Shakespeare, A Storm Festival & Empty Bowls

This weekend features a potpourri of events, including a Shakespeare comedy, a festival celebrating storms on Lake Superior, an author talk and Empty Bowls XI, a fundraiser to help the hungry in Cook County. Oh, and don’t forget — the late fall member drive at WTIP Community Radio starts on Thursday featuring lots of live music by local bands through Sunday. (See the music schedule, below)

First up is the opening of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” the annual County Youth Play for High School students. The play is directed by Carrie Nath, and opens at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.

Performances are at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Food Shelf Friday is Nov. 10 and Donation Day is Sunday Nov. 12. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students, and $1 under 12. They are available at the door.

On Friday, Minnesota author Lorna Landvik will speak at the Grand Marais Public Library from 6-7:30 p.m.

Landvik, who is well-known for her books as well as her lively and humorous presentations, will talk about what it’s like to be a writer, the process of writing, publishing and finding inspiration–even when it’s hiding. Her latest book is “Once in a Blue Moon Lodge.” Free and open to the public.

This is the weekend of the Lake Superior Storm Festival, too, which starts on Friday with a Storm Fashion Show at Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply at 5:30 p.m.  At 7 p.m., Lonnie Dupre will give a multi-media presentation on dogsledding in Greenland at Voyageur Brewing Co.

On Saturday, the Storm Festival begins with a wave dash at Lutsen Resort at noon. Participants are encouraged to dash into the lake (and a wave, if there are any) in front of the resort. There will be a bonfire and hot drinks to get warm.

Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen will hold  Painting Up a Storm, from 2-4 p.m.  at the gallery. Participants will be provided with canvases and paint as well as instruction. Pre-registration is required. Call the gallery to book a seat at 218-387-2585.

And, at 3 p.m. Mark Seeley, meteorologist at the University of Minnesota, will talk about the effects of weather on Lake Superior in the Nelson Suite at Lutsen Resort. Free and open to the public.

To cap off the weekend, Voyageur Brewing Co. will hold a craft market at the brewery from 4-6 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m., “Jeff’s World,” a video of a sport climbing expedition into an area accessible only by boat and 10 miles beyond the Minnesota border into Canada, will be screened. To see the trailer, click here.  Free.

Also this weekend, Gunflint Lodge will host a bluegrass and string band concert with Dick Kimel and Pamela Longtine from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Lodge.

Dick Kimel has been inducted into America’s Old-Time Country and Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, and the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame. Tickets are $20 at the door.

On Monday, Nov. 13, the Empty Bowls fundraiser to help the hungry in Cook County will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church with two seatings: lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 5-7 p.m. The event features handmade bowls crafted at the Grand Marais Art Colony, a Silent Action and a Bake Sale. (The Silent Auction ends at 6:30 p.m.)

The event includes a soup meal for $5 and a handcrafted bowl or necklace for $10. If you’re unable to attend, you can donate online to support Cook County’s hunger programs here.

Funds from last year’s Empty Bowls event were distributed to the Cook County Food Shelf, AEOA, Birch Grove Community Center’s WE Connect, Cook County Youth Agency Coalition, Cook County Public Health and Human Services, local schools, Snacks and Paks, and the Violence Prevention Center to help nourish those in need.

This is always a great community get-together, as well as a chance to sample soups from a number of restaurants and venues in the county while helping those in need at the same time. All invited.

And on Wednesday, Nov. 15, Voyageur Brewing Co. will hold its first Wednesday Craft Market, featuring work by local crafters, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. This week’s artisans include woolen creations by Nan Davis and the handcraft of Sandra Virginia.

Exhibits:

 Cook County photographer Thomas Spence is exhibiting his work at the Coho Cafe in Tofte through January.

Check out the Cook County Historical Society exhibit at the Cook County Courthouse. The exhibit features photos of the Outlaw Bridge and the community around it which thrived in the early 1900s. The wooden bridge was built across the Pigeon River, which marks the border between the U.S. and Canada. It was build in 1917 without the permission of the Canadian or American governments, hence the name “Outlaw Bridge.”

