Over the last few years, North Minneapolis has undergone some tremendous hardships, such as the devastation from the tornado that tore through North neighborhoods last summer and increasing youth violence. However, there is an upcoming event that offers some hope. The Miss Seventh Avenue Pageant will take place on March 31 at 7:00 p.m. at Wayman AME Church. The pageant supports young women in the area and gives them opportunities to achieve success.

Wayman AME Church embraces these young women with a sense of family and community. The church provides coaching and guidance for the contestants as they prepare for pageant night and reaches out to the neighborhood to expand community involvement. The pageant participants will be encouraged to focus on their strengths and their future as the leaders of tomorrow.

Local judges of the event include fashion designer Rosa Bogar, former model Roxanne Crossland and film producer Lee Jordan of “A Look Over Jordan Productions.”

All contestants will receive gift baskets from local businesses and are given complimentary gowns and beauty services from Minneapolis salons for pageant night. The crowned Miss Seventh Avenue will receive a scholarship.

The Miss Seventh Avenue Pageant is a great example of how a local church can support and encourage Minneapolis’s young women as well as the Northside.

-Carol Payne

It’s been said that food is what brings people together. My recent experience contributing recipes to a cookbook to support the Mary Rife Scholarship Fund proves this theory—and shows that food can help people achieve their dreams, as the Scholarship Fund provides young women studying nursing with their tuition.

My connection to this cookbook and the Scholarship Fund is through my best friend, Della Dickson, who passed away six years ago. She was an outstanding gourmet cook who always managed to make delicious meals, like her seafood gumbo and venison roast. Her sister, Brenda Rife, will publish this cookbook as one of the fundraisers for their mother, Mary Rife’s, scholarship foundation.

Brenda asked me to submit four recipes of my favorite main courses and sides. In working on this, I’ve connected in new ways with Brenda and the other women who are also contributing their favorite recipes.

We are all very excited about the cookbook because while most of these recipes are from the south or originated in the south, recipes will come from all over the country. I have a feeling this cookbook could become a real favorite and help many young women further their education.

Read more blogs from SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Carol Payne

Second only to New York City, the Twin Cities has more theater seats per capita than any other city, a testament to the Cities’ commitment to the arts. Minneapolis recently celebrated the opening of a new performance center in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. The old Schubert Theatre was recently renovated and connected to the Performing Arts building where three prominent dance companies and schools are located. The impressive structure is now the Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts. This dance center houses three dance companies and schools, and is one of only three in the country with this capacity.

On Sunday, my granddaughter, Kari, and I had a chance to see the renovated Cowles Center and enjoy some of the performances that world-renowned dancers put on at the Minnesota Dance Theatre’s annual open house. The performance group of professional dancers for The Minnesota Dance Theatre performed a segment from their upcoming dance concert, Rumblings, an edgy ballet with live vocals and blues music that will be at the Cowles Theatre in October. Lise Houlton, Artistic Director of the MN Dance Theatre, told me that she really enjoyed composing this piece. There is a lot of intertwining when the dancers are in couples or as a group.

Kari and I saw two other performances, a duet by Chris Schlichting which was a very modern piece with no music that relied on movement alone, and another duet that came out with drum sticks on buckets. The sound was a very good marching band tenor. Their performance was strong, and Kari especially enjoyed the drummer on the left whose movements kept up with his drumming. Their performance ended with about three minutes of explosive tap dancing. Between performances, we registered Kari for another year of dance classes, we spoke with a couple of the dancers—one of which remembered Kari imitating her when she was in the hallway doing her warm up one day last year.

After all of the performances, Kari did not want to leave. There were more dance companies coming up, but we could not stay another minute. After Sunday school, church and dance in the afternoon, it was time to go home. Plus the Cowboys were playing, and I had to get ready for their season opener against the Jets!

Read more blogs at SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Carol Payne

This has been an especially devastating tornado season in the United States. First in the Southern and Plains states and then in late May a tornado ripped through North Minneapolis. This natural disaster has given North Minneapolis residents and business owners much worry and devastation, but the support of community organizations and Twin Cities residents has helped the community begin its recovery period.

