La Belle Vie bartender Johnny Michaels helped usher in a wave of drinking as fine dining. Now he's written "North Star Cocktails," a 240-page anthology ($20, Minnesota Historical Society Press ) that collects 125 recipes created by him and his friends in the North Star Bartenders' Guild. He and five other bartenders featured in the book will star at a cocktail party featuring drinks and demonstrations. Ticket-holders get a voucher for three half-size cocktails. --Tom Horgen

The release of the Beatles' White Album, Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison concert and the birth of Led Zeppelin make one thing clear -- 1968 was certainly a good year in music. The iconic sounds of that year get the spotlight in a one-day event as part of the Minnesota History Center's ongoing "1968" exhibition. The Current's Bill DeVille hosts a discussion on 1960s music with Joey Molland of Badfinger, Stokley Williams of Mint Condition and longtime Star Tribune rock critic Jon Bream. The event includes live music by local psych-rockers First Communion Afterparty and DJ sets from Ron "Boogiemonster" Gerber (KFAI's "Crap From the Past"), Chuck and Joel (Radio K's "Cosmic Slop"), Jake Rudh and Danny Sigelman. Feeling inspired? Take home some vintage vinyl courtesy of local vendors GoJohnnyGo, TJ Novak, Riffs-Ahoy, Tim's Music Shop and Electric Fetus -- itself founded in 1968. --Jahna Peloquin