Queen Elizabeth celebrated Commonwealth Day in Britain on Monday, attending a multifaith service at Westminster Abbey with her family. Her theme this year was inclusivity.
Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, a 1961 graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, spoke at the service, saying the queen has shown "steadfast devotion" to the commonwealth.
"Today the commonwealth stands as a confident, modern, multicultural and proudly inclusive organization," Annan said at the service.
The commonwealth, a loose association of former British colonies and current dependencies, along with some countries with no historical ties to Britain, represents 2.3 billion people. Members include Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore and South Africa.
Singer Ellie Goulding, who has an upcoming concert at the Xcel in St. Paul on May 5, performed.
Rihanna is a true Rock Star
Rihanna will be honored at BET's "Black Girls Rock!" awards. The singer will receive the Rock Star Award at the annual event honoring black women, BET announced Monday. "Black Girls Rock!" will tape April 1 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J., and air April 5 on BET. Other honorees include writer-producer Shonda Rhimes, R&B icon Gladys Knight, "Walking Dead" star and playwright Danai Gurira and actress Amandla Stenberg. Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, will also be honored. Tracee Ellis Ross, star of ABC's "Black-ish," will host the event.
target stop: Amy Schumer on Monday announced her spring tour, and she's booking large venues in Minneapolis and other cities. Confident that the Timberwolves will not make the NBA playoffs, Schumer has set aside April 21 at Target Center for her Twin Cities stop. The tour opens April 7 in Reading, Pa., and ends June 23 at Madison Square Garden. Tickets, ranging in price from $51 to $111, go on sale at noon Friday at Target Center's box office. Target Center, which holds about 19,000 for a basketball game, is a large venue for a comic act. Just three years ago, Schumer played the cozy Varsity Theater in Minneapolis and sold out two shows. Last week, she announced a deal with Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, to publish "The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo." It's scheduled to be released on Aug. 16.
paul walsh and News Services
