Grand Marais & Blue by Jamie Rex.
Greetings from the North Shore where the focus this week is on Grand Marais, which will be celebrating the 94th annual Fisherman’s Picnic this weekend. The event has changed a lot over the years, but for people who grew up here, it’s a time to see old classmates, hold family and class reunions and bask in shared history and memories.
Herring-cleaning contest at Fisherman’s Picnic in 1948. Photo courtesy of the Cook County Historical Society.
Here’s a video from last year’s Picnic:
Big crowds are expected this year as the region recovers from Covid-19. As usual, there are lots of things to do and see, including Crazy Daze sales, arts and crafts booths, the Loon Calling Contest, the Cutest Puppy Contest, a softball game, a Walk/Run, and, of course, fishburgers.
Fisherman’s Picnic will be held Aug. 3-6 this year with lots of things to do and see. Find out more here.
The weather should be perfect, including on Sunday, Aug. 6, for the Fisherman’s Picnic Parade at 1 pm. It’s the biggest parade of the year and is always lots of fun. And not to forget, there’s a great line-up of live music at Harbor Park all weekend.
There are lots of other events in town over the weekend, too.
First up, Grand Marais Pottery will be holding a Paint a Piece of Pottery event over Fisherman’s Picnic weekend again this year outside Betsy Bowen’s Studio Gallery. Participants can pick out a piece of unglazed pottery (a cup, bowl, or plate), paint it with food-safe underglazes and it will be fired and ready for pick-up during the Picnic. Late-painted pieces can also be mailed.
Paint a Piece of Pottery will be held outside at Betsy Bowmen’s Studio Gallery, 301 1st Ave. W., this weekend.
The pots will be available for painting Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from noon to 7 pm. Paint kits are also available. You can pick one up, paint your pottery on your own time, and then bring it back, or you can paint it on the spot. The cost is $35 apiece. Plan on getting there early, though. Last year, the pots sold out on Thursday. To register and find out more, click here.
Joy and Company will hold its weekly Art Night on Thursday from 4-6, this time with a bow to Fisherman’s Picnic. Each week, participants are invited to experiment with different art media, and this week, they’ll be putting together a fish stamp and using it for printmaking.
Art Night at Joy and Company will feature making and creating with fish stamps.
The event is free with a suggested donation. Open to all.
The Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm Thursday.
The Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Stories That Matter – Sharing the History of Cook County Women will be held at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery from 5:30- 6:30 pm.
Three Cook County women will share stories about Cook County at the Heritage Post on Thursday at 5:30 pm.
Olga Soderberg, Alta McQuatters, and Sue Hennessy will share their passions, skills, and experiences with those around them. Come and hear how they have helped to shape the Cook County community. Free and open to the public.
The Grand Marais Summer Theater Festival continues this week with performances of SHOUT: The Mod Musical and Four Old Broads at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in repertory.
The Summer Theater Festival runs through Aug 13.
SHOUT: The Mod Musical will be performed Aug. 3, 5, 11 & 13 and Four Old Broads will be onstage Aug. 4, 6, and 12. performances are at 7 pm Thursday through Saturday, and 2 pm Sunday, except for Sunday, Aug. 6, when it will be at 3 pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online here.
On Friday, besides all the Picnic events happening downtown, the Grand Marais Art Colony will hold a Pop-up exhibit: Do Rad Things Skateboard Camp Exhibition.
Do Rad Things Skateboard Pop-Up Exhibit will be at Studio 21 on Friday.
The exhibit features work by participants in a Skateboard camp this summer. The exhibit is from 5-6 pm. Free. The public is invited.
The Cook County Market, which is usually held on Saturdays, will be held on Friday and Saturday on Wisconsin Street, across from the World’s Best Donuts during Fisherman’s Picnic. The Market features a wide variety of arts and crafts by local artists and artisans.
The Cook County Market will be held on Wisconsin Street across from the World’s Best Donuts on Friday and Saturday, It will be held from 10 am to 3 pm both days.
The market features woodwork, paintings and cards, jewelry, pottery, and more. It is open from 10 am to 3 pm.
Also on Friday, the opening reception for a new exhibit in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park will be held from 7 to 8:30 pm with refreshments courtesy of the Friends of Tettegouche.
The exhibit features work by Lonnie Broden.
Baptism River, acrylic, by Lonnie Broden, is one of the paintings that will be at Tettegouche State Park this month. The opening reception is Friday at 7:30 pm.
Here is Broden’s artist statement:
“In May, when the rivers are overflowing in their rush to Lake Superior, and when there is still snow on north slopes and in between crevices, I love to capture as much as I can on canvas with paint, and with my camera. In layers, using computer software, I blend the painting with photography to create one image from many, and I print them using archival ink and paper. All the seasons and many familiar up North scenes are represented in my show at Tettegouche including some original paintings and prints.” The exhibit continues through the end of August.
