Unofficial Prince Week features ‘a party with a purpose’

It’s unofficial Prince Week once again, and music lovers can attend a free block party in downtown Minneapolis, the annual pricey Celebration at Paisley Park or the stylish “party with a purpose” at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis, among many events.

“The Gold Experience: A Celebration of Legacy, Music and Purpose” will be presented Wednesday by Purple Genealogy, a fan-founded philanthropic Facebook group, at the Woman’s Club.

A few years ago, one of the group administrators asked: “What if we gave an elevated cocktail party in the fashion of what Prince would do to celebrate his Purple fam?”

“Instead of having a party with people showing up in a Prince T and blue jeans, we want to do a party that would celebrate him but let’s do it stylish and elegant,” said Nadine Rivers-Johnson, one of three administrators of Purple Genealogy. “And let’s make it a party with a purpose, so it’s a party that has a philanthropic component to it.”

This year’s fifth annual affair will salute the 30th anniversary of Prince’s “Gold Experience” album that featured the hits “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” and “I Hate U.” Party guests are invited to wear something gold, Rivers-Johnson said.

DJ Willie Adams will spin, and revelers can sample hors d’oeuvres and themed cocktails and buy exclusive Prince merchandise.

After each of the four previous parties, Purple Genealogy has made a donation — a mural to the High School of the Recording Arts in St. Paul, a new floor at Sound 80 studios in Minneapolis and money to the local nonprofit Purple Playground that presents the Academy of Prince each summer in the Twin Cities for teenagers. Purple Playground will be the recipient of proceeds this year.

Purple Genealogy is not about tracing Prince’s family tree but about making sure that his legacy continues to grow.

The moniker “came about because we kind of jokingly said, ‘It’s in our Purple DNA,’” Rivers-Johnson said. “He’s become a part of our everyday lives. Music is in your genes.”

Rivers-Johnson, a building manager in Stone Mountain, Ga., operates Purple Genealogy with Norvis Long, a retired art teacher from Frederick, Md., and Cinzia Inzinna, a marketing executive from Rochester, N.Y.

Their private Facebook group has nearly 3,000 members.

“We were not interested in having large numbers,” Rivers-Johnson said. “We’re more interested in people that really want a positive place to talk about Prince. We have rules and regulation for the page — to keep it positive and keep it inspirational.”

Rivers-Johnson has been coming to Minneapolis twice annually since Prince died in 2016. Her trips are typically tied to the anniversary of his death, on April 21, and Celebration, which, in recent years, has been held in June (his birthday is June 7).

The members of Purple Genealogy meet twice annually in person but are frequently connecting on social media.

A fan since Prince’s debut album, “For You,” in 1978, Rivers-Johnson, who used to sing in a jazz trio, saw Prince in concert only once, in 1985. However, she has been on 25 tours of Paisley Park in Chanhassen. She always buys VIP tickets for Celebration because she doesn’t want to miss anything, whether it’s music from the vault, live performances or panel discussions featuring Prince associates.

Admission to this year’s Purple Genealogy party (eventbrite.com) is $61 — before fees and taxes — because organizers always charge a fee that adds up to 7, which was Prince’s favorite number.

Even though the Woman’s Club officially closed on May 31, the venue is honoring the “Gold Experience” party because it was booked a year ago.

This will be the final party presented by Purple Genealogy in Minneapolis.

“All of us are getting older,” Rivers-Johnson said. “Quite frankly, I’d love to come in town and go to somebody else’s party. We’d like to support another entity who would take up the mantle and do some of the same things. Also we’d rather go out on top than struggle year to year to get people to come. It’s a good time to take a bow.”

One of Prince’s saxophonists in his final years, the North Carolinian is bringing his own band, plus alums of Purple Playground’s Academy of Prince will perform at the Capri Theater, where Prince gave his first professional concert in 1979. The show is a benefit for the nonprofit Purple Playground, which conducts education and musical training for middle school and high school students each summer. (7 p.m. Tue., Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broadway, Mpls., $55.20 and up, eventbrite.com)

Minneapolis funk rock institution Dr. Mambo’s Combo was the band with which Prince would occasionally sit in at Bunker’s Music Bar & Grill. The group has been playing at that North Loop haunt pretty much every Sunday since 1987. The current lineup features vocalists Julius Collins, Margaret Cox and Monique Blakey and former NPG bassist Sonny Thompson. The Combo will step out to the Parkway Theater for a program saluting His Royal Badness. (7:30 p.m. Wed., Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $45-$50, theparkwaytheater.com)

The annual multiday event for Prince fans includes experiencing music and concert films from the Purple vault, panel discussions with the likes of drummer Bobby Z and art director Laura LiPuma, and a concert featuring the Family, Morris Day & the Time and Jesse Johnson on Friday. Day told the Minnesota Star Tribune that there’s always a possibility Johnson will sit in with the Time. Tickets for Celebration range from $752.75 to $1,302.75, but a separate admission to the Friday concert is available for $109.75. (Thu.-Sun. Paisley Park, 7801 Audubon Road, Chanhassen, paisleypark.com)

Choreographer/dancer Mayte Garcia, Prince’s former wife and dancer with the New Power Generation, is offering a free two-day dance workshop for teens, age 13-18. (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Roy Wilkins Auditorium, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, free; to register, text 612-440-9563)

No details have been announced but last year’s Block Party featured DJs and live music. (5-11:30 p.m. Sat. by the Prince mural at 1st Avenue N. near 8th Street, Mpls., free)

Meet Minneapolis, a local tourism organization, has placed “clings” — giant stickers — in front of Prince landmarks, including First Avenue, the downtown Minneapolis Prince mural, the former Glam Slam club that Prince co-owned, and the Schmitt Music mural, where Prince posed for some early publicity photos.