Summer Delights

Greetings from the North Shore, where we celebrate the beauty of Lake Superior and the warmth of August days, even as fireweed blooms warn us of much colder days to come. We’ve done Fisherman’s Picnic, and the Summer Theater Festival, and last weekend was Rendezvous Days and the Celebration Powwow, highlights of the summer months. This year, we get to conclude our summer experiences with Pickup Opera’s “Romeo and Juliet,” which undoubtedly will be a very funny and impressive tour de force, if their last performances here are any indication. And next month, music, music, music, with WTIP’s Radio Waves Music Festival andNorth House Folk School’s Unplugged.

Welcome to Cook County.

Let’s get on with what is happening this week.

First up is The Puppet Showcase and Summer Reading Picnic at the Grand Marais Public Library, which will be held on the lawn starting at 10:30 am Thursday.

This free, family-friendly puppet showcase features COMPAS art educator, Christopher Lutter-Gardella, who will set up a traditional hand-puppet stage, provide puppet guidance, musical accompaniment, and plain ol’ puppet camaraderie (with a hand-puppet of his own) to facilitate a spontaneous, highly improvised showcase of the unique puppet creations of the participants.

The show will be followed by a picnic lunch to celebrate the library’s Summer Reading program, provided by the Library Friends of Cook County and Gene’s Foods. Everyone is invited.

The weekly Art Night at Joy and Company will be held from 4-6 pm at the shop. Each week, participants learn about art media and make their own work. This week’s topic: How to Paint the Northern Lights.

The event is free, with a suggested donation. All invited.

Also on Thursday, the weekly Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm.

Look for locally produced vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chard and potatoes, to name a few, as well as quail eggs, artisan breads and baked goods, including gluten-free. Open to all. SNAP accepted.

On Friday, there will be an Author Meet and Greet at Drury Lane Books at 11 am. The public is invited to  meet New York Times best-selling author Mary Logue, who will talk about her newest release “The Big Sugar” and read from several of her most popular releases.

Logue has published more than 30 books, including mystery novels, poetry, non-fiction books, and many books for children. Her latest mystery, Big Sugar, is coming out this May.

Also on Friday, the Cook County Historical Society Museum and the Johnson Heritage Post will host a Culture Crawl, a monthly event which offers the public the opportunity to explore both locations.

The Culture Crawl is held from 5-7 pm on Friday. The public is invited.

In Silver Bay, the ArtCar Beach Bash is this weekend.  The event will showcase 10 ArtCars which are vehicles that have been artistically altered by their owners with every conceivable design.

On Thursday afternoon at 2 pm, Minnesota Public Art advocate Jack Becker will lead an Art Discussion Forum, “The Importance of Art and Culture,” hosted by the Silver Bay Public Library at Reunion Hall in Silver Bay.

On Friday evening, the ArtCar Sneak Peak will be held at City Center Park in Silver Bay ahead of the Music in the Park Concert. The Sneak Peak starts at 6 pm.

On Saturday, at the ArtCar Beach Bash, ArtCars will be on display from 10 am to 4 pm on the lawn near the Black Beach Mini Golf and the Black Beach Inn (formerly AmericInn). There will also be a wide variety of activities and games and food will be available.  Family-friendly. Free and open to all.

Saturday in Grand Marais opens with the Cook County Market, which is held in the parking lot of The Hub from 10 am to 2 pm.

The market features the work of local artists and artisans. Look for one-of-a-kind pottery, weaving, jewelry, woodworking, glass art, natural balms and soaps, Lake Superior stones, rock art, hand-dyed clothing, paintings, snacks, maple syrup, and more. And there is live music. All are welcome.

To celebrate the art of pickleball, the 2nd annual International Pickleball Tournament will be held at the Tennis Center in Grand Marais on Saturday. Players from the North Shore and Thunder Bay will compete.

The six pickleball courts have just had new acrylic applied and are ready for tournament play. The public is invited to watch.

Also on Saturday, the free mini-class in Drawing Nature in a Sketchbook will be held at Studio 21 on Saturday from 11 am to noon.

Janet Moore is the instructor. Supplies will be available. Open to the public.

Also on Saturday, the Make-a-Bowl, Paint-A-Bowl for Empty Bowls event will be held at Studio 21 from 1-4 pm.

