2024 is our 40th anniversary - can you believe it!!?? We have two primary events in mind: our June anniversary picnic and a special dinner event. We're also discussing t-shirts and other memorabilia. Who knows, they could really be worth something someday! We have a small committee working on plans, and everyone is welcome to join. Please let me know if you'd like to participate. I will wait until after the January 13th meeting to schedule a committee meeting so everyone can be included.
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Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Christmas Outing This Weeked!
What says Holidays more than trains? And this time, a real train - the CPKC Holiday Train! The train arrives from the South at 6:45PM, though it's visible along the road from Cottage Grove for perhaps 10 min before that. Before that, the St Paul European Market happens just north of the Station, easy walking distance for both. The Marketplace is open until 6PM.
Gathering
Let's make a loose plan of meeting at the Christmas Marketplace right around 5PM. Don't worry, if we don't get together the event is still fun. I'll post where I land on the website.
Schedule of events:
5:00-6:45 PM: VIP Lounge opens, enjoy concessions, holiday shopping, model trains, family activities including oversized games and craft stations.
5:30 PM: Free General Admission gates open
6:45 PM: Train arrival
7:00-7:45 PM: Outdoor live concert by Tenille Townes and Breland!
7:45-8:00 PM: CP Holiday Train Departs
5:00-6:45 PM: VIP Lounge opens, enjoy concessions, holiday shopping, model trains, family activities including oversized games and craft stations.
5:30 PM: Free General Admission gates open
6:45 PM: Train arrival
7:00-7:45 PM: Outdoor live concert by Tenille Townes and Breland!
7:45-8:00 PM: CP Holiday Train Departs
We STRONGLY encourage that you bring a non-perishable food or cash donation for our local food shelf partner, Keystone Community Services.
The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will stop i
n 20 Minnesota towns on its annual ride (2023 is its 25th anniversary!) through the northern U.S., bringing live entertainment and Christmas cheer in exchange for donations to local food banks. The train arrives about 6:45 PM on Sunday, December 10th and spends the evening there. We'll have plenty of time to view the train and the show.
Need more details? The State of MN has even more info at MN Holiday Train Schedule | Explore Minnesota, and the Christmas Marketplace details are European Christmas Market.
Since the train moved to Sunday the 10th, this will be the Club's holiday event, freeing Saturday the 9th for your own holiday purposes.
Parking
Thanks to a couple of our intrepid memebers, we know that parking will be full at the Depot. By they time 5:00 PM rolls around the likeliest spaces are at the far north end of the Union Depot parking lots. THere are a couple of options to consider.
- Parking, good walking shoes, and patience (my particular choice)
- Light Rain trains roll to CHS field, just a couple of blocks from the Depot. The green line continues regular service until well after 10 PM westbound.
- Uber to the station is easy, but finding one after may be a challenge
- There is a taxi stand at Union Depot
Dinner After
Since the train, and I presume most of us, are departing at 8 PM on a 'school night', I will try to find a casual place to grab a bite rather than a sit down dinner close to the event. I've been advised by most places nearby that they will be either very crowded, or close at 8PM on Sundays. Suggestions are always welcome.
Captain’s Log, December 2023
Greetings, Crew!
We don't have a meeting in December, but we have a few chances to get together. First, there's our holiday outing on December 10th (details in this newsletter). Also, there's TC Trek Trivia on December 13th (check out TC Trek Trivia on Facebook or ask me for details).
There's another fun option to Trek yourself during December. Mounds Theater in St. Paul is presenting the Star Trek fan favorite, "It's An Honorable Life". According to (and paraphrasing) the website, “It’s an Honorable Life” follows Bailey, a Klingon cursed with a curious inability to die an honorable death and reach Stovokor; his spouse Mary, who is both supportive and challenging in equal measures; and the mysterious Q, a seemingly antagonistic, omnipotent god who just loves a project. Q serves as Bailey’s guide through his life, playing out hypotheticals at varied stages of his warrior past, exploring all the possible outcomes of his never-to-be hero’s death. This production is dear to our hearts, as some of our fandom friends have been involved in the writing, production, and acting. There are eight remaining performances, so check it out HERE.
Coming up in January: our outing to Feed My Starving Children on January 23rd at 7pm in Coon Rapids. After the 1.5 hour packing session we'll go to dinner at a nearby restaurant. We still have 8 open spots, so please go to www.fmsc.org to join the group.
It's almost time to sign up to donate blood at our MarsCon Blood Drive on Saturday, March 9th. Signups will be available very soon, so mark your calendar. We also invite you to donate blood at the Village Blood Drive in St. Anthony Village on January 5th between 9am and 3pm. Several of our members are involved in this drive, and if you donate you'll still be eligible at MarsCon!! Sign up HERE.
Speaking of MarsCon, we are planning to have a party room this year and we need hands! Please let me know if you can help. Last year's was so fun that we are hoping for the same thing again this year!
See you around the Galaxy, and have a wonderful holiday season!
Mary
Captain’s Log: November 2023
Greetings,
Happy Fall to all of you! I'd say Happy Winter, but it's too soon and hopefully this snow will melt (although our yard is covered).
