The 4th of July in Cook County

The 4th of July is this weekend! Yes, it will be busy, and yes, there are still a lot of Covid-19 protocols in place, but everyone is hoping that people will stay safe and still have a good time. We do too.  Wear a mask. Practice social distancing. Simple. Effective.

The interesting part is watching how things are opening up around the county. North House Folk School, for example, will have live craft demonstrations on campus starting this week and musicians are beginning to perform in outdoor venues. There’s even a drive-in movie option. (See below)

Meanwhile, for details about what’s open, hours, etc., check out these links:  visitcookcounty.com and exploringnorthshore.com . Also, WTIP Community Radio has lots of updates and the latest news from the region as well.

First up this week, is the live craft demonstration at North House Folk School. Former North House intern and instructor, Elizabeth Belz, will demonstrate blacksmithing and metal work on campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

The demonstrations will be in North House’s Blacksmith Shop. Belz will also be demonstrating her craft next week, July 8-11. Free.

On Friday, singer/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith, will perform (virtually) on WTIP’s The Roadhouse. The Roadhouse airs from 5-7 p.m..

Also on Friday, a drive-in movie in Grand Marais! Cook County YMCA will screen a Disney video of the  Broadway musical “Hamilton” in its parking lot starting at 9:15 p.m. The screening is open to the community and is free. You can watch from your vehicle and tune into 105.3 FM for the audio. Pizza can be delivered to your car from Sven and Ole’s, too. Check out this clip from the Broadway production:

It should be a fun event.

On Saturday, the Cook County Market opens for the first time this season in the Senior Center parking lot at 9 a.m. The Market runs through 1 p.m.

Boyd Bump Blomberg will be there for the music. The Market, which features arts and crafts by Cook County residents, is a little smaller than it has been in past years, due to the pandemic, but more vendors are expected as the season moves on. Covid-19 protocols will be in place, including a mask requirement and social distancing. All invited.

The Maker’s Market, which is next to the Beaver House, is open as well, also featuring arts and crafts from the area.

The Tofte Trek and the grand July 4th Celebration in downtown Tofte have been cancelled for this year, but Grand Marais will hold its fireworks display starting at 10 p.m. on Saturday night.

And, there is some music this weekend. Check out the music schedule below for details.

Artist Opportunities:

 The City of Grand Marais is installing eight additional trash receptacles downtown and, through the Creative Economy Collaborative, inviting artists to apply for an opportunity to design original artwork for their exteriors. The budget is $1,000 total or $125 per trash can, thanks to the Great Place Project and the Cook County Chamber. Should an artist want to incorporate youth participation into the project, there is an additional $500 stipend available thanks to the Grand Marais Art Colony. For more info, contact the Grand Marais Art Colony at programs@grandmaraisartcolony.org

Also, the Art Colony is organizing a new exhibit for the windows in its new building at 21 W. Hwy 61. Called “Upcycled,” it’s a creative idea of what to do with their summer catalogs, which were designed way before the pandemic hit the U.S. and are obsolete, because classes had to be cancelled. The Art Colony is suggesting artists of every age make lemonade from lemons, however, and are inviting artists to turn the catalogs into art using the pages from them in projects.. The deadline to submit a piece is July 30.

Check out Art Colony’s website for ideas about how to do the Upcycled journal project. If you’d rather follow directions and create a specific piece,  Cook County book artist, Karen Smaby has created instructions for the page. Free copies of the catalog can be found at the Art Colony and the Lake Superior Trading Post in Grand Marais and DLH Clothing in Duluth. For more info, email Ruth Pzwaro,  artistic director, here.

And, other good news! The Minnesota State Fine Arts Competition is still on, even though the State Fair has been cancelled. Participation is open to all living residents of Minnesota, and each may submit one work for consideration. The deadline to submit is July 27.

The exhibit will run from Aug. 27 through Sept. 7 in the Fine Arts Center. For more information, click here.

There are still a variety of grants and info seminars out there for artists. Check Springboard for the Arts for information.

Also, this summer, Artist Relief will continue offering $5,000 grants for U.S. artists in need. The application is open to architects, poets, writers, journalists, dancers, choreographers, filmmakers, playwrights, photographers, actors, textile artists, performance artists, ceramicists, sculptors, composers, and musicians. For more info, visit artistrelief.org

Artists At Work:

Shawn Perich has written an article about arts on the North Shore entitled “Creative Inspiration: Why the North Shore Attracts Artists” for the latest issue of Northern Wilds.

To read the article, click here.

Betsy Bowen has made cards from her Comfort series, a series of outstanding images she has been creating during the pandemic. They are available at Drury Lane Books and at her gallery in Grand Marais.

Lutsen raku potter Maggie Anderson has been busy this winter and recently new work to Sivertson Gallery.

Kristin Blomberg has been creating new work during this time as well. She is exhibiting at Joy & Co.

 

Youth in the Cook County YMCA’s Summer Camp program are painting the illustrations on wooden flower boxes in front of the Hungry Hippie and Studio 21, the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s new building. Tim Young created the illustrations.

And here’s one: The Art of Fishing.

The North Superior Fishery supplies fresh fish to the Fisherman’s Daughter at Dockside Fish Market as well as the Angry Trout and local grocery stores.

Painter Liz Sivertson, who is also a sax player, has been busy painting some of her favorite bands and musicians during this period inspired by photographs taken during earlier performances. Here they are:

The painting below is the Plucked Up String Band. Bill Hansen, a member of the group, writes: “This is from our TV appearance on “The Playlist,” WDSE, the PBS station in Duluth. We filmed it in the rain on the roof of the Owls Club.” To see the program, click here.  https://youtu.be/ga5Z0jgj3o4

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Regional artists have been busy as well:

Adam Swanson has done a series of paintings about endangered animals that are currently on view at the Lake Superior Aquarium in Duluth.

Click here to see more work and an audio description.

 

And finally, the Duluth Art Institute put a call out to artists to submit work online about their artistic response to the pandemic. Here’s Jonathan Thunder’s take on it.

To see other submissions to this great online exhibit, click here.

On-line Music:

A-WA, three Israeli sisters from Yemen perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts:

 

Two guys hear Dolly Parton sing Jolene for the first time:

The Chicks sing their new song: March, March

     Live Music:

Thursday, July 2:

• Josh Schmidt, Music on the Beach, Lutsen Resort,  7-9 p.m.

Saturday, July 4:

• Bump Blomberg, Cook County Market, 10 a.m.
• Josh Schmidt, Music on the Beach, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.

Sunday, July 5:

• Pushing Chain, Music by the Lake, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 p.m.

Monday, July 5:

• Jim McGowan, Voyageur’s Brewing, 5-8 p.m.

Photographs:

We found some interesting photographs this week:

It’s flowering season:

 

 

 

 

And a few wildlife shots:

 

 

 

And a not-so-wild:

And some landscapes and skyscapes:

 

 

 

 

 

Have a good weekend, everyone. Stay safe!