All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.
(How one bar got around the smoking ban)
On a night when wind chills were expected to reach minus-40 or below, revelers hunkered down for a night of drinking at Barnacle's Resort, a popular winter redoubt for ice fishermen and snowmobilers on the north shore of Lake Mille Lacs.
Two tables of Texas Hold 'Em were full, and someone was telling the story of the night Minnesota Vikings fullback Jim Kleinsasser sat there - right there - in that very stool. Smoke wafted through the bar.
Wait ... smoke? As in cigarettes?
On this Saturday night, and every Saturday night going forward until someone tells them to stop, the owners at Barnacle's are allowing their customers to light up. It's not so much an act of civil disobedience against the statewide smoking ban as it is exploiting an exception that allows smoking as part of a theatrical production.
You see, all those people drinking and smoking and laughing and telling the government to mind its own business? They're really actors.
"You are looking at a stage. You are looking at a playhouse," said Mark Benjamin, who cooked up the idea. "Those are not cigarettes - those are props."
The night was a big hit with patrons - er, actors - who bought $1 buttons that said "ACT NOW!" to denote that they were part of the production. Playbills were printed up, and the local police were notified. Sheila Kromer, Barnacle's co-owner, said the police told her they wouldn't visit unless someone complained.
Since the smoking ban went into effect in October, compliance has been good. However, when the final version of the ban was hammered out last year, state lawmakers inserted a provision allowing smoking as part of a theatrical production. But they never defined the meaning of a "theatrical production."
TwinCities.com - Smokers give bar's 'production' rave reviews
(How one bar got around the smoking ban)
On a night when wind chills were expected to reach minus-40 or below, revelers hunkered down for a night of drinking at Barnacle's Resort, a popular winter redoubt for ice fishermen and snowmobilers on the north shore of Lake Mille Lacs.
Two tables of Texas Hold 'Em were full, and someone was telling the story of the night Minnesota Vikings fullback Jim Kleinsasser sat there - right there - in that very stool. Smoke wafted through the bar.
Wait ... smoke? As in cigarettes?
On this Saturday night, and every Saturday night going forward until someone tells them to stop, the owners at Barnacle's are allowing their customers to light up. It's not so much an act of civil disobedience against the statewide smoking ban as it is exploiting an exception that allows smoking as part of a theatrical production.
You see, all those people drinking and smoking and laughing and telling the government to mind its own business? They're really actors.
"You are looking at a stage. You are looking at a playhouse," said Mark Benjamin, who cooked up the idea. "Those are not cigarettes - those are props."
The night was a big hit with patrons - er, actors - who bought $1 buttons that said "ACT NOW!" to denote that they were part of the production. Playbills were printed up, and the local police were notified. Sheila Kromer, Barnacle's co-owner, said the police told her they wouldn't visit unless someone complained.
Since the smoking ban went into effect in October, compliance has been good. However, when the final version of the ban was hammered out last year, state lawmakers inserted a provision allowing smoking as part of a theatrical production. But they never defined the meaning of a "theatrical production."
TwinCities.com - Smokers give bar's 'production' rave reviews
Love it when creative people stick it to the "man" 
Fieldtrip!