This is an opportunity to get creative with friends and family while helping raise funds to fight hunger in Cook County. Participants will have the option to make a bowl using slab techniques or paint a bowl with brush-on underglazes. The bowls will then be glazed and fired at the Art Colony ceramics studio and used at the Empty Bowl Soup Dinner Fundraiser which will be held Nov. 16 this year. Registration is not required, but pre-registration is helpful. A donation of $5 is suggested to cover materials costs. Open to all.

And, if you’re gong to be in Duluth this weekend. the Art in Bayfront Park festival will be Saturday and Sunday, featuring work by more than 100 artists and artisans, food and entertainment. To find out more, click here.

On Monday morning, knitters and crafters are invited down to the beach at Harbor Park at 9 am for the free, weekly drop-in knitting and crafting circle.

Participants meet on the Harbor Park beach between the harbor and the Superior Trading Post. Bring something to sit on, warm clothes (even when it’s warm a few blocks away, it can be cool and breezy on the water), and an easy project to work on. Project support is not provided for this group. Children under 14 must have an adult with them. All fiber arts are welcome.

Tuesday is the final week for the Crochet Club at Dappled Fern Fibers.

This group is hosted by Amelia Mattson (Cook County High School student) with support from Dorothy Broomall (Dappled Fern owner) and other yarn shop staff. Amelia will teach crochet basics while guiding kids through the process of making a granny-square bag, a frog, and a cute little succulent plant. No experience needed. The cost is $10 cash.

Exhibits:

Four Local Artists, an exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post continues through Aug. 25. The show features work by Mary MacDonald, weaving and felting; Bonnie Gay Hedstrom, felting and pastels; Jeff Morgan, glass and mosaics and Howard Hedstrom, wood turning.

The exhibit concludes on Sunday, Aug. 20. The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday, and is closed Monday and Tuesday. Free and open to the public.

 Air – Openness, the summer exhibition of the Grand Marais Art Colony, continues through Aug. 26.

 Painter Lonnie Broden is exhibiting her work in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park.

Broden is a landscape painter who is inspired by the North Shore. Her work will be exhibited through the end of August.

The Duluth Art Institute is offering a wide variety of artworks by local and regional artists this month.

To find out more, click here.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery has a number of exhibits including a group show entitled  “Are These Things Not A Dream?”

The exhibit includes works by Rebecca Baird as well as others. It continues through Sept. 17.

Upcoming:

Romeo & Juliet: Pickup Truck Opera Vol. 3, will be performing in Cook County next weekend.

The drama troupe, called Mixed Precipitation, is a theatre company based in the Twin Cities. It has been creating original theatre productions since 2009. Its mission is to create festive theatrical events that inspire social engagement. Its signature projects are outdoor opera extravaganzas touring Minnesota (and Wisconsin) in the summer months.

Here is the schedule of performances in Cook County:

• Aug. 24, 6 pm - Schaap Community Center (GTVFD Hall #1) – 7401 Gunflint Trail, –Performance benefiting the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Firefighters
• Aug. 25, 6 pm - Hovland Town Hall – 4957 East Highway 61, Hovland – Presented by the North Shore Music Association and Opp Hvidston Foundation
• Aug. 26, 3 pm - Sweethearts Bluff in the Grand Marais Recreation Area –-Presented by the North Shore Music Association and Opp Hvidston Foundation

The performances are free, with a suggested donation. Family-friendly. To find out more about Pickup Opera, click here

Cook County Higher Education’s  2nd Annual Block Party will be held on Sunday, Aug. 27, from 1-3 pm.

The event will feature music by the North Shore Community Swing Band, cake, Bingo, treats, children’s activities, and prizes. All welcome. Free.

The final line-up of performers at the 16th annual Radio Waves Music Festival, Sept. 8-10, has been released. Twenty-two local, regional, and national acts will take the stage this year, including R&B legend John Ellison and The Carpenter Ants, who will perform a 90-minute gospel set on Sunday morning of the Festival. See the complete list here.

A favorite of visitors and area residents as well as performing musicians, Radio Waves is held rain or shine – with two stages housed under a large tent – and includes on-site food vendors. WTIP offers pre-sale weekend passes online. Admission, also available at the gate, is $20 per day, or $40 for the full Festival. Admission is free to children 12 and under. Campsite reservations at the Grand Marais Rec Park are recommended. Click here to order tickets.

The next weekend, Sept. 14-17, is Unplugged 2023 at North House Folk School. This is a multi-pronged event, celebrating music, craft, and community.

