Sparrow, left, and Caleb Schmidt bring in the harvest. (File photo by Amymarie Schmidt.)
Greetings from the North Shore, where we are taking a moment to appreciate everything around us. Labor Day weekend was spectacular on the North Shore with balmy, but not too hot temps, a light breeze, and wonderful puffy clouds. The evenings were perfect for campfires or grilling in the backyard. Here’s hoping that you enjoyed the weekend, too.
And art-making continues.
Joy and Company hosts Art Night every Thursday from 3:30-5 pm, inviting the public to the shop to make an art project with a selection from its large art supply collections.
Art Night offers the public an opportunity to experiment with different art techniques each week.
Art Night is free with a suggested $5 donation.
Walking the Croftville Road, an exhibit of paintings by Hazel Belvo, opens with a reception at Studio 21 from 4:30-6 pm on Thursday.
Hazel Belvo to exhibit at Studio 21 with the opening reception set for Thursday.
Artist, art educator, and feminist leader, Belvo has been an exhibiting painter for more than 60 years. Her latest body of work, Walking the Croftville Road, is comprised of paintings that capture the small details of Croftville Road in Cook County — details she observed and gathered during her daily walks. Each piece portrays one month in the annual calendar, and the colors are inspired by the book, The Medicine Wheel, by Sunbear from Turtle Mountain Ojibwe. The medicine wheel, also known as a sacred hoop, is a symbol of healing and health that represents the connection between the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual realities. The exhibit continues through Oct. 25.
Studio 21 is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday through Saturday. Free.
Also on Thursday, the Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Community Center from 4:30-6 pm.
The Grand Marais Farmer’s Market is held from 4:30-6 pm.
The market features a great selection of locally grown produce, baked goods, artisan breads, fresh flowers, maple syrup, and more. SNAP is accepted.
This is a busy weekend.
First up is the Radio Waves Music Festival hosted by WTIP Radio. It is held under the Big Tent at Sweetheart’s Bluff at the recreation park.
Radio Waves Music Festival is this weekend. Click here for the schedule.
The music starts at 4 pm on Friday with the Portage Band and continues all weekend, with Sam Miltich. This is a great community get-together celebrating the beginning of Fall with music, food, and dancing. The music covers every genre with local and regional groups performing on two stages.
WTIP music director, Will Moore, said, “We are so excited to host 19 musical acts this year, including six performers who are new to Radio Waves.” Those new to the festival are Lynden Blomberg, Danny Frank & the Smoky Gold, solo artist SonofMel, local supergroup Moonshot, Tina Hegg & Drew Heinonen, and the Penny Peaches, a sister duo from the Twin Cities.
WTIP also welcomes back the alt-country group Trailer Trash, who will perform on Saturday, Trailer Trash played at the first Radio Waves festival in 2007.
Local artists playing this year are Portage, The Evening Stars, North Shore Swing Band, Ginger Bones, Splints, Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund, and a very special Sunday morning set by Chris Gillis, Thomas Stamps, and friends.
Regional acts scheduled to appear are soul singer Colleen Myhre, the folk duo Between Howls, Brothers Burn Mountain, Rich Mattson & Germaine Gemberling, and a new incarnation of musicians led by Sam Miltich called “New Music from the Old Country.”
Festival organizers note that Radio Waves is not a fundraiser for WTIP, and the event budget relies on a mix of grants and ticket sales to cover the costs for this three-day, live event. As part of the Radio Wave’s mission to create a welcoming and family-friendly atmosphere, WTIP offers affordable weekend passes and extends free admission to kids 17 and under.
For tickets and event details, click here.
Plein Air Grand Marais starts this Friday, too, with painters from throughout the region setting up to paint Cook County. The event is hosted by the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and the Cook County Historical Society’s Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.
Grand Marais Plein Air Week is Sept. 5 – 12, with an exhibition opening at the Johnson Heritage Post Sept. 12. (file photo.)
The competition class has invitational and juried painters. An Open Class of painters exhibits their work and competes in the Quick Paint event on Artist’s Point, which is next Thursday and is open to the public.
