Save the date: April 17 event on Uruguay and South America trade ties

Please save the date of April 17 in your schedules for a timely and useful exchange of views and information on South American trade ties. The event will feature Dr. Nury Bauzan, consul general of Uruguay in Chicago, a highly regarded diplomat and advocate for closer international ties, as well as other experts on South American trade and investment. The event has been organized by Consul General Silvia Ontaneda-Andrade of Ecuador and Rachel Limon at the Minnesota Trade Office.

Details appear below...

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First South American Trade Forum 2012

April 17, 2012

Consul General Silvia Ontaneda-Andrade of the Consulate of Ecuador in Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Trade Office cordially invite you to the First South American Trade Forum. This initiative is designed to strengthen the cultural, political and economic ties between South America and Minnesota promoting bilateral export/import products, tourism, mining, technology and investment. The Forum features a discussion with panelists from Minnesota companies and a Q&A session.

When: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to noon; registration begins at 8 a.m.

Where: Medtronic's World Headquarters, 710 Medtronic Parkway, Fridley, MN 55432

Fees: $25, pre-registered, $35 walk-ins; includes handouts, light breakfast & refreshments

*To register and pay online, click here.

Mail registrations to: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, MTO-Education, 1st National Bank Bldg., 332 Minnesota St., Ste E200, St. Paul, MN 55101-1351.

E-mail registrations to: mto.edu@state.mn.us

Fax registrations to: 651-297-4265

If mailing, e-mailing or faxing your registration, make check payable to the Minnesota Trade Office and mail the same to our office no later than Monday, April 9, to ensure receipt at our office prior to the event.

The passing of Jack Mills, Minnesota-Uruguay supporter

Patrick Moore in Montevideo, Minnesota, writes today with the following news...

Dear Minnesota-Uruguay Partners,

Norma Mills, widow of Jack Mills has asked me to let the MUP network know about the recent death of her husband Jack.

Although I did not know Jack, I do know that he was a champion of Montevideo MN's special relationship with Uruguay, that he was a vice president of MUP for several years and that he traveled to Uruguay twice and received many Uruguayan visitors to his home here in Montevideo, Minnesota.

Norma called me to ask me to let our friends in Uruguay know -- she did not know if they were still alive, but she particularly mentioned the names of Oscar Rochetti and Hilda Slovak as people that Jack had a strong connection with back in the 1970s and 80s when he was the Mayor of Montevideo.

Please pass the news along to the network and say a prayer for Norma as she misses Jack terribly.

It is but another reminder of how relationships form the core of our work and that we all must endeavor, as Jack did, to be welcoming and gracious in the amazing global village in which we live.

Spring getaway to California's flower fields

California's Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch explode into 50 acres of spring color, visible from Highway 1.

SoCal ocean to desert: A flower power vacation  

Photos & feature by Lisa Meyers McClintick

Rows of sherbet-orange blossoms march to the right, sloping toward a hillside of bubblegum pink, ruby red and sunny yellow.

Giant ranunculus blooms offer a colorful feast for winter-weary eyes.

Immersed in 50 acres of flowers, I could be Dorothy on the way to the Emerald City, minus the sleepy effect of poppies. Instead of shimmering green buildings on the horizon, I see the glimmer of ocean beyond strip malls and the Pacific Coast Highway to the west and purple shadows of mountains to the northeast.

The Flower Fields of Carlsbad, Calif., have drawn spring visitors to northern San Diego County for decades. The giant Tecolote ranunculus blooms look like the love child of poppies and peonies: vibrant color, delicate stems and full-bodied blooms dense with silky petals.

They blaze brightly on the hills above the coastal highway, inspiring detours for more than 60 years every March through mid-May.

“There’s something about being surrounded by all this color that’s just magical,” says Lisa Merriam McClure, a former Minnesotan and now a Californian who lives up the coast in San Clemente.

For me, this March vacation during 2011’s slog-it-out winter is inspired not so much by the need for warmth as the need to nourish eyes hungry for more than grays and whites. We’ve dedicated a long weekend to a 90-mile road trip that starts with the Flower Fields on this sunny coastline, climbs through cool mountains and drops into the desert—each place erupting with its own palette of spring color.

One of life's miracl

Renewing a friendship

Lucky for us, we’re celebrating a rebirth and renewal that goes deeper than the seasons. McClure and I haven’t seen each other for 20-plus years, yet we slip back into a steadfast friendship built on sleepovers, family vacations, summer camp and the misadventures of junior high. We laugh how alphabetical locker assignments originally brought us together, and somehow carried into adulthood. Meyers and Merriam each married and became McClure and McClintick. It baffles us, too.

