Culture

The circus lives on in Zoppe Italian Family Circus

November 18th, 2015

By John Showalter

Hitting the road with a traveling circus sounds like something from one of yesteryear’s comedies, does it not? Or perhaps a tragicomic opera, a la “Pagliacci,” or a Sunday morning comic strip. That sort of bohemian lifestyle seems like one that receives plenty of media portrayal but is far from our realm of experience. Personally, I thought the circus was a dying form of entertainment.

However, Fargoan Aimee Klein assures me that’s far from the case, and that…

Rocket Surgery Super Quiz a hit

November 11th, 2015

Only three episodes left to record

The early reviews are in after the first two weeks of the Rocket Surgery Super Quiz, and it’s a hit. The quiz show has only three weeks left, so make sure you get out and see it on a Monday night in November at the Aquarium. The concept is simple: it’s an entertaining, hilarious, smart quiz show with crafty questions that make you think (hence rocket surgery). Hosted by “Kung Fu” Jimmy Osborne and Erik Block, the show also involves characters…

A friendly occupation

November 5th, 2015

Ole Tangen’s tiny park revolution

Small, silly beginnings

Big or tiny things can result from being stopped by a train. In April 2013, I was in a car with Dan and Tracy Faleide on an afternoon adventure, and we were stopped by a train in Moorhead. Tracy Faleide vividly remembers the “silliness of pondering having a picnic on that small patch of grass between Chumley’s and the railroad tracks.” This mad idea led to imagining a picnic in one of the "tiny" parks in the area: What…

NDSU grads create rideshare app

November 5th, 2015

This holiday season thousands of college students will make the long drive home to spend time with their loved ones. Local NDSU grads Matt Sullivan and Jordan Nelson hope to make that trip cheaper, easier and more fun. Sullivan, a native of Hibbing, Minn., is no stranger to long commutes. “Sure people can already use services like Facebook and Craigslist to try and hitch a ride,” said Sullivan, “but I knew there had to be a better way.”

How does it work?

Jumpr allows a user to…

What’s all this about a food co-op?

November 4th, 2015

Prairie Roots to bring grocery store downtown by next year

At last Wednesday’s 1 Million Cups event, Prairie Roots Food Cooperative announced the launch of its capital campaign to bring a new member-owned and operated grocery store to downtown Fargo, hopefully by end of next year. The campaign’s goal is to generate the necessary funds for opening a full-service, retail grocery store, while also effectively providing Fargo with a new option for purchasing natural, organic and locally…

It’s a small world in Moorhead Annual event displays unique cultures

November 4th, 2015

Annual event displays unique cultures

By John Showalter

Over a century ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to the fledgling United States as a “melting pot,” where the cultures of the numerous immigrants that had come here would join together in a harmonious whole. Though we have made some progress since he uttered those words, there is still a lot of work to be done. Even though we have given numerous refugees and immigrants in our area a new lease on life, there is still an…

Blood, toil, tears and sweat

October 28th, 2015

Dear Marilyn,

I need advice.

When High Plains Reader asked me to write a review of ABC's “Blood and Oil,” I was prepared to skewer it. The primetime program seems designed for bloody, unadulterated evisceration, the kind of critical carnage saved only for the worst of the worst. The pieces all lined up. It is Don Johnson's comeback vehicle. It is ABC's answer to CBS's canceled “Dallas” reboot. It is ABC's answer to ABC's “Scandal.” We have before us an ordeal of the most…

More than a hobby: Ten Seven Acres Farm

October 28th, 2015

In 2013, Dirk and Jessie Monson were weighing life opportunities, one of which could have included a relocation to Seattle, and another was buying a farm. Remaining in North Dakota and starting a farm won out, leading to the beginning of Ten Seven Acres Farm, in Galchutt, N.D.

In the beginning the wife and husband team did not have “grand visions of raising alpacas or miniature horses,” simply wanting a place to live and have their riding horses. “The truth is that if you told us…

Others Shop

October 28th, 2015

Fargo’s fair-trade fashion

By Emily Schubert

Erica Frank glances out of her bay window along Eighth Street, a cup of coffee in her hand, watching a mother and daughter walk by Others Shop. Her view is somewhat static, blocked by the intricate floral arrangements and the elegant mannequins dressed for a cool fall day full of excitement.

The mantra “Others: Who we shop for,” so prominently displayed on the wall of the downtown Fargo fair-trade boutique, encompasses the who and why of…

This ain’t your mom’s bar trivia

October 22nd, 2015

Erik Block and James Osborne plan to put their own spin on bar trivia at the Aquarium in November

By John Showalter

Having trivia at a bar seems like a no brainer. Almost any drinking establishment seems to think that throwing one back whilst trying to answer questions is as normal as serving salty food, it just goes with the business. So if one more of these competitions were to come along, what would be the big deal? That is the attitude that Erik Block and James Osborne are trying to…