Masthead
November 26, 2013
Executive Director Update
  
MCC Member Toni Rosen emailed me over the weekend asking if any of our members would be home alone over the Thanksgiving holiday. Although I wasn't able to answer her question, she said there was room at her and Mike's table! Toni's query made me think of the importance of taking time to reach out to neighbors to invite them to join us, if not for Thanksgiving, to attend a Mill City Commons event. Tonight is our Last Tuesday Happy Hour at Bulldog NE and a perfect opportunity to invite our friends and neighbors to a social gathering! I hope to see you there!

As MCC members know, I publish a weekly End of Week Update every Friday. I will be in North Dakota visiting family over the Thanksgiving weekend, so let me remind you today that we have lots going on next week and thank Barbara McBurney for hosting today's happy hour. Next week MCC members Sylvia and Sam Kaplan will be sharing their experience as ambassadors to Morocco; there's a Rendezvous Readers Book Chat at a new location; and MCC Men's C&C and MCC Women's Our Turn are next Thursday. Please look for details and links below.

I absolutely love MCC Barbara Goldner's message on Thanks and Giving (in this newsletter's right hand column). Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your time and talents with Mill City Commons!

Happy Thanksgiving!    -- Linnea
Last Tuesday Happy Hour
Tuesday, November 26, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Bulldog Northeast's Back Room, 401 E Hennepin Ave
Join us for November Happy Hour hosted by Barbara McBurney.  Catch up with friends and neighbors over drinks and small bites. Dutch treat.

MCC Members and Guests. No reservations required.
Social Bridge 
Wednesday, November 27, 3:00 - 5:15 pm
Stone Arch Lofts Community Room, 600 South Second Street
Join advanced or intermediate bridge players for a round of social bridge. You are expected to come with a partner at your level. (Advanced players play all the major conventions comfortably). If you need help finding a partner, contact Carol Jordan at 612-817-0466 or caroljordan@millcitycommons.org and she will assist you. Play begins immediately at 3:00 pm.
 
MCC Members sign up here. Guests email MCC. 
  
World View:  A Conversation with Sylvia and Sam Kaplan 
Tuesday, December 3, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
The Landings, 510 River Street
Join new MCC members Sylvia and Sam Kaplan as they share public and private aspects of their diplomatic experience in Morocco.  They will discuss how diplomacy did and didn't work in Morocco as well as their current perspective on the role of diplomacy. They will also talk about what it was like to leave their active lives in the U.S. four years ago, and in a moment, be vital parts of a whole different world.

  

MCC Members sign up here. Guests email MCC.

Rendezvous Readers' Book Chat
Wednesday, December 4, 9:30 - 10:30 am
Cerasota Atrium (near Eddington's), 155 5th Ave South 
(*Note the NEW LOCATION this month)
Join us to discuss In Times of Fading Light, by author Eugen Ruge.  The story begins in September 2001 as Alexander Umnitzer, who has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, leaves behind his ailing father to fly to Mexico, where his grandparents lived as exiles in the 1940s.  The novel then takes us both forward and back in time, creating a panoramic view of the family's history:  from Alexander's grandparents' return to the GDR to build the socialist state, to his father's decade spent in a gulag for criticizing the Soviet regime, to his son's desire to leave the political struggles of the twentieth century in the past.  With wisdom, humor, and great empathy, Eugen Ruge draws on his own family history as he masterfully brings to life the tragic intertwining of politics, love, and family under the East German regime.  Come and participate, even if you haven't read the book!

MCC Members and Guests. No reservations required.
Men's Coffee and Conversation

Thursday, December 5, 7:30 - 8:30 am
Elsie's Restaurant, 729 Marshall Street NE 

Caffeine and camaraderie for the male members of MCC, this group meets every other Thursday and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going.  This week John Crosby has invited Adam Duininck from the Metropolitan Council to join him in leading a conversation about "This land is your land:  how we should use it."

 

Men MCC Members sign up here. Guests email MCC. 

Our Turn: A Conversation for Women 

Thursday, December 5, 3:30 - 5:00 pm
Lourdes Square, 174 Bank St SE

MCC women, come and join other women in conversation! This group will meet every other Thursday alternating between morning and afternoon times. Hosts and topics will change each time, too!  Beverly FitzGerald hosts on the topic "How is this stage of your life different (or not) from previous stages?"

 

Women MCC Members sign up here.  Guests email MCC.

Holiday Happy Hour (and a Half!)
Tuesday, December 10, 4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charley's at The Depot, 225 3rd Ave South
Join us for December Happy Hour (and a Half) hosted by Sabina Sten.  Catch up with friends and neighbors over drinks and small bites. Dutch treat.

MCC Members and Guests. No reservations required.
News From Members 
 
MCC member Merle Minda says, "Our favorite French expat, Terrance Gelenter, has just published a new e-book that is terrific: 'Terrance's 50 favorite Paris Bistros and Restos.' It is available only by e-book and one can order it on Amazon. It is really handy because it calls out restaurants, bistros and cafes arrondissement by arrondissement, so you can find something good no matter where you are in Paris. I ordered it and like it!"
  
MCC members Kim Eslinger and Dave Tinjum have created a metro website devoted specifically to our neighborhood. It's a place to go to find out what's happening, whether it's a new restaurant opening, a local event, proposed new construction, etc.  Check it out at MillCityTimes.com.   
Around Town
   

National Theatre Live: Hamlet

December 2, 7 pm, and December 7, 1 pm, St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 Main Street SE

NT Live is a groundbreaking initiative of London's National Theatre that broadcasts the world's finest stage performances to cinema screens in 22 countries around the globe. Tickets are available through the Film Society and are $20 Regular; $15 Film Society members. For more information: click here.

