The High Falls at Grand Portage by Jolene Johnson.
The “official start” of summer over Memorial Day weekend was followed early this week by another gift of the season–rain, and plenty of it. So this weekend, there’s lots of energy on the North Shore to celebrate the warm season and lots of things to do.
The weekend starts with the Northern Landscapes Festival at North House Folk School. This popular festival focuses on discovering the birds, wildflowers, insects and more of the dynamic and rich landscape on the North Shore. Field-focused courses form the backbone of the event, including classes on birdwatching, geology, landscape photography and more with evening presentations rounding out the full weekend schedule.
Birding at the Northern Landscapes Festival by Layne Kennedy. File photo.
The Northern Landscapes Festival also features public presentations, and they’ll be great this year. On Friday, June 1, Bob King, a Duluth-based astronomer and Duluth News Tribune photographer, will give a presentation on the summer sky. Entitled “Summer Sky Spectacular: Planets, Satellites and the Milky Way,” The presentation is at 7 p.m. If the night is clear, King will set up a telescope to observe Venus and Jupiter around 9 p.m.
And on Saturday, renowned ecologist Bernd Heinrich and author (“The Mind of the Raven”) returns to North House to teach a class on his latest book, “Bumblebee Economics.” He will also give a presentation at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, entitled “Bluejays, Crows and Ravens: Behavior and Ecology.” Few people know more about the world of corvids than Bernd Heinrich, having spent a lifetime observing and studying the smartest birds on the planet. Discover the rare abilities of our commonly obvserved feathered friends, the bluejay, crow and raven as Bernd shares images and stories of these unique creatures.
Both presentations are free to North House members. A $5 suggested donation for all others. For more info on the Northern Landscapes Festival and to register for workshops, click here.
Also on Friday, the Grand Marais Art Colony will host “Paint-A-Tile,” an opportunity for the public to come to the ceramic studio and paint tiles with their own designs.
A Paint-A-Tile class will be held at the Grand Marais Art Colony from 1-2:30 p.m. on Friday, June 1.
This is one of a series of Paint-A-Tile opportunities that are scheduled this summer. Registration is required. For more information, call 387-2737 or visit www.grandmaraisartcolony.org.
Also on Friday, singer/songwriter Jon Kallberg will be on WTIP Community Radio’s The Roadhouse to talk about his music and play a few songs. Kallberg plays original acoustic guitars and electronic keyboard with live loops. Also, ecologist Bernd Heinrich will be on the show to talk about his life’s work.
The Peregrine Falcon Show at Tettegouche State Park opens on Friday with an artists reception from 7-8:30 p.m. The exhibit celebrates the 30th anniversary of the successful effort to restore wild peregrine populations, which were nearly extinct throughout most of North America due to human activity, such as DDT pesticide use. A number of falcon-related activities are scheduled for the exhibit this month, and on Friday, the art show opens.
“Our Lives,” by Adam Swanson is one of the artworks in the Peregrine Falcon Show at Tettegouche State Park that opens on Friday.
The art show is a group show featuring multiple artists who have already or will soon have shows at Tettegouche. Adam Swanson, Lauri Olson Hohman and Deborah Kirkeeide are among the artists represented. The exhibit continues through the end of the month. On June 9, there will be a live falcon demonstration from 2:30 -4:30 p.m., a wild bird photography workshop on June 16 and a retrospective on the work that was done to restore peregrine populations from 1-3 p.m. June 16. Stay tuned for details.
Saturday brings the Grand Opening of the Big Lake, a new gallery on 12 First Ave. West. in Grand Marais. The gallery features a wide variety of artwork including paintings, pottery, prints and jewelry as well as a big selection of cards, kids’ clothing and more.
The Big Lake gallery will hold its Grand Opening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Jordan Sundberg created this poster for the new gallery.
The opening is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and features homemade lefse and events throughout the day. All invited.
Also on Saturday, look for artisans on the streets of Grand Marais in two markets: The Cook County Market and the Cook County Makers Cooperative Market.
The Cook County Market celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and features a variety of artisans working in wood, fiber, metal and clay as well as homemade sweets, massage services and live music.
The Northwoods Fiber Guild has a booth at the Cook County Market.
The Cook County Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays in the Senior Center parking lot. For more info, click here.
The Cook County Makers Cooperative, a recently formed organization to support artists and makers in the county, has organized a Makers Market that is located in the lot between the Beaver House and 8 Broadway Gallery and Studios in downtown Grand Marais. Hours are still fluid, but check out the space this weekend.
The Cook County Makers Cooperative has started a market between the Beaver House and 8 Broadway Gallery and Studios.
This new enterprise is encouraging people who make things to check out the new space and talk to the founders. For more info, contact Jayne Richards at 387-4590 or Mike Smieja at 612-558-1501. For more info, click here.
The Grand Marais Art Colony has a crafted a “refresh” of their gallery store with lots of new work.
