Mpls

Lacto-Fermentation: Sauerkraut & Kimchi
Lacto-fermentation has long been a method for preserving food without refrigeration and pasteurization. This preservation is created by bacteria which thrive in an environment without oxygen and prevent the growth of harmful pathogens. Lacto-fermentation is claimed to have many health benefits, imparts a unique souring flavour to foods, and is an incredibly simple to preserve foods.
We’ll provide a few staple ingredients to make a couple variations of sauerkraut and kimchi (or a variation of the two, which has been called kraut-chi). The veggies will ferment for over a week and then we'll pack em and you can take some home to eat! If you have food stamps or extra organic produce, feel free to bring some (some acceptable produce would be cabbages, radishes, turnips, onions, garlic, ginger, horseradish, peppers, carrots, beets, burdock, parsnips). And please do not bring any fish or other meats, as we'd like to be inclusive of vegetarian/vegan diets (even tho some traditional ferments will have some dead animals in them).
If we have a group of people who are interested, we can continue meeting and creating other fermentations (kvass, gluten-free sourdough, beer or wine, fermented potatoes...many possibilities).
-Nothing is required for the first class (March 4), but it would be helpful to bring a knife or two, a cutting board, and some organic vegetables if you can. I will bring some cutting boards, some knives and two crocks for packing vegetables into (2.5 & 1 gallon sizes).
-For the second class (March 11), please bring a few jars to pack your fermented veggies to take away with you, wide mouth jars are easier to pack but any glass jars will suffice.
Scheduled Meeting Times:
March 4, 4pm-6pm at Minnehaha Free Space, 3747 Minnehaha Ave S
March 11, 4pm-6pm at Minnehaha Free Space, 3747 Minnehaha Ave S
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Your New Dog - A Crash Course
We will run this mini-course when there is enough enrollment.
This course will cover a broad range of topics beneficial to the new dog parent or foster family.
We'll discuss:
- What to do when you first bring home your new dog or puppy
- How to read basic canine body language
- Efficient and safe training techniques that you can start at home
- Preventing and identifying common behavior problems
- How to choose a trainer and a training class
*This class is for the people. Please, no dogs.
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Reading New Feminist Science Fiction: Race, Work, Embodiment
Join this facilitated reading group to discuss some really interesting new work by women writers, particularly women writers of color, focusing on race, labor and embodiment. We'll read some short stories and novel excerpts by Nisi Shawl, Andrea Hairston, L. Timmel Duchamp, Aliette De Bodard, Ekaterina Sedia and Octavia Butler (who isn't recent, but whose work informs so much recent feminist SF). We can also read material suggested by class members and/or critical writing about feminist science fiction. We will build our discussion around how race is written, how embodiment is written, how work is written. What meaning do these stories have for us as radicals? How do these stories fit within science fiction as a whole? How do they fit within feminist science fiction?
I also suggest that the group talk about our positions as readers of these stories - where are we in terms of class, race, gender, lived experience? How do these works speak to us? How shall we speak about them? On a personal level, as a white person I'd like to talk about being an accountable reader and an accountable speaker about science fiction by women of color. What does it mean, for example, that a white person is suggesting this class? How can I organize a reading group but avoid using the work of writers of color to make myself seem cultured/knowing/fashionable? In what ways can I read respectfully and honestly, recognizing my whiteness and how I profit from white supremacy?
Meetings will focus on your interests, attendees - we'll do various kinds of small group discussion, paired discussion, brainstorming, maybe even some art, collage, etc. I'll provide some plans for each class meeting so we can start generating ideas (and I'll nudge the group a little so that we keep moving), but I won't be lecturing – I’d much rather just participate in small group work and gently facilitate the class from the sidelines.
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Youth Space: Weekly Youth Programming at the Minnehaha Free Space
What is Youth Space?
Youth Space is a new weekly youth program at the Minnehaha Free Space (3747 Minnehaha Avenue) beginning February 23rd.
Every other week will feature ‘playshops’ where youth can explore different topics and skills like musical instrument and paper mache puppet making, hip hop and spoken word, and indigenous storytelling.
The ‘in-between’ weeks will feature art-making activities and informal social time for youth and families.
Youth Space will provide snacks, learning opportunities, community, and fun!
Calendar of Activities planned so far:
February
23rd - Puppet-Making and Paper Mache w/ Isaac Martín
March
2nd - hang out, art, games!
9th - Music Making w/ the Mpls Childcare Collective
16th - hang out, art, games!
23rd - Creative Construction and Accessible Play w/ Falls for All
30th - hang out, art, games!
April
6th - Gender Creativity w/ Elizabeth Shea
13th - hang out, art, games!
20th - Native Sky Watching and Indigenous Art w/ Jim Rock
27th - hang out, art, games!
May
4th - Hip Hop & Spoken Word
11th - hang out, art, games!
Youth Space is supported in part financially by a grant from the Longfellow Community Council.
Getting to Youth Space:
When Youth Space begins in February, we will have a number of Metro Transit Go-To Cards available for youth and families who can use assistance getting to the program.
