And So It Begins

We had the first fall freeze in Grand Marais this morning.

It barely froze close to Lake Superior, (30°F), but the basil sure didn’t like it, although the late fall apples and kale probably did. In some ways, it is worth noting. The historic date of first frost on the North Shore is usually mid-September, especially if there’s a full moon. Last night was the Hunter’s Moon … the full moon in October.

So it is definitely the end of the summer season here. It just so happens that this is also Moose Madness weekend, another end-of-summer marker for Cook County.

Moose Madness features lots of family activities and events throughout the county this year.

Highlights include the Moose Medallion Hunt, a competition to find a moose medallion secreted somewhere in downtown Grand Marais. The first clue is posted online on Friday morning. Click here and here for more the clues. Other events: earn Moose Bucks at local businesses, meet Murray the Moose in Harbor Park, drop by the VisitCookCounty Visitor Center and get maps for routes to (maybe) see moose, do the Colville Moose Crawl on County Rd. 14. To see all the events, including where to pick up the Moose Coloring Contest packet,  click here.

North House Folk School opens its campus to families over MEA Weekend, and this year is no exception. There are all kinds of opportunities to learn, including classes and drop-in activities from cooking to fiber arts, woodworking to blacksmithing.

Classes require registration ahead of time, but drop-in activities are free and require no pre-registration. North House will also host a Family Fun Night on Friday, Oct. 22 open to the community. For more information, click here.

Other activities this weekend include a book signing with author Kristy Boike at Lake Superior Trading Post from 1-2 p.m. on Friday, Moose Trivia on WTIP Community Radio at 7 p.m. Friday, and an Open House at Points Unknown with sled dogs and live music. Again, click here to learn all the details.

This is also the last weekend for the Cook County Market, a showcase for local artists and artisans that is held in the parking lot of  The Hub (formerly the Senior Center) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Look for pottery, fused glass, woodworking and more at the Market. All welcome.

Exhibits:

 The Johnson Heritage Post just opened a new exhibit featuring four regional artists entitled “Impressions: Painting from Everyday Life.” The exhibit includes work by Michele Combs, Matt Kania, Marva Harms and Christine Tierney.

The exhibit continues through Nov. 7. The Heritage Post is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Open to all. Free.

Sivertson Gallery announced that is has just received the Dorset Fine Art Print Release collection in the gallery.

Each October, Kinngait Studios releases an annual collection of prints. Formerly known as Cape Dorset, Kinngait is a far north Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada and is world famous for its art. The artists here have channelled their creativity into prints representing the Inuit way of life, and they have earned a reputation for quality and originality. The owls, narwhals, loons, bears, and spirits have arrived! To see the 2021 collection, click here.

In St. Paul, the Catherine J. Murphy Gallery has opened an exhibit entitled “Drawing from a Collection” featuring the pieces from the collection of  Kathleen Daniels, won has been the director of the gallery for 23 years. The Gray Whale, a sculpture by Dan Ross, is included in the collection, which is open to the public this weekend.

Daniels will be at the gallery to greet visitors on Friday, Oct. 22, from 1–4 p.m.  and Saturday Oct. 23, from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The gallery is located at Visual Arts Building, 2004 Randolph Ave. in St. Paul. To see the show virtually, click here.

 Upcoming:

As part of the 2021 North Shore Readers and Writers NonFest, the Grand Marais Art Colony will host a small number of author readings by Minnesota authors at Studio 21 on Nov. 5 and Nov. 8. Here is the schedule:

Nov. 5 – Click here to register

• Kathryn Savage, 5 p.m.
• James Cihlar, 5:30 p.m.
• Moheb Soliman, 6 p.m.
• Diane Wilson, 6:30 p.m

Nov. 8 – Click here to register

• Scott Carpenter, 5 p.m,
•  Joyce Sutphen, 5:30 p.m.

Each author reading will be ticketed separately at $10 each. A full pass for each evening can be purchased for a small discount. Space will be limited, so pre-registering is recommended.

Winterer’s Gathering, a celebration of all things winter, will be held at North House Folk School Nov 18-21 this year.

Campus will be safely active all weekend and includes the Arctic Film Festival, Skill Share Demonstrations, the Great Gear and Ski Sale, the Deep Freeze Chili Feed and coursework. Author John Turk is the featured speaker. For more info, click here.

North House will also host a variety of presentations on winter-related topics: from arctic wildlife to camping tips, expeditions to winter poetry,  Click here to see the Zoom schedule, which will be posted Oct. 23.

FYI 

Applications for the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s 2022 Independent Artist Residencies are now open. The Art Colony is pleased to continue this program and invites artists to complete an application for 1 – 4 week residencies in one of their five studios.

The residency season runs from mid-January 2022 – April 2022 and from October 2022 – mid-December 2022. Applications are received on an ongoing basis until October 17, 2022.  Apply on SlideRoom >> grandmaraisartcolony.slideroom.com

WISE, the Women’s Initiative for Service and Education, will hold an online auction from Nov. 6-14. Members are all donating items, and last year WISE received items from community members as well. If you have something you’d be willing to donate, please reply to Ann Marie Mershon at amershon@boreal.org

WISE offers classroom grants to teachers across the county, donates to local non-profit organizations that impact children and families, and offers $3000 in scholarships to students and community members. We also sponsor service projects. Your donation would support all these endeavors.

 Findings:

Painting again: Artist John Franz is painting again… this time, a restored 94-year-old herring skiff owned by Tor Torkildson.

 

 

 

 

Online Music:

 Live Music: 

Thursday, Oct. 21:

• Kenna Rose, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Date Night at the Winery, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 22:

• Joe Paulik, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6 p.m.
• TBA, Gunflint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 23:

• Live music, Cook County Market, 10:30 a.m.
• TBA, Gunflint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.

Photographs:

Here’s a selection of the photographs we found this week:

Wildlife:

 

 

 

A Not-So-Wild:

Potpourri:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Landscapes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy your weekend, everyone! And stay safe.

(Note: If you enjoyed NorthShore ArtScene this week, consider making a donation to this volunteer effort by clicking on the link below. And Thank You!)