Just as joyous as this long-overdue reunion is traveling with Lisa’s three-month-old daughter, Kate. It’s a magical age: ears as translucent and delicate as newly emerged leaves, steady gazes infused with wonder, tiny hands that make your heart skip.

Lisa, Kate and Lisa

Kate’s a miracle, too, arriving as Lisa turned 42 and had given up hope for a baby.

We hold out my camera and try snapping a self-portrait with flowers unfurling behind us. Kate stares at the lens as if she knows how momentous this is.

Beach cities to mountain town

The ocean calls to us in every shade of sun-infused blue. That’s not to say it’s warm. Zipped into a wet suit, the water numbs my bare feet and squeezes out a few colorful gasps of shock. Lisa married an enthusiastic surfer, and I feel compelled to try my luck on a board.

I apparently did great for a first time out, making it to a standing position on one of my first attempts. But surfing mostly feels like those rough stretches of life. Wait, wait, wait for it. Miss your timing. Take a clumsy fall. Haul yourself back up. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Hiking down to the surf beach near San Clemente

“People think surfers are so mellow,” Lisa says, but most are high energy until waves hammer them into bone-weary submission.

After our dreamy stroll through flower fields and along beaches, it seems wrong to turn our backs on the ocean. But we’re in the mood to explore, to see someplace new and leave busy coastal cities behind. We ditch a traffic jam and pick our way east through suburbs until they’re gone.

We climb, hugging mountain curves with motorcyclists, bicyclists and convertibles, likewise soaking up scenery.  The valley drops below us. Roadsides blur with the hazy lavender of wild lilacs and smatterings of orange poppies.

The drive from Carlsbad to the mountains near Julian.

It’s only 60 miles from the coast, but Julian, pop. 3,000, feels like another world. Apple orchards with clouds of white blossoms and vineyards flank this historic mining town tucked into piney mountains. Daffodils dot wooded roads, and homey whiffs of apple pie, dumplings and pastries waft into the narrow Old-West downtown. A horse and buggy clip-clops past, and a giggling group of girls tries to sell us a cat.

Fog and drizzle roll in as darkness falls and we find our way to a cabin at Pine Hills Lodge, a log resort built 100 years ago. We bundle Kate into a dresser drawer with blankets as our makeshift cradle. Then we fire up the heat, climb into bed, and reminisce about sleepovers in Prior Lake and pay homage to Lisa’s mom, who died a year before Kate was born.

Pine Hills Lodge

I can’t imagine becoming a first-time parent without my mom in the wings. I try to fill a little of the huge gap left by Lisa’s mom. I delight in rocking Kate to sleep and keep Lisa company during middle-of-the-night nursing or fussing.

The next morning, we fill up on quiche at Julian’s Candied Apple Pastry Company. We’ve had our requisite pie and choose one of their chocolate bomb cakes to go. It alone could inspire a return trip. The cake becomes roadside lunch—along with an honor system bag of grapefruit—bought 30 miles to the east in the Anza-Borrego Desert. Like the contrast between beach and mountains, this section of Southern California’s Colorado Desert also feels like its own world.

Julian, Calif., can grow daffodils & apples.

Desert blooms dazzle

 Yawning, scrubby flatness leading to Borrego Springs has that vacant “Are we lost?” feeling. But the sky’s blue, the sun is warming our arms, and we discover we’re in good company as we pull into a busy parking lot at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The largest of California’s state parks and a bit off the beaten path, it’s a less-crowded option to Palm Springs to the north.

It’s been a dry year, and most of the park is brown. But near the visitor center, which is dug into the earth, irrigated areas coax succulent blooms from cacti. Hummingbirds dart in and out of tubular orange blooms on a blue elf aloe. We stroll by and admire hot pink flowers on beaver tail cactus, translucent yellow on a prickly pear, and a fiery orange on claret cup cactus.

Anza-Borrego Desert blooms

We reluctantly pull away from the soothing landscape of desert and mountains and head for downtown San Diego. It’s another scenic route, meandering through the Cuyamaca Recreation and State Park district our last night together. We watch the sun turn the harbor pink then share a milestone together: feeding Kate her first serving of rice cereal.

We click through our photos, smiling again at baby faces, beach shots and brilliant blossoms. Best of all is discovering a friendship can be like spring flowers after a long winter. They both burst into bloom just when you need something to celebrate.

Strolling the paths at Anza-Borrego State Park, California.

