Summer Is In Full Swing

Choices. They’re so hard to make sometimes, especially when it comes to choosing between three outstanding photographs. So this week, I just sat back and said: The heck with it. I am going to run all of them. It’s Summer Solstice week —  time to enjoy.

And art-making continues,

First up, making art at Joy and Company, opportunities that continue through the summer. The shop holds regular art-making projects from 3-4:30 pm on Thursdays at the art counter, as well as art-making opportunities in and around the shop.

This year, Joy and Company is offering: make your own masterpiece in watercolor at the art counter inside and outside. There are games, and a paint your rock station in the backyard (please bring your own rock or go to the harbor and grab one before you come). Seating is limited at both stations, which are first-come, first-served and self-directed art adventures. As always, the whole floor is a chalkboard and is open 10-5 daily. Free and open to all.

Two iconic summer tours start this week, too: Sawmill Tours at Hedstrom Lumber and the Harbor History Walking Tour in Grand Marais.

The Sawmill Tours at Hedstrom Lumber will run through August. There will be two tours on Thursdays: one at 10 am and one at  1 pm, every week through Aug. 27, except on July 2.

Tours are led by Steve Robertson, a recently retired interpreter for the US Forest Service. Learn about the history of a hundred-year-old sawmill, timber harvesting, sawmill processing, lumber products, and byproducts as you wander through a tour of the biggest hands-on sawmill in Minnesota, watching the lumber be processed, seeing employees in action, and getting an eyeful of complex (and some vintage) machinery.

The tours are free, but require a reservation online. Click here to sign up.  Questions? Call 218-387-2995.

 The Cook County Historical Society is holding Harbor History Walking Tours from 7-8:30 pm on Fridays this summer.

The Grand Marais Harbor has a rich history, with many small artifacts left over that one can easily walk right on by without realizing what they are. For instance, did you know that when walking along the breakwall out to the lighthouse, you can see the foundations of a fire tower? Or that you can see what’s left of a dock and anchor where large ships used to dock in the harbor? These are just two of many examples of things you can see and learn about on the Harbor History Walking Tours!

The tour is free, and participants meet outside the History Museum on Broadway at 7 pm on Fridays. Expect to walk for about an hour on uneven surfaces. Free.

The Grand Marais Farmer’s Market has opened for the season. The market is held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm on Thursdays.

This is a fun market featuring organic produce, baked goods, artisan breads, maple syrup, fresh flowers, and more from local producers. This week, expect to see lots of early spring vegetables. Free and open to all.

On Friday, the library will present Jolly Pops a family-friendly children’s musical performance at 3:30 pm.

Families and children are invited to a free children’s music performance with the Jolly Pops; Billy, Justin, and Erik, a trio of musician dads known for their upbeat, interactive performances for young audiences. Their We Are Happy Dads concert blends original songs with familiar children’s favorites, incorporating humor, puppetry, and playful themes ranging from dancing alligators to pet dinosaurs.

This event is part of the library’s 2026 Summer Reading Program, which encourages youth ages 0–18 to read for fun throughout the summer. The program is designed to support continued learning between school years, helping prevent summer learning loss while fostering a lifelong love of reading.

The Lutsen 99er is this weekend, and all races start at the Superior National Golf Course.

There are five categories of races this year, and all are full. To find out more, click here.

It is very busy in Grand Marais on Saturday.

The Cook County Market, featuring a variety of work by local artists and artisans, opens in the parking lot of The Hub at 10 am on Saturday.

Look for paintings, jewelry, rock lamps, sweetgrass baskets, pottery, handmade balms, Lake Superior rocks, hand-dyed scarves and clothing, sweet grass baskets, and more. Boyd “Bump” Blomberg will play live music.

The market is open to all.

At 2 pm, at the Johnson Heritage Post, former Cook County Deputy Sheriff Dick Dorr offers a firsthand account of his nearly three-decade career patrolling the North Shore. Moving to Grand Marais at age 11 and graduating in 1966, Dorr returned to his hometown in 1969 to begin a career in law enforcement.

His presentation and book, Chasing Justice, navigate the balance between duty and compassion in a rural landscape where every call brought the unexpected.

This event is free and open to the public, with donations graciously accepted.

On Saturday evening, Drury Lane Books will host an author talk with Meg Gorzycki at 6 pm.

The public is invited to meet author and historian Meg Gorzycki and listen to her read segments from Remember the Main. Doors will open at 5:45 pm, and the talk will begin at 6 pm. The floor will open for discussion and questions after the reading and presentation, and afterwards Meg will be available to sign books.

The book tells the untold story of how a generation of LGBTQ Minnesotans found a voice, a purpose, and a community in a Twin Ports bar.

Meg is a historian, educator, community organizer, and author. She brought Bob Jansen’s insights to her work in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she developed LGBTQ support groups, counseling services, and curricula. She lives in Plymouth, Minn.

The public is invited. Free.

Also on Friday, there will be a screening of the film, Palestine 36, at the Cook County Community Center Log Building. Dinner will be served at 5 pm. Free. The film starts at 5:30 pm.