Throughout the week, you will find painters in every corner of Cook County painting the scenery. Their work will be displayed at the Johnson Heritage Post next Friday, Sept.12. The opening reception starts at 5 pm. Open to all.
Also on Friday, the Cook County Curling Club will hold the First Annual Crawdad Boil, a fundraiser for the Curling Club.
The Crawdad Boil is set for Sept. 5 at Up Yonder from 5:30-7:30 pm.
Tickets are $10, and proceeds will be used to replace curling equipment. The public is invited.
Also, the Superior Fall Trail Races will be held this weekend, Sept. 5-6.
The 100-mile, 50-mile, and 26.2-mile races are extremely hilly, rugged, and technical trail races that traverse the Sawtooth Mountain Range via the Superior Hiking Trail. All three distances are run point-to-point, finishing at Caribou Highlands Lodge on Lutsen Mountains.
Superior Hiking Trail races are this weekend.
The Superior Trail Race makes significant annual financial donations to the Superior Hiking Trail Association (in the neighborhood of $45,000 as of 2021) and the race’s organizers, volunteers and runners contribute 100’s of volunteer hours to the trail annually. Additionally, many of those who participate in the race are Superior Hiking Trail Association members and make additional personal financial donations to the association each year.
For more information and to register, click here.
Saturday opens with the Cook County Market, which is held in the parking lot of The Hub from 10 am to 2 pm.
Hanging vessel with glass by Terry Lord-Lewis. She is one of the vendors at the Cook County Market.
The market features local artists and artisans. Look for jewelry, glasswork, pottery, hand-dyed fabrics, Lake Superior stones, hand-crafted lotions and balms, woodwork, and more.
This week’s live music will be performed by Briand Morrison. The public is invited.
Also on Saturday, Ryan Pennesi will give a presentation on conservation and photography at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center from 2-3 pm.
Ryan Pennesi will give a presentation about conservation and photography at Chik-Wauk on Saturday at 2 pm.
Pennesi has spent the last decade living on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. As a wildlife professional working for county and federal governments for the last 8 years, he has had the privilege of being involved with wildlife monitoring efforts, exciting research, and implementing habitat improvement projects. He’s explored his wildlife and nature photography passion. Realizing the power of visual storytelling as a tool for conservation. He loves documenting the natural world and is constantly amazed by what we can learn.
His talk will explore the intersection of art and science through wildlife photography and conservation. Free and open to the public.
On Sunday, Drury Lane Books will hold a Full Moon Poetry Reading by the bonfire from 6-8 pm.
There will be a Full Moon poetry reading at Drury Lane Books on Sunday.
Everyone is invited to participate in this open mic-style reading. While the focus is on poetry, the broader goal is human connection – don’t feel pressured to participate or strictly read poetry.
The event is free and open to the public.
On Wednesday, Brian Malloy will present “Point of View: A Writing Workshop” from 6-8 pm at the Grand Marais Public Library.
The workshop is part of an ongoing series that Malloy has been teaching at the library.
The workshops are designed to support writers at every stage of their journey—whether they’re just starting, refining their manuscript, or ready to take the next step toward publication. This session is open to adults of all levels and interests, offering expert guidance and inspiration to help you grow as a writer.
Malloy is the author of novels The Year of Ice (St. Martin’s Press), Brendan Wolf (St. Martin’s Press), After Francesco (Kensington), and the young adult novel Twelve Long Months (Scholastic). His novels have been a New York Times New and Notable title, an Oprah Daily pick, a Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads selection, and a Book Sense Pick.
The workshop is free, and pre-registration is not required.
Exhibits:
A Walk in the Woods, an exhibition of fused glass work by the Glass Group, continues at the Johnson Heritge Post through Sunday.
The glass artists have worked together as they’ve moved into their own studios after sharing space at the Art Colony. The Glass Group includes: Mary Bebie, Sharon Frykman, Lissa Grover, Jeri Person, Bob Pranis, Tony Rau, Lee Ross, Nancy Seaton, and Veronica Weadock.