On Saturday, the Grand Marais Art Colony will start it’s weekly mini-class on developing a nature sketchbook from 11 am to noon at Studio 21. The free weekly workshops will be held through Aug. 25.
A mini-class on sketching from nature will be held at Studio 21 on Saturday at 11 am. Free and open to all.
Participants will learn to capture the beauty of the North Shore and the wonders of nature by keeping a nature sketchbook of their adventures. The instructor, Janet Moore, is the Studio 21 visitor engagement manager. The class is free.
In Duluth, the AICHO Art Gallery, 212 W. 2nd St., opens a new exhibit entitled “Indigenous Expressions: Love, Culture & Reinvention.”
A new exhibit opens at AICHO Gallery with a reception from 5:30-7:30 pm Saturday.
This small group exhibition will feature the digital artwork of Tashia Hart (Red Lake Nation tribal memberp), beadwork art of Chenoa Williams (Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal member), and paintings by Sam Zimmerman. (Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant.) The opening reception is at 5:30 pm on Saturday. The public is invited.
Ongoing:
The exhibit, “Four Local Artists” continues at the Johnson Heritage Post through Aug. 20.
The exhibit, Four Local Artists, is on view at the Johnson Heritage Post.
In the exhibit, artists Bonnie Gay Hedstrom, Howard Hedstrom, Mary MacDonald and Jeff Morgan have come together to present a display of northern craftsmanship. The exhibit includes weaving, felting, wood carving, mosaic, and more.
The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. Free.
The Grand Marais Art Colony‘s summer exhibition, Air – Openness is currently on view at Studio 21.
Walter Early is one of the artists exhibiting at the summer exhibition for the Grand Marais Art Colony at Studio 21 this summer.
The Biggest Blueberry Contest on the Gunflint Trail continues through Aug. 13.
The Biggest Blueberry Contest runs through Aug 13.
For more information and to find out the weighing stations on the Gunflint Trail, click here.
Upcoming:
The Grand Portage Celebration Pow Wow is Aug. 11-13 this year and is held at the Grand Portage Pow Wow grounds featuring hundreds of dancers from around the region, including Canada.
The Grand Portage Rendezvous Days and Celebration Pow-wow are Aug. 11-13. Pictured is a Shawl Dancer. Photograph by Stephen Hoflund, courtesy of Visit Cook County.
The Pow Wow is held in conjunction with Grand Portage Rendezvous Days. The Pow Wow is sponsored by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa/Ojibwe (Anishinaabe). It is an American Indian cultural gathering focused on dance, song, and family celebration, held the second weekend in August.
Grand Entry on Saturday, Aug. 12, is at 1 pm and 7 pm, and at 1 pm on Sunday, Aug. 13. Open to all.
The Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium is gearing up to hit the road again for its 6th annual Dark Sky Caravan Aug. 7-12.
To celebrate our dark skies, Planetarium staff will be traveling along the North Shore stopping at different locations each night for a star party from 8 pm -11 pm.
The Dark Sky Caravan & Star Party will be in Cook County this month.
Here are the locations:
- Aug. 7: Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium – UMD, Duluth, MN
- **In addition to the star party activities, planetarium shows will run every half hour.**
- Aug. 8: Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors, MN
- Aug. 9: Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center, Silver Bay, MN
- Aug. 10: North House Folk School, Grand Marais, MN
- Aug. 11: Seagull Lake Community Center, Grand Marais, MN
- Aug. 12: Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, Grand Marais, MN
Breaking News:
The Duluth Art Institute will lose its lease and gallery space at the Depot next year. It has been at the Depot for 91 years.
The Duluth Art Institute is losing its lease in The Depot.
The lease will expire on May 1 of next year. To find out more information and to see a press conference, click here.
Artists at Work:
Going with the Flow, collage, by Marti Mullen.
The Shape of Things to Come by Woodcraft artist Jim Sannerud.
Bryan Hansel has been featured in the Walleye this month. Click here to read the story. It is on Page 44.
Working on the next one. Something about pine trees by Betsy Bowen.
New work by raku potter, Richard Gruchalla. He shows his work at Sivertson Gallery.
It’s hard to surrender your treasures to the thrift store by Mary Beams.
This statue of Helmer Aakvik, the Hovland fisherman, was carved by Mike Jansen. It sits in front of the North Shore Fisherman’s Cabin at 9 4th Ave. W., a short-term rental owned by Todd and Susan Miller.
Our whole floor is a chalkboard by Jill Terrell, Joy and Company.
Blatnik Bridge, Duluth, by Tim Young.
Online Findings:
Here’s an interesting PBS series about the Ojibwe Nation.
