A summer’s day on the Gunflint Trail. Photo courtesy of Clearwater Historical Lodge.
Greetings from the North Shore, where we are welcoming
Peonies
Betsy Bowen’s Self-reliant Peony. Photograph by Betsy Bowen.
Lilacs
An unusual lilac bush by Joan Farnam.
and Rainbows.
What a fantastic rainbow for Pride Month. Photograph by Bryan Hansel.
We are also mourning the loss of Papa Charlie’s, which was destroyed by fire earlier this week.
RIP Papa Charlie’s. May the power of music climb its way back to Lutsen Mountains. Photograph by Greg Mueller. To read about the fire, click here.
Stay tuned for the future plans for this iconic space.
This is a busy weekend in Cook County, including the popular Hovland Arts Festival, which is Friday and Saturday.
First up, though, is the Grand Marais Farmer’s Market, which is held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center on Thursdays from 4:30-6 pm.
The Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm on Thursday.
Look for fresh produce, fresh eggs, fresh flowers plus a wide variety of baked goods and artisan breads, maple syrup and more. The market is held weekly through early fall.
Also on Thursday, Art Night will be held at Joy and Company from 4-6 pm.
Art Night will be held at Joy & Company from 4-6 pm Thursday.
The event, which is open to all, offers participants the chance to learn about new ways to make art and try their hands at the process. Demos are also featured. Free with a suggested donation.
The Cook County Historical Society will host Historic Cook County Trivia Night at Up Yonder from 6-8 pm Thursday.
Historic Cook County Trivia Night will be held at Up Yonder on Thursday.
Here’s a chance to show off your knowledge. Prizes will be awarded. Everyone welcome.
Also on Thursday evening, the fabulous North Shore Swing Band will play at North House Folk School from 6-8 pm.
The North Shore Swing Band will play at North House from 6-8 pm Thursday.
The public is invited to come on down and cut a rug or just listen. Free. Open to all.
On Friday, the opening reception for “Oil Paintings from Life,” by Lee Englund will be held at the Johnson Heritage Post from 5-7 pm Friday.
Lee Englund will open an exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post with a reception from 5-7 pm on Friday.
Englund, who is from Duluth, is a well-known artist and teacher in the region and has been painting oil landscapes for years. The reception is open to all. The exhibit continues through July 23. The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
On Saturday in Grand Marais, the Cook County Market, featuring arts and crafts from local artists and artisans will be held in the parking lot of The Hub from 10 am to 2 pm.
The Cook County Market runs from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays in the parking lot of The Hub.
Look for pottery, paintings, jewelry, rock art, fiber creations, woodworking and more. Free and open to all.
And this weekend, the 17th annual Hovland Arts Festival will be held at the Hovland Town Hall on Saturday and Sunday featuring a variety of work from 30 local artists.
The Hovland Arts Festival is this weekend and is open from 10 am to 4 pm daily.
This is truly an eclectic and exciting arts festival. Look for paintings and photographs, pottery and weaving, glass art and woodworking, jewelry, collages, knitting, hand-made candles and balms, and more. There is lots of live music throughout both days, too (See Live Music schedule below,) and Shannon Crossbear will be telling stories as well. Food will be available, too. In short, this festival is definitely worth a visit (or two). Open to all. For a preview of what some of the artists are bringing, click here.
New this year at the Arts Festival: The Hovland Writers Salon, featuring four local authors reading from their work. The event will start at 4 pm Saturday. Come for the whiskey and wine and stay for the writers and readings.
The writers include:
Carrie Colburn.
Carrie Colburn’s latest book, “Morlocks in the Basement, a Memoir,” was published in 2022. “Minimum Maintenance,” a novel, was published in 2010. Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies. She has worked as a musician, teacher, typesetter, and contract writer. Colburn divides her time between a 112-year-old house in Duluth, and a cabin on Lake Superior near the Canadian border.
Lin Salisbury.
