The Monday Briefing: Flying high

pick of the week: If someone tells you to go fly a kite next weekend, they're not being rude. They're reminding you that the 16th annual Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival is taking place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Kite fanciers will gather on the north end of the lake — that's the end with the band shell — to prove once again that anything other people can do in the summer, Minnesotans can do in the winter. (If the weather makes the ice unsafe, a notice will be posted on the Park Board website as of Thursday.) Bring your own kite or buy one there. And save some time to enjoy other activities, including horse-drawn wagon rides and a marshmallow roast. No registration required, and there's no admission charge. minneapolisparks.org

Cheat sheet: Academy Award nominations will be announced Tuesday morning. Here are some things to toss into the discussion.

• If Meryl Streep is picked for her starring turn in "Florence Foster Jenkins," she'll set a record for acting nominations, with 20. The person with the previous record is ... Meryl Streep. She received No. 19 two years ago for "Into the Woods."

• Viola Davis, considered a shoo-in nominee for "Fences," won a Tony Award for the same role. But that track record might not help her with Oscar voters. The last time Hollywood followed Broadway's lead was way back in 1973, when Joel Grey doubled up for "Cabaret."

• It's not the Academy Award. It's not the Oscar. The official name is the Academy Award of Merit.

Day by day: Get ready to blow your own horn. Saturday is national Kazoo Day.

recommended reading: Coffee-break afficionados won't want to miss the doughnut throwdown in Thursday's Variety. Three top local chefs risked sugar highs for a blind taste test.