 

A Peace of My Mind, American Stories

December 5, exhibit opens at 6:30 pm, program at 7 pm, square dancing at 8 pm

Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Avenue South

A Peace of My Mind invites you to a timely dialogue exploring the human condition, sharing stories from the road as the event organizers develop their second book, A Peace of My Mind, American Stories. Since 2009, award-winning Minnesota photographer and author John Noltner has asked people from diverse backgrounds the simple question, "What does peace mean to you?"  

 
Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District Calendar (DID)
The DID website has a calendar feature with lots of great information! It covers many downtown venues with current happenings and performances including all of the theaters, Target Field, Convention Center, etc. It's really a worthwhile site to keep in mind when you're looking for things to do downtown. To check it out, use this link.
Upcoming MCC Events      
   

November 26: Last Tuesday Happy Hour. No reservations!  

November 27: Rendezvous on 5.  No reservations! 

November 27: Social Bridge.  Members sign up here.

December 3: World View:  A Conversation with Sylvia and Sam Kaplan.  Members sign up here.

December 4: Rendezvous Readers' Book Chat.  No reservations!

December 5: Men's Coffee and Conversation.  Members sign up here.  Guests email MCC.

December 5: Our Turn:  A Conversation for Women.  Members sign up here.  Guests email MCC.

December 10: Holiday Happy Hour (and a Half)!  No reservations!

December 11: Rendezvous at Cerasota.  No reservations!

December 11: Social Bridge.  Members sign up here.  Guests email MCC.

December 12: Aging Well:  An Ongoing Conversation.  Members sign up here. 

December 16: World View:  Freedom from Hunger.  Members sign up here. 

December 17: Turkey, Dressings, and Extra Helpings volunteers meet. 
 
Thanks...Thanks...Thanks..
Giving...Giving...Giving...
  
These words repeated often, particularly at this time of year, have profound meaning separately, but together, say so much more.
  
Thanksgiving.  We join together as a community and celebrate our lives together.  I think of the last year and the many opportunities being a part of Mill City Commons has brought.
  
Friends, new and old...
Groups of people, large or small, with varied interests, coming together to share, discuss, chat, learn, and enjoy each other's company.  There is always a welcoming atmosphere whether one comes once or regularly.
  
Nosy neighbor tours.  Tours of places here for years, and like gold dust, have been hiding in plain sight.  Others, newly created, just forming a presence, and will continue to share our surroundings.
  
Mill City Commons has brought opportunities to give time, helping where needed.  The giving flows easily when coupled with the friendships created by working together to relieve a need.  It might be offering a ride to our members when needed, supplying a meal for someone recuperating from a "bump in the road," or just a friendly face in a crises.  Or...it might be participation in a project like our annual Turkey, Dressings, and Extra Helpings.
  
For these and so many other things, I am thankful. 
Happy Thanksgiving!

Barbara Goldner,
MCC Board Chair
 

MCC Ongoing Social Opportunities

 

Rendezvous

Readers' Book Chat
First Wednesday of Every Month, 9:30-10:30 am
Cerasota Atrium
    No reservations required.
December 4 
In Times of Fading Light
by Eugen Ruge

Rendezvous on 5

Wednesdays, 9-10 am

Guthrie's Level Five Express

Drop in and join your friends and neighbors at this neighborhood haunt. Enjoy a cup of coffee and fellowship with other MCC members. The Guthrie's Level Five Express is open to employees and "friends" of the Guthrie before the building opens to the public at 11:00am. Please enter via the far right door on South Second Street. This weekly adventure requires no reservations!

 

Our Turn  

 Thursday, December 5

3:30-5:00 pm
Thursday, December 19

9:30-11:00 am 

Relax and chat with other MCC women. This group meets every other week and alternates between morning and afternoon times. Look for details in the body of this newsletter.

Men's Coffee and Conversation  

 Thursday, December 5
Thursday, December 19
7:30 - 8:30 am

Elsie's Restaurant,

729 Marshall Street NE

Caffeine and camaraderie for the male members of MCC! This group meets every other week and is hosted by various members who get the conversation going. Sign up here.
 
 

MCC Ongoing Fitness Opportunities


SBS Class

Mondays

7:30-8:30am

Thursdays
2:00-3:00pm
501FIT,
501 Washington Avenue
Created exclusively for MCC, this class at 501F1T focuses on strength, balance, and stretching. 
Please register by contacting 501F1T at
612-767-4415.

  

  River Walkers

Tuesdays and Thursdays,

7:30-8:30am

Stone Arch Lofts Riverside Parking Lot

All level of walkers welcome for this early morning walk along the banks of the Mississippi River. An MCC volunteer leads each walk.

  

Hatha Yoga

Wednesdays and Fridays,

8:00-9:15am

Yoga Center Minneapolis, 212 3rd Ave N., Suite 205

This is an alignment-based class. Purchase a 12-class pass for $132 directly from YCM to use as your schedule allows, or drop in on a class for $12.50. Contact Dena at 612-436-4700 for details.

Drop-ins welcome.

 
Mill City Commons | 219 Main Street SE, Suite 401, Minneapolis, MN 55414
www.millcitycommons.org | info@millcitycommons.org  
612-455-3329