Summer Theater, Demos, Artist Talks & Lots of Music

by Joan Farnam on July 21, 2016

The heart of summer is here. This weekend is proof, with the first curtain call for the Grand Marais Summer Theater Festival at 7 p.m. on Thursday night at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. Next weekend, “Ceramics in Cook County,” an exhibit of local potters and ceramicists, opens at the Johnson Heritage Post, followed by the iconic summer celebration on the North Shore — Fisherman’s Picnic– which starts Aug. 3.

The Arrowhead Sketchers launch this weekend with a sketching opportunity on Artists’ Point at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. They will meet at Grandma Ray’s if it’s raining. The group will sketch for 1.5 hours and then gather to talk and share work. All are invited.

The Grand Marais Playhouse‘s Summer Theater Festival opens for the season at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts with two plays performed in repertory on the weekends, through Aug. 14.

“Arsenic & Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring opens at 7 p.m. on Thursday. “The Addams Family: A New Musical” opens at 7 p.m. Friday. Performances are at 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20 and are available in advance at www.tix.com or at the door beginning at 6 p.m. General seating begins at 6:30 p.m.

Friday kicks off with the Grand Marais Garden Club’s annual flower show.

Peony by Mona Abdel-Rahman.

This year’s show is titled, “Nature’s Symphony,” with all the arrangements following a musical-theme. The show is at the Cook County Community Center from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday. There will be lots of beautiful flowers, delicious refreshments and perennials for your garden. Free admission. All invited.

Also on Friday, Melissa Wickwire of Wickwire Clayworks will give a tilemaking demo in her studio at 11 a.m.

A tilemaking demo at Wickwire Clayworks is set for 11 a.m. Friday.

Wickwire’s studio is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and is located at Betsy Bowen’s Studio & Galleries, 310 1st Ave. W. in Grand Marais.

Michael Monroe will be on WTIP’s The Roadhouse on Friday to talk about his music and sing a few tunes. The show airs from 5-7 p.m. He’ll be on about 6:15.

On Saturday, the Cook County Farm & Craft Market opens at the Senior Center parking lot at 9 a.m. with a great selection of arts and crafts, baked goods and vegetables in season. The market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Cook County Farm & Craft Market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays in the Senior Center parking lot.

At 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, the Grand Marais Public Library will present Professor Marvel in a magic show entitled “Magic of the Olympics.” This action-packed show is designed for kids from kindergarten to 5th grade, but everyone is invited to enjoy the Professor’s antics.

At 1 p.m., Tom McCann will give a Sumi-E demo at the Grand Marais Art Colony. Sumi-E is the Japanese word for black ink painting, a technique which uses just a brush and ink on paper, developed in ancient China. Emphasis is placed on the beauty of each individual stroke of the brush.

Moose, a sumi-e painting by Tom McCann.

McCann will talk about the process and do four Sumi-E paintings during the demo. All invited. Free.

And last, but not least, on Saturday, authors Kim Alan Chapman and James Armstrong will present at a Writer’s Salon at Drury Lane Books at 5 p.m. They co-authored “Nature, Culture & Two Friends Talking,” a book of essays and short stories from an environmental perspective.

The authors will be at a Writer’s Salon at Drury Lane Books on Saturday.

The Writer’s Salon will be outside, weather permitting, and the authors invite the public to share their thoughts in an interactive conversation. Free.

And on Sunday, painter Hazel Belvo will give an Artist Talk at the Johnson Heritage Post at 4:30 p.m. The topic will be The topic will be “Spirituality, Myth and the Feminine.” Free and open to the public.

Come early and take this opportunity to see the painting exhibit by Karen Savage Blue. This is the last weekend of the show at the Heritage Post, and the gallery is full of her wonderful work.

“March 5″ by Karen Savage Blue.

Also on Sunday, come paint a mural. The community paint-by-number project, developed by Mila Horak, is offering two painting sessions this week. They’ll be at the Cook County Community Center from 1-5 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday, July 27, from 2-8 p.m.

Community members are painting a mural that will be installed on Birchbark Books & Gifts when it’s done.

All welcome. No experience required.

