Art Hounds: Three art fairs, two takes on apartheid, and second helpings at the Fringe

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Sarah Agnew in "The Syringa Tree" at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis

I've got the jingle for Doublemint gum stuck in my head, because this weekend good things seem to come in pairs.

"The Syringa Tree" continues its run at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. It tells the story of two families in South Africa, one white and one black, with actress Sarah Agnew performing all the characters (Euan Kerr has a full report on the show, which you can find here).

Lunga Sinuka offers a different take on life under apartheid in his one-man show at Dreamland Arts in St. Paul. "The Cool Train" follows Sinuka in his childhood in a Xhosa village with no electricity or running water, to working as a glass cleaner at one of South Africa's best hotels, and eventually joining the African National Congress in the violent struggle for freedom.

Latin jazz group Tiempo Libre performs for two nights at the Dakota in Minneapolis, and the first of those nights it's a double-header with legendary flautist Sir James Galway. Pairing a classical flautist with a latin jazz group may seem like a stretch, but since Tiempo Libre is known for its riffs on Bach, this could be pretty fun.

It's the second and final weekend of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, the weekend where people try desperately to get in to see the shows that have emerged as this year's faves. Some of the winners? "Alice Unwrapped," "The Harty Boys in the Case of the Limping Platypus," and "Parry Hotter and the Half-Drunk Twins."

Sometimes two just isn't enough, as in the case of this weekend's art fairs. There's the Loring Park Art Festival, the Powderhorn Art Fair and the Uptown Art Fair all in Minneapolis this weekend, with a Target shuttle bus offering rides between them. It's art-loving madness!

Not seeing what you want here? Check out what other art hounds are up to this weekend.

And let us know - what are you doing this weekend?

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