Be My Valentine!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Looking at all the events scheduled for this week, you’d think summer was here. It’s not. Instead, we’re in the Northwoods celebrating winter, and that includes lots of cozy time inside.

First up on Valentine’s Day is a Lunch and Learn at North House Folk School, part of the on-going Northern Fibers Retreat there.  On Thursday at noon, Mary Richert will give a presentation about the Community Felted Rug Project. Come learn about the 3-week project and see the beautiful result. Free. It is too late to sign up for the catered lunch, but everyone is invited to bring their own.

Then that evening, the 2nd annual Valentine’s Day Hotdish Hoe-down will be held at the Wunderbar. This should be a totally fun time with square dancing and a homemade hot dish competition.

The dancing starts at 5:30 p.m. with the No Promises String Band (fiddle, banjo, piano and upright bass) who will play Old Time music for a family square dance. Then, there’s a break for the hotdish potluck competition and lots of sampling. Dancing continues from 8-10 p.m. No experience and no partners needed. All invited. Tickets are $10 for the hotdish assortment. The regular menu at the Wunderbar is available as well. All welcome.

Friday is really busy in Grand Marais.

At noon, Martha Owen, sheep farmer and resident fiber artist at the John C. Campbell Folk School, will give a presentation at North House Folk School entitled “Sheep and Wool Through Story and Song.”

She will host a session of storytelling about her life raising sheep and angora rabbits and pursuing her passion for craft. She will share tales, good humor and maybe even a tune or two on her banjo during the Lunch and Learn session. All are welcome. The deadline to ordered catered lunch has passed, but please do bring your own lunch. Open to all.

At 5 p.m, the WTIP’s The Roadhouse will host three artists who will talk about their work and upcoming presentations: photographer Craig Blacklock, author Mary Ellen Ashcroft and photographer Bryan Hansel. The show airs from 5-7 p.m.

At 6 p.m. on Friday, Drury Lane Books will host the a capella group, SVEA, for an outdoor concert by the bonfire, weather permitting.

The music is part of the the Many Lights Fundraiser, which raises funds for the ISD PTA so fifth graders can go to Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center later this year. It’s also an art installation, as candles are lit in the ice globes scattered on the shore of Lake Superior.

The ice globes are funded by donations to Cook County High School. Each light is $5. The lights are lit just before the SVEA concert. The public is invited to drop by the school and make their donations before Friday. The concert is free.

Also on Friday night, photographer Craig Blacklock will give an Artist Talk at the Grand Marais Art Colony at 7 pm. Blacklock, who has won numerous awards and has published 18 books of his photography, is currently exhibiting a selection  of his photographs at the Art Colony. The year 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and Blacklock’s exhibition celebrates this anniversary and the beauty of the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers.

The Blacklock’s exhibition has shown in such prestigious locations as the Mill City Museum and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. The Artist Talk is free. All invited.

And finally on Friday at 7 p.m., the Northwoods Fiber Guild will host a “Show & Share” at North House Folk School, part of the Northern Fibers Retreat.

And the Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) Festival continues in Grand Marais. Lots to do, including a Fireplace Tour. Check out the locations here.

On Saturday morning, the Northwoods Fiber Guild will host Fiber For Kids! from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Families are invited to join skilled artists from the Northwoods Fiber Guild to create hands-on fiber projects designed specifically for kids and a helpful adult. Students will choose and create their own fiber crafts such as tapestry weaving on a cardboard loom, Suminagoshi Japanese ink marbling on paper, felted wool bracelets, sewing felt critters, and Kumihimo braiding projects. Everyone will leave with at least 4 completed projects. All invited. The cost is $15 Adult/Child. Additional $5 per child.

And then, at noon, weavers Janet Meany and Mary Erickson will give a Lunch & Learn presentation on at North House Folk School entitled “Kangaspuut: Finnish American Weavers & Their Looms.” They will talk about how old handmade looms and the rag rugs woven on them carry the stories of Finnish immigrants in Northeastern Minnesota. All invited. Free. Bring a lunch.

Author Mary Ellen Ashcroft will read from her new book, “OMG: Growing Our God Images” at Drury Lane Books at 5 p.m.

The author will also answer questions and be available to sign her book. Open to all.

We continue with lots to do this week with the Pincushion Mountain Winter Ski Festival on Sunday.

The festival celebrates the 4oth anniversary of the  North Superior Ski and Running Club. A wide variety of races will be offered all day, and the public is invited to sign up for a race or two or come up and cheer the racers on.

