Wednesdays & Fridays: Children's Storytimes, at East Lake Library
2727 E. Lake St.
On Wednesdays, the library offers Preschool Storytime, featuring songs, fingerplays and fun stories, from 10:30-11:00 AM.  On Fridays, 2- and 3-year-olds have their own haven at Toddler Storytime from 10:15-10:45 AM. They learn letters, sounds and words in a shorter, quieter type of storytime.  And finally, babies aged 0-24 months find a place at Baby Lapsit storytime, Fridays at 11:00 AM.  Brief stories and songs are followed by open playtime, great for meeting new friends.  Test out different storytimes and find one that’s right for you and your child. To learn more, call (612) 630-6550 and ask for Anne.

February 26th: Author Reading, at Magers & Quinn Booksellers
7:30 PM, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S.
Charles Baxter reads from the paperback of his recent book Soul Thief. "During Nathaniel Mason’s first few months as a graduate student in upstate New York, he is drawn into a tangle of relationships with people who seem to hover just beyond his grasp. There’s Theresa, alluring but elusive, and Jamie, who is fickle if not wholly unavailable. But Jerome Coolberg is the most mysterious and compelling. Not only cryptic about himself, he seems to have appropriated parts of Nathaniel’s past that Nathaniel cannot remember having told him about. It is Jerome who seems to trigger the events that precipitate Nathaniel’s total breakdown, and Jerome who shows up 30 years later--Nathaniel having finally reconstituted his life--to suggest, with the most staggering consequences, that Nathaniel’s identity may in fact not be his own."

February 27th: Breakfast with Gary Schiff
7:30 - 9:00 AM, 1515 E. Lake St. (Mercado Central)
This month's guest speaker is Congressman Keith Ellison. Representative Ellison will talk about his recent trip to the Middle East and the need for more diplomatic efforts to bring peace to the region. Ellison will also provide an update on federal legislation affecting Minneapolis residents, including the stimulus package.

February 27th: Early Mornings with Elizabeth Glidden
7:30 - 9:00 AM, 4762 Chicago Ave. S. (Turtle Bread)
This month features R.T. Rybak with an update on the revised 2009 City budget.

February 27th: Mary a la Carte, at Bryant Lake Bowl
7:00, 810 W. Lake St.
"This hilarious, one-woman show is back every Friday in February after two previous sold-out runs at the BLB. Step into Mary’s Home Cookin’ Diner where all the stories are true and audience members order their comedy right off the menu. Sit back and laugh as the sassiest waitress in town serves it up, non-stop. You may just need the Heimlich Maneuver!"

February 27th: Global Kidz Zone Kickoff, at Midtown Global Market
5:00 - 7:00 PM, 920 E. Lake St.
Radio Disney Road Crew will be onsite with music, games and prizes for everyone. At 6:20 there will be a Kids' Parade to the Kidz Zone, followed by kids hand-print painting on the pillars.

February 28th: Shingibis & Winter Maker, at In the Heart of the Beast Theatre

10:00 AM and noon, 1500 E. Lake St.
An Anishinabe story of Shingebiss (a Merganser duck) who shows us with his courage and kindness how to survive no matter how hard the winds of winter blow.

Through February 28th: Snowman, at Open Eye Figure Theatre
506 E. 24th St.
"A contemporary fable about cold weather.  An inexplicable snow falls in a small town and spring hasn’t come for years.  With the endless snow comes a problem of hygienic proportions: a town of frozen adults. The mayor has the frozen carted away to an ice forest, and those who remain in the village are numbed into acceptance."

Beginning March 3rd: Beneath the Surface, at In the Heart of the Beast Theatre
1500 E. Lake St.
Featuring magic toilets, dancing pipes and roaring rain, at this show’s core is an investigation of contemporary water issues and a celebration of our everyday drinking water. The question, “Where does the water come from, and where does it go?” leads to a fun-filled look at the water cycle, the bottled water phenomenon, and the Mississippi watershed that is a part of us all.

March 6th & 7th: Kinetic Kitchen, at Patrick's Cabaret
8:00 PM, 3010 Minnehaha Ave.
A night of dance, featuring FOOTHOLDS (Jim Lieberthal), Taja Will and the Vehicles of Peace, Eclectic Edge Ensemble (Karis Sloss), and Stacy Pottinger and dancers from University of Wisconsin, River Falls.

Through March 7th: 8th Annual Political Theatre Festival, at Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave. S.
How could commercialism, grandmothers, reality TV, hip-hop culture and posthumous debates on classicism possibly relate with one another?  Find out during this year's Political Theatre Festival, where politics and art intersect on the stage.   This year social justice is explored through a global collection of plays directed and performed by favorite local artists, as well as a special presentation of REPRESENTA! Bilingual Theatre for the Hip-Hop Generation. 

Through March 8th: Hitchcock Blonde, at Jungle Theater
2951 Lyndale Ave. S.
"What was the dark secret that caused the great Alfred Hitchcock to obsess over beautiful blondes in jeopardy? A spine-tingling mystery unfolds at a villa in the Greek isles, where a British professor and his young assistant shift through the clues. Meanwhile in 1950's Hollywood, the Master prepares to film his infamous shower scene."

March 14th: "Saving Money, the Planet and Your Sanity" Workshop, at East Lake Library
2:00 - 4:00 PM, 2727 E. Lake St.
Everyone wants to budget effectively and contribute to the environment, but did you know the two can go together?  Register now for this special workshop. Librarian Holly Jorgensen will tell you everything you need to know about “Saving Money, the Planet and Your Sanity.”  You can reserve your place online or call the library at (612) 630-6550.