Online Music:
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Live Music:
Thursday, Aug 3:
- The Devils Kettle Band, Harbor Park Stage, 3-6 pm
- Dan Nelson Trio, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- Open Stage / Street Dance hosted by Zulu Link, Harbor Park Stage, 7-10 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, Aug 4:
- Zahir Orest, at the Cook County Market, 10 am
- Jim McGowan, Harbor Park Stage, 11-12:30 pm
- North Shore Swing Band, Harbor Park Stage, 1-2:30 pm
- Drew Heinonen Trio, Harbor Park Stage, 3-6 pm
- Southpaws, Birch Terrace, 6-8 pm
- Street Dance with The Evening Stars, Harbor Park Stage, 7-9:30 pm
- Eli Bently, Up Yonder on 61, 8:30-11:30 pm
Saturday, Aug 5:
- Zahir Orest, at the Cook County Market, 10 am
- Roxann Berglund and Briand Morrison, Harbor Park Stage, 11-12:30 pm
- Frozen Britches (Tom VanCleve and Eric Hahn), Senior Center Parking Lot, 1-4 pm
- Josh Schmidt, Harbor Park Stage, 1-2:30 pm
- The Splints, Harbor Park Stage, 3-6 pm
- Portage, Birch Terrace, 4-7 pm
- Sky Blue Jazz, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Southpaws, Up Yonder on 61, 5-8 pm
- Street Dance with Mysterious Ways, Harbor Park Stage, 7-9 pm
- D.J. Birthday Gurl, Up Yonder, 9-11:59 pm
Sunday, Aug 6:
- North Shore Swing Band, Bethlehem Lutheran Church jazz service, 10-11 am
- Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
- Adam Kirsch, Harbor Park, Noon-1 pm
- Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
- Briand Morrison, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
- Boyd “Bump” Blomberg, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Shane Martin, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Timmy Haus, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 5-7 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Monday, Aug 7
- Jim Miller, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
Tuesday, Aug 8:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 5:30-7:30 pm
Wednesday, Aug 9:
John Gruber, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm
Thursday, Aug 10:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, Aug 11:
- Rendezvous Days Welcome with Stone Bridge Singers Drum Group, Great Hall Lawn, Grand Portage, 10 am
- Kevin Buck, Birch Terrace, 5-7:30 pm
- DJ set Cory and Bryan, Up Yonder, 8 pm
Saturday, Aug 12:
- Zahir Orest, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10 am
- Grand Portage Pow Wow, Grand Portage
- Grand Entry, 1 pm
- Evening Grand Entry, 7 pm
- Zulu Link, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
- Keith Secola, Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, 8-10 pm
- The Honest Heart Collective, Up Yonder, 9-11:55 pm
Sunday, Aug 13:
- Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
- Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
- Grand Portage Pow Wow, Grand Portage
- Grand Entry, 1 pm
- Michele Miller, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
- Sarah Morris, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- The Five (the core group of The Evening Stars), Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Timmy Haus, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 5-7 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Photographs:
Here’s what we found this week:
Wildlife:
On Watch by David Johnson.
Surprise Friend by Karen Sunderman.
Lesser Yellowlegs by Thomas Spence.
Gotcha! Eagle vs Drone. Photographer unknown.
Hummer on the Feeder by Roxanne Distad.
Up close with our new buddy, the ghost Pine Beetle by David Johnson.
Froggy friend on the shore of Lake Agnes by Chuck Olsen.
An Almost Wild:
Daily cute kitty photo by Bryan Hansel.
Potpourri & People:
There he goes by Sierra Parsons.
Yard totem at night by Annette Block-Valdivia.
After 20 minutes on the North Slope of Alaska for National Geographic by Joel Sartore.
There are many ways to do joinery. This is not one of them by James Joerke.
What the camera saw at Pipestone by Abbey Taubert.
Taking refuge from the rain in Nara, Japan.
A Saturday in Duluth by R. Samarzia..
At the Border Wall. Photographer unknown.
Friendship. Photographer unknown.
Landscapes, Skyscapes & Waterscapes:
Fog on the hills at Grand Marais by Bryan Hansel.
Grand Marais Lighthouse, looking cozy in the conifers by Chuck Olsen.
The High Falls in Summer by Lin Salisbury.
Battle Mountain Sunrise by Tom Healy.
My favorite spot on the North Shore by Brooke Zank.
On yesterday’s hike by Jamie Rex.
Coffee Time by Jamie Rabold.
Superior Lookout by Christian Dalbec.
My Flower Muse by Roxanne Distad.
A summer waterfall by Chuck Olsen.
Hovland, Minnesota by Lin Salisbury.
Saddle Mountain by Tom Healy.
Nessy the Fog Monster consumes the Point by Bryan Hansel.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Hello! I hope you enjoyed NorthShore ArtScene this week. It’s been fun putting it all together for you. We do need your support, though. You can donate directly by clicking on the icon below, or send a check to NorthShore ArtScene, PO Box 1232, Grand Marais, MN 55604. And Thank You!
In case you want to know, here are the people who make this blog possible: Myself, Joan Farnam, all content & photographs; Jeremy Lopez, proofreading, technical expertise, and some music; Yvonne Mills, proofreading and Kari Carter, caption corrections and research.
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