Summer Follows Close Behind

Last weekend was pretty busy and this weekend hikes it up a notch. There’s music, a Block Party, puppet workshops, a memoir writing workshop, art workshops, a Dixie dance, a backyard concert and more. The summer season continues …

First up is a Memoir Writing Workshop at the Grand Marais Public Library at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 7, conducted by memoir author Kate St. Vincent-Vogl.

Entitled “Writing Memoir, Writing Life,” St. Vincent-Vogl will give tips, suggestions and writing exercises on how to write the best story of your life. The workshop is free.

Also on Thursday, the first Good Harbor Hill Puppet Workshops to create puppets and backdrops for the Summer Solstice Pageant at North House Folk School later this month will be held at the Betsy Bowen Studio from 6-8 p.m.

The workshops are open to everyone and are free … and lots of fun. Workshops will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, June 7 & June 14 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 10. The Solstice Pageant will be performed at North House Folk School’s Wooden Boat Show at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 23.

On Friday, a Paint-A-Tile workshop will be held at the Grand Marais Art Colony with a session from 1-2:30 p.m.

Participants will paint two tiles using colorful Majolica glazes during the session. The tiles will be fired and ready to be picked up on Sunday morning. The workshop is open to ages 12 and older. To register, call the Grand Marais Art Colony at 387-2737. One other Paint-A-Tile workshop will be held this month, on June 15.

The Boundary Waters Expo will be held this weekend at Bearskin Lodge on the Gunflint Trail this weekend. The 2-day event celebrating the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will feature speakers, exhibitors and activities for everyone. The event will be held on Friday and Saturday. Scheduled speakers include Bruce Kerfoot (“Gunflint Trail History,”) Sue Plankis (“Birding in the BWCA,”  as well as talks about wilderness First Aid, fishing in the Boundary Waters and more. For more info and the schedule, click here.

And, for your evening listening, WTIP’s The Roadhouse will feature an interview with naturalist Larry Weber, who will talking about his latest book, “Web Watching: A Guide to Webs and the Spiders that Make Them.” Also, a new band, The Wunderdogs with Pete K., John Mianowski and Thomas Stamps will be in the studio to talk about their music and play a few songs. The program airs from 5-7 p.m. on Fridays. (The Wunderdogs play at the Wunderbar on Friday night.)

There will be lots to do in Grand Marais on Saturday, too.

First up, the Cook County Market will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Senior Center parking lot, featuring a wide variety of artisans, food and live music. New this week: organic produce from Round River Farm in Finland.

Round River Farm is located in Finland and produces a wide variety of produce for a CSA. This week, they will have spinach, lettuces, cilantro and (maybe) radishes. They plan to be at the Cook County Market every Saturday through the September.

Also new– the first Grand Marais Block Party will be held on Saturday with lots of live music, events, food, a Grand Marais Playhouse performance, a local author/illustrator reception, kite-making, print-making demos, wine tasting and more.

This should be a fun event. There will be a walk/run sponsored by Voyageur Brewing and a variety of musicians playing on 1st Ave. W. during the day, as well as a chance to explore all the interesting shops in the neighborhood. Picnic & Pine is even going to offer S’Mores in the afternoon. Click here for more information, maps and the complete schedule.

Also on Saturday, the Friction Farm, a modern folk duo that has written songs inspired by children’s books, will sing some songs and talk about reading at the Grand Marais Public Library at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Also, the Cook County Historical Society will hold at Open House at the Johnson Heritage Post from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday.

Participants will have the opportunity to meet the new staff and board members, and learn about future plans for the Society’s historic sites and art gallery. All five sites will be open for visits: the Lightkeeper’s House and Museum, Bally Blacksmith Shop, St. Francis Xavier Church and a 1930s fish house replica with fishing tug Neegee. There will be refreshments and activities at the Heritage Post. All invited.

And, a top-vote getter for Saturday: The Big Dixie Swingers, who will play at the Wunderbar on Saturday night from 8-10 p.m.

