Carleton College is very pleased to present Havana, Cuba’s acclaimed choral music ensemble El Coro Shalom on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall. This not-to-be-missed performance is free and open to the public.

Carleton College is pleased to announce that Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton will be the featured speaker at its annual all-college assembly celebrating the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year. Opening Convocation will be held on Monday, September 10 at 3 p.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel; this event is free and open to the public. It will also be streamed online, viewable at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/carletonadmin.portal#.

Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges will use a new grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to explore how increased institutional collaboration could enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of services provided to students, faculty, and staff. The $50,000 grant will support a number of planning activities beginning this summer, and will enable the two colleges to examine the opportunities and challenges related to expanded collaboration.

In collaboration with the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium, Carleton College is pleased to announce the first annual Northfield Summer Film Festival, running for four consecutive Tuesday evenings beginning July 10 and running through July 31. The theme of the series is "awakenings" and featured films include "Groundhog Day," "After Life," "The Crying Game," and "Local Hero." Screenings will be presented each Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Weitz Center for Creativity Cinema and are free and open to the public.

We've gathered some of our top images from all the wonderful activity in the first year of the Weitz Center for Creativity to share at the end of the academic year. Enjoy the great photography by our students: Jeff Berg '14, Abigail Han '12, Maria Kjellstrand '15, and Nina Shapiro '14.

On May 19th, Carleton students and Northfield residents gathered to volunteer in Cowling Arboretum. Volunteers "cleaned up" the arb, removing invasive plants. Student photographer, Abigail Han was on hand to capture the event.

Carleton College has announced the purchase of the building at 200 Division Street, formerly known as the Medical Arts Building, in Northfield. The College has been a major tenant in the building since 2005 when the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) relocated there. The acquisition will allow Carleton to use a portion of the building to expand much-needed space for SERC operations, as well as move some additional administrative functions out of core academic buildings on campus.

Carleton College will hold its annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Northfield Community Action Center’s Food Shelf on Friday, May 11 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on the campus Bald Spot. Over 600 handmade ceramic bowls, filled with soup, will be available for sale, with a suggested donation of $15 per bowl. This popular annual event is open to the public.

Carleton College’s International Festival, a yearly event showcasing the diversity of the student body and featuring food, workshops and events from around the globe, will be held this year on Saturday, May 5. This year’s theme is “Around the World in 80 Minutes.” The festival is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on the Bald Spot (to be changed to the Sayles-Hill Great Space in case of rain), and it is free and open to the public, although donations to the TORCH program are being greatly encouraged.

Carleton College will observe Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, with a service and vigil on Sunday, April 22, beginning at 1 p.m. in Skinner Memorial Chapel. As part of the event, Holocaust survivor Dr. Sabina Zimering will speak about her experiences under Nazi rule, and Carleton associate chaplain Rabbi Shosh Dworsky will lead the service. This event is free and open to the public.

The whale was made by members of the ninth grade members of Stepping Up Into Science at Northfield High School. The project helped students learn about various scientific concepts, such as air pressure, diagrams, measuring techniques, and whale biology.

The Northfield Youth Choir and the Carleton Singers will join with the Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble to present of evening Chinese choral music in Carleton’s Concert Hall on Sun., Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m. The performance is free and open to the public.