January in the Twin Cities is just like any other month in Minnesota, except there aren't boats or mosquitoes.
Or mosquitoes on boats... buzzing the lakes for the Winter Carnival medallion.
January 2009 - JPG     
<<    JANUARY 2009     >>
S M T W Th F Sa
Dec 30-Jan 4 - play - Grease, Orpheum Theatre
Jan 3, 13, 15, 17, 20, 23 - hockey - Wild, Xcel Energy Center
Jan 3, 10, 24 - gymnastics - Gopher Women, Sports Pavilion
Jan 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 - bball 
- Timberwolves
Jan 6-11 - play - Frost-Nixon, State Theatre
Jan 15-18 - kids - Elmo's Green Thumb, Target Center
Jan 16, 31 - hockey - Gopher Mens, Mariucci Arena
Jan 22-Feb 1 - Winter Carnival, St. Paul
Jan 24-25 - speedskating - US Junior LT Championships, Roseville Oval
Jan 27-Feb 1 - musical - Spring Awakening, Orpheum Theatre
Jan 30-31 -show - Healthy Life Expo, Minneapolis Convention Center
1   New Year's Day
     
Polar Dash 5K

2
3    
4     5   
6

7    8   
9  
10  Carlos Mencia
      Chuck Wicks
      Reel Big Fish
11   3 Redneck Tenors
       Frigid 5K
12
13
14
15   
 
16  Wailers
17  Clint Black
      Maple Grove Crafts
     
Monster Jam
      Roseville Jazz
18   Wedding Fair
19  Martin Luther King, Jr
      AC/DC
      Gen Colin Powell (Ret)
      Lil' Wayne
20  Barack Obama Inauguration 
      Inauguration Party
      UofM classes begin  
21Anberlin
22  Tim & Eric Awesome
23   Blues Fest
       Dwight Yoakam
       Slipknot
24  Arj Barker
      Chinese New Year
      Democratic Party
      Frozen 5K
      Maplewood Crafts
25   26  Cradle of Filth 27  Jewel
      Kevin Costner & Modern West
28  
29  AVP Volleyball
      Big Head Todd

30  Bobby McFerrin
31   Bob the Builder
       Cheerleading
       Scott Weiland







Dec 30-Jan 4 musical
Grease, Orpheum Theatre   Tickets
>> Most musicals are comedies in disguise. Here's Beauty School Dropout.
Thursday January 1 holiday
run
New Year's Day
Polar Dash 5K, downtown Minneapolis Renaissance Hotel (11am)
January 2-4 show Land O' Lakes Kennel Club Dog Show, the Roy & RiverCentre
Jan 3, 13, 15, 17, 20, 23 hockey Wild, Xcel Energy Center
January 3, 10, 24 gymnastics Gopher Womens Gymnastics, Sports Pavilion
Jan 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 basketball Timberwolves Basketball, Target Center
January 6-11 play Frost-Nixon, State Theatre
>> Sit with Nixon for 28 1/2 hours over 12 days and quote Nixon to Nixon from the White House tapes, after he denies any wrongdoing.  DVD Trailer
Imagine being there live.
January 7-9 show Green Expo, Minneapolis Convention Center
January 8-10 play Chautauqua, McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center
January 8-21 play Out There 21, Walker Art Center
Jan 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, 30-Feb 1 play Ice Fishing Play, Theatre In The Round
Saturday January 10 comedy
music
music
Carlos Mencia, Treasure Island Casino
Chuck Wicks, Cabooze, Minneapolis (9pm)
Reel Big Fish, Epic, Minneapolis (7pm)
January 10-11 craft fair Arts, Craft, and Gift Sale, White Bear Lake Armory
Sunday January 11 musical


run
3 Redneck Tenors, Pantages Theatre (7pm)
>> Three small town Texans with big time voices are discovered. Do they know Paris? Yes. (Paris, Texas) Have they been to Paris? Yes. (Paris, Texas)
Frigid 5K, Minnesota Fairgrounds, St Paul (10am)
January 15-17 play Five Days in March, McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center
January 15-18 kids Elmo's Green Thumb, Target Center
Friday January 16 music The Wailers, First Avenue mainroom (8pm)
Jan 16-17, 23-24 basketball Golden Bears Womens Basketball, Gangelhoff Center, Concordia U
January 16, 31 hockey Gopher Mens Hockey, Mariucci Arena
Saturday January 17 craft fair
music
kids
music
Arts, Craft, and Gift Sale, Maple Grove Community Center
Clint Black, Mystic Lake Casino
Monster Jam, Metrodome
Winter Jazz Blast, Maranatha Hall, Northwestern College
Sunday January 18 show Wedding Fair, Minneapolis Convention Center (11am-5pm)
Monday January 19 holiday
music
lecture