Lin Salisbury is the producer and host of Superior Reads on WTIP Radio and has hosted New York Times bestselling authors, National Book Award winners, Minnesota Book Award winners, and Pulitzer Prize winning authors on her monthly show. She is currently at work on a memoir, Crazy for You, as well as a novel, The Violet Hour Book Club. Her work has appeared in Snowshoemag.com, Fourth Genre, and Minnesota Memories. She is the 2023 winner of the Lake Superior Writers contest in creative nonfiction. Lin is the recipient of a Loft Mentor Series fellowship in creative nonfiction and a Minnesota State Arts Board grant.
Siffy Torkildson.
Caroline “Siffy” Torkildson is a geographer, cartographer, dark sky advocate, life-long star gazer, author, editor, and book designer. She has published a travel guide, as well as a travel-memoir and the soon-to-be published “My Home is Where My Trunk is: Traveling Toward My Dreams” with Annie Smith Peck. She is the former president of the Society of Woman Geographers.
Tor Torkildson.
Rob ‘Tor’ Torkildson is a lifelong seeker, explorer, and writer who has worked and lived around the world. He has tramped through the Amazon, over the Himalayas, and across the Sahara in his quest to experience sacred landscapes in the world. He has published three travel memoirs, a novella, and his work has been published in a number of different journals. He is working on a book about the outdoorsman Calvin Rutstrum.
The public is invited to attend the Writer’s Salon at the end of the first day of the Arts Festival at 4 pm. Free and open to all.
Tuesday is July 4th and there are a number of events being held in Cook County, not the least of which is the Tofte Trek and Tofte’s July 4th Parade and Celebration.
The Tofte 4th of July Celebration has vents and activities for kids and adults.
This annual event includes music, food vendors, craft vendors, kid’s games, a parade, fireworks, and the annual Tofte Trek trail race. The event is based around fundraising efforts for the Tofte and Lutsen Fire Department as well as other nonprofit organizations and small businesses in Cook County. Special this year: The Lutsen Fire Department’s Fish Fry.
Also, Tofte, Grand Marais and Grand Portage will all have fireworks after dark on July 4.
Fireworks are on tap in Tofte, Grand Marais, and Grand Portage on July 4th, starting at dark. File photo, courtesy of the Lake Superior Trading Post.
On Wednesday, an Old-Time Town Hall Dance will be held at the Colvill Town Hall from 7-9 pm.
Old-time dances are to be held at the Colvill Town Hall on Wednesdays.
The dance features the waltz, polka, schottische, two-step, and jitterbug. Instruction provided. This is a family-friendly event recurring weekly through July 12. To practice your dancing, a community dance with live music, provided by the Portage Band, will be at the town hall on Saturday, July 15th. All invited. $5 per dance.
Exhibits:
North House Folk School Resident Artisans Laura Brown and Nate White are back from their trips to Scandinavia and are now wrapping up their final weeks in the Artisan Development Program. To celebrate their last two years in ADP, North House is hosting a final show to highlight their amazing work from their time as Resident Artisans.
Laura Brown and Nate White will exhibit their work in the Green Building at North House Folk School through July 1.
The exhibit of their work is in the Green Building, which is open from 9 am to 4 pm through July 1. The public is invited to see their work.
Air-Openness, the Summer Exhibition hosted by the Grand Marais Art Colony is on view at Studio 21 through Aug. 28 featuring a variety of work by four regional artists.
The Air-Openness Exhibition at Studio 21 features work by regional artists.
Now That Summer Has Ended, an exhibit about winter activities at Grand Portage during the Fur Trade Era is currently on view on the second-floor balcony at the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center through Oct. 15.
Now That Summer Has Ended, an exhibit about winter activities at Grand Portage during the Fur Trade Era continues at the Heritage Center.
The exhibit includes what people wore in the winter, tools they used as well as reproductions of paintings made at the time. Open to all. Free.
An exhibit by Cassandra Quinn entitled “Birth, Afterbirth, Rebirth: Motherhood in the Time of AI” is on view at the Duluth Art Institute.
Transmutation Milky Way, collage, by Cassandra Quinn is currently on view at the Duluth Art Institute.
