High Falls at Grand Portage by Don Davison
Spring has sprung on the North Shore and the evidence is very clear in the rivers and waterfalls, as Don Davison’s shot of the High Falls at Grand Portage shows. He and five other photographers have an on-going show at the Johnson Heritage Post, a must see. The JHP is open from 1-4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
In town, the sounds you hear are even more telling — rakes scratching along the dry grass as gardeners gather up the detrius of winter in preparation for a new growing season.
Betsy Bowen's painting for the Stations of the Cross exhibit.
All of this — spring, renewal — will be celebrated at the Grand Marais Art Colony this Sunday with the opening of a rather extraordinary collaborative exhibit between the Art Colony and the Spirit of the Wilderness. The exhibit, ” Stations of the Cross.” features the work of 27 local artists and includes everything from prints to paintings, sculpture to ceramics, woodworking to fiber art.
Each artist was assigned a “Station” and, because of the great response, many of the stations will have more than one interpretation in different media. The exhibit is an exploration of biblical themes in contemporary art . It also is a representation of how our community expresses a traditional theme in a local context.
The official opening is at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. There will be refreshments and music. From 3-4 p.m., Lisa Palchick will give a lecture on icons, and booklets about the exhibit will be available then. The exhibit continues through Easter. Listen to WTIP radio at 10 a.m. Thursday morning for an interview about the exhibit and how it came about.
The Irish group, Chulrua, will play at North House Saturday.
Today (Wednesday) is St. Patrick’s Day, and the Gunflint Mercantile will have a great selection of green fudge and other goodies.
And Irish music, dancing and culture will be featured this weekend at North House Folk School.
“Celtic Connections,” a collaboration between North House and the North Shore Music Association, features Paddy O’Brian and his Celtic band, Chalrua, in concert at 7 p.m. Saturday night. North House has also scheduled a wide variety of workshops on Irish Ceili dancing, Irish fiddle music, tin whistling and “Reaching for the Draíocht: Sharing Irish Traditional Music “on Saturday and Sunday as well as a whole host of craft classes, from baking Irish breads to making a Celtic knot pendant. It should be a really fun time. For more info about classes and Paddy O’Brian, click here and here.
There’s lots of other music this weekend, too.
Eric Frost plays tonight (Wednesday) at Bluefin Bay from 7-9 p.m. He was in the WTIP studios recently. Take a look.
"Riot of Spring" at Papa Charlie's and Lutsen Mountains this weekend.
Pete Kavanaugh plays the Poplar River Pub at Lutsen Resort on Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. and Papa Charlie’s has a big show, too,as part of “Riot of Spring: Music and Ski Festival” weekend. Soverign Sect, Deep Sea Summit and Friends of Friends play.
On Friday night, the Sivertones play at Moguls Grills & Tap Room in Lutsen from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and West Fox & DJ Baktatr are at Papa Charlie’s from 4-7 p.m.
The comedian Amaru performs there at 8 p.m. Live music features Histronic, Estate & DJ Mike Moilanen. It starts at 9:30 p.m.
Also, Stuart McLean & The Vinyl Cafe will be featured at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium in Thunder Bay at 7:30 p.m. Friday. For tickets and more info, visit www.tbca.com. McLean, whose popular show comes from Canada, was interviewed on the Roadhouse last week. Listen here.
On Saturday night, there’s the Chalrua concert at North House (7 p.m.) and the Pete Kavanaugh Group plays at the GunFlint Tavern. (8:30 p.m.)
Papa Charlie’s is featuring West Fox, Steez and Apollo Cobra at 9:30 p.m.
Yeltzi with Sara Softich plays at Papa Charlie's Sunday.
The Duluth band Yeltzi with Sara Softich play at Papa Charlie’s on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Softich has performed in Grand Marais at the Tavern on several occasions. Take a listen here.
Also on Sunday, the classical concert series at Bluefin Bay continues with The Broadway-Swider Duo at 7 p.m. The concert is free.
Once again, a busy weekend on the North Shore!
In other art news, Ely woodcut artist Beckie Prange has been working in the print studio at the Grand Marais Art Colony recently. Click here to read more about her work and see her illustrations.
The cover of Beckie Prange's new book, "Ubiquitous."
Becky Prange has been working in the Print Studio at the Art Colony.
Her new book, “Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors” with poetry by Duluth poet Joyce Sidman, will soon be published. Prange and Sidman collaborated on an earlier book, “Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems.”
No doubt about it — art is alive and well in Cook County, especially at the Art Colony. Take a look at the new blog here.
Enjoy the great music and cultural opportunities this weekend, and maybe even a snow shower or two. Until next week …. “Erin Go Braugh,” (Ireland Forever.)
