Friday, January 27
Fiddling around
WHAT: Pert Near Sandstone’s Winter Stringband Gathering
WHERE: Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7 p.m.
Few bands can tap an old-timey ambiance without embarrassing themselves, and Pert Near Sandstone pulls it off magnificently, by virtue of their sheer exuberance. Here, the bewhiskered bluegrass boys swap sets with Colorado’s jazz-inflected Head for the Hills, then do it all over again on Saturday with Chicago’s Henhouse Prowlers. Learn more at thecedar.org
Friday, January 27
Ready to rumble?
WHAT: The Wrestler
WHERE: Parkway Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.
The original 1974 film, which inspired the Oscar winner a few years back, is exhumed for a week of screenings at the Parkway Theater, opening a rare window into an era when WCCO-TV would regularly broadcast Saturday matches between local wresters. Apart from the cult performances by Ed Asner, the Crusher, et al., wrestling fans will enjoy the post-screening Q&A with Greg Gagne, son of wrestling legend Verne Gagne, who also appears in the film. Learn more at theparkwaytheater.com
Saturday, January 28
Winter officially arrives
WHAT: Saint Paul Winter Carnival
WHERE: Rice Park, St. Paul
WHEN: Times vary
Throw a snowball in the vicinity of Rice Park and you’ll find some quirky entertainment during the festival, though some of the best is farther afield: the curling tournament at the St. Paul Curling Club, the sled-dog race on White Bear Lake, or the “Euro dance party” (including brats and beer) at the Germanic American Institute on Summit Avenue. Learn more at winter-carnival.com
Saturday, January 28
Funny girl
WHAT: An Evening with Rachel Feinstein
WHERE: Sabes Jewish Community Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
Comedy Central darling Rachel Feinstein grew up near Washington, D.C., as the daughter of a Civil Rights lawyer and a blues musician, which led pretty much directly to a comedy career (and writing for The Onion). She appears here as the finale of the Minnesota Jewish Humor Festival, along with up-and-coming jokester Phoebe Bottoms. Learn more at sabesjcc.org
Sunday, January 29
Judy returns
WHAT: End of the Rainbow
WHERE: Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7 p.m.
Tracie Bennett has won nearly as many accolades playing Judy Garland as Garland did herself. Well, maybe not quite, but Bennett’s sensitive and witty performance in this portrayal of Garland’s final comeback in London 1968 does remind us what was so great about the original. Learn more at guthrietheater.org
Sunday, January 29
An Italian job
WHAT: Rulers of the City (a.ka. Mr. Scarface)
WHERE: The Trylon Microcinema, Minneapolis
WHEN: 5 and 7 p.m.
The Trylon’s festival of Italian spaghetti noir films continues with this revenge tale starring, of all people, Jack Palance, as a mob boss duped by a petty crook. Learn more at take-up.org
