MN AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion at the State Fair

Welcome to the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion blog for the Minnesota State Fair. Located at the corner of Dan Patch and Cooper on the state fairgrounds, 1657 Dan Patch Ave, we provide education and entertainment about unions and all workers, by workers. We are open 9 AM to 8 PM during the fair.

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Thanks to our stage sponsors and large donors:

Twin Cities Musicians Union, IATSE Local 13, Sieben-Carey, IBEW Local 292, Laborers, IUOE Local 49, UFCW 1189, OPEIU Local 12, SPFT Local 28, MNA, SMW Local 10, IBEW Local 949, UTU, American Income Life, ATU Local 1005, & AFSCME Local 4001. 

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Cornbread Harris at Labor Pavilion

Friday, September 4, 11:30 to 1:30 PM

Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 11:30-1:30 PM

James Samuel “Cornbread” Harris Sr. is a Twin Cities legend.  His earliest influences were in country music, citing Hank Williams Sr. and Gene Autry among his favorites. Cornbread began learning piano at the age of 13, but he quickly grew tired of having his hands slapped with rulers by "the nuns" and he quit. He hit the piano once again in his early twenties, but this time around it was all about the Blues and he just kept on playing.

Now in his eighties, Cornbread is more active than ever in the local music scene. He plays several regular weekly and monthly gigs, and now incorporates jazz into his vast repertoire. He can be seen solo, backed up or playing with Cadillac Kolstad in Cadillac vs Cornbread.

Don’t let his age fool you, Cornbread is full of life and is always hopeful about the future.

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Labor Pavilion Complete Daily Schedule

Thursday, August 27

Programming brought to you by Sieben-Carey

Host: Randy Schmeling

Kitchen Safety Demonstrations from the St. Paul Fire Department

Music: Guitar Jam with Charlie Maguire, Paul Metsa & Zach Anderson, 1 to 3 PM, Sister of Swing Maryann Haining, 4 to 6 PM

Giveaways throughout the day! 

Friday, August 28

Programming brought to you by IBEW Local 292

Host: Randy Schmeling

Comedy & Magic by Star Newman, 11 AM & 2 PM

Music: OboeBass!, 11:30 to 1 PM

Music: Pop & Funk with Daryl Boudreaux, 3:30 PM

Giveaways throughout the day!

Saturday, August 29

Host: Tammara Malloy

Step Performances by the Elite Step Team from Patrick Henry High School, 2:45 & 3:30 PM

Giveaways throughout the day!

Sunday, August 30

Host: Tre Searles III

Music: Chanhassen Dinner Theater Performances from “Mary Poppins,” 12 PM Brought to you by the Chanhassen Dinner Theater

Music: Radio Joe and the Jazzbos, 4 to 6 PM

Giveaways throughout the day!

Monday, August 31

Speed Volunteering with AFL-CIO Community Services, All Day

Host: T Mychael Rambo

Music: Minnesota Twins Organist Sue Nelson with Trevor Haining, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Giveaways throughout the day!

Tuesday, September 1

Programming brought to you by the Minnesota Nurses Association

Host: Sue Scott

Music:

James Shannon, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Explosion Big Band, 5 to 7 PM

Twin Cities Labor Chorus, 7:15 PM

Wednesday, September 2

Programming brought to you by the Laborers Union

Host: Paul Coate

Music: Lonnie Knight, guitar 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Band of Praise, 4 to 6 PM

Thursday, September 3

Programming brought to you by UFCW Local 1189

Host: Barry ZeVan

Music: Big Bob Scoggin, 12 to 2 PM

Charanga Tropical, 4 to 6 PM

Friday, September 4

Host: Sandra Thomas

Demonstrations by the Cement Masons Union

Music: Cornbread Harris, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Pizazz, 5 to 7 PM

Saturday, September 5

Young Workers Day

Programming brought to you by OPEIU Local 12

Host: Randy Schmeling

Music: Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Sisters of Swing 5 to 7 PM

Sunday, September 6

Host: Barry ZeVan

Ventriloquist David Malmberg

Music: Scott Dercks with Erin Radke, 4 to 6 PM

Giveaways throughout the day!

Monday, September 7

Labor Day!