One organization that is participating in the North Minneapolis clean-up is my church, Wayman AME Church. I wrote previously about our commitment to North Minneapolis and our plans for a neighborhood block party in late July. But because of the storm, we are now using all of our resources to help rebuild the community so we must look further into the future to hold a North Side celebration. After the tornado damage is rebuilt, I believe we will have more to celebrate. I see the block party taking place now in late September, and those of us who are assisting the area will continue to make giant steps to renew this community where I used to live and still worship.

Residents outside of North Minneapolis have reached out—donating food, household items, money and time. On Saturday June 4, 2,000 volunteers came to the tornado ravaged neighborhood for the city’s official North Side clean up. Minnesotans are so good at supporting causes in other places. The positive response has been amazing, but there is still much work to be done. Last Sunday evening, three weeks after the tornado, a fundraiser was held by local artists in support of efforts to renovate the community. North Minneapolis has had some A-list recording artists grow up in this neighborhood, including Prince, Andre Simmone, the team of Jimmy Harris and Terry Lewis, and Morris Day.

Aside from the clean-up, helped is needed to support the community and rebuild businesses and homes. Some of the people in the neighborhood still don’t have any power, and many are still without a place to live. The clean-up will take time, and some things will never be the same. But we can take this opportunity to rebuild a community to the once vibrant area it was. This positive change is working its way up from the people directly affected by the storms. North Minneapolis residents have been united in support of each other during this dilemma. People are communicating with each other again and finding out that neighbors must always accommodate each other. And like other parts of the country that have faced adversity, I suspect with the support of the community, city and state, North Minneapolis will rebuild and be renewed.

Read more blogs at SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Carol Payne

Many naysayers point to the decline of America as our community values crumble. Here is a story of how a small group is reaching out to reunite and rebuild.

At the Wayman AME Church in North Minneapolis, we strive to connect with our surrounding community on all levels to support growth and family. During the holiday season, we hold a toy drive for local children, and this summer, Wayman AME Church on 7^th Ave North in Minneapolis will put our values to action again by hosting a block party for the community.

Our goal with this event is to reunite North Minneapolis, an area of the city that has been hard-hit by crime in recent years. This is an opportunity to make everyone aware of our presence and ongoing efforts to reach out and touch the lives of others. We will close off 7th Ave to celebrate with music, the crowning of Miss Seventh Avenue, competitions for dance, rap and singing, and most importantly food. Our church is famous for cook-offs. The first lady of our church is from New Orleans… need I say more? With this event, our church is reaching out to all of the people in the surrounding neighborhood, but the welcome mat is also extended to the entire metropolitan area and beyond.

When I moved to North Minneapolis from Georgia in the mid-70s with family members, we only locked our doors at night. Everyone was friendly and courteous, but unfortunately North Minneapolis has changed and many people have left this once vibrant community. I joined Wayman in the late-70s, and at that time most of the congregation lived in North Minneapolis. Today only about 15% of our 750 members live in the immediate area.

The excitement at our church about the block party is growing, and we have support from local busineses and corporate sponsors. We anticipate this event being so sucessful that we make it an annual one. And hopefully, it helps to jumpstart the growth and revitalization of North Minneapolis.  

If you live in Minnesota or plan to be in town during this event, please join in this effort. The block party will be held on Saturday, July 23^rd from 11:00am to 7:00pm. And if you have a grassroots story about building community locally, please share it here. You may inspire others.

Read more blogs at SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Carol Payne

Ballet Master Jeffrey Hankinson has been so many places in his lifetime and is now using all that he’s learned to teach and inspire youth as the Director of The Minnesota Dance Theatre & Dance Institute. The Twin Cities-based Theatre and Institute provides a unique cultural outlet for all ages and it has achieved recognition as a leading institution in the United States.