Carlsbad-Julian-Borrego Springs Road Trip

What to do

Carlsbad Flower Fields,  ($11 per adult; 1-760-431-0352; www.theflowerfields.com). The season usually runs from March through mid-May, open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (1-760-767-5311; www.parks.ca.gov) in Borrego Springs has 600,000 acres, with desert plants usually blooming between January and March. Call the wildflower hotline, 1-706-767-4684.

Where to stay

Pine Hills Lodge ($80-$190; 1-760-765-1100, www.pinehillslodge.com) offers lodge rooms and cabin rooms tucked into the woods outside Julian. There’s a brunch on Sunday.

Bailey Woodpit BBQ

Orchard Hill Country Inn ($195-$375; 1-800-716-7242; www.orchardhill.com) offers a more upscale option in Julian with 22 lodge and cottage rooms, plus breakfast.

Dining

Candied Apple Pastry Company (1-760-765-2655, www.candiedapplepastry.com) serves fresh breads with spreads such as artichoke-feta plus salads, but the star is the tempting array of desserts. Cases display pear lavender and caramel apple tarts, raspberry almond pastries, sourdough crostini chips for snacking, or the signature apple-blackberry pie with a woven crust.

Candied Apple Pastry Company

Bailey Woodpit Barbecue (1-760-765-3757, www.baileybbq.com) smokes Texas-style meats served with a rustic-cut slaw and washed down with cider, beer or local wine.

More info

San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau (1-619-236-1212, www.sandiego.org).

Here's to a 1980s friendship that's still going.

Ambassador-designate highlights Minnesota-Uruguay ties in testimony

Dr. Nury Bauzan, the general counsel of Uruguay in Chicago, made us aware of an article in El Observador today which references Minnesota. The new US ambassador-designate, Julissa Reynoso, listed Minnesota as the first place in the US she'd look to for collaboration with Uruguay in her written testimony on Capitol Hill. The newspaper article covers a question from Sen. Lugar about international collaboration (see text below). Reynoso also mentions sustainable housing in her testimony--some of our readers may recall that John Carmody, the University of Minnesota's Center for Sustainable Building, traveled through Partners in 2010 on a very successful project grant on that very topic...

"I wish to highlight that I would look first to the state of Minnesota as a possible partner for Uruguayan institutions, given the existing connections with numerous academic and research institutions and the high interest in sustainable urban development in Minneapolis. Additionally, the University of Minnesota with its strong agricultural base would be a natural fit for cooperation with Uruguay's leading universities."

Minnesota ice bars, ice fishing & polar plunges

Grand Superior Lodge's BLU ice bar takes inspiration from the Split Rock Lighthouse. Lake Superior helps keep it cool.

Minnesota dreams up icy frolics & February fun
By Lisa McClintick

Costumes add to the fun of the Pout Plunge that's part of Walker's Eelpout Festival.

Take warm welcome of Minnesota Nice, nip it with winter temps, and you get Minnesota Ice in all its quirky glory.

I used to think cabin fever inspired the more creative antics and winter traditions here in the north, but it's not just Minnesota. Case in point: Red Bull brought its international Crashed Ice championship to St. Paul two weeks ago. Picture plunging down an icy luge on skates with roller-derby demons.

It's always good to have a fresh, heart-pounding or light-hearted twists on traditional winter fun. Here's a rundown on other Minnesota winter festivals and events to celebrate throughout February, from glitzy ice bars to ice fishing fun:

Guzzling icy shots at Chase on the Lake's Eelpout ice bar.

Are you cool enough for ice bars?

According to Grand Superior Lodge's ice sculpting expert Chris Sworbrick, its BLU Ice Bar and Lounge is the longest running outdoor ice bar in the continental United States. It has the added advantage of a Lake Superior location, which offers the soundtrack of waves and a natural coolant to keep the 12-foot sculpture of Split Rock Lighthouse from melting early. 

This year's version of BLU is triple last year's size and features ice chandeliers, a wall lit like the northern lights, ice-carved shot glasses, a bonfire and specialty bar foods such as oyster shooters and North Shore sushi. The ice benches are fur-lined, but probably not the best place to wear a thong without a layer of long underwear. 

Head up the shore, and Caribou Highlands' Moguls restaurant and lounge has its own ice bar at Lutsen Mountains. It's ideally located for ski-in and ski-out options. If you're in the mood to party, there's a "Shot-ski," which is carved in ice and delivers a shot to four people at once.


If you're more of a city slicker, Rochester throws quite a happy hour with its downtown SocialICE. The event, anchored by a 200-foot ice bar plus eight new satellite bars, drew more than 11,000 participants last year. The 500 ice martini glasses sold out in 30 minutes. 


