What's on the MAIN STAGE

The Students of Ragamala Dance

Ragamala Dance's work provides a bridge between cultures both ancient and modern, exploring a unique style of living poetry for the stage. Rooted in Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form from southern India, Ragamala blends dance, music, and poetry. Bharatanatyam is amongst the oldest of the classical dance forms of India, with a history that goes back more than two thousand years. Integrating elements of music, theater, poetry, sculpture, and literature, this multi-dimensional art has come down through the centuries, as part of a dynamic, vital, living tradition that offers infinite scope for understanding and exploring the body, mind and spirit. Old forms are used in new ways to retain the past, enhance the present, and inspire the future. In India, dance has been used both as a vehicle of worship and as an expression of profound emotions, a human being's most subtle states of mind. The Indian dance system is the oldest and most comprehensive in the world. The world's earliest evidence of dance is a bronze figurine of a dancing girl discovered in the 4,000-year-old ruin of Mohenjodaro, India.

Joe Hawthorne & Mark Lucas - Scottish Highland Bagpipers

For the last 10 years, Joe and Mark have played highland bagpipes with the St. Paul Police Pipe Band. They have just returned from competitions in Canada and Scotland.

Joe Hawthorne was first exposed to the sound of the Great Highland bagpipe when he was five years old. It took him a lot of convincing his parents to let him start playing, finally when he was twelve. He joined the Minnesota Police Pipe band in 2001, and competed that following February in the Grade 3 band, at their competition in Winnipeg, MB. In 2003, Joe was asked to join the then Grade 2 North Coast Pipe Band, in Cleveland, OH. Joe had a successful two years with the band, winning the U.S.A Open Pipe Band Championships, Canadian Championships, and traveling to Glasgow, Scotland for the World Pipe Band Championships. Joe is also a multi-prize winning soloist in the amateur Grade 1 bracket. In late 2009, Joe again joined an already well established Grade 2 City of Chicago Pipe Band to help them win the U.S.A. Open Pipe Band Championships, and North American Championships in 2010. This April, the band will premier in Grade 1, and is already interested in some of Joe's compositions. Joe is a culinary arts graduate of Saint Paul College, and is currently working on a B.S. in Hospitality Management at Metro State University.

Mark Lucas began learning the bagpipes at the age of twelve. In 2001 he became a member of the Minnesota Pipes and Drums Grade 5 competition band. Since joining the band Mark has risen up to become the Pipe Sergeant of the grade 3 band. In 2005 the band was renamed the Minnesota Police Pipe Band. Along with band competition Mark is an active and gold winning competitor in the grade 2 solo competitions. This past August Mark traveled to Glasgow, Scotland with the Minnesota Police Pipe Band to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships. Currently Mark is a college student who enjoys the outdoor.

Bill Konkar Band – German

Bill performs as a strolling musician for the dining crowd at Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit and Bavarian Restaurant and Bar in the twin cities as well as for weekend dances. Whether it's Bill on strolling accordion or the full band performing, this group has become very popular in the Twin Cities playing well over 200 dates a year. The band now features Bill on midi accordion and vocals, son Andy on drums, John Dochniak from Afton, MN on guitar, banjo and vocals and John Patton from St. Paul on saxophone.

German Narren – New Ulm

The Heritagefest "Narren" from New Ulm, Minnesota, provide fun and good humor for people of all ages. With their hand carved wood masks and colorful costumes they greet people, shunkel and dance with anyone willing to join them. Some members of the Narren include: Hatti, the Hexon; Tillie, the feather lady; Fritz, the sausage maker; Pinella, the flower lady; Otto, the bachelor; Rosa, the baker; Sepp, the unmusical musician; Anna, the owner of a local establishment and many others. In the German language, the word "Narren" means "a group of fools" which you will be able to see in action when they come to visit CulturFest.

Minnesota Parkour – origin: France

Chad Zwadlo, owner and head instructor of Fight or Flight Academy, and several fellow Minnesota Parkour members will provide several performances and a workshop. Chad has 12 years experience and a rank of second degree black belt in American Freestyle Karate, six years of Karate instruction experience at Red Dragon Academy and six years of training in parkour and freerunning. He has been teaching an extremely successful freerunning program at Gleason's Gymnastics School for the last 3 years.

Chad is one of the founding members of the MNPK (Minnesota Parkour) community and is the official Minnesota contact of americanparkour.com, the largest parkour website in the world with over 100,000 visitors a month. He is currently a sponsored athlete of Team Sanjuu professional freerunning team, Tumblemonster Stunt team, and Open Air stunt team. Chad has also worked on commercials, television, and movie stunts.

Progressive Baptist Church Choir – St. Paul

God has blessed Progressive Baptist Church to have a God centered, and called ministry of music since He built this church and gathered this body together in 1993, through the music vision of our pastor, Rev. Dr. Earl F. Miller and under the direction of our Minister of Music, Gwen Miller.

We have endured, grown, increased and lifted God in praise together as a family because we know that God is good, all the time and His intent is that we do this ministry through the music of Praise and Worship. Our call is to be all that God desires us to be through His Word in Ephesians 4, which we strive for, as a body of Christ.

If you are in the St. Paul area, stop by and Praise, sing and lift God up in prayer during one of our 8 am or 11 am Worship services. We are waiting on you and praising in the Lord's name!

World Geography Bee

Join us to watch 5th and 6th grade World Passport award winners from each of the Owatonna elementary schools compete for prizes. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.