love? After eighteen months of lane-clogging construction, Hennepin Ave. is open for business, and they’ve created some incentives for getting your holiday shopping done right in Uptown! Dozens of businesses have teamed up to create the Holidays on Hennepin Passport. As you go through your holiday shopping, you can get a stamp at every location you visit. If you visit 20 or more locations you can turn in your passport and be entered into a drawing for some pretty significant prizes. And with every stamp, you’ll know you're supporting small businesses that need the help this holiday season.
Did you get an underwhelming holiday plate at Thanksgiving? Are you stuck working a double with no shot at a turkey dinner with all the fixins? Let Sarna’s do the work! Year round Sarna’s turns out the best Blue Plate in the state with Butterball turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, cranberry bread, and truly perfect pan gravy. Sometimes, when a restaurant serves up turkey, it feels corporate and forced compared to the way it tastes at a home table. Not so with Sarna’s. This is a little bit of the holiday flavor whenever you need it for only $19.
What to Do
(Courtesy The Aliveness Project)
It’s cold in Minnesota! Why not have some fun with it for a great cause? In celebration of World Aids Day, The Aliveness Project encourages you to grab your red “briefs, bra, boxers, panties, jockstrap, or thong” and run a little over a mile in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday, December 6. The Aliveness Project is one of the most active organizations providing HIV support and prevention, and this is their largest annual fundraiser. There are options to sponsor teams and individuals on the run if you want to support the cause fully clothed.
Even though we are on relatively flat land in the Twin Cities, there is a lot of good sledding to be had! Our friends at Racket put together a list of 13 elite sledding options around the Twin Cities. The only way we’re going to get through this winter is by moving our bodies and risking our safety. Pick a hill that works for your comfort/daredevil level, and let’s get going!
The world mostly shuts down on Christmas Day, but at some point, you need to get out and do something, especially if you don’t even celebrate Christmas! My family is Jewish, and we’ll be done with gifts by the 22nd. In addition to movie theaters and Chinese restaurants, there are a couple of great spots that keep their doors open on Christmas Day, and that includes Shooters Billiards Club down in Burnsville. This is one of Minnesota’s most elite pool halls with snooker tables and more. But for me, the real draw is just getting out of the house and playing 8-ball with friends or family. If you need a break from Christmas, head on down to Shooters and we’ll shoot a few.
Where to Help
🤝 It’s the giving season, and there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in Minnesota. We want to highlight a great volunteer guide for the season, put together by our friends at HandsOn Twin Cities.
It’s common for time or scheduling to be the impediment to being part of a volunteer opportunity, but thankfully, many organizations have created ways to help that can be done on your own schedule. Avivo Housing is in need of welcome baskets for their new clients and those can be prepared at home and then dropped off at one of Avivo’s locations.
And if you have a nose for spices, the Brian Coyle Center in Cedar Riverside and the Waite House in Phillips are both in need of certain spices for their kitchens. If you can get your hands on some cumin seed, cayenne pepper, and mint, you’ll not only be making somebody’s day, you’ll be helping make their dinner.