SocialICE runs from 4:30 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9, through Saturday, Feb. 11. Live music starts at 7 p.m. 

Head north for eelpout antics

Walker's Pout Plunge into Leech Lake.

There's also an ice bar at Chase on the Lake during the 33rd International Eelpout Festival in Walker Feb. 16-19, but that's only a sliver of the shenaningans during this raucous weekend. The town population swells about 10 times as people throw together Pout City with crazy, comical encampments on the ice. You can kiss a slimy, ugly pout for luck or bragging rights, compete in curling contest, watch a frozen wet T-shirt contest and ride a mechanical ice bull. The event even drew a crew from Jay Leno last year.


Our favorite event is the Pout Plunge. It's family-friendly and hilarious to see what costumes are worn by the brave--and dare I say crazy?--folks willing to jump into frigid Leech Lake for a good cause. Read more from last year's Eelpout Festival feature.

Brainerd's ice-fishing extravaganza on Gull Lake.

Reel in a big one
Finally, for a fun, holy-cow kind of experience, try your luck at the world's largest charitable ice-fishing contest: the legendary Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing extravaganza. Usually in January, it got bumped to Saturday, Feb. 11, when winter started with a whimper. You need seriously chilly temperatures to drill more than 10,000 holes into Gull Lake. It's a mind-boggling sight to see. Read more about Brainerd's ice-fishing extravaganza.





 

Youth Ambassador Oppty to Travel to Belize This Summer

A quick note to follow up about the latest opportunity to travel abroad with the Youth Ambassador program this summer. The February 12 application deadline is coming soon, so please review the details below and fill out the application soon.

Here's a recap:

Partners of the Americas, through a program funded by the United States Department of State, has created new opportunities for youth to promote mutual understanding between the people of the Caribbean region and the United States, develop a sense of civic responsibility and commitment to community development among youth, build leadership capacity, and foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, religious and national groups.

Selected youth will travel to Washington, DC and Belize for four weeks from July 10th – August 7th, 2012. While in Belize, youth will learn about local educational systems, participate in community service activities, attend workshops and plan a project to be implemented upon your return to the U.S.

Partners of the Americas will pay all expenses related to travel and participation in the program including fees for passports, domestic and international travel, food and expenses, health insurance, lodging and transportation.

Youth Ambassadors will be accompanied by adult mentors.

As a Youth Ambassador, you will have the opportunity to:

• Gain greater understanding and appreciation of the similarities and differences between the U.S. and Belize, as well as the Caribbean in general.
• Gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the country’s history, values, and beliefs.
• Explore both local and national issues and become involved with or contribute to those causes.
• Develop the skills needed to be a leader in your community.
• Connect to a network of volunteers working throughout the hemisphere.

Applicants must meet the following requirements in order to participate:

1. Be between 15-18 years old at date of travel (July 10th – August 7th)
2. Currently enrolled in a public high school. We strongly encourage Juniors and below to apply.
3. Good academic standing
4. Display leadership qualities
5. Volunteer experience
6. U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien (one parent is a green card holder)

* Strong consideration will be given to youth that have been involved with or volunteered with programs through the Partners chapter in Minnesota.

Applications of eligible candidates will be reviewed and finalists will be contacted by Partners staff for a phone interview. In addition to the above criteria, candidates will be judged on their dedication to service and community, ability to adapt to new situations and environments, and maturity and responsibility. Applications must be submitted by February 12th, 2012. Finalists will be notified by April 4, 2012.

To submit an application, please fill out the following application and submit TWO copies – one hard copy and one electronic – along with the required documentation listed below. Please note: required documentation only needs to be submitted with the hard copy.

 Two copies of your completed application form (one electronic, one hard copy);
 Form of identification that verifies U.S. citizenship;
 A copy of your school registration and school record for 2011-2012;
 A letter of recommendation from one of your teachers or the school principal (It is recommended that you also include a letter of recommendation from the Partners Chapter in your state);
 A letter of permission from your parents or legal guardian.

Please send electronic applications by February 12, 2012 to Erik Brand, volunteer and president, Minnesota chapter, at erikbrand10@gmail.com or call 612-242-1863 with questions.

The electronic copy to erikbrand10@gmail.com is most important for the deadline.

Hard copies can be mailed to:

Partners of the Americas
Youth Ambassador Program
1424 K Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005

Television Show in Uruguay Interviews Member

A local television show in Uruguay interviewed Anna Moore, a volunteer with Minnesota Uruguay Partners, this week. You did great, Anna!