While he is currently based in Minneapolis, Hankinson began his career on the East Coast at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.  His continued studies took him around the world: the School of American Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Alvin American Dance Theatre, and the Koln Dance Academie of Germany. Jeffrey was a Principle Dancer with the Des Moines Ballet and Ballet D’Anlego and has performed a wide variety of classical roles. Upon his return to New York City, Jeffrey was a soloist at the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble directed by Sylvia Waters and also danced with The Elisa Monte Dance Company.  His presence was always requested as a frequent guest artist with the Joyce Triscler Dance Company and later as company member of The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company.  During this period he taught ballet and modern dance while touring the United States, Europe and Asia.  He has prominent Broadway credits—ranging from “The King and I” to “Ragtime” and has also appeared in film and television. He has even written his own short film, “Obedience,” which made its world premiere at the New York International Independent Film Festival in 2002. His final stage appearance was the role of Drossylmeyer in the 2004 production of “Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy” for the Minnesota Dance Theatre. 

With a wide array of experience and a wealth of talent, Jeffrey moved to Minneapolis in June of 2003 to become Ballet Master at the Minnesota Dance Theatre. I first met Jeffrey when my granddaughter started classes at the school in January of 2010 at the age of four. He has motivated and encouraged Makarei to always do her best. She not only enjoys her classes at the Minnesota Dance Theatre and Dance Institute but she also thrives in pre-ballet. Her instructor last year was Erin who taught her a beautiful dance to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey’s “When You Believe.”  She performed her dance at our church for Children’s Day and at her pre-school graduation. This year her instructor is Ellie and I have been informed that she is doing very well, thanks in large part to the support of Jeffrey and his team. 

Read more stories at SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Carol Payne

Everyone has a special way of celebrating Thanksgiving—from the perfect recipe for stuffing to deep frying turkey to tuning into football games, we all have a tradition that makes Thanksgiving special to us (this year we may have to add shoveling the driveway to our lists!) Find out what our favorite Thanksgiving Day traditions are and share yours!

My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is…

Patrick: Finding time every Thanksgiving to be grateful for family, friends, and the extraordinary opportunities that American freedom and liberty has allowed. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and has been for many years. The traditions are changing quite a bit and getting reinvented anew as I get older, but I always find time to give thanks.

Patricia: Eating the dressing (or for traditionalists – stuffing) the night before. Before it stuffs the bird of course.

Steph: To recover from food overload and then head out the next day to get my live Christmas tree (a Fraser Fir) and spend the rest of the holiday weekend in decoration mode. Let the joyous season begin!

Jeron: Watching my dad, aunt & uncle sit in the kitchen joking about people in the little town they grew up in while they cook dinner. Nobody else has any idea what they’re talking about, but most of the time they wind up crying they laugh so hard.

Jenny: Attending church with my family Wednesday night, to give thanks for our many blessings. My nieces sing with the kids’ choir and we get to all be together, which doesn’t always happen on Thanksgiving Day. And bonus, there is even pumpkin pie served!

Mary: Eating fried turkey and drawing Secret Santa names with my sisters.

Whitney: Waking up to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It doesn’t matter how old I get—there’s nothing better than the cheesy performances, marching bands, giant balloons and (of course) Santa to usher in the beginning of the holiday season!

Joy: Playing a card game called “Pass the Trash.” Nickels can add up fast!

Trevor: Standing outside while enjoying a refreshing beverage and deep-frying whole turkeys. This ritual usually involves my 2 brother-in-laws, a propane tank, an industrial size propane burner, 4 gallons of peanut oil, and 2 turkeys. The deep-frying usually does not take too long but being outside away from the chaos inside, the comradery and the smells all make this tradition memorable and enjoyable.

Chad: Catching up with my relatives while we eat the tons of food my grandmother has cooked.

Jane: Having stuffing from inside the bird. I know that there has been a lot of hubbub lately about baking your stuffing outside of the bird or you risk getting salmonella poisoning. Well I for one am going to keep stuffing my bird and enjoying very moist, delicious home-made stuffing alongside my turkey and mashed potatoes. No dried out stuffing for me!

Randy: Watching the football games with my extended family. The usual bottom feeding Detroit Lions always seem to play an entertaining game.

Carol: Watching the Cowboys play ball. In past years, my most memorable Thanksgiving tradition was going to my aunt’s farm for dinner. All of her ingredients were fresh. She and my uncle raised their own turkeys, vegetables and produce. We all loved going to her house for that wonderful meal.