Glass artist Jeffrey Stenbom was an artist-in-residence at the Grand Marais Art Colony earlier this year and created these fused glass maps of the city. Several of them are in the Art Colony’s Gallery Store.
And here’s a fun opportunity to get inspired and inspire others. Check out this interactive sculpture, “Inspiration Exchange” by Greg Mueller, which is located on a stairway at the Grand Marais Art Colony.
Grand Marais Art Colony director, Amy Demmer, checks out one of the “inspirations” snuggled into a one of the boxes of the sculpture.
The little boxes are open for the public to use as a way to inspire others. Check out a box… if you get inspired, exchange what you find for an “inspiration” of your own. Right now, the boxes contain quotes, a bird’s nest, a rock … and who knows — the contents can change daily. Be part of this inspiration exchange and check out the sculpture this weekend.
n Duluth, the Duluth Superior Film Festival got started this week and continues in a number of different venues through Sunday with a variety of dramas, documentaries, experimental films and more. The film festival is headquartered at Zinema – Zeitgeist (222 E Superior St) in Duluth.
Of particular interest is the screening of “Virginia,” a film that was shot at a number of North Shore locations, including Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais. Here’s the trailer:
VIRGINIA MINNESOTA – Trailer from Daniel Stine on Vimeo. “Virginia” will be screened at Zinema Theater, Saturday, June 2, at 7 p.m.
Here’s another trailer from the film festival … a New Zealand documentary entitled “Living the Change.”
To find out more about the film festival and see the schedules, click here.
There are a number of interesting on-going exhibits on the North Shore this weekend, too.
“Northerly Pots: The Long Pleasurable Carry” continues at the Johnson Heritage Post.
Early Snows potter Fritz Lehmberg is exhibiting at the Johnson Heritage Post.
The exhibit features work by Thunder Bay potter Fritz Lehmberg and continues through June 17. The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. It is open from 1-4 p.m. Sundays and closed on Tuesdays.
“The Art of Creating a Buzz: A Beehive Exhibition,” featuring bee boxes painted by local artists, is on exhibit at the Grand Marais Art Colony through Thursday, May 31.
Bee hive painted by Jan Attridge. The beehive exhibit concludes at the Grand Marais Art Colony on Thursday.
The Tweed Museum of Art is featuring a number of exhibits, including the University of Seniors exhibit.
“Portrait of a Young Man (Gavin) by Dale Lucas is on exhibit at the Tweed Museum of Art.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery in Thunder Bay is exhibiting “Fresh Perspectives: Secondary School Art” through June 10.
“For Him,” pencil drawing by kaitlyn Chalar, 12th grade, St. Patrick High School, is one of the works at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
Upcoming:
The Grand Marais Public Library will host a memoir writing workshop at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 7, with Kate St. Vincent-Vogl. This free workshop is entitled “Writing Memoir, Writing Life” and is intended for audiences 12 to adult. The author conducted a writing/editing workshop at the library earlier this year. For more info on the workshop, contact the library at 387-1140.
The North Shore Music Association is bringing in the Big Dixie Swingers, a New Orleans-based band to play for a dance at the Wunderbar on June 9.
The Big Dixie Swingers will be at the Wunderbar June 9, hosted by the North Shore Music Association.
The music starts at 8 p.m. Stay tuned for details.
Artist News:
Gwen Danfelt, manager at Drury Lane Books, has a new program on WTIP Community Radio entitled “Talking Books.” The program airs on the last Monday of the month on North Shore Morning.
Drury Lane Books‘ Gwen Danfelt has a new monthly radio show on WTIP’s North Shore Morning.
To listen to her first broadcast, click here.
Here’s the music for this week:
Thursday, May 31:
- Gordon Thorne & Friends, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.
- Bug Lite, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
- Pushing Chain, Wunderbarm 7 p.m.
Friday, June 1:
- Joe Paulik, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
- Bug House, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
- Chris Koza, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 2:
- Jon Kallberg, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
- Pushing Chain, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
- Timmy Haus, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.
- Common Ground, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 3:
- Briand Morrison, Moguls Grille, 10 a.m.
Monday, June 4:
- Briand Morrison, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.
We found some great photos this week. Here’s a selection:
The eagles are nesting in Cook County! Paul Sundberg caught this pair the other day.
Wildflowers are blooming like crazy now, too.
March Marigolds by Paul Sundberg.
Here’s a beautiful sunset:
Sunset in isabella by Rachel Ewinski.
And cloudscapes were great this week.
“Now send in the clouds” by Ann Bowman.
Storm Cloud coming in by Rebecca.
As the storm rolled by Duluth by Luke Goossens.
At the Laurentian Divide by Jess Olson.
And finally, this classic shot:
Along the Gunflint Trail by Roxanne Distad.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
If you have enjoyed my blog this week, please consider making a donation to support it. As you can probably tell, it takes a lot of time and effort to put it together … it’s a labor of love, for sure.
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