music
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
AC/DC, Xcel Energy Center (7:30pm)
Gen. Colin Powell (Ret) speaks at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast, Minneapolis Convention Center (7am)
Lil Wayne, with T-Pain, Keysia Cole, Gym Class Heroes, & Keri Hilson, Target Center (7pm)
Tuesday January 20 politics
politics
school
Barack Obama inauguration
Inauguration Party, Epic Nightclub (7pm)
University of Minnesota spring semester begins
Wednesday January 21 music Anberlin, First Avenue mainroom, 5pm
January 21-25 show Minneapolis Boat Show, Minneapolis Convention Center
Thursday January 22 comedy Tim and Eric Awesome Show from Adult Swim, Pantages Theatre (7:30pm)
January 22-24 play Tim Crouch, Walker Gallery
Jan 22-Feb 1 fair Winter Carnival, St. Paul
Friday January 23 music
music
music
Dwight Yoakam, Jackpot Junction Casino, Morton, MN
Slipknot, Xcel Energy Center
Winter Carnival Blues Festival, Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Saturday January 24 comedy
craft fair
politics
fair
run
Arj Barker, Pantages Theatre (7:30 & (9:30pm)
Arts, Craft, and Gift Sale, Maplewood Community Center
Blue State Ball - Democratic Party, Minneapolis Convention Center
Chinese New Year, Northwestern Health Sciences University, Bloomington (noon)
Frozen 5K, Securian Center, 400 Robert St N, St Paul (9 & 9:15am)
January 24 - 25 speedskating
flower show
US Junior Long Track Championships, Roseville Oval
Winter Carnival Orchid Show, Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, Como Park
Monday January 26 music Cradle of Filth, First Avenue mainroom (5pm)
Tuesday January 27 music

music
Jewel, Mystic Lake, Prior Lake
>> Jewel Kilcher married Ty Murray in August 2008. Congratulations Ty!
Kevin Costner & Modern West, Cabooze, 917 Cedar Av S, Mpls (7:30pm)
>> Actor Kevin Costner became lead-singer Kevin Costner and began touring with his band Modern West in Oct 2007.
Jan 27-Feb 1 musical Spring Awakening, Orpheum Theatre
Thursday January 29 volleyball



music
AVP Volleyball, Target Center (7pm)
>> Nicole Branagh, former University of Minnesota Gopher Volleyball - outside hitter, 2008 Beijing Olympian, and very nice person, returns to Minneapolis for AVP Crocs Hot Winter Nights indoor beach volleyball. Welcome back, Nicole!
Big Head Todd & the Monsters, First Avenue mainroom (6pm)
Friday January 30 music Bobby McFerrin, Orchestra Hall
January 30-31 rodeo
show
World's Toughest Rodeo, Xcel Energy Center (7:30pm)
Healthy Life Expo, Minneapolis Convention Center
Saturday
January 31 kids
cheerleading
music
Bob the Builder, State Theatre (1:30 & 4:30pm)
Minnesota Cheerleading Association Cheerleading Competition, The Roy
Scott Weiland, Pantages Theatre (8pm)
Jan 31-Feb 1 show Saintly City Cat Club Cat Show, RiverCentre

