Minnesota is home to more than 381,000 veterans, with 60,000 returning since the Sept. 11 attacks, and the Minnesota Humanities Center has stepped up to recognize not only their service but their effect on the community.
Now the center, in partnership with the Carleton Humanities Center and the Director of the Arts, is presenting "Telling: Minnesota," a project where veterans take the stage themselves to tell their stories, sharing their experiences to allow a deeper understanding of their military service, from the Vietnam War to the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The free performance will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Weitz Center Theater on the campus of Carleton College in Northfield.
The three-act production is designed to raise community awareness of Minnesota's veterans and is written from firsthand interviews with the play's performers.
A 30-minute discussion will be held after the play, and refreshments will be served after the discussion. Tickets may be reserved at: www.mnhum.org/vets or by calling 507-222-4329.
Last year, the Humanities Center hosted an event that celebrated 25 veterans' voices and recognized their contributions as a next great generation of community leaders.
The 25 Veterans' Voices Award highlighted veterans who have made exceptional contributions to the community in business, health care, public safety, education, the arts, the media, government and any other endeavor that merited recognition.
The Telling Project has been performed previously at the U.S. Library of Congress, the Maryland Center for the Performing Arts, the Portland Center Stage in Oregon and Lisner Auditorium in Washington. It has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Metabolic Studios and others.
