MBSI 67th Annual Meeting — Minneapolis, MN — Sponsored by the Snowbelt Chapter
Registration includes ice cream social, 1 breakfast, Awards Lunch, Annual Banquet, Mart, workshops and entertainment
~ SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ~
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31
7:00 am – 7:00 pm Registration
7:30 am – 5:30 pm Optional Tour: Lukes/Spam Museum
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Optional Tour: Crawford/Schultz
9:00 am Trustees’ Meeting & Breakfast Dinner on your own…
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
7:00 am – 7:00 pm Registration
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Optional Tour: Nunn/Kuehn/Cafesjian’s Carousel
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Optional Tour: Crawford/Schultz
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Optional City Tour with lunch
9:30 am -? Optional Guided Mall of America Shopping Excursion
Dinner on your own… (save room for dessert at the…)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Welcome Ice Cream Social
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
7:00 am – 12:00 pm Registration
9:00 am – 11:30 am Workshops
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Optional City Tour with lunch
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Awards Luncheon
2:00 pm – 4:30 pm Dinner on your own…
All evening… “Minneapolis Night on the Town”
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Classic Comedy Movie Night at Hotel
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
8:00 am – 11:00 am MBSI Annual Meeting Breakfast
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Mart set up
Lunch on your own…
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm Mart
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Mart beak down
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Social Hour
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Annual Banquet
7:30 pm… Entertainment: Butch Thompson
~ HOTEL RESERVATIONS ~
Minneapolis Marriott City Center Hotel
30 South 7th Street Minneapolis, MN 55402
Reserve your room by telephone: 1-800-228-9290 or 612-349-4000.
To get the special rate of $99 per night (plus applicable taxes), you must reserve your room by 5:00 pm Wednesday, August 10, and indicate that you are with the Musical Box Society International.
(This rate applies for three days pre-and post-Annual Meeting.)
Discounted self-parking is $12 per car per night.
The Committee reserves the right to modify the program or collection tours.
Optional Extra-Charge Events, Priced as Indicated
~ ALL DAY TOURS ~
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31
Kiven and Cheryl Lukes Collection & the “Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam” Museum
$49 per person including lunch
The Lukes’ collection is in the beautiful farm country of Minnesota. It covers the range from cylinder and disc musical boxes to pianos, small orchestrions to a fairground organ, automata to jukeboxes, all housed in an ornately-decorated music hall for your listening comfort. Highlights include a newly-restored Steinway concert grand piano with a modern player system and aWeber Unika. Since the Lukes’ are farmers, they will have baby pigs and farm machinery on display. Kiven says that this will also be your chance to actually drive a massive tractor!
A delicious lunch featuring products from the Lukes’ farm is included and will be catered by Cheryl.
“And now for something completely different…” whether you love it or loath it, you’ve never seen anything quite like The Spam Museum in nearby Austin, Minnesota, America’s largest and newest (and possibly only) museum dedicated to canned meat! This whimsical and educational facility is a must-see when you are in the hometown of the internationally-renowned product Spam! There’s plenty of free samples!
— OR—
Crawford and Schultz Collections $49 per person including lunch
Lawrence and Phyllis Crawford’s collection features the musical box collection of Lawrence’s parents, the late F. Richard and Esther Crawford who were Founding Members of the MBSI. This collection is one of the last intact from a Founding Member. It was Richard’s goal to acquire each of the instruments described in a 1938 article by L.G. Jaccards which had inspired the start of the collection. The Crawford’s “Crystal Homewood Studio” houses their collection which includes beer steins and dolls.
Set in the rolling farm country near the “Valley of the Jolly Green Giant,” the Crawford’s also raise exotic birds on their hobby farm.
The largest instrument in the Crawford collection isthe 3/24 Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ, Opus 916, which was originally housed in Minneapolis’Homewood Theater. Lawrence purchased the organ 44 years ago and built it into the magnificent instrument it is today! A guest organist will perform a concert following demonstration of the musical boxes.
Ralph and Carol Schultz’s collection is also on this tour. A machinist by trade, Ralph has seen to itthat the collection is always in top shape with a variety of organs including a Stinson 47 band organ and two Prinsen instruments, a single Mills Violano Virtuoso, Link 2E piano, cylinder and disc musical boxes, ahome-built accordion machine, and a display of steam engines. There’s always a surprise in store for you when visiting the Schultz’s collection. (Ralph promises that there will be no snow.)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Nunn and Kuehn Collections and Cafesjian’s Carousel
$49 per person including lunch
Bill and Stacy Nunn’s “Skyrock Farm” is an equestrian complex and home to over 40 horses. Get a chance to watch a jumping demonstration up close and personal. Tour the farm on one of the vintage amusement park trains. See and hear 15 beautifully restored fair and dance organs, including Marenghi,Limonaire, Mortier, Bruder, Gavioli, Hooghuys, and Wurlitzer instruments. The 3-14 Barton theater pipe organ will also be part of your entertainment. See a working carousel with antique animals and many other animals on display. Experience Minnesota hospitality while enjoying a genuine home-cooked meal in our Victorian Ballroom, The Gilded Horse.