Music: Twin Cities Labor Chorus, 11 AM

Cornbread Harris, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Labor Day Parade featuring the Twin Cities Musicians Union Parade Band, 3 PM

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Randy Schmeling to host Labor Pavilion on August 27, August 28

& September 5

10 to 4 PM

Randy Schmeling (AEA)  been performing on Twin Cities stages since 2001. He recently appeared at The Ordway in their productions of The Pirates of Penzance, Damn Yankees, The Broadway Songbook of Rock & Roll, Broadway Songbook: The First 100 Years. Other shows include The Working Boys Band,1968: The Year That Rocked The World, and Orphan Train at History Theatre; Urinetown! at The Jungle Theater; Violet, The Full Monty, and Parade with Theater Latte Da, Dancing at Lughnasa and Macbeth with Torch Theater; West Side Storyand Beauty and the Beast at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, and many more! Randy has performed out of state with American Folklore Theatre in Door County, Wisconsin and in Tokyo with the first Japanese tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He is a founding and current member of the rock and roll roots bandDitchweed, and he sings with Raymond Berg’s Pizzazz Band. You can see Randy perform again at The Ordway this fall in Broadway Songbook: The 70’s Songbook and The Sound of Music.

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Sandra Thomas to host Labor Pavilion on Friday, September 4

10 to 4:00 PM

Sandra Thomas is a Twin Cities based actor and writer.  She most recently was seen in the Minnesota Fringe Festival show ‘Macaroni on a Hotdog’ which she also wrote. Sandra has worked in films (Jingle All The Way, A Cheerful Heart/The Dave Madden Story) , commercials (Dinty Moore, Super America)  and theatre (Old Log, Chanhassen, Mixed Blood, Southern, BLB, Illusion, Lowry Lab, etc), and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, and Equity unions. 

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The People's Poetry!

Stop inside the Labor Pavilion to create poetry about your work, day to day struggles, hopes and dreams for the future! We have giant magnetic poetry that fairgoers can use on our building's walls. The People's Poetry. For the People. By the People!

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We haz wifi!

MN AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion, 1657 Dan Patch Ave. Corner of Dan Patch & Cooper on the MN State Fairgrounds!

Enjoy free wifi at the MN AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion throughout the fair. Connect to us at:

AFLCIO-Plaza

or

AFLCIO

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Pop & Funk with Daryl Boudreaux at Labor Pavilion on Friday, August 28

3:30 PM

Daryl Boudreaux TCMU member is a percussionist, singer, songwriter, and a member of the Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness. He began playing music in junior high school with classmate Prince Nelson and later joined forces with Jimmy “Jam” Harris. Boudreaux has performed with The Steeles, Bruce Henry, Jody Watley, T. Mychael Rambo, Ronnie Laws, Mint Condition, Ann Nesby, Parliment Funkadelic, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Daryl has done stage productions at the Guthrie, Penumbra and Chanhassen theaters. He also is a voice actor you can hear his voice on Budlight Golden Wheat commercials and Disney's animated film "The Legend of John Henry. 

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2016 Midwest Firefighters Calendars for sale at Labor Pavilion

Proceeds of the 2016 Midwest Firefighters Calendar (featuring Saint Paul firefighters) will benefit Minnesota non-profit Canine Inspired Change. 2016 will mark the 7th year for the calendar, which has donated proceeds to different charities each year (2014 charity was Children's Cancer Research Fund).

Canine Inspired Change develops and leads custom courses fusing dog training and therapy, empowering participants to explore new ways of healing, growth and learning. You can 'like' their Facebook page or visit them at www.canineinspiredchange.org for more information.

The firefighters will be at the MWFF Calendar 'stage' during select times (TBD) throughout the Fair. They will sign calendars (which will be available for purchase on site or at www.midwestfirefighters.com) and take photos. People are encouraged to 'like' the Midwest Firefighters Calendar Facebook page for upcoming event information, promotions and more.

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Elite Step Team from Patrick Henry High School at Labor Pavilion on Saturday, August 29

2:45 & 3:30 PM

Get here early for a good seat and view!

Watch this video! We are excited that these young adults will be on our stage at the Labor Pavilion!

