Category Archives: St. Paul

Cartoonists in a Cave at Northern Spark 2013 (June 8th)

Minneapolis, mn, Northern Spark, Opportunities, Projects, Rain Taxi, St. Paul

We’ve been invited by our friends at Rain Taxi to participate in their wonderful Analog Cave project at the Northern Spark festival coming up on June 8th. Participating cartoonists will be drawing interpretations of writings provided by strangers submitted thru a mail slot, which will then be projected, put online, printed and/or otherwise displayed.

So you can be included in the promotional materials, we need to know in advance if you want to participate and what time slots you want to be there for (which can be as short as a few hours or as long as all night from 6PM to 9AM). If you want to be in on the fun, let me know at webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com.

BEER, PIZZA and DRAWING MATERIALS will be provided!

Rain Taxi and mnartists.org join forces to create a writer’s dream at Northern Spark, the third annual all-night art fest!

Analog Cave combines the tactile intimacy of a handwritten letter with the fleeting immediacy of social media. Throughout Northern Spark, mnartists.org and Rain Taxi Review of Books invite the public to enter our decked-out Imaginarium for a moment of private reflection and contribute a short text or illustration through a variety of analog tools and processes. The crowd-sourced content will undergo a real-time editorial process which will convert the entries into filmic projections, printed objects, drawn posters, or other public displays—all viewable from Bedlam’s street-side window in Lowertown. The goal of the project is to create a platform for thoughtful, slowed-down messages which leave behind a physical object.

Bedlam Theater
213 East 4th Street
Lowertown, St. Paul
Get directions HERE.

The Minnesota Cartoonist League Has a Facebook Page, Meets the Last Tuesday of Every Month

event, Events, Minneapolis, mn, St. Paul

The Minnesota Cartoonist League, a cartooning group that has been around the Twin Cities even longer than us (since at least the eighties, I believe) now has a facebook page where you can stay current on what they are up to. They are meeting the last Tuesday of every month at O’Gara’s.

Description
The Minnesota Cartoonist League is group of Minnesota based cartoonists. We meet on the last Tuesday of of every month at O’Gara’s Bar & Grill 164 Snelling Ave N St Paul, MN 55104

In March of 1941, James Freeman O’Gara opened the doors of this tavern providing a wholesome atmosphere for conversation and camaraderie. Initially food and liquor was served to the local residents who fought World War II at home by manufacturing supplies and munitions for those overseas. You could even get a haircut from Carl Schulz, whose son, Charles gained international fame with the cartoon strip “Peanuts.” Schulz’s original shop was located in what is now the Shamrock Room.

Autopic Festival in Twin Cities Announced… Mark Your Calendars for August 18th

Autoptic, event, Events, Festivals, Minneapolis, mn, St. Paul

Noted by the Comics Reporter:

So they’ve announced Autoptic, which manages a bunch of things roaring out of the gate: 1) the obvious involvement on some level of local art-comics anchor personalities Zak Sally, Tom Kaczynski and Anders Nilsen; 2) putting a show in the Twin Cities, which is a great part of the country and a great comics region; 3) finding a slightly different model for a show, which allows it a unique identity and doesn’t obliterate the chances that previous Minneapolis shows could return if they wanted; 4) picking a great time of the year that is both open in terms of small press stuff (particularly with fewer of those folks doing San Diego) and a great time of the year to head up to that region. If they execute the rest of this thing this well, watch out.

Twin Cities Book Festival is This Weekend! (October 13th)

event, Events, Festivals, Minneapolis, mn, Rain Taxi, St. Paul, Twin Cities Book Festival

October 13th: (10AM-5PM) Twin Cities Book Festival, organized by Rain Taxi. Held this year at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Progress Center (1265 Snelling Ave, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108). One of the featured guests is the great Chris Ware. Since there is no conflict with Fallcon this year, I’m guessing there will be a whole lot of cartoonists showing up for this. Free Admission, Free Parking. More info.

October is one busy-ass month for cartoonists in the Twin Cities

event, Events, Festivals, gallery show, Minneapolis, mn, St. Paul

October is looking like a crazy month for cartooning events in the Twin Cities. Get out your planner, here’s the calendar for your convenience.

October 4th: (6:30PM-10PM or so) The monthly first Thursday Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam at Diamond’s Coffee Shop in Minneapolis. Watch this blog for further information.

October 6th: (10AM-5PM) Fallcon at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Education Building (1265 Snelling Ave, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108). The Midwest Comic Book Association‘s wonderful local conventions are always a great time, full of a huge variety of cartoonists… all generously given free table space. Admission $8.00 per adult. Children 9 & Under Free. Get $1.00 off with a canned food shelf donation. (Unfortunate note: Fallcon central online, The Midwest Comic Book Association website, is currently down)

October 13th: (10AM-5PM) Twin Cities Book Festival, organized by Rain Taxi. Held this year at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Progress Center (1265 Snelling Ave, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108). One of the featured guests is the great Chris Ware. Since there is no conflict with Fallcon this year, I’m guessing there will be a whole lot of cartoonists showing up for this. Free Admission, Free Parking.

