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Entertainment Briefs - Dec. 1

CLC Chamber Singers concert tonight The Central Lakes College Chamber Singers will present its Christmas concert titled "Caroling, Caroling!" at 7:30 p.m. today, Dec. 1, in the Chalberg Theatre in Brainerd. Admission is $5 for the general public ...

The Country Swingers will line dance to some holiday favorites at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 10 at the Brainerd Mall. Submitted
The Country Swingers will line dance to some holiday favorites at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 10 at the Brainerd Mall. Submitted

CLC Chamber Singers concert tonight

The Central Lakes College Chamber Singers will present its Christmas concert titled "Caroling, Caroling!" at 7:30 p.m. today, Dec. 1, in the Chalberg Theatre in Brainerd.

Admission is $5 for the general public and free for CLC students with identification and students 18 and under. Refreshments will be served immediately following the concert.

Choir members include students and community members.

Repertoire for the concert includes several carols: "Patapan" (French), "Carol From An Irish Cabin," "Caroling, Caroling," "All On a Christmas Morning," and "We'll Dress the House," and popular holiday favorites "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "Santa Baby," "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"; and "Jingle Bells" with tunes from "The Nutcracker."

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Auditions planned for Brainerd Community Theatre

Brainerd Community Theatre will host auditions for Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" at 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday in the Chalberg Theatre on the Brainerd campus of Central Lakes College.

The play is an adult drama, with roles for five men and three women. There are also roles for three to five children, ages 6 to 10. Only one child role has scripted lines. Parents are cautioned that the play contains adult language and themes. The adult language and subject matter do not take place on stage when the children are present, but are part of the production.

The men's roles are: Brick: athletic male, age range 20s to mid-30s or has a youthful appearance; Gooper: male, age range 20s to 40s; Big Daddy: male, 50s to 60s; Doctor Baugh: male, same age range as Big Daddy; and Reverend Tooker: male, could be late 20s or 30s to as old as 60s.

The women's roles are: Maggie: sexy female, same age range as Brick; Mae: female, same age range as Gooper; Big Mamma: female, same age range as Big Daddy.

Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Material for the audition can be requested from the director. Children who audition are asked to come with a short memorized story, poem, or monologue.

Questions about the play or the audition can be asked of the director, Patrick Spradlin, by email pspradlin@clcmn.edu or by calling 855-8199.

Community Christmas Concert planned Dec. 10

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STAPLES-The 2016 Community Christmas Concert will be 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Sacred Heart Church in Staples.

The concert will feature the Staples Area Men's Chorus, the Staples Area Women's Chorus, Colla Voce Girl's Choir and Central Minnesota Boys Choir and the choirs will each perform selections before singing en masse.

Audience participation is optional in singing Christmas carols while each group transitions to the stage. Seating is limited, so purchase tickets early either online at www.staplesmen.org , from a chorus member or at the Nelson Insurance Agency in Staples.

HSO announces 2017 Youth Concerto Competition

LITTLE FALLS-The Heartland Symphony Orchestra invites students or young musicians to audition for its 2017 Youth Concerto Competition.

Auditions will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, Jan. 28, 2017, at the St. Francis Music Center in Little Falls. Up to two winners will perform with the HSO at its spring concerts on March 31, 2017, in the Pequot Lakes High School Auditorium; April 1, 2017, in the Charles D. Martin Auditorium in Little Falls; and April 2, 2017, in Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.

Students residing in the HSO's Central Minnesota service area may audition on piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, voice and must prepare a work from the standard concerto literature with orchestral accompaniment. Instrumentalists are asked to prepare one movement of a concerto or the equivalent. Vocalists should prepare two contrasting songs or arias. In addition to performing in concert with the orchestra, winners will receive a recording of their performance and a $500 award.

HSO encourages all eligible young musicians to take advantage of this bi-annual audition and performance opportunity. The Youth Concerto Competition takes place in alternate years and has been a tradition since 1983 and is an integral part of the Spring Concert Series. A winner will be chosen from each of two age categories: grades 10-12 and ninth grade and under.

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The application deadline is Jan. 13, 2017. The application form may be found and submitted on www.heartlandsymphony.com , along with the rules and regulations. Questions about this program, contact the Heartland Symphony Orchestra office by email at HeartlandSymphony@gmail.com or at 1-800-826-1997.