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Barry ZeVan hosts Labor Pavilion on Sunday, September 6 &

Thursday, September 3

10 to 4 PM

Inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2013 and continuously in the professional broadcasting and entertainment industry since age 5-1/2, Barry is a Telly Award-winning and three-time Emmy nominated producer, writer, director, talent and production designer, locally, nationally and internationally. He garnered the highest local ratings in U.S. television broadcasting history as “Barry ZeVan, The Weatherman” in Minneapolis-St. Paul in the mid-1970s. His recent Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE blogs reflect his unusually remarkable life experiences with colleagues and friends who are, and were, global leaders in the entertainment and political arenas.

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Scott Dercks with Erin Radtke at Labor Pavilion on Sunday, September 6

4 to 6 PM

Born and raised in Appleton, WI, Scott began playing seriously at the age of 13 and started his professional career at 14, in 1972, playing for various Democratic Party functions in the ‘72 elections. (His mother was a national delegate for George McGovern) 

In the 40+ years that followed, averaging 180+ dates a year, he has performed in every conceivable venue, from tiny clubs to huge festivals. Scott has appeared on the radio and television, both in taped and live broadcasts, and has done dozens of record dates. His playing and composing is featured on CDs, jingles and films. He has written and/or performed jingles for such companies as Disney, Ford Motors, Sony, Kimberly Clark, AAL (Thrivent), Ameritech, Cenex, The Green Bay Packers, Treasure Island Casino and many more. He has also helped teach clinics with such notables as Tommy Tedesco and Gene Bertoncini, as well as on his own at the grade school, high school and college levels. As a sound engineer he has worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Clark Terry, Bobby McFerrin, Dianne Reeves, Gerry Mulligan, The Hi-Los, and numerous others. Thanks to his knowledge of music, he is a published concert/CD reviewer and interviewer, covering shows by many of today’s greatest musicians, and meeting and interviewing some of the best guitarists that have ever lived.

Scott has performed throughout the US and Mexico, and hopes to tour Europe and South America in the not too distant future. He has performed for Mayors,Governors, Congressmen, Senators and even the President.

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Radio Joe Demko at Labor Pavilion on Sunday, August 30

Proud members of the Twin Cities Musician's Union Local 30-73, Radio Joe and the Jazzbos play vintage swing, boogie, jump blues and bebop at dances and clubs. With Keith Boyles on Bass, Bruce Wintervold on Vibraphone, Tony Guscetti on drums an Radio Joe Demko on guitar and vocals. Take a swinging trip down memory lane with Radio Joe.

Started in 2011 by Joe Demko formerly of the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra and Willie and the Bees, Radio Joe and the Jazzbos is a swing quartet specializing in the swing era from 1928 to 1962. Backed by TCMU sidemen Keith Boyles on Bass,Tony Guscetti on Drums and Bruce Wintervold on Vibraphone, Joe swings the hits and brings the love songs to swing dances and supper clubs in the Twin Cities Area.

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"Big" Bob Scoggin at Labor Pavilion on Thursday, September 3

12 to 2 PM

“Big” Bob Scoggin is a full-time career musician, who sings, plays guitar, and electric and acoustic upright bass. Bob plays solo or with “the Big Bob Scoggin Band” and other groups. Bob has performed or recorded  with many famous artists including Del Reeves, Donna Fargo, Tito Nieves, the Delfonics, Billy Paul, the Coasters, The Marvelettes, Doug Sahm, Jack Mc Duff, Jay McNeely and others. He has sung and played on many local and national radio and T.V. ads including GREAT CLIPS' “Walk Right in, Sit Right Down.”

In 2008 he was inducted into the MID-AMERICA MUSIC HALL OF FAME for playing bass with Dr. Mambo's Combo. He has performed in casinos, clubs, concerts, and private engagements in Nevada, Florida, California, Memphis, Mexico, the Caribbean, and of course all over the Midwest.

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Explosion Big Band at Labor Pavilion!

Tuesday, September 1

5 to 7 PM

The Explosion Big Band is a Twin Cities band led by Scott Agster and Doug Haining! They bring the huge sounds to our pavilion on Friday night. Hold onto your hats, this sound will blow you away!

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Kitchen Fire Safety Demonstrations

Thursday, August 27

Beginning at 10:00 AM

Join us at the Labor Pavilion for Kitchen Fire Safety demonstrations throughout the day! Host Randy Schmeling will engage and entertain fairgoers from 10 until 4!