Canoe races, art shows and more

Ah, a canoe at sunset! What an iconic image for the North Shore. Bryan Hansel hit the nail on the head with this one.

On the other hand, this beautiful image doesn’t  quite document what will be happening on the shores of Gunflint Lake tonight, (Wednesday), around 6 p.m. There, it’ll be packed with people and crazy, wonderful, noisy, joyful and totally fun as the Gunflint Canoe Races get underway. There are 22 different races that will be launched from the beach and docks in front of Gunflint Lodge. Everything from gunnel pumping to long-distance paddling, kids races and games, intergenerational competitions and more;. sloppy Joe’s, ice cream, a cream puff eating contest, a silent auction, lots of raffles, including a raffle for a 17-foot Wenonah Spirit II Royalex Canoe and much more. The event is a fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and everybody is invited.

It starts at 4 p.m., food served at 4:30 p.m., races at 6 p.m. So consider a trip up the Trail this afternoon. Bring a pail, go a little early and pick some blueberries. They’re ripe and beautiful this year.

And, you could visit the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, which just opened recently. It’s a beautiful site with great trails and impressive displays about the history of the Gunflint Trail. Click here to read more about it. Chik-Wauk also has a Facebook page with info about programs, comments from visitors and more.

On Friday night, a new show opens at the Johnson Heritage Post, featuring the work of Jan Hartley Wise and Penny Perry. Wise is an accomplished artist and creates art focusing on the spiritual: art connected to Lake Superior and the interior personal landscape. Besides painting and collage, she also leads workshops on guided imagery, creative visualization, and journaling. Click here to see her Web site. The opening reception for this exhibit is from 5-7 p.m. this Friday.

Next week, Sun Kissed Paintings, a wonderful exhibit of paintings by Alice Powell, Jan Attridge, Carolyn Sevareid and Emily Ulhorn will open in the lobby of the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in conjunction with the opening of the  Grand Marais Playhouse’s production of “Cole Porter’s You Never Know.” The event is from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 29. Stay tuned for details.

There’s lots of good music this weekend, too, starting tonight at Birch Terrace where Pete Kavanaugh will play from 8-11 p.m.

On Thursday,Saint Anyway performs at the Gunflint Tavern.  The acoustic duo, Tony Petersen and Jamie Kallestad, have  roots in folk, bluegrass and rock n’ roll and are part of the creative music scene in Duluth. Their first release last year, “Paper Town,” won critical acclaim. They were on WDSE’s The Playlist this spring. To see the video, click here.

On Friday, listen to The Roadhouse on WTIP Community Radio from 5-7  p.m. because Chastity Brown, an acoustic, folk and soul musician who is very popular here in the county, will be interviewed on the show. She’ll also play a few songs. She’ll be performing at the Gunflint Tavern on Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9 p.m. To listen to her music and learn more about her, click here.

Also on Friday, Trail’s End Band will play at Trail Center from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Critter Du Jour plays on the Eight Broadway Stage from noon to 2 p.m. and Joe Paulik plays on the Birch Terrace Deck from 1:30-5:30 p.m.

Max Bichel plays for diners at the Pie Place on Saturday night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and then joins The Bicycle Army at the Devil Track Resort from 5-8 p.m. Sunday.

Michael Monroe will hold a Log Cabin Concert at his home and studio on Saturday night. To find out more, click here.

On Sunday, Don Bauer plays on the Birch Terrace Deck from 1:30-5:30 p.m. and Bicycle Army plays at Devil Track Lodge, 5-8 p.m.

For Beatles fans, The Cavern Beat, a tribute band, will perform for the Grand Marais Playhouse’s 40th Anniversary Birthday Bash on Sunday nighSt. Hear their music here. The birthday party includes a barbecue at 6 p.m. in the backstage parking lot, weather permitting, and a concert and dance at 7 p.m. The public is invited to celebrate this great birthday party for the Playhouse. Bring your friends and listen to the “Beatles.”

In other art news, Duluth poets Ellie Schoenfeld and Debra Gordon Cooper will read from their work and discuss reading and writing at a Salon at Drury Lane Books on Saturday, July 24, at 5 p.m.

Here’s Schoenfeld’s poem, “Patriotism,” published in her latest book, “The Dark Honey: New & Used Poems,” which won the Northeast Minnesota Book Award this year for poetry.

Click here for the link where Garrison Keeler reads this poem.

Patriotism

My country is this dirt
that gathers under my fingernails
when I am in the garden.
The quiet bacteria and fungi,
all the little insects and bugs
are my compatriots. They are
idealistic, always working together
for the common good.
I kneel on the earth
and pledge my allegiance
to all the dirt of the world,
to all of that soil which grows
flowers and food
for the just and unjust alike.
The soil does not care
what we think about or who we love.
It knows our true substance,
of what we are really made.
I stand my ground on this ground,
this ground which will
ultimately
recruit us all
to its side.

Deborah Gordon Cooper collaborates with her husband, Joel Cooper, who is a fine arts screen printer. Here is their site, which includes links to her poetry and the books they have produced together.

Then on Sunday at Drury Lane Books, Critter du Jour plays for the Full Moon “Reading”  from 7:30 to 9 p.m. by the fire. Everyone is invited.

James Moors plays at the GunFlint Tavern Sunday evening. Music starts at 8 p.m. Here are a few videos to give a you a taste of his music. Click here to view.

Let’s end with a joyful photo taken at the end of a kids’ painting class taught by David Hahn at the Grand Marais Art Colony. Obviously his students had a great time. Click here to find out more about all the classes, for kids and adults, that will be held at the Art Colony this summer.

Have a wonderful weekend.