Inspired by personal experience, nature, and the supernatural, Quinn’s hand-painted collages are dreamy and otherworldly. The feminine figures in Birth, Afterbirth, Rebirth exude power and confidence by way of vulnerability. Each painting’s story resides in motherhood. The exhibit continues through Sept. 16.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is featuring a collection of works by Pacita Abad.
An exhibit of trapuntos by Pacita Abad is on view at the Walker Art Center.
The retrospective exhibit of works by Pacita Abad (US, b. Philippines, 1946–2004) are the subject of the first-ever retrospective spanning the artist’s 32-year career. Abad is best known for her trapuntos, a form of quilted painting made by stitching and stuffing her canvases as opposed to stretching them over a wood frame. During her lifetime, the prolific artist made a vast number of artworks that traverse a diversity of subjects, from colorful masks to intricately constructed underwater scenes to abstract compositions. The exhibit runs through Sept. 3.
Upcoming:
Next weekend, look forward to the Grand Marais Arts Festival which returns to its traditional place in downtown Grand Marais on Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9.
The Grand Marais Arts Festival will be in downtown Grand Marais this year.
In all, 60 artists have been juried into this Arts Festival and will present a variety of mediums including ceramics, painting and drawing, jewelry, photography, woodworking, sculpture, fiber art, printmaking, and more.
Local artists include:
- Ceramics: Natalie Sobanja, Catherine Hansen, Hannah Palma Laky, Maggie Anderson
- Fiber: Julie Arthur, Elise Kyllo, Emily Wick
- Brooms: Marybeth Garmoe
- Knives: William Youmans
- Leather: William Youmans, Marybeth Garmoe
- Painting: Gina Adams, Neil Sherman, Corrie Steckelberg
- Printmaking: Betsy Bowen, Nan Onkka
- Wood: Rebecca Barrett, Cooper Ternes
The Arts Festival will be open from 9 am to 4 pm Saturday and from 10 am to 4 pm Sunday. For more information about the festival and the participants, click here
And here’s some news!
“Third Thursday Jazz at Up Yonder” with the fabulous North Shore Swing Band will start weekly performances at Up Yonder on July 20. They will play from 7-9 pm. No cover charge. The kick-off will be Thursday, July 20. (The band plays again two days later for their annual gig at Clearwater Historic Lodge, July 22 from 7-9.)
Note: The North Shore Swing Band is a group of talented local musicians playing Big Band, swing, and jazz music for dancing and listening, and at full strength has upwards of 15 players, with amazing soloists including saxophonist Eric Hahn, trombonist Eric Anderson, guitar players Fred Anderson and Dan Nelson, trumpeter Tim Sullivan, and vocalist Carah Thomas.
Kudos:
Staci Drouillard’s award-winning book, “Seven Aunts,” is one of the Minnesota titles chosen for the “Great Reads” showcase at the National Book Festival in August.
Staci Drouillard’s award-winning book, “Seven Aunts.” is available at Drury Lane Books.
The books will be available at the Festival book store in Washington, DC and on display in the exhibit hall.
Artists at Work:
Duluth artist Ann Klefstad’s piece for the new Essentia building. It is entitled: 3 Realms.
Fresh Art by Betsy Bowen.
Superior Solstice Winter/Summer, cast aluminum, cast bronze, reclaimed metals by Greg Mueller.
Ceramic Pins by Terry Lord Lewis. She is one of the artists who will be at the Hovland Arts Festival this weekend.
Online Findings:
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins recently interviewed former Cook County resident Ann Rosenquist about her recent participation in the History Channel series, Alone.
Ann Rosenquist is interviewed on WTIP about being on “Alone.”
Kalli Hawkins writes:
“Many of the participants who apply for the History Channel’s tv series “Alone” do so to pursue the $500,000 prize and test their survival capabilities.
While those driving factors were undoubtedly a consideration for Ann Rosenquist, a former Cook County resident who competed in the 10th season of the survivalist TV series, her decision to apply for the survival series stemmed from her parents.”
To read more and listen to the interview, click here
To stream the episodes, click here.