In Thunder Bay, the Die Active Art Collective will hold its annual Y-Art Sale in the midsummer garden behind the Hoito Restaurant from 11 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Y-Art Sale is behind the Hoito Restaurant in Thunder Bay on Saturday.

The Y-Art Sale is behind the Hoito Restaurant (on Bay Street) in Thunder Bay on Saturday.

Discover the unique works of young DieActive artists, clothing designers and crafters in this unique summer event. Shop for original art & crafts, handmade jewellery, vintage clothing & treasures, zines, books, buttons, records and more. Plus, there’s live music, too, and lemonade, food trucks and, if you want, a Finnish pancake at Hoito’s. The event is sponsored by the Definitely Superior Art Gallery in Thunder Bay.

Also of note: The Valley Fresh Buskers Festival is only a few steps away, too, at Bay & Algoma Streets, and will be held July 23-24 with lots of music, street performers, clowns and a food truck alley. The festival is from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

In Minneapolis, “Cow Calls in Dalarna,” a verse play with music and cow bells, will be performed at the American Swedish Institute July 22-23. The one-hour theater piece is based on a cycle of original poems by Duluth playwright and poet Bart Sutter, with traditional music to evoke the lost world of Sweden’s summer pasture camps. Grand Marais’ Rose Arrowsmith Decoux is one of the performers. Performances are at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday. For more info, see www.asimn.org.

Upcoming

Fisherman’s Picnic, the annual summer gathering in Grand Marais, runs from Aug. 3 through Aug. 7 with contests, music, a used book sale, craft alley and much more. For more info, click here.

Painter Adam Swanson will open a show at Tettegouche State Park with a reception at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5.

Painting by Adam Swanson.

Swanson is exhibiting 18 paintings inspired by the North Shore. He will give a 15-minute presentation at the opening.

Currently, Tettegouche State Park is exhibiting work by Twin Cities artist, Marty Harris.

Marty Harris’ painting, “Artist Point” at Tettegouche State Park.

In other art news:

Betsy Bowen has completed a new series of fish print cards. They can be seen at her studio at 310 1st Ave. West.

Card by Betsy Bowen.

In other Betsy Bowen gallery news, Ron Piercy has made a series of new necklaces.

Garnet and silver necklace by Ron Piercy.

Ceramic artist Matthew Krousey is the featured artist next month at the Grand Marais Art Colony.

Mosaic by Matthew Krousey.

He is scheduled to teach a class Aug. 15-18. Students will create tiles, oval vases, and plates, and explore various decorating and surface design techniques using slips and stains. For more information, see www.grandmaraisartcolony.org or call 218-387-2737.

Fiber artist Kim Knutson has work at Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen.

Needle-felted bear by Kim Knutson.

Joy and Company is exhibiting pottery by Hannah Lakey.

Pottery by Hannah Lakey is at Joy & Co.

The Cross River Heritage Center has a new exhibit of local artists including photographs by Kathy Gray-Anderson and Peter Jewell, watercolors by David Hahn and paintings and pastels by Paula Sundet Wolf.

Kathy Gray Anderson is showing her photographs at the Cross River Heritage Center.

Jessica Kunde took 1st place at the Chalk.A.Lot festival in Two Harbors last weekend with this stunning black and white portrait.

Jessica Kunde took 1st place the Chalk.A.Lot event in Two Harbors.

Arna Rennan won the Paint Du Nord, the plein air competition in Duluth, last weekend.

“Evening: 5th Ave. West” by Arna Rennan.

David Gilsvik took first place in the Quick Paint at the event.

“Into the Light” by David Gilsvik.

The paintings are on exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute.

And finally, Cameron Norman is teaching a class entitled:“Gyotaku: The Dao of Fishy-ness” at the Grand Marais Art Colony July 30-31.

Gyotaku by Cameron Norman.

In the class, students will learn the traditional Japanese art form of Gyotaku, or “fish rubbing.” Each participant will create fine, detailed mono prints using local fish, rice paper, inks, and acrylics. The finished work will be applied to stretched canvas using rice glue made in class. The class will end with a dinner of studio-made fish chowder. Students will go home with one finished print and a full belly. For more info, contact the Art Colony at 387-2737.

Here’s the music for this weekend:

Thursday, July 21: