Merry Christmas! Photo by Stephan Hoglund.
A Yule Log made from forest treasures by Lori Erickson. Photo by Chuck Olsen.
Lighting the Way by Cathy Quinn.
Greetings from the North Shore, where Christmas Week is in full swing. Best wishes to all.
It’s pretty quiet this week, but here are a few things we found.
The Northern Lights Lounge at Gunflint Lodge is holding a Christmas Football event for fans, screening football games from around the country throughout the day.
A Christmas Football event will be held at Gunflint Lodge on Christmas Day.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments and food will be available.
Many restaurants and resorts are serving special meals during the holiday season.
There’s lots of music at venues around the county, too. Here are a few, and then check out the Live Music schedule below.
The North Shore Winery is showcasing local musicians this weekend and next.
The Holiday Music Series will be held at the North Shore Winery.
Musicians scheduled to perform include Glen Helgeson, Gordon Thorne, Chuck Corliss, Teague Alexy, and Barbra Jean and Mike Lewis. See Live Music Schedule below for details.
Sam Miltich & Friends will be in concert in Silver Bay on Saturday, Dec. 27, as part of the community’s Winter Music Series.
Sam Miltich will play in Silver Bay on Dec. 27. Photo by Jeff Peabody.
The band will perform an evening of New Year’s jazz at the Reunion Hall in Silver Bay. The concert starts at 7 pm. Free.
On Monday, a Winter Solstice Ecstatic Dance will be held at the Log Cabin Building at the Community Center.
The Winter Solstice Ecstatic Dance event will be held at the Log Cabin on Dec.29 at 7 pm.
This is a free-form dance event open to all. For more information about ecstatic dance, click here. Free, but donations are accepted.
New Year’s Parties:
Several venues are holding New Year’s parties on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Here’s what we’ve found:
Cascade Restaurant and Pub will serve a special menu throughout the day and evening, and Sonofmel will perform from 7-9 pm.
Cascade Restaurant and Pub will celebrate New Year’s Dec. 31.
For reservations, call 218-387-1112. To see the menu, click here.
The Grand Portage Lodge & Casino will hold a New Year’s Dance from 8:30 pm – 1 am featuring the band, Moonshot.
The New Year’ s dance at the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino will feature Moonshot.
The Minneapolis band, Tumbling Daisies, will play for a New Year’s Eve Dance at Up Yonder starting at 8:30 pm.
Tumbling Daisies will play for a New Year’s Party at Up Yonder.
Having honed their craft in such bands as The 4onthefloor, The Federales, The Fattenin’ Frogs, Mr. 500, and Hazel Strange, they draw from a deep blend of rock & roll, country, blues, folk, and jazz, bringing a high-energy show to every stage.
Northern Lights Lounge at Gunflint Lodge will hold a New Year’s Celebration from 7 pm – 12:30 am. The event features cocktails, appetizers, and a midnight champagne toast! The regular menu is also available.
Northern Lights Lounge at Gunflint Lodge will hold a New Year’s Eve celebration.
Pete Kavanaugh will play at Bluefin Grill from 10 pm to midnight.
Ring in the New Year at Bluefin Grill with stellar blues guitarist and singer Pete Kavanaugh, 10 pm – midnight.
Exhibits:
David Johnson‘s photo exhibit, The Wonders of the North Shore & More, continues at the Johnson Heritage Post through Dec.28.
Photographer David Johnson is exhibiting his work at the Johnson Heritage Post through Dec. 28.
This is a great exhibit of northern lights, landscapes, and wildlife. The Heritage Post is closed on Christmas Day, but is open from 10 am to 4 pm Friday and Saturday, and from 1-4 pm Sunday.
“Life at the Water’s Edge, Fabric Collages” by Natalija Walbridge is currently on view at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth.
Green-Heron, by Natalija Walbridge, is one of the pieces on view at the Great Lakes Aquarium.
The beauty and fragility of wetland habitats, from the vast St. Louis River Estuary and Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge to the small, sheltered haven of Hearding Island near Park Point, are honored in Life at the Water’s Edge, a series of 12 fabric collages by Natalija Walbridge. Each large-scale piece invites a dual experience—from a distance, they evoke the fluidity and richness of a painting; up close, the layers of fabric and intricate stitching reveal the meditative process of cutting, shaping, and assembling each fragment. Walbridge hopes “visitors leave with a deeper appreciation for wetlands and the species that depend on them.” The artist’s goal is to inspire curiosity and wonder, “encouraging everyone to slow down, look closely, and notice the intricate details of the natural world.”
Opportunities:
The Washburn Cultural Center has put out a call for artists to exhibit at the center in April. Artists of every medium are invited to apply, with themes focusing on the region, including Lake Superior.
The Washburn, Wis, Cultural Center has put out a call for proposals for an exhibit to open in April.
For more information, click here.
Applications are now open for the Blueberry Art Festival. The festival is held in Ely, July 24-26.