Winners of the 2017 band division of the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association’s Americana Roots Contest, the Big Dixie Swingers of New Orleans are a traveling musical collective headed up by fiddler Aaron Gunn and banjoist Elizabeth Vargas. The band is committed to reviving the music of America’s rural radio stations and stages and their sound blends old time country and pre-war era pop, spinning it back out as western swing-style dance band numbers. So, the event at the Wunderbar is an event for dancing! The North Shore Music Association is sponsoring the event. Tickets are $15 at the door. Here’s an example of their music:

It should be a fun time.

On Sunday, the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center will host a Shrimp Bowl fom 4-6 p.m. as a fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society. The event will be held at the Seagull Lake Community Center. All invited. The suggested donation is $15.

On Monday, the Voyageur Brewing Co. hosts a Community Collaborative Drawing session from 4-6 p.m. Open to all.

And, on Wednesday, June 13, Kristy Kutch will give a demonstration on creating with colored pencils at the Art Colony starting at 4:30 p.m.

Colored pencil is gaining prominence as a fine-art medium and it offers some remarkable techniques and tools. Kutch will demonstrate how to layer, blend, and create interesting textures painting with colored pencils. All invited. No registration necessary.

Exhibits:

 The exhibit, “Northerly Pots: The Long Pleasurable Carry” continues at the Johnson Heritage Post.

The exhibit features a variety of work by this acclaimed Thunder Bay potter. The exhibit continues through June 17. The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays and from 1-4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Tuesdays.

The Spring Art Underground Show continues at Betsy Bowen’s Studio featuring works by more than 30 local and regional artists.

Minnesota potter, Guillermo Cuellar, is the featured artist in the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Gallery Store this month.

Cuellar is teaching a class the Art Colony this month and will be one of the featured speakers at an Artist Talk. Stay tuned for details.

The Peregrine Falcon Show continues at Tettegouche State Park with a wide variety of work by local and regional artists.

Upcoming:

Jazz musicians Briand Morrison and Sam Miltich will be in house concert at the Art House B&B on June 14 at 7 p.m.

The $10 admission fee includes a smorgasbord of snacks and punch. BYOB. All invited.

The Wooden Boat Show and Summer Solstice Festival will be at North House Folk School June 22-24.

This highly anticipated event features workshops and presentations, lots of wooden boats, an auction, and the Summer Solstice Pageant, to name a few.Stay tuned for details.

The Northwoods Fiber Guild will hold an opening reception for its exhibit “Through Our Hands V: Sun, Moon, Stars” at the Johnson Heritage Post from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, June 22.

The exhibit will include weaving, knitting, felting, basketry, beadwork, quilts, paper, clothing, jewelry, accessories, wood carving, rugs, wall hangings, and mixed media andn continues through July 16.

And here’s a great opportunity for opera fans and those who have never gone to an opera before. Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” will be performed at the renovated NorShor Theatre in Duluth on Friday, June 22 and Sunday, June 24. The NorShor used to be the Duluth Opera House back in the day, so it’s just great that opera is being performed there again.  The performance is a production of Lyric Opera of the North. Stay tuned for details For tickets, see www.loonopera.org

Here’s the local music schedule:

Thursday, June 7:

• Gordon Thorne & Friends, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Live Music by the Campfire, Lutsen Resort, 6:30 p.m.
• Billy Johnson, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.

Friday, June 8:

• Billy Johnson, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
• Black River Revue, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• WunderDogs, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Bug Dope, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Saturday, June 9:

• Mark Miller, Cook County Market, Senior Center parking lot, 9:30 a.m.
• Friction Farm, Grand Marais Library, 10:30 a.m.
• Live music on 1st St. and the Grand Marais Block Party.
• Common Ground, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• The Cruisers, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• Pete K, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Black River Revue, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• The Big Dixie Swingers, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.

 Sunday, June 10:

• Mark Miller, Wunderbar, 11 a.m.
• Open Stage with Joe Paulik, 6 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Monday, June 11:

• Mel Parsons, Monday Singer/Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 9 p.m.

 Thursday, June 14:

• Briand Morrison & Sam Miltich, Art House B&B, 7 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

As usual, we found some interesting photos this week. Here’s a selection.

Let’s start with some wildlife shots.

 

 

 

And here’s a wildflower shot.

And  here are a few black and white beauties.

 

 

 

 

And then two BWCA beauties– one at dawn, one at dusk.

 

And finally, this evocative photo by Bryan Hansel.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!