Tempe Conventions & Visitors Bureau

I’m a huge Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion fan who has been listening to this wonderful quirky weekly broadcast for more years than I care to remember. So, I am thrilled that the show is coming to Tempe this week. Yes, the low key and loquacious Garrison Keillor will give us the low down on Lake Wobegon and pay homage to Minnesota’s sturdy Scandinavian roots on Saturday, January 19 on stage at ASU Gammage.

I’m looking forward to putting faces to the voices I’ve listened to over the years. I enjoy the eclectic mix of music that might include blue grass, country western, gospel, jazz and rock. I love skits with wranglers Lefty and Shorty in The Lives of the Cowboys and private eye Guy Noir. I also get lots of good laughs from the assorted fictional characters and places that are often included in “The News from Lake Wobegon,” like the Pastor Ingqvist of the Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church and his successor Pastor Liz, Father Emil of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility Roman Catholic Church, various members of the Bunsen and Krebsbach families and the always eligible Norwegian bachelor farmers. And then there are the hilarious commercials for the show’s fictitious sponsors such as Powdermilk Biscuits, Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie, Duct Tape Council, and the Ketchup Advisory Board.

A Prairie Home Companion started production in 1974. It broadcasts live every Saturday night and on local public radio stations (here on KJZZ). Many of the programs are broadcast from their St. Paul, Minnesota home, the Fitzgerald Theater. However, the cast and crew hit the road regularly to perform in cities throughout the U.S. and occasionally abroad. The road shows are always tailored to the cities and areas they visit. I’m sure there that this show will have lots of good natured humor aimed at Tempe, ASU and Arizona, which will make it especially fun.

How nice that we Arizonans don’t have to travel many miles and brave the Minnesota winters to see a live production of this show that has 4.3 million listeners on close to 600 public radio stations coast to coast and beyond. We can see it live this Saturday at ASU Gammage at 3:45 p.m.

You’ll find plenty of other great arts, culture and entertainment events taking place in Tempe this week. View a complete listing of Tempe events, or call 480-894-8158 for more information.

• January 14: Down, Marquee Theater
• January 16: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic Night, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 16: Faculty Artist Series: Michael Kocour, ASU Recital Hall
• January 16: Krystal Clarke; January 17: Colin Barley, Studio Vino
• January 17: Stella Pope Duarte: Writing Through Revelations, Visions, and Dreams:The  Memoirs of a Writer’s Soul, Changing Hands Bookstore
• January 17: Third Thursday on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• January 17: Jeff Sullivan; January 18, The Sullivans ; January 19: Traveler, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• January 18: Class Clowns Comedy, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 18: Keller Williams; January 19: Trampled By Turtles, Marquee Theater
• January 18: Laura Walsh Band; January 19: Peppermint James, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• January 18: Radiant Sky; January 19: M Squared, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• January 19: Green Revolution Opening Reception, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 19: Stu Siefert Combo, Robbie Fox’s Public House
• January 19: Lakeshore Jazz Series: The New West Guitar Group, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 19: Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, ASU Gammage
• January 19: Perfectly Imperfect Dance Company: Found, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 20: Jake Greider, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• January 20: P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon & 1/2 Marathon, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Finish line: Tempe
• January 20-March 3: Childsplay Presents: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type, Tempe Center for the Arts