All About Birds

If  life is art and art is life, then this weekend is the time to celebrate our feathered friends —there are birding events everywhere.

First up is the Boreal Birding and Northern Landscapes Festival at North House Folk School June 3-6. This event has a number of courses and birding walks (registration is required),  but there are also free public programs in the evenings.

The Gunflint Ranger Station in Grand Marais kicks off the weekend on Thursday night at 7 p.m. with a presentation by Gerard Niemi on fall migration patterns on the North Shore.

At 7 p.m. on Friday night, Sivertson Gallery will host

“The Canadian Seven and Me — Finding One’s Place in the Northwoods,” a presentation by landscape artist Dave Gilsvik. The Group of Seven, Canadian landscape painters with a distinctive style still revered today, influenced Gilsvik’s work. It should be an interesting presentation.

On Saturday from 4-6 p.m. there will be an open house at Betsy Bowen’s Studio called “Betsy’s Birds.” Bowen has wonderful woodcuts of all kinds of birds, and they are available as single prints, as cards, calendars books and more.

Then, at 7 p.m. on Saturday night, the piece de resistance — acclaimed raven author and biologist Bern Heinrich will give a presentation at North House Folk School entitled “Ravens: Adventures with the Wolf Birds.” Heinrich is a world-class expert on ravens and has incredible stories to tell about these fascinating birds. Come early to get a good seat. He is also teaching a course entitled “Nesting Season,” which starts on Saturday and runs through Monday.

The birding festival’s public presentations conclude at 2 p.m. Sunday with Bonnie Simple, who will talk about the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas project.

The Birding Festival also features a great range of field-based classes about birds, including trips along the North Shore and the Gunflint Trail to see what’s there. An owl walk is also scheduled. To register and find out more, click here.

Other birding events scheduled for this weekend include “A Bird in the Hand” and “Birding for the Entire Family” at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center on Saturday morning. Call 800-523-2733 to register. Also, “Raptors of the North Shore: A Live Bird Show” will be held at the AmericInn in Silver Bay from 1:30-4 p.m. Saturday. Call 800-523-2733 for more information.

And, in Thunder Bay, a new exhibit at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery opens on June 4 entitled “Aloft –Ravens and Other Flyers from the Permanent Collection. Also starting June 4 at the Thunder Bay gallery is “Copper Thunderbird,” a retrospective of the work of Norval Morrisseau and  “Drawings by Frank Big Bear,” an exhibit organized by the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth.

To round out the outd00rs part of this week’s blog, Sugarloaf Cove is hosting an “Outdoor Photo Workshop” at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Landscape photographer Chris Sandberg (www.cksandbergphoto.com) will lead a workshop designed to help outdoor photographers improve their artistry and technical skills. Cost is $5 per person. To register, call 218-525-0001.

And last, but not least, the Lake Head Region Conservation Authority in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is holding a Garden Party and Plant Sale on Saturday. For more info, visit www.lakeheadca.com.

There are some very fun art shows to see this weekend, too. The Cross River Heritage Center will hold an opening reception for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police paintings by Arnold Friberg at 6:30 p.m. this Friday. The paintings are on loan and were installed by the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Artists Kathleen Gray-Anderson and Ron Krueger who also have work on exhibit at the Heritage Center will also be there.

Kah Nee Tah Gallery has a selection of watercolors by Marie Sweeney from Shell Lake, Wis. She will be featured in a show at the Johnson Heritage Post later this summer. Bruce Palmer brought in a new collection of smaller original landscapes to the gallery. Palmer is from St Paul and has a summer studio in Schroeder.

And, not be missed, the latest show at the Johnson Heritage Post. Called “Scandinavian Art,” the exhibit features photographs of Norway by Twin Cities photographer Sara Rottunda and wood carvings by Linda Blaine Ottis and Gayle Harvey. The exhibit has attracted a lot of interest. The Heritage Post is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

Last weekend was pretty busy in Cook County, too, with openings and birthday celebrations, raku firings and more.

One highlight was Howard Sivertson’s 80th birthday, which was celebrated at Sivertson Gallery on Friday night. He wore fancy sequined red suspenders and a silver sequined tie. The staff all wore red suspenders, too — a nice touch. Koscielak, Gruber and Bauer played. A good time was had by all.

Stephan Hoglund held a grand opening for his new photo gallery,Boreal Light Imagery, too. Bicycle Army played there.

On Saturday, the Grand Marais Art Colony held an open house and offered the public a chance to decorate handmade cards and/or glaze a raku pot and have it fired. The event was great success.

This weekend, there is plenty of good music on tap as well.

On Friday night, Max Bichel, Pete Kavanaugh & Chris Gillis are on-stage at the GunFlint Tavern for the first time ever! Should be a great time.

Then on Saturday night,  Cook County’s Most Wanted (AKA Rod N Real) play the Tavern. Here’s a video of them playing in Lutsen. Click here. The music starts at 9 p.m. each night.

On Sunday, Cook County’s Most Wanted play at the Devil’s Track Resort from 4-7 p.m. and the Pincushion Warblers play the Tavern starting at 6:30 p.m.

Here’s a link to the summer lineup at Devil’s Track. Click here.

Monday, June 7, is Acoustic Jam night at the Chicago Bay Marketplace in Hovland. The jams are held at 6 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. Bring your instruments, your voice and swap songs around the circle. Take a lead or just chord along. Call  Sue at 475-2609 or Lisa at 475-2253. Another perk. Delicious homemade pizza, soup &  sandwiches, wine and beer served. Audience members are welcome.

Also this weekend, Split Rock Lighthouse is celebrating its centennial with special events from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. The public is invited.

In Grand Marais at 2 p.m., the Cook County Historical Society is hosting Frank Hansen who will talk about Jean Raikken, a pioneer resort owner on the Sawbill Trail. She owned Sawbill Lodge and, as Hansen puts it, discovered the condominium concept without even knowing it.

Also this weekend, the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council will present the 12th Annual Arts and Cultural Heritage Arrowhead Arts Awards at the Encore Performing Arts Center and Gallery, 2035 Highway 33 S., in Cloquet. The awards ceremony is at 6:30 p.m.

This year’s recipient of the George Morrison Artist Award is young adult author Mary Casanova of Ranier for her outstanding contributions to children’s literature. This year’s recipient of the Maddie Simons Advocate Award is Cheryl Kramer-Milder of Cloquet in recognition of her contributions to the arts and community theater in Cloquet and Carlton County. The public is invited.

There are some fun upcoming classes at the Grand Marais Art Colony this month, too. Dorian Beaulieu of Lake Superior College is teaching a wood-fired raku class June 19-20. The class includes instruction on how to build your own kiln as well as raku firings.

And here’s a scoop for local artists. Painter Hazel Belvo is teaching another section of her Mentored I class this summer at the Grand Marais Art Colony from July 12-16. It’s a masters-level mentorship and means that local artists will be able to take advantage of this great opportunity to connect with their creative center. Call the Art Colony at 287-2737 for more details.

Other classes include Beginning Plein Air with  Neil Sherman, June 11-4 and  Stained Glass Treasure Boxes with Tony Rau, June 12-13. Click here to see the Web site.

And a note for your July calendar. The Hovland Art Festival, featuring local artists and musicians, will be July 3-4 this year at the Hovland Town Hall.

And last, but not least, here’s something for Bob Dylan fans. Click here to listen.  It looks like it’s a Russian YouTube-like site. It’s called Ru Tube.  No video, though. Interesting, nevertheless.

Have a great weekend!