Palestine 36 is a 2025 historical drama, a multiple-award-winning and Oscar-shortlisted epic story of the British occupation of Palestine and the 1936-39 Arab revolt.

Here’s the trailer:

The public is invited. For more information, click here.

On Sunday, Cook County native Keith Morris will speak about his new book, Growing Up on the Gunflint Trail, at the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. The presentation is at 2 pm.

This is an extraordinary book of stories, illustrations, and more from this gifted writer, artist, carpenter and outdoor enthusiast. Keith will talk about the book as well as be available to sign copies.

Open to all. Free.

Also on Sunday, a Full Moon Sound Bath will be held in the Log Cabin Building from 7-8:30 pm.

Participants are asked to bring a yoga mat and/or a blanket. No experience necessary. Free, but freewill donations are accepted.

On Monday, the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center will host the Monday Porch Talks at 1 pm.

The topic this week will be wolves. The event is free and open to all.

And on Monday night, there will be a Full Moon Poetry Reading at Drury Lane Books.

Poets and poetry lovers will gather around the campfire outside the bookstore to share poems they’ve written or poems from their favorite authors. The public is welcome. It will be held indoors in inclement weather.

Also on Monday, an Ecstatic Dance session will be held in the Log Cabin Building at 7 pm.

Ecstatic Dance is an intentional, judgement-free space for free-form movement without words. It is an invitation to experience fun, healing, flow, and play through spontaneous dancing. The public is invited. It is free, but freewill donations are gratefully accepted.

And finally, the Park Point Art Fair is in Duluth this weekend.

The Park Point Art Fair is the unofficial beginning of the art festival season on the North Shore. Artists from around the region gather under tents to show their work and celebrate the arts in the North Country. The event, which is held on Park Point, with easy access to Lake Superior, also features live music and food vendors, as well as work from more than 100 artists. It is held on Saturday and Sunday.

The Hovland Arts Festival is next weekend, July 4-5.

The Grand Marais Arts Festival is the weekend after that, July 11-12.

Exhibits:

The Johnson Heritage Post has opened an inspiring exhibit of batiks on paper: Natural Gestures, a solo exhibition by Emily Donovan.

Drawing inspiration from the landscape, Donovan utilizes historical methods to forage and procure natural pigments from plants and insects, blending traditional craft with a modern approach to batik. Because each pigment is physically tied to the land, her paintings feature a “living mark” where materials like beeswax and organic dyes create unpredictable results. This collection is a visual “gesture” of respect and awe for nature’s abilities.

The exhibit continues through July 12. Free.

“Play,” the 2026 summer exhibition at Studio 21 continues, featuring works by Jose Dominguez, Carolyn Swiszcz, Aaron Dysart, and Judith Youman.

And this is the last weekend to see the exhibit, A Gang of Green, featuring pottery by artists currently working in the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Ceramics Studio.

This exhibit features pottery of every style as well as some woodworking.

Studio 21 is open from 10 am to 5 pm Thursday through Saturday.

The Grand Marais Art Colony is also exhibiting works from students who created wrapped figures in a recent workshop. They are being displayed outside Studio 21.

The sculptures will be on view as long as they hold up.

This is the final weekend of the exhibit, The Underappreciated, a series of paintings by Jean Kirwan, currently on view at Tettegouche State Park.

Look for paintings of frogs, snails, and vultures, and other “underappreciateds.”

The 2026 Member Show continues at the  Duluth Art Institute, featuring works in a variety of media from more than 100 artists.

To see all the pieces in the show, use the QR code below.

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is currently exhibiting a show by Suzanne Jackson entitled “What is Love? “

What Is Love? traces painter Suzanne Jackson’s (US, b. 1944) lifelong devotion to beauty as a political force. As the first major museum retrospective devoted to the artist’s career, the exhibition spans six decades of work and highlights her evolving engagement with poetry, dance, and theater.

The exhibit runs through  Aug. 23.

Kudos

The Summer Solstice Pageant put on by the Good Harbor Hill Players at North House Folk School was extraordinary this year, with wonderful puppets, incredible music, a great story, and lots of community support and work to make it possible, beautiful, and fun. Here are a few photos from this year’s pageant by Dennis Chick.

Here’s a Venmo link to donate to this creative group.

Artists at Work:

 Lutsen sculptor Greg Mueller 

The crooked tree at Artist’s Point fell over.

Neil Sherman posts a memory.

Online Findings:

Sparky Stensaas and Birding from a kayak

Jim Brandenburg and Wolves

Medicine of the Wolf by Jim Brandenburg can be seen online for $.99. To view, click here.

 Online Music:

Music videos courtesy of Phil Oswald

Photographs:

Here’s a selection of photos we found this week: 

Wildlife:

Potpourri:

Landscapes, Skyscapes, Waterscapes & Cloudscapes:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Note: If you enjoy NorthShore ArtScene, please contribute to NorthShore ArtScene this week. Your support really makes a difference. Thank you!

 

 

Here’s a big shout-out to Jeremy Lopez (Live Music Schedule, tech advice) and Yvonne Mills (proofreading) for their continued support. Thank you! Thanks also to Visit Cook County for its outstanding Events Calendar.