HSO was awarded a $500 grant from Crow Wing Community Trust to support its Youth Concerto Competition. Besides their public performances at the HSO's Spring Concerts, each of the young artists receives a recording of their performance and a music scholarship from HSO to continue their musical studies.

The HSO is a 50-piece volunteer, nonprofit, community orchestra, serving the central Minnesota area of Brainerd, Little Falls and the surrounding rural communities. Musicians, from amateurs to professionals, come together once a week from all over the region to rehearse and perform three full-length orchestral music concerts each season in both Little Falls and Brainerd.

Author Lori Evert and family to be featured in area

The Brainerd Public Library will present two events Monday featuring author Lori Evert and her family. Evert is the author of The New York Times bestseller "The Christmas Wish," "The Tiny Wish," "The Reindeer Wish" and "The Brave Puppy."

The first event will be during storytime at 10:15 a.m. Evert and her family created The Wish book series together. Evert will be joined by her daughter Anja, star of the books, and her husband Per Breiehagen, photographer for the book series.

The family will share stories from The Wish book series and Anja will play her violin and sing Norwegian folk songs. Children in attendance will make a Christmas craft to take home.

Storytime is geared for all ages.

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This free presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library. The Friends group is a non-profit group of volunteers who understand the importance of providing literacy programs and materials for all ages. To become a Friend of the Brainerd Public Library visit

www.wineandwordsandfriends.com/ or stop by the library for an application.

Evert and her family also will be the featured author in the library's Brown Bag Lunch Author Series at noon Monday. The family will share a powerpoint presentation describing how they created the books. "The Christmas Wish," which began as a family Christmas card, has evolved into a crafted book series for children and adults alike. There is a series of images of Anja dressed in traditional Norwegian clothing and Sami reindeer shoes. The photos show Anja interacting with reindeer and other Arctic animals.

"Lori Evert, Anja's mother, was so inspired by the beauty and magic of the image of Anja and the reindeer that she wrote a narrative about who they might be and why they were there. The family then created more pictures to illustrate the story," it stated in a news release.

The author presentations also are sponsored by the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library. The next Brown Bag Lunch Author event will be Jan. 5, 2017, and will be Bill Marchel on "Winter Birds."

For more information on any of the events, contact the library by visiting the library's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brainerdpubliclibrary or call 218-829-5574.

Outside the library, Evert and family also will be signing books at 5 p.m. Sunday at Christmas Point in Baxter.

BHS Windfall to perform Sunday

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The Brainerd Public Library will host Brainerd High School's Windfall and A Cappella choir at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Windfall will share holiday carols and the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library will provide holiday refreshments as part of the library's open house.

Windfall is a chamber ensemble selected by audition from A Cappella Choir. The choir has performed in major venues across the country and in Europe.

This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library.

HSO winter concerts set

The Heartland Symphony Orchestra will perform its winter concerts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Charles D. Martin, Auditorium at the Little Falls Community High School and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.

The Brainerd High School Chamber Orchestra will join the HSO to perform "Star Wars.'"

In 1977, the first Star Wars movie, "New Hope," with its sweeping and powerful John Williams theme song, was unveiled to huge audiences around the world. HSO and Star Wars celebrate its 40th anniversary this year.

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Leading off the concert program, "Star Wars" will be performed by both the HSO and the BHS Chamber Orchestra. The HSO will continue with selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Sound of Music and Tchaikovsky's, The Nutcracker Suite. Ending out the program will be a holiday favorite Bob Cerulli, Christmas Song sing-a-long.

Prior to each concert, Conductor Alexander Corbett will hold "Conductor Chats" to summarize the concerts musical selections at 6:45 p.m. in Little Falls and 1:45 p.m. in Brainerd. Tickets for both performances may be purchased online at www.heartlandsymphony.com , at the door or by calling 800-826-1997.

Christmas concert at St. Francis Convent planned

LITTLE FALLS-The St. Francis Community Chorale will present a Christmas Concert titled

"Sing a Song of Merry Christmas!" at 2 p.m. Sunday in Sacred Heart Chapel in the St. Francis Convent in Little Falls.

The Chorale will present Christmas music of various styles. Included in the program will be an Advent song, "The Yearning," followed by "A Celtic Silent Night," "The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth," "He Shall Reign Forevermore," "Sleigh Ride" and more.