Online Music:
Live Music:
Thursday, June 29:
- Michele Miller, Harbor Park, 4-7 pm
- Jim Miller, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- North Shore Swing Band, North House Folk School, 6-8 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, June 30:
- Joe Paulik, Pat Flack, and Friends, Gunflint Tavern, 5-8 pm
- DJ “Birthday Gurl,” Gunflint Tavern, 8-11 p
Saturday, July 1:
- Sky Blue Jazz, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, TBA
- Fred Anderson, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10 am
- Hovland Arts Festival, Hovland Town Hall
- Jim McGowan, 10:30-12 pm
- Jim Miller, 12:30-2 pm
- Bump Blomberg, 2:30-4 pm
- The Southpaws, Birch Terrace, 4-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Pat Flack, and Friends, Gunflint Tavern, 6-9 pm
- DJ “Birthday Gurl,” Up Yonder, 8:30-11:59 pm
Sunday, July 2:
- Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
- Hovland Arts Festival, Hovland Town Hall
- Joe Paulik, 10:30-12 pm
- Tim Quarberg, 12:30-2 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, 2:30-4 pm
- Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
- Adam Kirsch, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
- Teague Alexy, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- John Gruber, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm
- Fleetwood Maki & Southpaws, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Monday, July 3:
- Roxann Berglund, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
- Briand Morrison, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
Tuesday, July 4:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 5:30-7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 5:
- Jim Miller, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
Thursday, July 6:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, July 7:
- Michele Miller, Harbor Park, 4-7 pm
- Zulu Link, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
- Rich Lewis Band, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:59 pm
Saturday, July 8:
- Zahir Orest, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10 am
- Michele Miller, Harbor Park, 3-7 pm
- Boyd “Bump” Blomberg, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Pat Flack, and Friends, Gunflint Tavern, 6-9 pm
- Duluth Transit Authority, Grand Portage Lodge and Casino, 7 – 11 pm
- Rich Lewis Band, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:59 pm
Sunday, July 9:
- Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
- Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
- Zahir Orest, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
- Rich Lewis Band, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Timmy Haus, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm
- The Five (of the The Evening Stars), Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Photographs:
We found some interesting photographs this week. Here’s a selection:
Wildlife:
Common Merganser by Paul Sundberg.
Burro, Burro, Blackbird by Bryan Hansel.
White Admiral Butterfly Taking a Rest by Tom Kasper.
Saw-Whet Mama Owl and a Baby by Mark Schocken.
White-Faced Ibis. Photo courtesy of the Dept. of the Interior.
Otter praise. Photograph courtesy of the National Park Service.
Grackle Fledgling party by Becky Heller.
Flowersapes:
Beautiful Invasion by Christian Dalbec.
Wild Rose by Meadow Adams.
Pink Lady’s Slipper in the Woods by Betty Hemstad.
Grouse in the Fuchsia by Tracey Cullen.
Rare Burgundy Lupine by Jan Swart.
Potpourri:
The Shadow by Kristopher Bowman
What? Post-morning mow bonus. Huge for wild ones by Nina Simonowicz.
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde by Travis Novitsky.
Lonnie Dupre’s new expedition boat, Nord Hus. Photo by Jack Willis.
Landscapes, Cloudscapes, Waterscapes & Rockscapes:
Sunrise over the Greatest Lake by Chuck Olsen.
Good morning from this big, beautiful lake by Kristofer Bowman.
Sunrise and Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills by Bryan Hansel.
Arch of the North by Christian Dalbec.
Michigan’s Pictured Rocks by Paul Sundberg.
Rosy Lights Azalea and the sweet tufts of spent Pasque flowers by Alisa Berns.
Happy 4th, everyone!!!
Ok, we’ll admit it! We really like putting out these issues every week. It’s interesting, it provides a service to the community and, in my case, I really like finding things that are unusual or beautiful, or totally out of the box. But we need your support to continue to do this. Please consider making a donation today, whatever is comfortable for you. You can click on the icon below and donate online or you can send a check to NorthShore ArtScene, PO Box 1232, Grand Marais, MN 55604.
Have a Happy Holiday!
Sincerely,
Joan Farnam
PS: Jeremy Lopez, Yvonne Mills and Kari Carter are the three volunteers who help make this all possible every week. A donation is a Thank You to them, too.
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