    "I got my eggs. I got my pancakes too. Got my maple syrup, everything but you." - Jewel will be at Mystic Lake on Jan 27th.
Jewel on YouTube     
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"She dances, and I dream. She's not so far as she seems." - Big Head Todd & the Monsters play First Avenue on Jan 29th.
Big Head Todd on YouTube      
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"In your life expect some trouble, but when you worry, you make it double." - Bobby McFerrin plays Orchestra Hall on Jan 31st.
Bobby McFerrin on YouTube     
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Cold
32 degrees F - water freezes (at sea level)
20 degrees - cloud point of #2 diesel (see below)
10 degrees - road salt (sodium chloride) refreezes
10 below - blood flow to your extremities is reduced
20 below - 10w30 motor oil turns to sludge, road salt (calcium chloride) 
refreezes, skin freezes within 5 minutes
30 below - 5w30 motor oil turns to sludge
40 below - soap bubbles shatter like glass Christmas ornaments, mercury freezes in the thermometer, antifreeze freezes; cloud point of #1 diesel (see below)
50 below - skin freezes within a minute, metal turns brittle and snaps like wood
60 below - cold on an unprotected forehead can knock you unconscious in minutes
70 below - skin freezes in seconds, frozen breath hangs in the air
80 below - people's voices can be heard four miles away - it's called Temperature Inversion

(Celsius - Fahrenheit converter)     

Cold Car Batteries
If the car doesn't start in winter, the culprit could be a failed starter or a flooded engine, but most likely, it's the car battery. There are 3 reasons the battery should be the problem.
1. Power Available - In car battery terminology, it's called Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), which is the amount of electric current a 12 volt (technically 12.6) car battery can deliver for 30 seconds at zero degrees F while maintaining a minimum terminal voltage of 7.2 volts. If at 80 degrees, a car battery has 100% strength, at 32 degrees, it has 65% of its strength. At zero, it has 40% of its strength. At 32 below, it's down to a quarter of its strength.
2. Power Needed - Even though the battery has less power, it needs more power when the motor oil is cold. At zero degrees, when the battery has only 40% power, it needs 210% of what it would need at 80 degrees.  At minus 32 degrees, it would need 350% or three and a half times what it needs at 80 degrees.
3. Power Restored - Meanwhile, a cold battery is harder to recharge than a warm one. Low temperatures increase the resistance of electrolytes which both reduces the battery's cranking power and increases the time it takes for the engine (through the alternator) to recharge the battery.

It's a wonder that cars work at all.

Cracky
When the Minnesota lakes freeze, especially with a steep drop in temperatures, the ice will Boom loud enough to be heard miles away. The tone and pitch depend upon the size and shape of the lake basin and the ice thickness.

Diesel Cloud Point - Pour Point - Cold Flow Plugging Point
Petroleum-based diesel and biodiesel fuel doesn't exactly freeze, but the paraffin wax in fuel begins to crystallize, giving it a cloudy appearance, known as the cloud point. The cloud point of #2 diesel is between 20 and 4
F. The cloud point of #1 diesel is -40º F. The key to the cloud point is that the fuel filter starts to clog. Pour point is the point when any liquid doesn't pour. But trucks and school buses conk out from fuel line clogs prior to reaching the pour point. The operational threshhold for winter diesel is the Cold Flow Plugging Point (CFPP) developed by the ASTM, which measures diesel's ability to flow through a fuel filter. Based on the CFPP, the location, and the month of the year the fuel is being sold, diesel fuel is blended to withstand extreme winter temperatures. In Minnesota, the month & temperatures are October (-4º F), November (-18º F), December (-30º F), January (-34º F), February (-31º F), and March (-24º F). Anti-gel additives are available for both diesel and biodiesel fuels. Diesel fuel purchased in September or in Arizona, without additives, may not get you where you are going in January in Minnesota.

Ice Thickness --  Minimum Thickness For Going Out On The Ice
Here's a handy Ice Thickness card to determine if the ice is thick enough to walk on or drive over. And every winter these charts are spread all over Minnesota. One problem: how do you know the thickness of the ice? You would have to break the ice to measure its thickness. And then you would know the thickness at the open spot -- it's zero! So now you'll need Ice Claws to get yourself out of this ice hole.

Tree Motion
The lakes aren't the only thing cracking; some species of trees crack like a rifle shot, due to being unevenly warmed by sunlight. Maple trees and other thin barked trees are more susceptible than aspens, black spruce, and jack pines.

The snow around hardwood trees on sunny days in February can be peppered with tiny black specks that jump! These are snow fleas! It's true; I'm not making this up. They fall out of the tree and hop about. Snow fleas aren't fleas. They are springtails: ancient herbivorous bugs that eat microscopic algae, bacteria, and fungi. Snow fleas spring off from trees uncontrollably in the spring. And that's why it's called Spring.

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Twin Cities Calendar 2009  -  January  |  February  |  March

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