Event update, Oct. 4: Looks like we'll have a gorgeous, partly sunny (imagine!) day for our party. So looking forward to seeing you!

Exact location in Powderhorn: On 35th St. So. at 12th Ave., a wheelchair-accessible path runs from the street all the way down to the main route around the pond. (There is usually ample parking in this area.) Follow this path until just before you meet the main route and we will be at the single picnic table on the left, under 3 tall trees. (On your right will be a whole bevy of picnic tables, but we are claiming the poets' table). I (Zoë Bird) will be wearing a yellow hat & waving an inflatable fish (or something).

For your potluck inspiration, food & drink we know will make an appearance: cheese, crackers, fruit, chocolate, nuts, apple cider, cake, eating & drinking implements.

Have a wonderful weekend & see you Sunday!APP-MN is delighted to announce that another accomplished poet and wonderful teaching artist is joining our group. Welcome, Claudette Webster! 

We’re celebrating Claudette joining APP-MN with a Pop-up Poetry Potluck Picnic at Powderhorn Park in (PPPPPP!) in South Minneapolis on Sunday, October 6, from 2-4 pm. 

Come share community, tasty snacks, and informal readings of poetry from the project and some of our own writing on memory. If the mood strikes, bring your own or another loved poem on the subject to read to the group!

Please bring a friend, your own chair or blanket to sit on, and a snack, beverage, or dish to share. All are welcome; no contribution to the feast is too small, and no one will be turned away. Link to the Facebook event page here to RSVP and keep apprised of exact location.

EVENT UPDATE, OCT. 5: Thanks for a great first sale day yesterday—we met so many lovely people & saw so many friendly faces, it was a joy! & busy, too, which was great. Unfortunately we are rained out today, so we are postponing day 2 of the sale until Sun., Oct. 13, 10-3. Hope to see you then!

Come by, say hi, get an update on APP-MN projects and a free poetry postcard, and pick up fun, priced-to-sell stuff while supporting the work of the Alzheimer's Poetry Project Minnesota! Furniture, women's clothing sizes S-XL--including lots of vintage--books, housewares, 78s, art, & lots more. 10-5 Friday and Saturday, 4918 37th Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55417. Visit the Facebook event page to RSVP and invite friends!

Featuring...

• Painting with glass and gold! APP-MN guest visual artist, painter Michèle Coppin, will teach glass-painting techniques to those who wish to create a sumptuous, small framed painting to take home. All supplies provided.
• Interactive performance by international APP founder and director Gary Glazner! (Co-starring Vincent Van Gogh and Walt Whitman.)
• *Silent auction! Featuring art, books, broadsides, and jewelry by local writers, publishers, and artists--and more.
• *Plus! Readings of poetry by APP-MN project participants, light nosh, and a chance to preview art created by participants in APP-MN's "Naming the Artist Within" project. (Scroll down for more info on the project!)

Drop in or play all evening! Ages 13+, please. Space is limited; tickets are $25 in advance at www.alzpoetrymn.org/tickets, or at the door. Your added donations are gratefully accepted.

For more information, email us via our contact page, or call APP-MN director Zoë Bird at (612) 432-9196. And visit our event page on Facebook, where we'll post frequent updates!

ABOUT THE PROJECT: Last year, APP-MN received a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for "Naming the Artist Within," a collaborative project in poetry and visual artmaking with Minneapolis elders, many of whom have dementia and other cognitive and physical challenges. APP-MN teaching poets and guest visual artists are now conducting layered workshops in both art forms at four low-income adult day center partner sites throughout Minneapolis, including our wonderful host for this benefit, VOAMN's Southwest Senior Center. In each series, participants tell stories and compose group poems which then inform artworks--and vice versa--deepening explored themes and creating new connections.

Programming has been in full swing since January, and will run through November 2017. We have so far raised almost $2500 in matching funds for our grant, and need to raise another $4000 before we have secured all the required matching funds.

That's where your generosity comes in. Your ticket and silent auction purchases and donations will provide the push that brings our project to fruition at all four partner sites, cultivating joy and opening avenues for self-expression for Minneapolis elders and helping to amplify their vital presence in the public sphere.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!