The first round of jury applications for the Blueberry Art Festival in Ely is open.
For more information, click here.
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is looking for board members from Fond du Lac Nation, Grand Portage Nation, and Itasca County.
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is looking for board members.
For more information about the duties of the board and opportunities, click here.
Artists At Work:
From Earth To Sky (Everything We Need is Right Here), wool stroud, beads, thread, brass sequins, by Christi Belcourt.
Color one for the Hummingbird edition by Betsy Bowen.
A stained glass fox window, a gift to Jerry Vandiver. Artist unknown.
Looking for the Moss Lake Portage, oil, on display at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum by Neil Sherman.
Stillness, woodcut and linocut by Charlotte Baxter.
Grand Marais Lighthouse, acrylic, by Kat Corrigan.
Online Findings:
Sparky Stensaas: Sax-Zim Christmas Bird Count & a FISHER! December
Bizhiki Comes To Cook County
Welcome To My Happy Place, video by 17 North Photography
My Happy Place. Click here to see and listen. (Turn sound on.)
Online Music:
A Compilation from Jeremy and Joan.
Australlian chamber orchestra
Room on the porch Taj Mahal and Keb Mo with Ruby Amanful. TajMo album
Barbary Coast by Weather Report
The Pink Panther
Live Music:
Thursday, December 25:
- Jim Miller, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
Friday, December 26:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 4-6 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Briand Morrison, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
Saturday, December 27:
- Chuck Corliss and Glen Helgeson, North Shore Winery, 4-6 pm
- Adam Moe, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
Sunday, December 28:
- Teague Alexy, North Shore Winery, 4-6 pm
Monday, December 29:
- Nate Weiler, Voyageur Brewing Company, 5-7 pm
- Gordon Thorne, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
Tuesday, December 30:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Open Stage hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 6-8 pm
- Pat Eliasen, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
- Community Singing, Log Cabin at the Grand Marais Community Center, 7 pm
- SonofMel, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-9 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
- Moonshot, Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, 8:30-1 am
- Tumbling Daisies, Up Yonder, 9:30-11:59 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Bluefin Grille, 10-11:59 pm
Thursday, January 1:
- Timmy Haus, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 4-6 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
- Jim Miller, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
Friday, January 2:
- DJ Jesse Jaze, Lofty Gondola at Lutsen Mountains, 3:30-6 pm
- Jim Miller, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 4-6 pm
- Gene LaFond and Amy Grillo, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Bluefin Grille, 7-9 pm
- Timmy Haus, Lofty Gondola at Lutsen Mountains, 8:30-11 pm
- Briand Morrison, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
Saturday, January 3:
- DJ Jesse Jaze, Lofty Gondola at Lutsen Mountains, 3:30-6 pm
- Mike Lewis and Barbara Jean, North Shore Winery, 4-6 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Charlie’s Alpine Bistro, 6:30-9 pm
- Brothers Burn Mountain, Up Yonder, 7-10 pm
- Timmy Haus, Lofty Gondola at Lutsen Mountains, 8:30-11 pm
Photographs:
Wildlife:
Stare Down by Chris Artist.
King of the Two Harbors herd by Steve Boatman.
Northern Hawk Owl by Jason Mandich.
Two sets of ears are better than one by Bill Marchel
Morning Squabble, Sandhill Cranes Fighting, Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico by John Gregor.
Pileated Woodpecker enjoying fruits of the harvest by Paul Sundberg.
Ring-necked Pheasants, female, are around by Bill Marchel.
Bohemian Waxwings in winter by Paul Sundberg.
Saw-whet Owl by Paul Sundberg.
Eastern Wild Turkey toms by Bill Marchel.
Flying Squirrels by Paul Sundberg
Pileated Woodpecker Tree by Paul Sundberg.
Potpourri:
Winter ornaments, Ely, Minnesota, by Layne Kennedy.
Snow Play by Kim Asmussen.
On its way from Duluth by Lisa Bloomquist.
Landscapes, Icescapes, Waterscapes and Cloudscapes:
Great Island near Munising, Mich., by Vladimir Vorobeychik.
Blues by Adam Malmanger.
It’s Winter by Keith Christensen.
Dude rockin’ Two Harbors by Matthew Pastick.
Happy Winter Solstice. Now, for the sun to return by Chuck Olsen.
Sea Smoke at sunrise by Ken Harmon.
Winter wonderland by David Johnson.
Sparkling shoreline by Chris Artist.
Pancakes for lunch by Bill Donovan.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Merry Christmas! by Elizabeth Anderson.
Note: When we come out next week, it will be 2026! If you’d like to make a year-end contribution to NorthShore ArtScene, click on the link below. And Thank You!
Season Greetings and Thank You! to Jeremy Lopez, tech support, the Live Music Schedule, and Yvonne Mills, proofreading. And a big Thank You to Visit Cook County for its great Events Calendar.