Unplugged 2023 features two unforgettable nights of music on Thursday and Friday evening, along with a free family concert Saturday morning. Celebrate North House at the Birch Bark Bash on Saturday evening with a delicious meal by Chef Scott Graden of the New Scenic Café. The Points North Auction is also a feature of this event as is the Folk Artisan Marketplace and Speaker Series which are open to all. For more information about unplugged and tickets to the concerts, click here.

Opportunities:

The Grand Marais Art Colony is seeking submissions from current members, as well as 2023 program participants and volunteers for its Muse 12 x 12 Exhibition. MUSE is a celebration of its diverse arts community, both near and far.

Eligible participants can submit up to two 12 x 12-inch pieces of original artwork to be exhibited in Studio 21, Sept. 22 – Oct. 21. Find submission guidelines and a submission form here.

 Artists at Work:

Online Findings:

Mike Wiggins Jr.. chairman, Bad River Tribe of Wisconsin, writes:

Mashkiiziibii Shoreline Report ~ There was a lake in Minnesota that didn’t have wild rice for 99 years, then boom the Lake exploded with wild rice beds.  The seeds slept dormant in a bog until the “goldilocks effect” arrived (everything was just right) and the wild rice awoke.  We know time traveler squash seeds slept 800 years in a clay pot just to be reawakened and grown again.  Manoomin (wild rice) can sleep too.  The rice we are about to knock this year might have been originally knocked into the Kakagon beds by Chief Buffalo or maybe his grandpa’s grandpa.  All love, all in time.  ~ humbly submitted Aug.15, 2023.

Human History Gets a Rewrite

A review of David Graeber’s book, “The Dawn of Everything; A New History of Humanity,” a book that turns everything around, can be read here.

Online Music:

Is this the song of the summer? It went viral with 8 million views!

Live Music:

Thursday, Aug 17:

• Andy Keith, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
• North Shore Swing Band, Up Yonder on 61, 7-9 pm
• Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm

Friday, Aug 18:

• MYsterious WAYs, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
• Jim Miller, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 7:30-9 pm
• The Swongos, Up Yonder on 61, 8-11:55 pm

Saturday, Aug 19:

• Fred Anderson, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10 am
• Kevin Buck, Birch Terrace, 5-7:30 pm
• Michele Miller, Harbor Park, 5-8 pm
• Fish Heads, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
• Northeast Timberland Band, Tettegouche State Park outdoor amphitheater, 7-8:30 pm
• DJ Birthday Gurl!, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 7-10 pm
• Dre AKA Jamaican, Up Yonder on 61, 9-11 pm

Sunday, Aug 20:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
• Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
• Enno Limvere, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
• Black River Revue, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
• MYsterious WAYs, 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 21:

• Briand Morrison, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
• Roxann Berglund, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
• Eli Bentley, Voyageur Canoe Outfitters, 7-9 pm

Tuesday, Aug 22:

• Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 5:30-7:30 pm

Wednesday, Aug 23:

• Pat Eliasen, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm

Thursday, Aug 24:

• Andrew Huber, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
• Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm

Friday, Aug 25:

• The Lost Marbles, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:55 pm

Saturday, Aug 26:

• Frozen Britches (Tom VanCleve & Eric Hahn), Senior Center Parking Lot, 10 am
• Eight Months Winter (8MW), Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
• Portage, Colvill Town Hall, 7-9 pm
• The Lost Marbles, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:55 pm

Sunday, Aug 27:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
• Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
• North Shore Swing Band, CCHE Block Party, 1-3 pm
• Don Bauer Duo, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
• Mary Bue, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
• Mahon Brother’s, Skyport Lodge, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
• Jim Miller, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 5-7 pm
• Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm

Photographs:

We found some great photos this week, Enjoy!

Wildlife:

Potpourri:

Landscapes, Skyscapes, Waterscapes, and Nightscapes:

And last, but not least:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thank you! to everyone who donated to NorthShore ArtScene this week. And here’s a special shout-out to Kristopher Bowman of Upstate MN, who made a very generous gift to ArtScene. Thank you so much!

If you’d like to donate to ArtScene to keep it alive and healthy, just click on the button below, or send a check to NorthShore ArtScene, PO Box 1232, Grand Marais, MN, 55604.

Here are the people who make this blog possible: Myself, Joan Farnam, content & photographs; Jeremy Lopez, proofreading, technical expertise, and some music; Yvonne Mills, proofreading and Kari Carter, caption corrections and research.