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Surprise! It's Friday!
and how to be first on your block to see the new season š
Ben Thietje
March 13, 2026 ā¢ Est. Reading Time: 8 minutes
Hello! Iām Ben, executive director at the Phipps.
Welcome to The Flying P, a weekly newsletter covering your Phipps Center for the Arts and anything else I might want to throw your way.
āWhy am I getting a Flying P on Friday??ā
It has been nearly a month since the last Flying P, gang. Yes, this is typically a Thursday newsletter, but if I had missed yet another week, I wouldāve been forced to fire myself from Phipps newsletters entirely. And I need this newsletter gig, you guys. I have a bernedoodle to support.
If youāre curious why Iāve been such a newsletter dumb-dumb lately, I have some grade-A excuses for you! This is what weāve been busy cranking out over the past month or so:
season announcement work (exciting!)
spring fundraising campaign (yesssss!)
spring Marquee creation (oooh la la!)
hiring a new team member (wowie Maui!)
beginning some strategic planning (ohā¦okay then.)
applying for a gazillion grants (umā¦neat?)
trying to find someone to fix our HVAC system (that soundsā¦whatās HVAC again?)
So anyway. Here we are.
After nearly a month.
Will it be worth the wait? Probably not, but you never know!
This issue hasā¦
š Excellent Dance
Center Stage is crushing itš¼ļø Event Artwork
announcement incomingš A Barfing Dog
you probably know who
COMMUNITY
Come kick the tires (artistically speaking)
this backstage tour is so backstagey
Phipps Community Day is right around the corner (Sunday, March 29th) and we couldnāt be more excited.
For those new to PCD, itās essentially a Phipps open house. You can swing by anytime between noon and 3pm and tour our spaces, see demos, talk to staff, board, and arts council members, watch performancesā¦itās an absolute blast.
organ info galore!
And the best part: you get to see the new season (and buy tickets) before anyone else.
Stick it on your calendar: Sunday, March 29 from 12:00-3:00p. Come on by and let us show you all sorts of Phipps goodness! More specifics to comeā¦
making art is always a good thing
PHIPPS TOP 8
best-selling upcoming events this season by tickets sold
1. Deathtrap (previously: 2)š„
2. Center Stage (previously: 4)š„
3. Fiddle Masters (previously: 3) SOLD OUT
4. Judy Moody & Stink (previously: 6)
5. Broadway, Big Bands, Beatles, and Beyond (previously: 5)
6. Songs by Boys by Girls (previously: 7)
7. Cabaret Night at the Phipps (April) (previously: 8)
8. The MN Boychoir (previously: 9)
BETTER HURRY LIST
best-selling upcoming events this season by percent sold
(i.e., closest to being sold out)ā¦
1. Fiddle Masters (previously: 1) SOLD OUT
2. Broadway, Big Bands, Beatles, and Beyond (previously: 2)
3. Center Stage (previously: unlisted)š„
4. Cabaret Night at the Phipps (April) (previously: 3)
5. Deathtrap (previously: 5)
as of 3/13/26
DANCE
High school, high level
I had the pleasure of checking out the Center Stage spring showcase last weekend. What a treat!
These high-school-aged dancers (with guidance from Stephanie Campbell and Christina Leines) put together an hour+ of pretty amazing artistry. And they were clearly having a ton of fun while doing it.
If youāre interested in checking them out, this weekend is your last ā and by the look of the weather forecast, I wouldnāt wait until Sunday. āļø
artist: Nicholas Kovatch
š
my favorite gallery piece of the week
Drywall, epoxy resin, and paint. Who knew?
You can see more work from Nicholas in the Riverview Gallery through April 12th.
PROGRAMMING
Wrong answers also welcome
Our new season announcement is right around the corner (see Phipps Community Day post above), so I thought Iād give you a little event artwork sneak peek. These are just a few of my favorites.
Hit reply and send me your guesses. If you get one right, Iāll mail you a comp!
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that leg tuck
I took this photo right after Busby puked all over the rug.
He could not have been less bothered.
Good times.
Are you the smartest Flying P reader the world has ever known?
Time to prove it. Itās The Flying C(rossword)!
š
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Talk to you next week!
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