Bill is on a personal crusade to rescue book organ music and to that end has constructed computer-controlled equipment with Kevin Keymer to scan and re-punch rare and damaged music. Assisted by skilled music arranger Alexey Romashkov, the music available ranges from historic classics to modern favorites, including the rock group Queen! (Bill, Alexey and Kevin will be hosting a workshopper taining to book repair and making on Friday.)
Thomas Kuehn’s collection contains primarily pneumatic instruments including pianos, organs, and orchestrions manufactured in the U.S. or Europe. Brand names include Seeburg, Weber, Coinola, Popper, Mason & Hamlin, Bursens, Frati, Gasparini,and Loesche. Tom does much of the restoration work himself and will demonstrate several restored instruments as well as show and explain details not normally seen on collection tours. You may tour his shop to witness current restoration activity and see several nearly untouched original instruments. (Tom is also hosting a workshop on Friday on his Loesche piano project.)
~ Tours Aboard Deluxe & Comfortable Motor Coaches ~
Cafesjian’s Carousel is the beautiful, restored Philadelphia Toboggan Company’s 33rd merry-go.round (PTC 33). The 102-year-old carousel is housed in a custom pavilion and is one of the very few that has its original paint. A Wurlitzer 153 Band Organ accompanies the ride and was restored by Snowbelter Mike Merrick who will be on hand to answer your questions. Workshop presenter, Linda MacDonald, spearheaded the carousel restoration work.
— OR —
Crawford and Schultz Collections
$49 per person including lunch
(see description under Wednesday’s tours)
— OR—
Guided Tour of the Twin Cities
$34 per person including lunch
— note: limited to 24 participants —
Your Snowbelt Chapter tour guide Bob Druke will show you the historical and architectural highlights while giving a personal talk about the area, including Saint Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge, the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, Mill City Museum, the Twins, Vikings, and Timberwolves stadiums, the Basilica of St. Mary, historic neighborhoods, the Minneapolis Lakes, legendary Minnehaha Falls, Summit Avenue and its mansions, the Cathedral of St. Paul, the State Capital Building, Union Depot, and the Schubert Club, among much more! Lunch is included (along with several “rest stops”).
— OR —
Guided Trip to The Mall of AmericaFREE! with Lunch on your own (pay-as-you-go transportation on board the Twin Cities’ new light rail system) Your Snowbelt Chapter host Tammi Beckley will guide you to America’s largest shopping mall where hundreds of shops await you! You will board the light rail one block from the hotel for your trip to this shopping mecca. Remember, there’s no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota! The MOA has innumerable restaurants to choose from for a lunch to satisfy any desire.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Guided Tour of the Twin Cities
$34 per person including lunch
— note: limited to 24 participants —
(see description under Thursday’s tours)
~ WORKSHOPS ~
“I Know Why the CAGED BIRD Sings”
Renowned mechanical singing bird restorer Moe Goldy will review the history, operating principles, and the craftsmen who made mechanical singing birds. Moe’s presentation will include graphics and samples for demonstration.
“LOESCHE, the other Leipzig pianoand orchestrion manufacturer”
MBSI Trustee and Snowbelt member Thomas Kuehn will present his insights into the Loesche piano as he reviews his meticulous restoration of the instruments.
“BOOKMAKING…the odds are good”
Alexey Romashkov, master musician, will demonstrate how he edits, transcribes and arranges music for various organ scales and how he uses “virtual organs” and computer programs to help put magic in his music. Kevin Keymer will tell about his scanning and book-punching equipment using his own software programs. Bill Nunn will show how he preserves old music by repairing worn books, scanning old patterns, and punching new books on the cardboard he manufactures.
“WOOD CARVING & RESTORATION”
Snowbelt member Jock Holman (“the Norwegian Termite”) will show some of the woodcarvings from music boxes that he has repaired and will demonstrate how a small woodcarving would be repaired. Attendees will also have the chance to pick up a carving chisel and try woodcarving for themselves.
“LIFE’S A GRIND…a pictorial history of the Organ Grinder”
Snowbelt member, author, editor and professional organ grinder Angelo Rulli will take you on a historic and educational journey through the history of organ grinding featuring innumerable images of the grinders practicing their craft.
“GILDING IS FOR EVERYONE”
Renowned decorative artist Linda MacDonald will demonstrate and discuss the fine art of painting band and fairground organs. This hands-on work.shop will give those in attendance an opportunity to silver leaf their own small decorative piece, adding transparent color for extra pizzazz.