Here are more examples from the exhibit:
Streamside Marsh Marigold, glass, by Lissa Grover.
Cascade, glass, by Veronica Weadock.
Echoes in the Pines 1, glass, by Mary Bebie.
Reactions 1 by Jeri Person.
This is a great show and puts a spotlight on the incredible variety and effects artists can get by working with fused glass.
The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday and from 1 to 4 pm Sunday. Free.
Cecilia Rolando is the Arrowhead Artist of the Month at Studio 21.
Cecilia Rolando is exhibiting at Studio 21.
The Ely illustrator, photographer, and painter is showing her unique and varied work throughout the month of September. The focus of Cecilia’s recent works is driven as much by material as it is by color and composition. She dives in, working within the limitations of her materials at hand and coaxes the subject to show itself and evolve. Working in this intuitive style, Cecilia works and creates in a wide variety of artistic styles, from abstraction to portraiture to landscapes and botanicals.
Watercolor painter Chris Dillon is exhibiting work in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park through the end of the month.
Shoreline in Fall, watercolor, by Chris Dillon.
An opening reception for the artist will be held in the Great Hall from 7-8:30 pm on Friday, Sept. 5. To find out more about the artist and see her work, click here.
Siiviis Gallery in Duluth is hosting he 44th Annual Lake Superior Watercolor Society Group Show.
The Lake Superior Watercolor Society is having a group show at Siiviis Gallery in Duluth.
The Theme of this year’s show is Views of Northshore. Look for colorful landscapes, plant scapes, water scenes, and wildlife portraits in this eclectic show, crafted by artists who live in and around the Twin Ports. The exhibit continues through the end of the month.
No Place Like This, an exhibition of works by Minnesota artist Chris Rackley, continues at the Tweed Museum of Art.
The exhibit at the Tweed, No Place Like This, has been extended to Oct.11.
Rackley is a multidisciplinary artist based in Prior Lake who integrates analog and digital media to explore the convergence of collective memory and personal narrative. Rackley’s current work draws upon his boyhood experience and addresses themes of displacement, isolation, and surveillance in the context of crumbling suburban utopias embodied by the structures of shopping malls.
Upcoming:
The North Shore Music Association will present the internationally acclaimed Ancia Saxophone Quartet in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 7 pm.
Praised for their “energy, precision, and huge dynamic range,” Ancia is known for adventurous programming that spans centuries and styles—from Hildegard von Bingen to Duke Ellington. Based in Minneapolis, the quartet has performed worldwide, premiered works by leading composers, and is deeply committed to music education.
On Friday, Sept. 12, they will also work with ISD 166 middle school band students.
Listen to them play:
Sliding scale tickets are $10–30, free for kids 12 and under, available at northshoremusicassociation.
Uplugged: On the Harbor – Under the Stars, the new fall celebration event at North House Folk School, will be Sept.19-20 this year.
Unplugged will be Sept. 19-20 on campus.
Unplugged 2025 is a reimagined gathering that celebrates the mission and sustains the future of the folk school. With music, craft experiences, local food and drinks, and Saturday night’s Birch Bark Bash, it’s the best of fall on Lake Superior, wrapped into two fabulous days.
Tickets for the Birch Bark Bash—North House’s signature fundraising event—are on sale now! Click here to get your tickets for this special evening under the stars.
Click here to learn more. And stay tuned!
Opportunities:
Submission applications for the member show, Muse 2025, at the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Studio 21, are now available.
The Muse 2025 Exhibition at Studio 21 will open at the end of September.
Members, students, and instructors are invited to submit two 12 x 12-inch pieces of 2D or 3D artwork to be exhibited this fall at Studio 21. This event runs concurrently with and is part of Art Along the Lake, a county-wide studio tour, Sept. 26 – Oct. 5.
Exhibiting members are asked to drop off or deliver their artwork between Sept. 8 – Sept. 19. To find out more, click here.
Kudos:
Thomas Spence took the photograph for this book cover. The book was launched this week. Click here to find out more.
Artists at work:
Desperado, photo by Kerry Lane. He has work at Joy and Company.
