It's the most wonderful time of the year. Or perhaps the second most?


Being stabbed wasn't exactly the highlight of his trip to Kenya, but it was an eye-opener for Jonathan Cardenas.


Shortly after suffering a freak accident in 2001 that nearly killed him, doctors left little hope for Craig Vogtsberger to enjoy a normal life.


Mark Dayton's campaign ads tend to feature timeworn photos of his family's department store downtown. For those old enough to remember, the pictures conjure memories of whimsical Christmas displays, fat old Santas and the smell of caramel corn wafting from the candy store.


How did the most angelic woman in soap history give birth to a monster? We might get an answer when Signy Coleman appears on The Young and the Restless August 13 and 16 as blind heroine Hope Wilson. The character, who died in 2008, will return in flashbacks and a dream sequence that will shed some light on her son, Adam, and why he turned into such a conniving psychopath. Since we last saw ...


Dogs and cats, living together ... mass hysteria? Maybe not so much.


At 6-feet-4, the peg-legged pirate towered over his "little mateys" who came for generations to the Riverview Inn on the Catawba River in search of seafood bounty and tales of far-off coves.


London's Lyric Hammersmith will revive Simon Stephens' Punk Rock prior to a national tour; host the London premiere of Richard Bean's latest, The Big Fellah; and present a new production of Sarah Kane's Blasted as part of its fall/winter season.


Where: Pine Lakes, Nos. 6, 7, 10; May 28, 29, June 20


The Leech Lake Art League meets every Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Walker American Legion basement for a paint-in and critique. All artists, all levels are welcome.