Fulk-a-mania

Laura Fulk has been a busy fashion designer. Besides working on her Voltage 2008 line and her spring retail line for Cliché, Fulk is designing costumes for "God Save Gertrude," a punk-rock takeoff on "Hamlet" in the style of a rock opera. In a marriage of fashion, theater and music, the show will feature all-girl punk band the Shortcuts, and post-show parties will include Dance Band, the Haves Have It, Fort Wilson Riot and the Awesome Snakes.

• Jan. 25-Feb. 10, Playwrights' Center, $8-$15

Meanwhile, Fulk is also costuming and styling the members of Bella Koshka for their CD release show.

Jahna Peloquin
Drunken Spelling Bee: I'll hav a voddka colins, pleeezzz...

Oh, this is pure genius. On Feb. 2, the 331 Club will host a Drunken Spelling Bee. Yes, you heard it right, and yes, you are just as excited as we are. The competition will feature themed spelling rounds that will include topics such as celebrity names, hipster phraseology, alcoholic beverages and naughty words.

Each speller will get one free drink per round and must advance to drink more. Organizers say "snacks and caffeine will be provided to help keep the mind sharp during this daunting challenge of mental wit and drinking ability." Daunting, indeed. Winners will receive prizes from local tattoo artists, Foiled Again Salon and Audubon Coffee.

Spellers will not be allowed to drive home, so you'll need a sober cab if you're competing. There are 40 spots in this bee, which are expected to fill up this week, so hurry (there will be a few walk-up spots). It's $7 to enter. Pre-register by e-mailing mplsdrunkenspellingbee@gmail.com or by going to www.myspace.com/mplsdrunkenspellingbee.

• Tom Horgen

Auburn goes for gold

Add one more name to the otherwise shrinking list of major-label recording artists from the Twin Cities: St. Paul R&B singer Auburn Williams, 18, has signed a deal through Epic Records with a subsidiary label run by Jonathan (J.R.) Rotem, the producer behind Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" and tracks by Rihanna, Britney Spears and 50 Cent.

Williams' manager, Tim Wilson, said the burgeoning starlet -- who performs simply as Auburn -- will head to Los Angeles to perform around the Grammys, and she'll stay there through the spring, working on an album with Rotem as executive producer.

One big difference between Auburn and similar singers such as Rihanna and Keyshia Cole, the latter of whom Auburn recently opened for on tour: She writes many of her own songs. One of them, "Ewww Ewww," is already a modest underground hit. Wilson bragged, "It looks like the album is going to be about 80 percent her stuff, which is pretty remarkable."

• Chris Riemenschneider

Winter wear?

Before the biannual glossy L'Etoile Magazine was launched, the place to find out about local fashion and design was the pocket-sized Industry Minne-zine. Around the same time, St. Paul's FAME Digest went into circulation. But with sub-par graphic design and photography that seemed to be desperately seeking Maxim, the publication quickly faded into obscurity. Now it's announced its return, alongside sister publication 360, with a fashion show titled "Too Hot for Winter" at Bar Fly on Saturday (11:30 p.m., 18-plus). If the photos on FAME's website, www.famedigest.com, are any indication, expect hot-pink satin underwear sets paired with spray tan, natch.

• Jahna Peloquin

Acadia Cafe relocates

After its landlord went looking for a higher-buck tenant, the Acadia Cafe has up and left its Franklin and Nicollet location and moved to the West Bank. Its new home is at 329 Cedar Av. S., former home of the New Riverside Cafe. The first show there will be Sunday's touring gig by Mara Levy (8 p.m., $5), but it won't be fully up and running (with a liquor license) until a second-anniversary event for Surly beer on Wednesday. "We think we'll fit in well on the West Bank," co-owner Ted Lowell said of his hippie-ish cafe, best known for hosting songwriters and all-ages gigs, and for its beer selection (which will improve to 28 taps). The new spot doesn't have the mini-theater look of the old place, but Lowell expects to have a capacity of 80 to 115 people for music. It will also have an expanded menu, thanks to a bigger kitchen.

• Chris Riemenschneider