We hope to see you at the November 11th General Membership Meeting. Pam and Jim have generously offered to host us (because libraries are closed on Veterans' Day), so we'll meet in comfort! The address is 4808 River Wood Circle in Savage and we'll start at noon. If you aren't able to make it, join us by Zoom (link is below). Of course, Zooming doesn't get you to the Bake Sale, and goodies are yummy! After the meeting we'll embark on Scott's fun brewery tour and find some great food and beverages.
Speaking of meetings, here's what you need to know for the next few months. As usual, we will not have a General Membership Meeting in December. We'll have our holiday outing (see below) and we'll publish a newsletter to keep you up to date. On January 13th, our meeting will be at the Wescott Library in Eagan (strategically placed because we're working on a fun after-meeting activity in that area). February's meeting is on the normal second Saturday (the 10th), but the March meeting will be moved to the 3rd Saturday (the 16th) due to MarsCon.
Speaking of MarsCon, our American Red Cross blood drive is planned for March 9th. We need a few hands to volunteer at the greeter table, and of course we need lots of donors. We'll publish the signup link in an upcoming newsletter. Also, we're hoping to have another fun party room (see the article below).
That's about it for now. See you around the Galaxy!
Mary
Fall Journey to Babble: “badger badger badger”
By popular demand, a fall Journey to Babble beer tour has been created! This will be a smaller trip, with only one 100% confirmed location:
Badger Hill Brewing
2805 Winner's Circle Dr
Shakopee, MN 55379
Badger Hill shares a building with Bravi's Craft Mexican Kitchen, so there's good food to go with good beer.
After filling up on food and some beer, we'll make a decision where to go next. There are two locations nearby in downtown Shakopee, both very close together:
Mana Brewing Company
129 Holmes St S
Suite 100
Shakopee, MN 55379
Mana has brick-fired pizza, and cocktails in addition to beer.
Shakopee Brewhall
124 First Avenue East
Shakopee MN 55379
The Brewhall has beer as you'd expect, and also coffee (if we get there before 3pm).
Hope to see y'all somewhere along the tour!
Our Christmas Event – CP Christmas Train, Sunday Dec 10th at 6:45PM
All Aboard the Nokomis' Christmas Holiday Event for 2023! We'll be viewing the train at St. Paul's Union Depot. The train arrives from the South at 6:45PM, though it's visible along the road from Cottage Grove for perhaps 10 min before that. Before that, the St Paul European Market happens just north of the Station, easy walking distance for both. The Marketplace is open until 6PM.
The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will stop in 20 Minnesota towns on its annual ride (2023 is its 25th anniversary!) through the northern U.S., bringing live entertainment and Christmas cheer in exchange for donations to local food banks. The train arrives about 6:45 PM on Sunday, December 10th and spends the evening there. We'll have plenty of time to view the train and the show.
Afterwards we can retire to one of the fine dining establishments in the area. Just a couple of blocks away, I am recommending Dark Horse Bar and Eatery, a good dinner and burger place that won't require reparking. We can visit that at the November meeting.
Need more details? The State of MN has even more info at MN Holiday Train Schedule | Explore Minnesota, and the Christmas Marketplace details are European Christmas Market.
Since the train moved to Sunday the 10th, this will be the Club's holiday event, freeing Saturday the 9th for your own holiday purposes.
Annual Bake Sale after November Meeting
Don't forget to bring your baked goods and money to the November meeting! Every year, yummy things show up and are gobbled up by the dozen. You can also not gobble, but bring them home to be gobbled with the turkey or holiday meal. Either way, we can't have a sale without donations and buyers, and it's up to you. Bring your items separated into small portions (6 cookies, one pi
e, etc) with prices marked on each item. Please keep the prices to whole dollars, make it easy on your Science Officer!
November General Membership Meeting Zoom Link
If you can't be with us in person, here's the link to join us virtually. Please log in a few minutes early to check your tech.
Mary Pucel is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: USS Nokomis November Membership Meeting
Time: Nov 11, 2023 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3141085993?pwd=S21TampnV01XUjNrc2QyK2kvSzMyQT09
Meeting ID: 314 108 5993
Passcode: 12345
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Dial by phone 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 314 108 5993
Passcode: 12345
40th Anniversary Plans
We are planning several events for our big anniversary year and we'd love your help. Our first committee meeting is on Monday, November 6th at 7:30pm, and we're planning the big celebration party. We'll meet by Zoom, so you can join us from home. Let Mary know if you'd like the Zoom link.
MarsCon 2024 – Let’s Have Another Fun Party Room!
Last year's party room was a ball. We recreated our Piece of the Action room and everybody had a great time. Best of all, we kept the work to a minimum and maxed out the fun!
This year we'd like to do it again with the same formula. We hope to do a room based on the episode Assignment: Earth, also known as the Gary Seven episode. Because the costumes are 1960s-era, it will be easy to dress in style. The decor should also be simple and quick (unless someone wants to build a Beta Five computer, of course).
Last year we had over 15 people participate in one way or another and it would be great to have similar interest. Please let Mary know if you can help with quick load/unload on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, and if you'd like to help populate the room on Friday and Saturday nights. Bottom line: if we have enough hands, we'll have a room, so we hope you'll help!