Rock Drillers, 1939, screenprint, by Harry Gottlieb, published by WPA, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Cup North 2025, organized by Nick DeVries Pottery in Brainerd, features a great selection of mugs. This year, more than 50 artists are expected to submit work. Find out more here.
Monty, graphite on paper, by Tim Vahle.
Red Cedar, 1931, oil, by Emily Carr.
Summer Flowers by Joyce Cowan Shupe.
Online Findings:
Story Scouts from the Grand Marais Letteracy Deck mail out 6,000 letters at the Post Office. It was a record-breaker. To read the story, click here. Photo by Anne Brataas.
Online Music:
Live Music:
Thursday, September 4:
- Bump Blomberg, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 5:30-8 pm
- Gene LaFond and Amy Grillo, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6:30-8:30 pm
- Silent Disco Dance Party, Caribou Highlands Courtyard, 7-10 pm
Friday, September 5:
- Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park
- Portage Band, 4 pm
- SonofMel, 5 pm
- Boss Mama Trio, 6 pm
- Danny Frank & the Smoky Gold, 7:20 pm
- The Evening Stars, 8:30-10 pm
- Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Medicine River, Birch Terrace Supper Club & Lounge, 4-8 pm
- Emma Tweten, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 6-9 pm
- Scarlet Rivera and Steve Conte, Reunion Hall, 97 Outer Drive, Silver Bay, 7:30 pm
- MYsterious WAYs, Up Yonder, 8-11 pm
Saturday, September 6:
- Briand Morrison, Cook County Market at the Hub, 10-2 pm
- Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park
- North Shore Swing Band, 10 am
- Lynden Graham, 11:30 am
- Ginger Bones, 12:30 pm
- Tina & Drew, 1:30 pm
- Splints, 2:30 pm
- The Penny Peaches, 3:30 pm
- Moonshot, 4:30 pm
- Between Howls, 5:30 pm
- The Brothers Burn Mountain, 6:30 pm
- Rich Mattson & Germaine Gemberling, 7:30 pm
- Trailer Trash, 8:30-10 pm
- Frequency Rising, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 3-6 pm
- Martha Marnocha, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- MYsterious WAYs, Up Yonder, 8-11 pm
Sunday, September 7:
- Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park
- Chris Gillis, Thomas Stamps & Friends, 10 am
- Briand Morrison & Rox Berglund, 11:30 am
- Sam Miltich: New Music From the Old Country, 12:30-2 pm
- Molly Maher, North Shore Winery, 3:30-6 pm
- Timmy Haus, Moguls Grille and Tap Room, 5-7 pm
- Scott Schuler (Campfire Guitar Pull), Caribou Highlands Lodge Courtyard, 7:30 pm
Monday, September 8:
- Pete Kavanaugh, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 7-10 pm
- Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grille, 8-10 pm
Tuesday, September 9:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 5-7 pm
- Briand Morrison, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 5-8 pm
- Open Stage hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 6-8 pm
- Community Singing, Lighthouse on the Harbor, 6-7:30 pm
- Joe Paulik, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 5-8 pm
- Emma Tweten, Bluefin Grille, 8-10 pm
Thursday, September 11:
- Bump Blomberg, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 5:30-8 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6:30-8:30 pm
- Silent Disco Dance Party!, Caribou Highlands Courtyard, 7-10 pm
Friday, September 12:
- Mysterious Ways, Birch Terrace Supper Club & Lounge, 5-8 pm
- Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Moguls Grille and Tap Room, 7-9 pm
- Jim & John, Bluefin Grille, 8-10 pm
- Landscapes Band MN, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 8-11 pm
- Slapdash Bluegrass, Up Yonder, 9-11:59 pm
Saturday, September 13:
- Britt Malic & Moonbeam Singers, Cook County Market at the Hub, 10-2 pm
- Pat Eliasen, Birch Terrace Supper Club & Lounge, 5-7 pm
- Landscapes Band MN, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 5-8 pm
- Emma Tweten, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Ancia Saxophone Quartet, Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Moguls Grille and Tap Room, 7-9 pm
- DJ Unity, Gunflint Tavern Rooftop, 9-11:55 pm
- Slapdash Bluegrass, Up Yonder, 9-11:59 pm
Sunday, September 14:
- Brilliant Colors Jazz Trio, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Timmy Haus, Moguls Grille and Tap Room, 5-7 pm
Photographs:
Here’s a selection of photos we found this week:
Wildlife:
A male Eastern Wild Turkey in flight by Bill Marchel.
