In July of 2011, Justin Sinks put together his first public showing of Bound. Even though it was 15 pieces and only took up half of the gallery, it was, according to Brian Rauvola, owner of the Duluth Photography Institute, “one of the biggest events the DPI had that year.”

His project experienced a set back due to flood damage at Lizzard’s Art Gallery in Duluth. It’s where he normally gets his photos mounted for shows. They are a wonderful local shop that do great work for a very good price. Due to the flood, their equipment was badly damaged and it doesn’t look like they will be able to repair or replace it any time soon. Now, he’s desperately looking for another place that can help him out without charging an arm and a leg on his original projected Kickstarter budget. There is only two days left to reach his pledge goal to be funded!

Please consider checking out his Kickstarter and donating to his amazing show and/or attending the event on August 3 from 5 to 10 p.m.

As a Harbor City Roller Dame, it baffles me that we are yet to reach our goal of selling out tickets at the DECC Pioneer Hall since playing there the Fall of 2010. Many skaters are involved in or support the local arts and music scene. We are professionals that live and work in this community. The Dames give back by selecting a local charity to receive a financial contribution and/or volunteer our time.  So it begs me to ask: Why is roller derby not as popular or successful in Duluth as it is in say Minneapolis or even smaller towns like Grand Rapids, MN?

Larger cities support multiple teams and are still successful. While locally we’ve seen numbers fall in the last year as our competitiveness has enhanced (we were undefeated until last month’s bout). Roller derby continues to gain popularity across the nation but is slightly stunted here. We need our fans to show their continued support and find ways to reach other demographics to spread the love of derby in Duluth. Our performance is bolstered by the encouragement of our sports enthusiasts.

Does the PDD community have any thoughts on what we can do to fill our seats? Comments? Feedback?