October 18th: (6:30PM-10PM or so) The monthly third Thursday Cartoonist Conspiracy jam at Cahoot’s Coffee in St. Paul. Watch this blog for further information.

October 20-21: (10AM-10AM) 24 Hour Comic Day at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts! Watch this blog for further information. We haven’t registered on the international site yet, but that can be found here.

And finally, not in October, but very early in November:

November 2nd: (7PM-10PM) Lutefisk Sushi Volume E opening/release party. This edition’s featured artist is Zander Cannon. At some point in October, there will also be a collating party to put the bento boxes together.

Register ASAP for the 2012 Twin Cities Book Festival

event, Events, Minneapolis, mn, Opportunities, St. Paul

If you plan to attend this year’s Twin Cities Book Festival (October 13) put on by our friends at Rain Taxi, you will want to register NOW. They are almost out of space. From what I have heard, if you don’t attend this event, you will regret it. Fortunately, this year there is no conflict with Fallcon (October 6)! Apologies for not getting the word out on this very cool opportunity sooner.

Greetings from Rain Taxi and the 2012 Twin Cities Book Festival! As you may know, registration is now open for this year’s Book Fest–forms are available on our website, here. What you don’t know yet is that this year, one of our prestigious guests happens to be a comics GIANT. We can’t tell you who it is just yet, but we do anticipate a substantial comics audience to attend, and we want to make sure that the Conspiracy has a chance to register for tables before they run out. We’ve set aside more space for this purpose in our new location, to boot!

Register soon to claim your space. No need to send payment now—we’ll invoice you. We encourage you simply to email us with the requested information on the attachment to reserve a table, but you’re welcome to fax or mail your registration form if you prefer.

CORRECTION: Saint Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam on June 21!!

cartoonist conspiracy, jam, Jam Comics, St. Paul

Join the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Cell and create a jam comic at Cahoots Coffee! This locale provides us with not only a spacious room in the back of the shop, but also they have tasty mediterranean food for sale!

The jamming is easy and it’s a fun time! Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage or some chow — don’t forget to tip, the baristas really do appreciate that!

The jam will start promptly at 6:30 and run until 10:30 at the latest. Come earlier to reserve your space! Seating can be limited at times!

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results will be posted here at some date yet to be determined.

To join us come to:
Cahoots Coffee
1562 Selby Ave
St Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)

More not than often we head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Right next to Cahoots!)

Bus info here.

Mini-Comics Day Minneapolis 2012 (This Saturday, May 26th) Info… You Could Win the Stapler Award! Judges Announced.

awards, Contest, event, Events, mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn, Opportunities, St. Paul


Pictured above: 2011 Stapler Award Winner Dan Murphy holds his prize.

The self-descriptive “2012 Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic” will be given out around 8PM or so in the side room at Grumpy’s downtown after the event at Book Arts. You will need to submit three copies of your completed-that-day comic to enter.

This year’s judges for the “2012 Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic”

Eric Lorberer, Editor of Rain Taxi Review of Books
Courtney Algeo, Editorial Director of Paper Darts and Marketing Coordinator at The Loft Literary Center
Miles Johnson of the Read My List blog and Altered Esthetics gallery (hosts for the upcoming Lutefisk Sushi Volume E project)

UPDATE: Besides the award, there will be cool prizes for the winner… a $25 gift certificate to Big Brain Comics courtesy of Big Brain Comics, and a free pass to the Northeast Ride ($25 value), courtesy of the Northeast CDC.

Here is the previously posted event info:

Mini-Comics Day is this Saturday! On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists draw and print a mini-comic in a day. Any cartoonist in the world can participate in the event… if you would like to host an event in your community, contact us and we’ll get you set up.

Here is the information for those of you participating in the Twin Cities:

The Minnesota Center For Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
May 26th, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
A copier will be available on site. Copies will cost $.02 each, but Big Brain Comics and Big Time Attic will generously be helping defray some of the expense.
Table space will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
Bring your own drawing materials.
Afterwards, we will move a block over to Grumpy’s to give out “The Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic 2012.” To enter we will need three copies of your mini-comic before 7:30PM.
Grumpy’s
1111 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
Contact: Steven Stwalley
webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com

This may be a good opportunity for you to get a mini-comic ready for the upcoming Lutefisk Sushi Volume E project happening at Altered Esthetics in November.

Help promote the event! Here are assets for the Minneapolis event by 2011 Stapler Award Winner Dan Murphy.

Here is a poster you can print and hang.

Here are flyers to leave around town.

Here are graphics for your website, social-networking site, etc.:

If you use facebook, you may want to sign up here.