Surveying the possibilities this morning by John Cannell.
A Green Heron’s feather maintenance by Bill Marchel.
Toad by Paul Sundberg.
Sandhill Crane by Paul Sundberg.
This one looks ready to harvest by Paul Sundberg.
Merganser by Paul Sundberg.
Trumpeter Swans in Their Element by Paul Sundberg.
Bison jam by Chuck Heller.
Spider Work by Sandra Updyke.
Potpourri:
After a long, hard paddle by Tom McCann.
The smallest by Betty Hamsted.
In Lutsen by Chuck Olsen.
Grand Marais 3 by Bryan Hansel.
Grand Marais 2 by Bryan Hansel.
Grand Marais 1 by Bryan Hansel.
It’s been a fun summer for bouquet making by Danna MacKenzie.
Rich in Chili this year by Cathy Quinn.
A sundial in Japan by Siffy Torkildson.
Bouncing Bet by Sandra Updyke.
Purple Loosestrife, another beautiful invasive, by Sandra Updyke.
Pickerelweed by Sandra Updyke..
Musk mallow by Sandra Updyke.
First Signs by Sandra Updyke.
The sunset and the bike by Adam Malmanger.
Landscapes, Skyscapes, Cloudscapes & Waterscapes:
What a wonderful night to be out by David Johnson.
Hattie’s Cove, Pukaskwa Provincial Park, Ontario (Lake Superior Circle Tour) by Ken Harmon.
Storm over Grand Marais by Bryan Nieder.
Early morning reflection by David Johnson.
The Splendor of Magpie Falls, Wawa, Ontario (Lake Superior Circle Tour) by Ken Harmon.
Island Before Dawn by Ken Harmon.
High drama over the lake tonight by Janice Latz.
Aguasabon Falls and Gorge, near Terrace Bay, by Ken Harmon.
Popcorn showers by Debbie Benedict.
Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan, by Ken Harmon.
Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park by Ken Harmon.
Stream in the woods by Gary Arands.
Looking Good, Superior Lift Bridge by Steven Ohman.
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness Park by Ken Harmon.
Sea Lion Arch, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Ontario (Lake Superior Circle Tour) by Ken Harmon.
Cool storm rolls by Grand Marais this weekend by David Johnson.
Late summer on Lake Superior by Sandra Updyke.
The Little Devil Track and Devil Track River valleys filled with fog by Kim Nelson.
An invitation to adventure by Bryan Hansel.
Yesterday’s Sunrise by Roxanne Distad.
Pigeon Falls by Gary Arands.
Skies above Hollow Rock, Lake Superior Circle Tour, by Ken Harmon.
A little dance tonight by David Johnson.
A perfect Labor Day weekend by Heather Cox Richardson.
North Shore nights by Hayes Scriven.
Lightening over the Grand Marais Harbor by Bryan Hansel.
Northern lights at Porcupine Mountains by Michelle Luttke.jpgn.
With wings by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
Catching the moment by Jaye White.
Beautiful evening to sit on the deck by Kathy Swader.
Glory Without Words by Christian Dalbec.
A two-fer by Eric Humphrey.
Here comes the sun by Sandra Updyke.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
PS: Here’s a big thank you to all the people who are and have been contributing to NorthShore Artscene with their generous donations. Thank you so much! It really helps us keep bringing you this information every week.
If you’d like to join this group, just click on the icon below. And thank you!!
And here’s a big shout-out to Jeremy Lopez (Live Music schedule, technical advice) and Yvonne Mills (proofreading) for their strong support. Thank you. And Thank You, Visit Cook County, for a great Events Calendar, from which we borrow extensively.
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