On Tuesday, there will be an informational meeting for the launch of North Shore Crafters, a new organization that will work with people who want to make extra money by crafting at home. The meeting will be held at the Wunderbar at 5 p.m. At the meeting, woodworking, felting and sewing will be presented. Participants will be able to sign up for a workshop to receive instruction and given patterns and materals to get started. Instructors include Wood: Merlin Kiel, Howard Hedstrom and Jim Sannerud; Sewing: Sara Jane Tompkins, Mary Ellen Ashcroft and Judie Johnson; Felting” Karen Kobey, Elise Kyllo and Bonnie Gay Hedstrom. For more info, email maryellenvicar@gmail.com, Judiej@boreal.org or bkennedy@boreal.org or call Beth at 387-1314.

Also on Tuesday, the Grand Marais Art Colony will hold a session of  “Artist to Artist Input: Critical Response” with Lynn Speaker from 6-8:30 p.m. This is an artist-led critique session. The process allows artists to ask questions about their work in a non-judgmental setting through a facilitated dialogue between artists, peers, and audiences. There is a $10 suggested donation. Call the Art Colony at 387-2737 for more info.

On Wednesday, the Art Colony will host a Community Conversation: The State of the Arts in Cook County  as well as the rest of the state via a Skype conversation with Sheila Smith, executive director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Find out what’s happening and how you can be involved. The session runs from noon to 2 p.m. All invited.

And finally, on Wednesday, Cook County photographer, Bryan Hansel, will give a presentation at the Grand Marais Public Library at 6 p.m. Entitled “100 Days on the Road: The Life of a Landscape Photographer,” Hansel will present pictures, talk about the work it took to make them, what’s it like to run away from a sandstorm, shoot whitewater canoeing and photographing in the pouring rain.

Hansel’s presentation will cover a year of his adventures visiting locations such as Death Valley, the Black Hills, the Rio Grande River, the Boundary Waters, Glacier National Park, the Grand Tetons, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains and more. All invited. Free.

Exhibits:

 The Winter Plein Air exhibit continues at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery with more than 100 paintings of the Northwoods in winter.

The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Thursday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

An exhibit of photographs of the North Shore taken by students of John Gregor continues in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park.

The title of the show is “Polar Vortex.” The class had been scheduled months in advance, but that week the Polar Vortex arrived. The photographers went out to shoot anyway.

In Duluth, a new exhibit of paintings by Sarah Brooke has opened at the Duluth Pottery, 1924 W. Superior St.

The exhibit is entitled “Sacred Selves” and continues through March 31.

The Tweed Museum of Art is opening a new photography exhibit on Tuesday, Feb. 19 entitled “Space: Time and Place.”

The Fibre Exhibition at the Baggage Building Arts Centre in Thunder Bay features work by more than 20 artists, including weaving, crocheting, quilting, textiles and knitting.

The exhibit continues through March 24.

Opportunities:

Lynn Speaker will teach a workshop on funding sources for artists at the Grand Marais Art Colony from noon to 1:30 on  Feb. 21. For more info, click here.

And next week, North House Folk School will start it’s free Skill Sharing series with Steeking: Making that Knitted Garment Fit. It will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 21. The next Thursday, Feb. 28, the Skill Share will be Maple Syruping. Stay tuned.

Music:

Thursday, Feb. 14;

• Briand Morrison & Rosann Berglund, The Cove at the Best Western, 5 p.m.
• Rod & Carah Boo, Skyport Lodge, 5 p.m.
• Second Annual Hot Dish Hoedown, No Promises Swing Band, Wunderbar, 5 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Poplar River Pub, 7 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• DJ Beavstar, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 15:

• Colleen Myhre, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• SVEA Bonfire Concert, Drury Lane Books, 6 p.m.
• Jim & Michele Miller, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Charlie Roth, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Bluefin Grille, 8 p.m.
• Black River Revue, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Grandma Ray’s, 8 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16:

• Jon Cron, Papa Charlie’s, 3:15 p.m.
• J Squared and the Makers, Papa Charlie’s, 6:45 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Log Cabin Concert, rural Grand Marais, 7 p.m., www.michaelmonroemusic.com
• Gordon Thorne, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• North Shore Community Swing Band, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
• Tony Peterson and Colleen Myhre, Gun Flint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 17:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.m
• Eric Frost, Papa Charlie’s, 3:15 p.m.
• Open Mic with Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• Briand Morrison, Papa Charlie’s, 6:45 p.m.
• Billy Johnson, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 18:

• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grile, 8 p.m.
• Dusty Heart, Monday Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Poplar River Pub, 6 p.m.
• Open Mic Night with Eric Frost, Papa Charlie’s, 8 p.m.
• Fathom Lane, Wednesday Songwriter Series, 8 p.m.

Photographs:

Here’s’ a selection of photos we found this week:

Wildlife:

Here’s an icy animal:

And no animal at all.

Other winter stories:

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, this beauty, which totally shows winter on the North Shore. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend, everyone!