The Community Chorale is directed by Barb Stumpf and accompanied by Vicki Spofford.

This free concert will feature special musicians, Korrin Gwost, Sully Gwost and Melissa Von Itter.

St. Francis Music Center offers singing activities free of charge to anyone in the area who wishes to join.

The St. Francis Chorale groups are sponsored by a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council through funding from the Minnesota State Legislature.

For more information go to the music center's website at www.sfmusiccenter.org or call 320-632-0637.

Christmas in the Park coming in Crosby

CROSBY-The Cuyuna Lakes Chamber of Commerce announces the lineup for Christmas in the Park scheduled from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday in Crosby Memorial Park.

Christmas in the Park will include a live nativity, horse-drawn sleigh rides, live reindeer, craft projects for the children and live entertainment. Santa and Mrs. Claus will also be on hand.

Events and time include: 4:20-4:50 p.m., Sing-A-Long with Miss C-I Princesses; 4:50-5 p.m., Santa arrives; 5:10-5:30 p.m., Cuyuna Regional Elementary School third grade choir to perform;

5:35-5:45 p.m., Ministerial Group; 5:50-6 p.m., Heartland Dance; 5:45-6 p.m., Crosby-Ironton Junior High Jazz Band; 6-6:10 p.m., Just For Kix dancers; 6:10-6:30 p.m., C-I High School Jazz Band; 6:30-6:50 p.m., C-I Chamber Singers; and 6:50-7 p.m., Northern Lakes Lightning Hockey Team Sing-A-Long.

Go to www.cuyunalakes.com for additional information.

Area students to perform in Gustavus Adolphus' Christmas concert

SAINT PETER-Several Brainerd lakes area students, who went on to attend Gustavus Adolphus College, will appear in the college's annual Christmas in Christ Chapel worship services scheduled Friday through Sunday on its Saint Peter campus.

Area students to perform include Caitlin Steffen, sophomore of Baxter; Brendan Hermerding and Serena Schreifels, sophomores and Kayli Skinner, junior, all of Brainerd; Madison Klein, junior, Breezy Point; Stephanita ZumBerge, first-year, Little Falls; Liz Mellgren, sophomore, Long Prairie; Tristan Jenkins, senior, Staples.

The annual Christmas in Christ Chapel worship services at Gustavus evoke wonder through music, poetry, prayer and dance performed by more than 350 students. This year, Christmas in Christ Chapel's theme is Ubuntu, Jesu: From the Cradle of Humankind to the Ends of the Earth. The African notion of "Ubuntu" affirms that a person is a person through other people, or "I am because we are." The annual worship services will celebrate unity by connecting the incarnation of Christ in Bethlehem with the creation of humankind in Africa.

The night performance on Saturday will be live streamed online for free beginning at 7:15 p.m. central time. Visit gustavus.edu/ccc to learn more or watch the live stream.

'In Spite of Heroin' author to appear

Author Dana Chase of "In Spite of Heroin" will appear for a book signing from 4-7 p.m. Dec. 8 at Northwoods Floral and Gifts in Crosby.

Chase, a North Dakota mother of 24-year-old identical twins, writes the story about her family's struggle. By the time her sons were 20 they were drug dealers, heroin addicts and felons. The family's catastrophic status quo included overdoses, attempted suicide, court mandated stays at rehabilitation centers and countless cycles of incarceration, including a federal indictment-none of which had been anywhere near Chase's maternal radar.

"As the mother of twin heroin addicts my memoir offers readers a candid and unconventional approach to managing despair," Chase stated in news release. "I believe it's an inspirational story for anyone who is experiencing despair for any reason, including addiction. It portrays my attempt to save my sons from wasted lives and tragic drug related deaths. Everyone deals with grief of some kind in their life. This book shares how I was able to rise above unrelenting emotional pain and save the only life I truly had the power to save, my own."

"In Spite of Heroin" is available for purchase at Old Open Window and Book World in Brainerd, The Shante in Pillager, Bliss Salon and Boutique in Pequot Lakes, Japke Decorating and Paint in Staples and An Open Book in Wadena.

This was the choirs singing at the last Community Christmas Concert in 2014. The concert this year will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Sacred Heart Church in Staples.Submitted
This was the choirs singing at the last Community Christmas Concert in 2014. The concert this year will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Sacred Heart Church in Staples. Submitted

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