Here’s a description:

Barb Lundell is exhibiting her work at Tettegouche State Park.

In Duluth, the Tweed Museum of Art has a number of exhibits, including work by UMD senior art student, Haley Knuth.

Knuth’s exhibit, entitled “Attraction and Aggression” will be up through Dec. 12.

Also at the Tweed, the multi-media exhibit “Chance” and the Plein Air Painters of America’s exhibit,  Industrial Landscape continue.

In Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery‘s exhibit of Denise Smith’s work continues.

And the Definitely Superior Art Gallery  in Thunder Bay is featuring two exhibits, Sam Shahsahabi’s “Beneath the Reflection”  and Christian Chapman’s “Fight for Your Life.”

 Opportunities:

 North House Folk School is hosting Open Basket Nites on odd Tuesdays through December, Nov. 7 & 21, Dec. 5 & 19, from 5-7 p.m.

The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council reports that after doing a bit of winter cleaning, they found extra copies of North Country Sampler chapbooks.

Area writers donated the use of the works printed in the chapbooks. The plates in the books are of artwork donated for the ART Fund’s first Benefit Fundraiser in 2005. For more information, call 218-722-0952 or email info@aracouncil.org

Upcoming:

 “Begin Continue,” an exhibit of more than 40 artisan instructors at North House Folk School, opens at the Johnson Heritage Post with a reception from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16. It is part of the Winterer’s Gathering and Arctic Film Festival at North House that weekend. For more info, click here.

The New Standards Holiday Show at Papa Charlie’s is Friday, Nov. 24 at 8:30 p.m. For more info and tickets, click here.

The Hovland Arts Festival Pre-Christmas Sale will be held at the Hovland Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 featuring hotography, wood working, pottery, wreaths, jewelry, arts and crafts, knitted products, beadwork and fine leatherwork, natural beeswax candles, paintings & First Nations art. Stay tuned for details.

Light Up Lutsen will be held all day in Lutsen on Saturday, Nov. 25 featuring exhibits, tree lighting, a bronze pour and more. Stay tuned for details.

The Holiday Art Underground Show at Betsy Bowen Studio and Galleries opens with a Sneak Preview reception from 5-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1. More info coming in the next few weeks.

The Northwoods Fiber Guild’s Open House and Sale will be held at the Grand Marais Art Colony from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. Stay tuned for details.

Window Shopping:

 

 

Here’s the music for the week:

Thursday, Nov. 9:

• Bump Blomberg & Gordon Thorne, Live at WTIP, 4 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Date Night at the North Shore Winery, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 10:

• Joe Paulik, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• DJ Beavstar, Live on WTIP, 4 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Live on The Roadhouse, 5 p.m.
• Jim McGowan, Live on the Roadhouse, 5 p.m.
• Portage, Grandma Ray’s, 6 p.m.
• Flyodian Slip, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Marc Gartman, The Wunderbar, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 11:

• Common Ground, Live on WTIP, 3 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• Floydian Slip, Live on WTIP, 4 p.m.
• Mysterious Ways, Live on WTIP, 5 p.m.
• Marc Gartman, Live on WTIP, 6 p.m.
• Jim & Michele Miller, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Flyodian Slip, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Ben Johnson, The Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Mysterious Ways, Grandma Ray’s, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 12:

• Gordon Thorne, Live on WTIP (The Gospel Truth), 8 a.m.
• Marc Gartman, The Wunderbar, 11 a.m.
• Aho Family Band, Live on WTIP (Polka Time), 5 p.m.

We found some great photos this week. Here’s a selection:

Here’s a friendly winter visitor.

Here’s a cutie.

And here’s a lucky shot.

 

 

And check out this cloud.

And the contrast with this:

Truth be told: It’s winter on the Gunflint Trail, late fall near Lake Superior.

Here’s a photo along the Gunflint Trail:

Here’s a shot from the shore.

Here’s a shot along the Trail.

Here’s the shore:

Here’s the Trail.

Here’s the lake:

And finally, here’s the Trail:

Snow or the Big Lake this weekend? Either way, have a great time!