The 10th annual Inuit Premiere opens at Sivertson Gallery.

The 10th Annual Inuit Premiere opens at Sivertson Gallery this weekend and it should be an incredible show.

Not only will there be great collections of Inuit sculptures and prints to look at and enjoy, there will also be soapstone carving demonstrati and traditional throat singing as well as presentations and discussions on Inuit art and traditions.

The event kicks off with the screening of a masterful Inuit film, produced and directed by talented Inuit movie makers. The movie was the top-rated film at Winterer’s Gathering. The screening will be at 8 p.m. on Friday  in the Blue Building at North House Folk School. The feature film will be preceded by a short, animated Inuit film entitled “The Owl and the Lemming.” The event is free. Popcorn is available.

The gallery opening for the Inuit Premiere is on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Sivertson’s. The artists featured in this year’s gala event are Karen Olanna of Nome, Alaska who crafts native-inspired sculptures from indigenous Alaskan material and Ohito Ashoona, an internationally recognized Inuit stone sculptor from Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

Olanna will be give a Fireside Chat presentation at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, where she will discuss her art and life in Nome. She will be joined by Ashoona  and traditional throat singers Nina Segalowitz and Lydia Etok at 6 p.m. for a panel discussion on Inuit art, traditions and living in the modern world.

The throat singing demonstrations are really extraordinary and should not be missed. They begin at 1 p.m. And Ashoona will be carving throughout the day. So put this on your calendar. It should be a good time. Refreshments will be served.

Mush For A Cure, a fundraiser for breast cancer research, is this weekend.

Also this weekend – “Mush for a Cure”, the fundraiser for breast cancer research, is always a fun way to spend the day on the Trail. Mushers (many dressed in pink) come from all over to participate in the race, which starts on Gunflint Lake in front of the Gunflint Pines resort and finishes at Trail Center at noon on Saturday.

The festivities begin on Friday at 5 p.m. at Trail Center. Andrea Peterson of Studio 61 will give haircuts for $10 with the money to be donated to Mush for a Cure. There will be a pink pasta party and other fun events. At 9:30 p.m., is the first annual “The Bald, The Brave and The Beautiful Headshaving.”  There are two competing teams: Sheriff Mark Falk and Deputy Sheriff  Leif Lunde;  Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Prom and Deputy Chief Bob Baker. The team which has garnered the most donations will have the “honor” of getting their heads shaved. The race itself starts at noon on Saturday, followed by a dance at Trail Center on Saturday. Rod N Real will play.

Photographers are Jon Wood, Bryan Hansel, Don Davison, Roger Nordstrom, Travis Novitsky, Paul Sundberg and Bruce Johnson.

Also, if you missed the opening of the North Shore Photographers show at the Johnson Heritage Post last weekend, there’s still plenty of time to see it. It’s an impressive display of wonderful images of our favorite places. The gallery is open from 1-4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Photographer Don Davison, who curated the show, will be at the gallery on Sunday.

There are lots of opportunities to listen to live music this weekend, too. You can start it off by going to Bluefin Bay tonight (Wednesday) and listen to the Sivertones from 5-7 p.m.

On Thursday, Eric Frost plays at the Poplar River Pub at Lutsen Resort from 6-8 p.m. and at the Moguls Grill from 4-6 p.m. Friday.

Kate and Jade Dowling, the HiBs, play Irish tunes.

Also on Friday, The HiBs play Irish Music at Cascade Restaurant from 6-9 p.m.  and again on Saturday night.

Also on Friday night, Two Many Banjos plays at the Gunflint Tavern and Release plays at Papa Charlie’s at 9 p.m.

Saturday’s round-up includes Bump Blomberg from 3:30-6 p.m. at Papa Charlie’s, Trail’s End Band at Trail Center (playing for the Mush for a Cure dance) from 5:30-9 p.m. and Two Many Banjos at the Gunflint Tavern.

Also on Saturday night, the Gear Daddies with Timmy Haus play at Papa Charlie’s at 9:30 p.m. The band, which originally hails from Austin, Minn., is well-known for it’s song “I Want to Ride a Zamboni,” which was used in a Disney film, “Mighty Ducks.” Here’s the YouTube version of the Zamboni song.

There’s music this Sunday, too, with Matt Ray & Those Dame Horses playing the Apres Ski slot at Papa Charlie’s at 3:30 p.m. Joe Paulik plays at the Tavern at 6:30 p.m. and there’s a classical Oboe and Piano Concert at Bluefin Bay in Tofte from 7-9 p.m.

The Grand Marais Art Colony's 2010 course catalog should arrive in your mailbox soon.

In other art news, the Grand Marais Art Colony staff just finished a huge mailing of the course catalog for 2010. Look for it — it’s quite beautiful and is chockful of great classes.

The Art Colony, which has a public Facebook Page (click here) has also launched a new blog. It’s quite beautiful and has photos and videos and more. To see it, click here.

And artists in the community are getting recognition outside the North Shore, too. Composer/musician Rick Skoog (Hovland) and co-writer Dave Werhane (Nashville) have had their music incorporated into a new film by adventure film-maker Justine Curgenven. The world premiere of “This is Canoeing” will be held at “Canoecopia” in Madison, Wis. at noon on Saturday. Curgenven’s documentaries have been shown on the BBC and National Geographic and have won her multiple awards at film festivals including Banff, Kendal & the Reel Film Festival. To see a preview of “This is Canoeing,” click here.

Skoog and Werhane have had their music incorporated into other movies. They (Kaci Productions) placed some instrumental music in Bryan Smith’s “Eastern Horizons,” where they had the opening track. Smith also used their instrumentals in a pilot that was eventually accepted by the National Geographic Cable Channel, Skoog said in an e-mail. The scenes from “The Blueline” made it into the Banff Film Festival Promo Trailer.

Max Linehan's decorated shoes.

And last, but not least, Lee Ross and Max Linehan are participating in the “Foot In The Door 4″ show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The show, which happens once every 10 years, invites artists from all over Minnesota to bring in a work of art to be displayed.  More than 5,000 pieces are in the show this year. Here’s more info.

The artists were encouraged to wear special shoes to the “Foot in the Door” opening, so Linehan and Ross decorated shoes and wore those. Fun!

Have a great weekend.