Over the past ten years, Dan Chouinard has traveled by bicycle through Europe several times with his accordion in tow. He never usually has a planned itinerary.

But in the spring of 2012, Dan received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to make the journey while collecting Minnesota World War Two connections in story and song. He called this project Cafe Europa.

Cafe Europa describes Dan's musical journey through Europe, retracing the path of the US Army Red Bull Division through Italy and France in World War Two. Dan took the trip by bicycle, carrying his accordion, visiting battlefields and graveyards while enjoying the hospitality of the Italians and French, and performing music along the way.

For the next two hours, we'll present Cafe Europa, an evening of story and song recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater this past January. Your host is Dan Chouinard.

Guest artists include Maria Jette, Prudence Johnson, Bradley Greenwald, The Rose Ensemble, Brian Barnes and more. Plus actors Joseph Scrimshaw and Eric Ringham with the voice of Gary Eichten as journalist Ernie Pyle.

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