From your friends at SCG, have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Curtis Mayfield was a great American composer, singer, and song writer. He was also an accomplished musician, playing the guitar, saxophone, piano and drums. Born in Chicago, he dropped out of school to become the lead singer and songwriter for The Impressions. The Impressions always had a message to their music. He provided the Impressions with their greatest hits, “Keep On Pushing,” “People Get Ready,” and “It’s All Right,” but he later became a solo artist. As much as I enjoy Mayfield’s work with The Impressions, I think his greatest accomplishment was Superfly, his album that was the soundtrack for the movie of the same name in 1972.

The movie Superfly glamorized criminal activity and the gangster life. However the album was the total opposite of the movie. Like his earlier days with The Impressions, Mayfield’s songs on the album sent a strong message to those who were involved in the street—find a better way to make a living, The song “Eddie You Should Know Better” scolded the good boy who turned out wrong. “Freddie’s Dead” was the biggest hit on the album (Freddie was killed in the movie.) The other seven songs on the album expressed the same sentiment toward the gangster lifestyle.

Although the movie was popular, the album Superfly did very well with its record sales and was even distributed in Italy, Germany, France, Canada and the United Kingdom. Millions of albums and singles were sold. The album out-grossed the movie in sales, and at the 1973 Grammy Awards had eight nominations. Curtis Mayfield walked away with three awards.

Superfly is on the Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of all time, and one of their critics of today gave the album five stars. If you enjoy good music that brings chills up and down your spine and you have never listened to Superfly, try it—you’ll like it.

Read more blogs from 41 Stories.

-Carol Payne

Some of us believe in the fashion rule, “no white after Labor Day.” Some take the rule very seriously. In the movie Serial Mom, Kathleen Turner even murdered a woman for doing that unspeakable, unforgivable deed.

My take on this fashion dilemma? I believe winter white and cream are good transition colors after Labor Day. Bright white is not allowed under any circumstances after Labor Day for shoes (many women in my family don’t even own all-white shoes!), suits, blazers, jacket, pants, skirts, and dresses. But you can always get by with wearing shirts, blouses and sweaters in white.

There are others who agree with my take on white after Labor Day as well. Sean Combs, for example, has an annual “All White Party.” It is mandatory for all of his guest to wear all white—no exceptions. His all white parties, however, are always held before Labor Day, following the long-standing rule of fashion.

After Labor Day the time has come to transition as the leaves turn and the chill returns to the air. So instead of bright whites, bring out your bone, creams and pearl in season-appropriate textiles like gabardine, wool crepe, rayon blends, cashmere, chenille and the light weight corduroy.

Read more blogs at SCG’s 41 Stories.
-Carol Payne 

This year’s Taste of Minnesota, an annual summer festival of music and food, was an expensive ticket. This Fourth of July celebration started in 1983 with free admission, but today attendees pay $20 to $30 a ticket, depending upon the time of day you arrive. Hopes were high for the event, which this year had more food vendors and well-known musical acts (like local artists Atmosphere and national act Counting Crows) than in past years. In the end, the event received mixed reviews because frankly, in these challenging economic times this celebration that is branded for Minnesota families was too costly for them to enjoy.

I remember going to the Taste of Minnesota in the 90’s and having such a good time. We spent a lot on food and drinks, danced to good music, enjoyed the rides and had a lot of fun—with no cover charge. I know the cover was intended to bear some of the expenses; it just needs to be within reason.

This year, the Taste of Minnesota’s brand was confused—it’s billed as a family event for Minnesotans, but many can’t (or don’t want to pay) the high admission fee. A family of four entering the Taste before 4:00 would have to spend $80.00 before even taking a bite to eat! And while the stormy weather over the holiday weekend didn’t help, Faris International Management, owners of the event, told Dave Orrick of the Pioneer Press that they recognize changes need to be made, and they are going to figure out what needs to be done for next year.

I look forward to seeing how they reinvent their brand (and pricing) to better reach their target audience of Minnesota families.

Did you attend the Taste of Minnesota? What did you think of the event?

-Carol Payne