Grand Marais photographer Mark Tessier catches a perfect moment at sunset on Artist's Point.

No doubt about it, fall/winter is here  … there was snow on the other side of the hills and an icy Highway 61 this week, a harbinger of the months to come. But it was beautiful, too, as people took advantage of the sun  to enjoy the beautiful North Shore.

This weekend is pretty busy, too, with feasts and wine, theatre celebrations and more.

The Grand Marais Playhouse is celebrating its 40th anniversary Saturday, Oct. 24 with a Gala Fundraiser and Silent Auction starting at 6 p.m.

At the event, the 2010 season will be announced and comic readings and musical performances from upcoming shows will be presented. Critter De Jour will perform. Hors d’oeuvres and deserts will be available while you browse the enormous collection from local businesses, artists and individuals.

Tessier caught this goose looking pretty convinced it would get a treat from the little girl in pink.

Sue Hennessy, artistic director of the Playhouse, is billing it as a “Ginormous Silent Auction,” and it might very well be.  Besides donations from individuals, items also include a large selection of gift baskets, tickets to the Minnesota Wild, “Beauty and the Beast” at the Ordway as well as tickets to  the Guthrie Theater, Magnus Theater, Children’s Theater and the St. Paul Saints.

Playhouse apparel, season tickets, and special “hidden prize” balloons will be available, too. The preview of the upcoming season starts at 7 p.m. and everyone is invited to come and support local theater in Grand Marais.

The next play production mounted by the Playhouse is “Cinderella,” which opens Dec. 10. For more info about the Playhouse, click here.

Also on Saturday, North House Folk School will screen the film “Coffee, Kringla, Ole, & Lena: Samples from Scandinavian America” by award-winning Swedish filmmaker Stefan Quinth on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. The film includes an  interview with 100-plus-year-old  Gunnar Erickson. Donations accepted at the door.

It’s also a weekend to enjoy good food. The Angry Trout will be open through Sunday and three restaurants are featuring special food events.

Chez Jude will hold a Harvest Celebration Brunch on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. with a 5-course chef’s tasting menu paired with champagnes and wines developed by Chef Judi Barsness. Visit www.chezjude.com or call 387-9113 to make your reservation.

Through a lense through a lense. (Tessier)

The Crooked Spoon will host its second annual End of the Season Wine Dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. The five-course dinner, created by Chef Nathan Hingos includes Kobe Beef Tartare with quail eggs and rack of venison with sour cherry glaze. For reservations, see www.crookedspooncafe.com or call 387-2779.

The Gunflint Lodge dining and wine event spans the whole weekend. For more information and to make reservations, visit www.gunflint.com or call (800) 328-3325.

Bluefin Grille and Lutsen Resort both hold their wine weekends Nov. 6-7.

For music this weekend, check out the GunFlint Tavern on Saturday night where Moors & McCumber will play starting at 8:30 p.m.

John Prine will be at the Thunder Bay (Ontario) Community Auditorium on Sunday, Oct. 25. Bowfire will be there on Oct. 29. Visit www.tbca.com for more info and tickets.

Also in Thunder Bay, the Gammondale Farm’s fall halloween festival features a Haunted Cornfield, the Boo Barn and a Stable of Animals. There’s also Ghoulish Grub at the Road Kill Cafe. The Cornfield is open Oct. 23 & 24, 29, 30 & 32  from dark to 10 p.m. For more info, visit www.gammondalefarm.com.

Fort William in Thunder Bay is also featuring a Haunted Fort Night Oct. 23-25 and 29-31. It is recommended for kids 10 and up. Reservations are recommended at www.fwhp.ca or call (807) 473-2344.

Potter Ann Ward shows Rick Skoog how to finish throwing a bowl in a Make-A-Bowl session at the Art Colony for Empty Bowls.

And not to forget. This is the weekend for Paint A Bowl for the Empty Bowls fundraiser at the Grand Marais Art Colony. For a donation of $5 to cover costs, people will be given a glazed bowl and stains to decorate it. It’s fun! Try it at the Art Colony from 2-5 p.m. Saturday. Empty Bowls is Nov. 12 at the Congregational Church, 5-7 p.m, a fundraiser for the Food Shelf.

In other art news, Ann Mershon has published a new book  “Istanbul’s Bazaar Quarter: Back Street Walking Tours” with co-author Edda Renker Weissenbacher. Mershon has taken all the photographs for the book, which has received top reviews on Amazon.com.

Speaking of books, Betsy Bowen is working on the illustrations for “Big Belching Bog,” a children’s book written by Phlllis Root. The book is all about the critters, flowers, plants and trees you’ll find in a bog, Bowen said.

Bowen currently has a major exhibit of her woodcut prints at the Minnesota Marine Museum in Winona.

And, since this is the season to start stocking up on winter reading materials, check out Birchbark Book & Gifts for the latest best-selling novel or very cool picture-book of Minnesota’s natural beauty. Among them,  “Exploring Minnesota’s Wild Places,” by Daniel Philippon or  ”Of  Vikings and Voyageurs” by Jack Salmela. For ghost story lovers, there’s “The Nearly Departed, Minnesota Ghost Stories and Legends” by Michael Norman.

Knitting up a warm wool scarf or mittens is also on the menu for many this month. That Little Red House Yarn Shop in Grand Marais holds an open knitting time from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays. For more info, call 387-1094.

Kah Nee Tah Gallery in Lutsen has a new supply of birch bark frames by  Sue Vogen of Jordan.

And here are two video treats which turned up this week. Both are about the artistry of movement, actually, but oh so different!

Enjoy! Piano Stairs and Awesome Catch by Ball Girl.

Let’s end with some music.