ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

Vacationland Figure Skating Club presents “A Year on Ice”

Vacationland Figure Skating Club will present their annual ice show Saturday and Sunday at the Brainerd Area Civic Center in Brainerd.

Shows will be 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Figure skaters from various age groups will skate in programs that feature songs and costumes throughout the year.

Back by popular demand is guest skater, Kate Charbonneau. Charbonneau “wowed” the crowds at the ice show in 2011, with three outstanding performances. Charbonneau and her family reside in Prior Lake. She is coached by her mother, Lorie, a professional figure skater for two decades. Charbonneau’s family is involved in either figure skating or hockey. Charbonneau graduated in 2011 from the Connections Academy and enjoys reading, gymnastics, attending Normandale Community College, cooking and teaching skating.

Tickets for the show are $7 in advance or $9 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Cub Foods in Brainerd and Baxter, Jenny’s Hallmark in the Westgate Mall and Ace Hardware in Brainerd.

Vacationland Figure Skating Club is a non-profit organization located in the heart of the Brainerd lakes area, and is dedicated to promoting and teaching skating skills for persons of all ages and abilities. For more information on “A Year on Ice” show or the Vacationland Figure Skating Club, contact Stacey Kruger at 829-2254.

C-I high school vocalists earn high ratings at section music contest

CROSBY —The Crosby-Ironton High School Chamber Singers, Girls’ Triple Trio and selected solos, under the direction of Wayne Ellingsen recently participated in the section/state Vocal Music Contest held at the University of Minnesota of Duluth. Students participating in this contest were those who advanced who received superior ratings at the sub-section contest at Crosby earlier this year. C-I entered 18 events that earned superiors at the sub-section contest. Of those 18 events, three received “excellent” ratings, and 15 received “superior” ratings, the highest possible. The students who receive excellent ratings receive a certificate while those with superior ratings receive a medal and certificate.

Earning excellent ratings were Sarah Beavens, soprano solo; Abby Gindorff, alto solo; and John Stokman, tenor solo.

Earning superior ratings and state medals were Will Goodwin and Aaron Bostrom, tenor solo/Chamber singers; Jacob Goodwin and Joe Herda, tenor solo/duet/Chamber singers; Matt Wagner, bass solo/Chamber singers; Eric Smedsrude, tenor solo; Matt Staley, baritone solo; Jesse Drake, bass solo; Caitlyn Bostrom, soprano solo/Chamber singers; Kryston Wiseley, alto solo/Triple Trio/Chamber singers; Dean Groat, bass solo/Chamber singers; Missy Foote, Triple Trio/Chamber singers; Samantha Goshey, Triple Trio; Sienna Miller, Chamber singers; Rebekah Pitassi and Vanessa Hudrlik, Triple Trio/Chamber singers; September Prushek, Chamber singers; Taylor Schmidt, Meredith Silgen, Shannon Taylor and Holly Smith, Triple Trio; Alexis Meyer, Samantha Mitchell and Michael Hoge, Chamber singers.

Goodwin also earned the “Outstanding Performance Of The Day” award and medal.

The Girls Triple Trio and Chamber Singers earned superior ratings from the judges and the A Cappella Choir entered category one, the most difficult, and earned superior ratings from all three judges.

Bryan Johnson provided piano accompaniment for all the soloists and ensembles.

Music General dancers compete at NUVO Dance Convention

Dancers from the Pre-Teen and Teen/Senior Company Lines at Music General recently competed and took master classes at Break The Floor’s: NUVO Dance Convention at the Hyatt in Minneapolis. The three-day event, which included more than 800 dancers from Minnesota, Iowa and Canada, began with a solo competition where dancers performed for an elite panel of judges including Sonya Teyah, Stacey Tookey and Travis Wall. Music General soloists took home several High Gold awards for their efforts, including the award for Top Teen Soloist.

Music General dancers also took classes in tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet, lyrical, and hip hop. In addition to classes, the dancers performed several group numbers during a night competition. Pre-Teen dancers received High Gold Awards for their tap routines “Come on Now” and “Pots and Pans,” and these numbers also won Best NUVO Junior Group and Best NUVO Mini Group of the weekend. Teen/Senior pieces “Runaway Baby,” “Sadness” and “Dog Days” also earned High Gold awards and first, second and third in their category.

In addition to group awards, Music General dancers took home 15 individual Standout Dancer scholarships in the amount of $250 in tap, jazz and ballet. Music General dancers were also awarded the Die Hard Dancer Award in Contemporary and the Mini NUVO Break-Out Artist of the weekend. The weekend culminated with a closing show.

Music General dancers will be competing Friday through Sunday at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center for the Masquerade Dance Competition.

Author appearances lead spring showcase events

LITTLE FALLS — Bookin’ It Bookstore in Little Falls will host Story Telling with Story Cubes and Kids Story Time at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Thursday and have author appearances and book signings on Friday and Saturday.

Featured authors are Deane and Jill Johnson who will appear from 3-5 p.m. Friday to sign their book, “Little Minnesota,” a nostalgic look through photos, facts and interviews of Minnesota’s smallest towns. Central Minnesota towns represented include Fort Ripley, Hillman, Lastrup, Genola and Manhattan Beach. The book was Jill’s idea and she did the research, interviews and writing while husband Deane contributed the photography.

Author Douglas Wood will be at Bookin’ It from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Saturday. Wood is a writer, illustrator and musician from central Minnesota who is known primarily for his children’s picture books. Wood has also written a number of books celebrating the role of nature in our lives. His two most recent children’s books are “Franklin and Winston” and “No One But You.”

All the events are free and open to the public. Books will be available the day of the event or by calling the store at (320) 632-1848.

Staples Rotary Art Show calling for entries

STAPLES — Pre-registrations are now being accepted for the 48th annual Staples Rotary Arts Show scheduled April 26-28 in the lobby of Centennial Auditorium in Staples.

A new category this year is abstract photography. This joins the two photography classes that were changed last year, nature and human interest.

For pre-registration or to have a brochure mailed, call Jim Hofer at (218) 894-1152 or email jmjhofer@gmail.com. Exhibits will be accepted from 3:45-8 p.m. April 26.

Artists may exhibit their work or enter it for juried competition. Exhibited art may also be for sale.

There is no limit to the number of items artists may exhibit in the non-juried portion of the art show and there is no fee for non-juried items. Juried exhibits are limited to six items in each class. Recognition ribbons will be awarded and no entry fee will be charged.

The seven divisions are:

• Art, including all types of original paintings.

• General crafts, featuring pottery, decoupage, ceramics, sculptures, jewelry, collages.

• Fibrous craft, including all needlework, quilting, sewing.

• Photography: Nature, animals, landscape, featuring scenes of water, land, vegetation, trees, wild or domestic animals, and/or buildings.

• Photography: Human interest: featuring, adults, children, people of other cultures.

• Photography: Abstract.

• Wood Craft, featuring carvings, wood sculpture, objects made substantially of wood products.

A regional student art show will also be held in conjunction with the adult show. Schools in the Freshwater Education District are invited to participate. Those schools include Staples Motley, Bertha Hewitt, Browerville, Eagle Valley, Henning, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Pillager and Verndale.