Arts briefs: Tuba virtuoso to play in Woodbury

Tickets are now on sale for a performance by world-renowned tuba virtuoso Oystein Baadsvik, right, at 7 p.m. March 10 at King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1583 Radio Drive, Woodbury.

General admission tickets are $10.

Baadsvik is the only tuba player to have carved out a career exclusively as a soloist. His musical career as a soloist, chamber musician, lecturer and recording artist has taken him all over the world.

His international engagements include performances with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Taipei National Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Philharmonic and the Orchestra Victoria of Melbourne. Baadsvik has performed in some of the most famous venues in the world and in 2006 made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall.

Minne-Brass, performing partner of Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps, will join Baadsvik in the concert. For more information and ticket sales, contact the church at 651-738-3110 or www.kingofkingswoodbury.org.

City's downtown set to be painted redDowntown Stillwater is celebrating Valentine's Day weekend with romantic events as part of its "Paint the Town Red" celebration starting Feb. 14.

More than 30 Main Street Stillwater merchants, restaurants and lodging business will be offering discounts, along with tickets for free carriage rides.

Party to celebrate new brew's releaseThe release of Silhouette Russian Imperial Stout, a new brew created by Lift Bridge Brewery, will be celebrated with a party starting at 6 p.m. Saturday at the brewery taproom, 1900 Tower Drive, Stillwater. Admission is free.

The barrel-aged stout will only be on tap and sold exclusively at Lift Bridge.

Silhouette is described by the brewery as dark as a moonless night. Brewed in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout, this brew contains aromas of coffee, molasses, chocolate and prune that meld with an intense dark roasted malt character.

Concert, readings to put focus on romance"An Enchanting Evening of Music and Readings - Celebrating Love and Romance" is the theme of the 16th annual Squire House Gardens Valentine's Day concert, with seatings at 7 and 9 p.m. on Saturday in the upstairs Victorian parlor room at 3390 St. Croix Trail S. in Afton.

Guests will be treated to live music, poetic readings, complimentary wine from Swirl Wine Bar and desserts.

This year's concert performers include: Patrick Harrison, an accordionist who performs in a diverse array of projects including Patty and the Buttons, Jack Klatt and the Cat Swingers, Eisner's Klezmorim and others; Maud Hixson, who has worked with a variety of local jazz groups from the Wolverines to the Jazz MN Big Band, as well as international artists; and pianist Rick Carlson, who has played with the Wolverines since 1984 and has backed many national artists including Kathryn Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Wynton Marsalis.

The evening will also feature romantic readings from local favorites Mona Poehling and Richard Meacock.

Expert to discuss creating rain gardensRusty Schmidt, a Minnesota wildlife biologist and landscape ecologist, will explain the methods, advantages and designs of rain gardens for small and large properties in a program Thursday.

The workshop, sponsored by the Friends of Lake Elmo Library, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the meeting room of Lake Elmo Public Library, 3537 Lake Elmo Av. N.

Schmidt, Washington County's rain garden specialist, is the author of "The Blue Thumb Guide to Raingardens," a workbook to use in creating a garden, which will be available for signing.