~ BANQUET ENTERTAINMENT ~
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
“Minneapolis Night on the Town”
Our host hotel is centrally located in the heart of down.town Minneapolis with innumerable entertainment oppor.tunities only a short walk away! Your Friday evening is open leaving you free to explore…
The Minnesota Twins vs. the Chicago White Sox at 7:10 PM
(just 5 blocks away) Spectacular…intimate…breathtaking…dazzling amenities! Those are just a few of the words describing your potential experience at Target Field, the world class home of the Minnesota Twins. “Ballpark food” has transformed from the traditional hot dogs and peanuts to gourmet cuisine! There’s even a special “Friday Fireworks” show after the game. Tickets range from $15 to $84.
The Hennepin Theatre District
(Theatres just 1 to 3 blocks away) The 2016-17 Theatre Season has not been announced as this registration guide goes to press, but we will notify registered guests of what’s in store at the four beautiful venues that comprise the Hennepin Theatre District: The Pantages, built in 1916; The Orpheum and The State, both built in 1921; and The New Century. From touring Broadway Musicals to nationally-known comedy and music performers, there’s sure to be a presentation that will satisfy every members taste.
The Guthrie Theatre
(more than a walk at 16 blocks away) Called “a 21st century dream factory” by Time magazine, the Guthrie boasts three stages, a full-service restaurant, numerous bars, and great views of Minneapolis. The building was designed to blend with the historic flour mills in the area on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, with dramatic views of St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge. The Guthrie’s 2016-17 season has not been announced, but theatre patrons may expect a presentation of excellence from this world-renowned venue.
Orchestra Hall / Minnesota Orchestra
(5 blocks away) The world acclaimed Minnesota Orchestra makes down.town Minneapolis its home within the newly renovated Orchestra Hall, an acoustically perfect setting for their concerts. The 2016-17 season remains to be announced.
Minneapolis Nightlife
Numerous restaurants and clubs near our hotel provide live entertainment during your dining experience. A guideto the multitude of possibilities will be in your AnnualMeeting packet upon your arrival in “the Mill City.” And Candyland is right across the street from the hotel…a mec.ca of delicious treats for those of you with a sweet tooth!
The Minnesota State Fair
The “Great Minnesota Get-Together” is in full swing dur.ing our Annual Meeting. A short free shuttle bus ride to the grounds offers innumerable unique food and entertainment opportunities. Tickets are $11-$13 at the gates.
BUTCH THOMPSON
In a career spanning over 45 years, pianist and clarinetist Butch Thompson has earned a worldwide reputation as a traditional jazz and ragtime master. He tours widely as a soloist or at the helm of any of his several ensembles, including his well-known Butch Thompson Trio. He has performed with many symphony orchestras including the Hartford Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Cairo (Egypt) Symphony. Widely known for his 12-year stint as house pianist on public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion, he continues on the show as a frequent guest.
~ WHILE YOU’RE HERE ~
CAFESJIAN’S CAROUSEL
After a 74-year run at the Minnesota State Fair, the 1914PTC #33 was headed for the auction block, its 68 finely-carved horses destined to be broken up. As the auction was about to begin, a $1.1 million deal was brokered by the citizen’s group Our Fair Carousel to save the ride intact. It re.turned to the Fair for one final year before being disassembled and stored until a new home could be found.
Restoration of the horses commenced under the leadership of workshop presenter Linda McDonald, who studied under renowned carousel artist Rosa Regan. Most of the horses wore original paint, having only been re-varnished periodically. McDonald had to replicate the rounding board paintings that were damaged in a 1939 fairground fire and haphazardly replaced with “park paintings.”
The carousel opened in the jewel of the Saint Paul park system, Como Park, in 2000, inside a beautiful custom-built pavilion, and is named for its chief benefactor, the late Gerard L. Cafesjian.
The ride had used recorded band organ music since the large Artizan organ originally used burned in the 1939 fire. Cafesjian financed the purchase of a Wurlitzer 153 and MBSI Snowbelt member Mike Merrick restored the organ, which made its debut on the ride in the spring of 2000.
THE MALL OF AMERICA
Since opening its doors in 1992, the MOA has revolution.ized the shopping experience and become a leader in retail,entertainment, and attractions. The MOA is one of the toptourist destinations in the country! With 520 stores and 50restaurants, the MOA has been described as a city within acity, and even includes a full-scale amusement park inside!
THE SPAM MUSEUM
For over 12 years, the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota has delighted over a million visitors with delicious exhibits celebrating SPAM! A brand new SPAM Museum is now open so you can get your fill of all things SPAM as part of the Lukes’ Collection tour. Don’t miss it!
The preferred method of payment is by check payable in U.S. Funds to “Snowbelt Chapter MBSI”. Send your check to Bill Nunn, Registrar • 2825 Willow Drive • Hamel, MN 55340 • USA
QUESTIONS? Phone: 612-408-2848 or E-Mail: mbsi2016@gmail.com
If you want to remit using your PayPal account, you must add 3% to your total and send your payment to: mbsi2016@gmail.com.