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Energy Healing & Increasing Bliss
We will share healing time, stories, guided meditation, & techniques for relaxation, self-healing, & healing others. Energy healing topics include: working with universal energy, patterns of energy movement in & around the body, sensing & moving blockages, breath, & symbols. Please dress for comfort & bring a pillow if you can (no worries if you can't). Reiki, Yoga, Qi Gong and other holistic methods will be covered.
*Please note: Despite the potentially provocative title, this class is NON-SEXUAL, open to all ages, & will have an environment of Super Safe Space. The title is in reference to how GREAT energy healing can feel!
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LymeVoice Minnesota- A PhotoVoice project to promote awareness of Lyme Disease in our community
LymeVoice is a PhotoVoice project created to promote awareness of the impact of Chronic Lyme Disease in our community.
What is PhotoVoice?
Photovoice is a participatory process and photographic technique used in public health, community development, and education to identify issues and act for social change. Participants take photos, write narratives, and work together to select the pictures that best capture their collective wisdom. Participants use photographs to tell their stories and may conduct outreach to raise awareness and encourage action.
More About LymeVoice:
This project will work with participants to voice their thoughts on what Chronic Lyme Disease means to them in their community and for themselves. All people are welcome to join this project and work with us online through this website if they choose. We will meet with participants on April 19th 2013 for our first workshop. We will then spend the time between our next workshop taking pictures in the field of our issue and brainstorming ways that our project can create positive change for those in the Lyme community. Our second meeting we will be writing brief narratives and sharing our photographs and then deciding the way that we would like to use our images to promote change.
You can learn more about LymeVoice and how to get involved at:
www.lymevoice.weebly.com
You may also contact Tasha Van Zandt with any questions at [email protected]
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MN Indian Art and Aesthetics
MN Indian Art and Aesthetics will explore the richness and diversity of Minnesota's Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa) and
Dakota/Lakota (Sioux) artists in Minnesota. It is not possible to understand the Art and Aesthetics of the Native people of MN without understanding the culture of the Dakota and the Ojibwe people. To that end, it is my intention to invite Native artists to our class to relate as much as they can about their cultural heritage and its' relationship to their art. We will also be reading a number of books that will help us understand more deeply the cultural and aesthetic underpinnings of Native art.
Group sessions will include viewing and discussing Native art via Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), Aesthetic Scanning (DAIJ), and utilizing parts of the "Native Art As World Art" collection. Other resources will include a thorough reading of "Native Artists: Livelihoods, Resources, Space, Gifts." by Marcie Rendon and Ann Markusen. A new publication of the catalogue for the 2011 travelling art exhibit "Mni Sota: Reflections of Time and Place".
The course will follow, as closely as possible, the techniques of Indigenous Pedagogy which includes learning outdoors, hands-on/experiential learning, peer teaching, curriculum based on the four seasons, attendance and maybe participation at powwows, and a culminating event that demonstrates the outcomes of our study.
Be prepared to attend the Memorial Day Powwow either here in the Twin Cities or in Cass Lake, MN
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Songwriting
Learning how to write songs with little or no previous experience. We'll begin with looking at songs we like, and decide what makes them appealing, then try to use similar methods to create our own songs.
Methods of songwriting include:
-Poetry Paraphrase
-Improvisational
-Rhythm-based
-Lyric-based
-Chordal-based
-Melodic-based
-Collaboration
Knowledge of music is not essential. A recording device of some sort is helpful. At the end of the course, we'll give a performance of our best songs.

Beginning Screenprinting with Living Proof: Workshop for People of Color
Participants are invited to join members of the Living Proof Print Collective for a two-day workshop covering the fundamentals of screenprinting exclusively for people of color. We will emphasize Do-It-Yourself (DIY) methods so folks can take their screenprinting skills out into their communities! Because of its DIY nature and capacity to efficiently create multiple copies of an image, screenprinting has historically been an art medium used to widely spread messages. We’re hosting this workshop specifically for people of color as a way to create a space to consider our positions as art-makers in our communities.
The first day, Saturday, November 10th 1-4pm we will focus on designing images to print and exposing screens. The next day, Sunday, November 11th 1-4pm we will be printing and sharing prints! By the end of the workshop, participants will make their image into a one-color print that they can put on paper or fabric to share and post widely and wildly. We will cover print shop basics, introduce materials and alternative inking and printing processes.
We are definitely open to participant input on class structure, though we will be cramming a ton into a short period of time so it would be great to hear from you with any questions or hopes before the actual workshop begins. We will be sending out some prep materials before the workshop and we encourage you to check these out to be more prepared for class when it starts.
IMPORTANT: Due to space limitations, we can only allow 6 participants for this 2-day workshop. Please sign up only if you can attend both days, in addition to self-identifying as a person of color and/or indigenous. We are planning to offer these again in the future so just let us know if you're interested in future workshops and we'll keep you in the loop.
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Science in Class Societies: Ancient Times in 21st Century
Science in Class Societies is a history of science course. It will focus on how ruling classes throughout history in various civilizations used science. This class will also discuss the role of working peoples, people of color, and women in creating science, scientific discoveries, and concepts . The books to be used are "Science in History" by JD Bernal, "A People's History of Science" by Clifford Connor, and The Origins of Materialism by George Novack (Connor's and Novack's books can be purchased at the May Day Bookstore).

