Saturday, May 24th, was a night to remember at Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery. Over 300 adults and an undetermined number of children under the age of 12 were on hand at the cemetery to watch Buster Keaton”'s 1926 classic silent film, “The General.” If you”'ve never seen the movie, The General is not a person but a locomotive. The locomotive, the great love of Johnny Gray”'s (Keaton) life, runs away with his sweetheart Annabelle, the second greatest love of his life. The film, set during the Civil War, is generally regarded as the greatest train movie ever made and is often listed among the top 100 American-made films. It is one hour and twenty minutes of chases, intrigue, stunts and slapstick comedy. Keaton never used a stuntman and took enormous risks while making what he considered his masterpiece.
If something that is perfect can be made even “more perfect,” Dreamland Faces, local musicians, made that happen. For the full hour and twenty minutes they played a live soundtrack using a variety of instruments””piano, horn, drums, musical saw and accordion among them. If you missed “The General,” you”'ll have plenty of other opportunities to see and hear them perform around town. Check out their website www.dreamlandfaces.com to find out when and where they”'ll be playing. We”'ll do our best to bring them back to the cemetery for an encore performance. They are not to be missed.
If you”'ve never had the chance to go to a drive-in movie, or if you have and want to relive that experience, this is as close as you will get inside the city limits. Think of it as a drive-in movie without the need to own a car. It”'s a chance to watch great films (and more than a cult classic or two) under the stars surrounded by like-minded folks. No popcorn but plenty of tacos available, and it”'s all in a good cause.
Wrought Iron Picket Restoration nears Completion!Â
Limestone Pillars Restoration Becomes Phase II
The last of the steel-picket sections of the cemetery”'s fence have been restored will be reinstalled in the next few weeks. After that, it”'s on to restoring the limestone pillars. Every movie ticket that you buy gets us that much closer to a completely restored fence. So mark your calendars for this fall”'s coming attractions:
COMING SOON!
To YOUR CEMETERY
Near you at
Cedar and Lake
“The Blob” on Wednesday, September 10th
“Plan 9 from Outer Space” on Wednesday, September 24th
“The Thing from Another World,” on October 8th.
