NorthShore ArtScene

Allan Aubid of Grand Portage took this spectacular shot of the storm that rolled onto the North Shore on Friday, May 31. This photo went viral on the Internet. It went all over, including on the National Weather Service in Duluth’s Facebook page, where it was liked by more than 10,000 people and shared by 7,000+.

It’s a quiet weekend in Cook County, but there’s still plenty to do.

The “Sun King” waves to the audience at one of the Summer Solstice Pageant.

First up is a chance to make puppets and help in the production of the Summer Solstice Pageant by the Good Harbor Hill Players. The pageant will be at North House Folk School June 22 during the Wooden Boat Show, but there’s lots of preparation to do before then. It’s family friendly — everyone is invited to help out and learn how to make papier mache masks, scenery and costumes for the pageant. Workshops, which are free, are held from 6-8 p.m. Thursday nights and from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Free.

For more information, call Betsy at 218-370-8077

Also, Thursday is Open Knitting/Project Night at Raven’s Beak Design Yarn Shop in The Garage. Every Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. Linda Bauer, the shop’s owner, holds the event. Participants can bring their own work or try their hand at the weaving and felting stations set up at the shop. All are welcome.

On Friday night,the Cross River Heritage Center holds its Opening Party. The party runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and features refreshments and a chance to see the major exhibit this year: “Up from the Ashes: Forest Fires on the North Shore.” An exhibit entitled “Mapping Schroeder Area History” is in the Vintage Room and “Building Community” is featured in the lower level. The Heritage Center also is exhibiting fine art and craft as well as has an interesting gift shop. There is a $5 suggested donation for the event.

Here’s an interesting opportunity for landowners on the North Shore on Friday. The North Shore Forest Collaborative will offer a free workshop at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center from 12:30 to 4 p.m. The workshop will provide landowners with information about issues affecting their North Shore properties as well as hands-on assistance with tree planting and how to control invasive species on their property. For more information, click here, or call 218-525-0001.

Also on Friday, there will be a free Clay Demo in the ceramics studio at the Grand Marais Art Colony at 2 p.m.

On Saturday, Derek Smith and friend Erik Lastine will be playing acoustic sets at the Cook County Farm & Craft Market in the Senior Center parking lot. The market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring bedding plants (including tomato plants and perennials) as well as baked goods, Fika Coffee and lots of arts and crafts.

Also on Saturday morning, Kids Art Classes with Suzabelle will be held at The Garage from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. It’s a drop-in event and is designed for children from 8-12. They’ll paint, draw, make sculptures and more. $18 for the session. All welcome.

The Cook County Historical Society is offering tours of the Grand Marais Harbor this summer, too. The tours were created by Harbor Friends, with funding from Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program, and adapted with permission by the Cook County Historical Society for use in their present programming.

Two tours will be offered – a Lighthouse Point Guided Tour at 11:30 a.m., followed by a West Beach Guided Tour at 1 p.m. For more information, call the Historical Society at 387-2883. The tours will take about an hour and are free and open to the public.

Also on Saturday, the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center staff and volunteers will teach a a simple technique to make small journals to log nature observations and other notes. After you’ve assembled your journal, you can decorate it however you choose using collage, stamping, drawing, and more. Appropriate for all ages. The journal-making starts at 2 p.m. For more information, call 218-388-9915.

The Grand Marais Art Colony will hold a tour of the historical facility at 2 p.m. on Saturday as well.

At 5 p.m., Drury Lane Books will host a Salon with poet Caroline Giles Banks. She will read from and discuss her new book, The Weight of Whiteness: a Memoir in Poetry.

And Threads at The Garage is holding an open house on Saturday from 6-8 p.m. to introduce a re-make of the space featuring handmade items by local artists ranging from clothing to jewelry to home wares. Treats by Sydney’s. All invited.

Stephan Hoglund is hosting a promising DJ duo (Beautibirds) hailing from f Oslo, Norway who will make their debut performance at The OutBack behind Stephan Hoglunds Jewelry Store on Wisconsin Street.

Bring your own drinks!!

In other art news, the Johnson Heritage Post continues its exhibit from its Permanent Collection. The Heritage Post is oepn from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

Sivertson Gallery has new work by Liz Sivertson.

The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is hosting the 15th Arrowhead Arts Awards at The Underground in the Duluth Depot on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. Sculptor Gareth Andrews will receive the George Morrison Award for significant contributions to the arts in Minnesota and choral director Stanley Wold will receive the Maddie Simons Arts Advocate Award. The public is invited.

North Shore writer Beryl Singleton Bissell, author of “The Scent of God” and “A View of the Lake” is featured in the June/July issue of The Woman Today magazine.

The Grand Marais Art Colony has put a call out for artists to contribute work for the Clothesline Art Sale, a fundraiser for the Art Colony, which will be held during the Grand Marais Arts Featival, July 13-14. Artists are requested to make original 5×7 inch art pieces to be sold anonymously for $35 each. There will be some room for three-dimensional work as well. It should be a fun show, and everyone is invited to participate. The 5×7 pieces don’t have to be created by professional artists only, Anyone can submit a piece for the sale. The artwork is due July 8. For more info, call the Art Colony at 387-2737 or visit www.grandmaraisartcolony.org.

There’s lots of great live music this weekend, too. Here’s the schedule:

Thursday, June 5:

Joe Paulik, Music On the Beach, Lutsen Resort, 6 p.m.

James Moors, Gunflint Tavern, 8 p.m.

Friday, June 7:

Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grille, Tofte, 9 p.m.

Pete K Group, Gunflint Tavern, 9 p.m.

Saturday, June 8:

The Kam Valley Fiddlers, (Young Celtic Performers Showcase), Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2:30 p.m. (EST)

Matt Wahl, Lutsen Resort, 6 p.m.

Briand Morrison, The Pie Place, 6 p.m.

DJ Beautibirds, Stephan Hoglund’s Outback, 8:30 p.m.

Pete K Group, Gunflint Tavern, 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 9:

Joe Paulik, Gunflint Tavern, 8 p.m.

Monday, June 10:

Bump Blomberg, Bluefin Grille, Tofte, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, June 12:

Eric Frost, Mogul’s Grille at Caribou Highlands, 6:30 p.m.

Bingham & Thorne, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

There were some really incredible photographs of the storm that hit Grand Marais last Friday, including the lead photo, above. Here are two more images we found:

The first one was found on the Points Unknown Facebook page. We do not know who actually took it. It’s a pretty amazing shot. It was also sent to the U.S. National Weather Service Duluth’s Facebook page and one of the meteorologists wrote that the fog and storm interacted to create this incredible shape.

Photo by Points Unknown.

Amanda Plummer took this shot of the incoming storm from the Summit Chalet on Lutsen Mountains.

Photo by Amanda Plummer.

The storm carried some hail and rain with it, but wasn’t nearly as nasty as it looked.

The clouds over the last week threatened to obscure a strong surge of Northern Lights, but we do have some images. Here’s a beautiful one by Travis Novitsky (www.travisnovitsky.com) from McFarland Lake.