Spring is in full swing in the Twin Cities art scene this weekend. A Hmong festival in St. Paul marks Hmong American Day and 50 years of resettlement in the U.S. with live outdoor performances and food trucks. The 30th annual Art-A-Whirl celebrates artists and galleries across northeast Minneapolis. At Midtown Global Market, a new arts and music festival spotlights performers and chefs of color. Somali American youth dance at the Cedar Cultural Center, and, at the Guthrie Theater, a new play explores a wealthy Black Southern family’s night at a 1964 debutante ball. 

Ojibwe artist blends horror and heritage at Art-A-Whirl

The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association is celebrating 30 years of Art-A-Whirl with a showcase of 30 artists. Among them is Alicia De La Cruz, an Ojibwe bead artist, who has practiced the form since she was 7, taught by her aunts and grandmother.

“I’m really proud to continue on this art form as not too many people in my family do it,” she said. “I often find myself beading flowers, and other things of that nature, as the Ojibwe people are known for our floral work.” 

But De La Cruz doesn’t limit herself to tradition. Beading moves freely between the past and the present, stitching memory with reinvention. Her pieces range from strawberry-brimmed cowboy hats and Thunderbird medallions to Freddy Krueger pins, Pennywise hair clips and a sugar skull that nods to both Halloween and Día de los Muertos.

This year marks her sixth time participating in Art-A-Whirl, an event she has attended since childhood. “I think it’s so cool to literally grow up with this event,” she said. “And I’ve pretty much seen it grow up right along with me.”

She’ll be showing at Quincy Hall with a collection of beaded earrings, hats, keychains, art prints and pins from her shop “Waabooz Beading.” She’ll also feature a selection of products from her sister brand “Waabooz Cosmetics,” including nail polish, cuticle oils and body sprays. 

“I hope people see the joy in every stitch of my work and how much time and dedication I’ve devoted to each piece,” De La Cruz said.

Other featured Art-A-Whirl artists include cartoonist Destiny Davison, whose paintings and digital illustrations will also be at Quincy Hall; painter Eyenga Bokamba at the California Building; Cuban artist Carmen Gutierrez-Bolger at the Casket Arts Building; and ceramicist Katayoun Amjadi and fiber artist Luciana Bongiovanni at the Q.arma Building. 

New Midtown arts fest spotlights local dancers and chefs

Midtown Global Market will host its first three-day arts and music festival as part of Lake Street Lift, an initiative that supports the Lake Street corridor by connecting local artists, performers and small businesses with the broader community. 

The festival lineup includes more than 20 performers, including Middle Eastern and Persian dance artist Mirah Ammal, West African dance group AfroContigbo, jazz singer Jamela Pettiford, Afro-Brazilian ensemble Aquarelle of Samba, and Indigenous dance group Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue. Other acts include Los Rebeldes, a Tex-Mex band blending cumbia and country rock and Mexican folkloric dance groups Los Alegres Bailadores and Ballet Folklorico. Find the full schedule here.

Attendees can also participate in interactive arts activities, including face painting, mural creation, henna art, and workshops led by local painters and sculptors. On Saturday and Sunday, the Indigenous Food Lab will host cooking demonstrations featuring chefs Destinee Shelby of The Kitchen by Baked Brand, Trung Pham of Pham’s Rice Bowl and Manny Gonzales of Manny’s Tortas.

Hmong American Day Festival brings cultural pride to St. Paul

To mark Hmong American Day, observed on May 14, and 50 years since Hmong resettlement in the U.S., The Rice Channel, an Asian American entertainment platform, and Ib Tsev Neeg – One Family, a Hmong sports nonprofit, will co-host the Hmong American Day Festival in St. Paul this weekend.

The two-day event, held at the former Sears parking lot on Rice Street, will feature live music, dance performances and a variety of food trucks. Performers include the youth hip-hop dance group Cypher Side, Twin Cities band EverAfter, rapper Rmb Kidd, youth dance group Ntxhais Nkauj Kub, hip-hop artist CMurda, and others. Food trucks will serve Japanese dishes; cheese dogs, mochi donuts and boba smoothies; lemonade and fruit tea refreshers; Thai cuisine; and Asian street food. 

Youth dance troupe brings traditional Somali storytelling to the Cedar

The Somali Museum, a center for Somali arts and culture in Minnesota, will present “Dhaxal-suge,” a performance by its dance troupe of Somali-American youth. Rooted in riwaayad (Somali theatrical storytelling), the show will feature traditional dance styles such as sharax, a southern Somali dance; dhaanto, a rhythmic style originating in Ethiopia, traditionally performed with men and women dancing in separate rows; and jaandheer, a graceful dance performed at weddings and cultural celebrations.

At the Guthrie, a Black family confronts its past

The Guthrie Theater is staging “The Nacirema Society,” a play by Pearl Cleage that explores class, identity and family tradition within the Black upper class community in 1964 Montgomery, Alabama. The story follows Grace Dubose Dunbar (played by Greta Oglesby) as she prepares her granddaughter Gracie (Nubia Monks) for the 100th anniversary debutante ball of the Nacirema Society. Their plans are disrupted when a young woman arrives claiming to be the granddaughter of Grace’s late husband, casting doubt on the family’s legacy. The play offers a comedic take on generational change, social ambition and the pressure to uphold appearances.

A “BIPOC Community Night” on Friday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m. includes a pre-show reception with food from Pimento Jamaican Kitchen and a ticket to the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets start at $23 with promo code “BIPOC.”

READ MORE

Palestinian American artist Lamia Abdukhadra reframes Gaza’s viral images in new Minneapolis exhibit

New Dakota Waḳaƞ Ṭípi Center opens on reclaimed sacred site in St. Paul

Saanta Collective’s ‘GAAF’ fuses traditional and modern Somali dance storytelling