The Goosed! The Musical team includes Abbey Dibble, stage manager; Danielle Vinup, co-writer, composer and assistant director; Kelly Kadlec, co-writer, composer and music director; and Luis Ventura, director and choreographer. Photos: Avalanche Arts of Minnesota
Avalanche Arts lays the foundation for a new performing arts center.
In October 2025, Danielle and Shane Vinup signed a 99 year lease with the City of Maple Grove. “We’re good through October 15 of 2124, which was really odd to write,” Shane says. “2124 felt pretty good.” But while the ink might be dry, the Vinups’ work has only just begun. By 2029, the husband-wife duo aim to open the doors of Avalanche Arts of Minnesota’s performing arts center.
Theater troupes and performance organizations abound in Maple Grove, but stages do not. Bunce Performing Arts and Cross Community Players, for instance, book church basements and the occasional high school auditorium, but it’s tricky to find space in the community. “We realized that was our mission pretty quickly, that we needed to build something for lots of organizations to use,” Danielle says.
An early rendering of Avalanche Arts’ performing arts center.
The two lifelong theater kids pack a one-two punch when it comes to approaching the Avalanche Arts project. Danielle is a choir and voice teacher at Anoka Ramsey Community College, and Shane started an IT business in Maple Grove. “I’m the business side of the equation, where Danielle is the creative side of the equation,” Shane says.
This duality is mirrored in how the performance center will function. “We really want to make sure that the space is open to nonprofits, ones that are based in Maple Grove or the surrounding area,” Shane says. But the space will also be available for paying groups, the proceeds of which are earmarked for supporting the nonprofits by either greatly reducing or ultimately eliminating the cost of renting the space. “That’s the mission of Avalanche Arts: that these groups will have the ability to use the space without a huge expense or no expense at all,” Shane says.
But any way you slice it, the Maple Grove community will benefit from the addition of a new performance space. Located next to the Community Center and Town Green, the venue will draw in year-round acts, ranging from comedians to college choirs and bluegrass bands to magic acts. Avalanche Arts’ capital campaign to get the center’s funding over the finish line kicked off in earnest in January. Visit avalanchearts.org to learn about donation and volunteer opportunities.
Saying, “Hello”
Avalanche Arts is introducing itself to the community in an aptly artistic way. Danielle Vinup and her friend Kelly Kadlec have been working on a musical together for the last three years. Goosed! The Musical features the characters from Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes all grown up with grown-up problems. “Humpty Dumpty falls in love with Little Miss Muffet, that kind of thing,” Danielle says. “So it’s a big cast, a big sing, big orchestra. It’s going to be really fun.” Avalanche Arts is partnering with Bunce Performing Arts to bring the show to life and bring awareness to its fundraising efforts. Catch a performance March 6–15 at the Osseo Senior High School auditorium.
Avalanche Arts of Minnesota
Facebook: Avalanche Arts of Minnesota
