Perfect Duluth Day

Perfect Duluth Day Outdoor Summer Concert Primer 2026

Izabella Zadra Jun 17, 2026 No Comments

Charlie Parr, sparkler in hand, travels far and wide this summer, hitting the Twin Ports Aug. 21 for a show at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior.

Large outdoor shows by traveling bigshots seem to be trending down while local bands in parks and courtyards are on an upswing. Nonetheless, there are still some heavy hitters passing through the region this summer. Perfect Duluth Day’s annual list spotlighting 15 outdoor shows mixes up a few of the big-ticket acts with highlights from free shows on the piers, porches and patios of Duluth and surrounding communities.

Music Guides and Lists

New NLMF season honors founder Veda Zuponcic

Sharon Falkowski Jun 16, 2026 No Comments

Following the recent passing of founder and artistic director Veda Zuponcic, the Northern Lights Music Festival board of directors announced that the 2026 festival season will continue as planned, honoring her vision and more than four decades of dedication to music education and performance.

Music, R.I.P. Northern Lights Music Festival

This is America: Duluth in 1946

PDDTV Jun 15, 2026 No Comments

This clip is from a 16-minute educational film from 1946 called This is America: Great Lakes, focusing on the segment mentioning Duluth. The full film, embedded below, explores the industrial powerhouse of the Great Lakes, detailing the crucial roles of navigation, shipping and the Coast Guard in transporting iron ore, coal and grain to fuel America’s postwar economy.

History Great Lakes Ships and Shipping Industry, Mining, Video Archive

ARDC receives Excellence in Regional Transportation Award

David Beard Jun 14, 2026 No Comments

A partnership between the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission has won recognition from the National Association of Development Organizations.

News and Current Affairs Arrowhead Regional Development Commission

Making it Up North: Grizz Works Wood Sculpture

PDDTV Jun 13, 2026 No Comments

Grizz Works is a full-time chainsaw carving business that ships custom art all over the world.

Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.

Videos Making it Up North, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Hagstrom & Forsgren Furniture opened in 1926

Paul Lundgren Jun 12, 2026 No Comments

Hagstrom & Forsgren Furniture Company in Duluth’s friendly West End held its grand opening event 100 years ago today — June 12, 1926. The building at 1910-1912 W. Superior St. is presently the location of Frost River, a manufacturer of canvas bags, canoe packs and other outdoor gear.

History Lincoln Park Neighborhood / The Friendly West End, Roaring Twenties

Making it Up North: Highbridge Hills

PDDTV Jun 11, 2026 No Comments

Highbridge Hills is a 225-acre disc golf paradise tucked away in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin. It features six unique disc golf courses designed by Chuck Kennedy, ranging from tight, technical woods to wide-open bomber lines.

Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.

Videos Disc Golf, Making it Up North, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Sparking a Larger Story: Return of Fire to Minnesota Point

PDDTV Jun 09, 2026 No Comments

For the first time in more than 150 years, fire (“Ishkode” in Ojibwe) is returning to Minnesota Point. A prescribed cultural burn this fall will clear accumulated underbrush and tree debris to restore the ecosystem, allowing native species like red pine and blueberries to regenerate while also mitigating wildfire hazards.

Outdoors, Videos Fire, Minnesota Point and Park Point, UMD

Postcard from Somewhere on Skyline Parkway

Paul Lundgren Jun 08, 2026 No Comments

This postcard depicts a scene at one of the many creeks that intersect Skyline Parkway, aka “The Bouvelard,” in Duluth. The postmark is not completely legible, but it shows the card was mailed on June 8 of some year prior to 1917, when the postal rate for postcards was increased from one cent to two cents.

History Postcards, Skyline Parkway

Superior Street, Sept. 11, 1907, Part 3: Spalding Hotel and Surrounding Businesses

Matthew James Jun 07, 2026 No Comments

This series takes a detailed look at life on Superior Street on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1907. The first part of the series provided background details on a photograph shot that day where the street intersects Fifth Avenue West. Part three focuses on the businesses around the Spalding Hotel, including a fight with the city over on-street parking policies by a watchmaker whose pocket watches are still prized by collectors today.

History, Photos Detroit Publishing Company, Spalding Hotel

Ripped on the Art Gallery Stroll in 2006

Slim Goodbuzz Jun 06, 2026 No Comments

[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the drunken compendium of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. Twenty years ago the Sultan of Sot took a tour of Downtown Duluth art galleries and composed this article for the June 5, 2001 edition of the Ripsaw newspaper.]

Let’s get one thing straight: I love art. I mean, there’s no greater art than getting drunk. So, with that in mind, I’m on my way to the Art Gallery Stroll — the first of five monthly, multi-gallery art receptions this summer in Duluth. Pop those corks, artsy-fartsies; I’m out to get completely, utterly and entirely fucking Brandenburged.

Art receptions, as any seasoned alcoholic knows, are the most abundant source of complimentary wine in the world. But this adventure is about more than saving money; it’s about improving my health. Instead of sitting on a stool in a smoky room and staring dumbly at myself in a Budweiser mirror behind a bar, tonight I’m going to air out my hemorrhoids by walking around and staring dumbly at, for example, a clay sculpture of a bear with a cup and saucer on his head.

Art Bars / Drinking Establishments, Saturday Essay

International Falls: Icebox of the Nation

PDDTV Jun 05, 2026 No Comments

The Dispatch is a new travel documentary series visiting 50 cities in 50 states, “searching for the best stories, food, people, and experiences off the beaten path in the USA.” Host Sam Neumann is from Chisago City in central Minnesota, and he chose International Falls and neighboring city Ranier to represent his home state. Some of the stops include the Cantilever Hotel, Hallett Brewing and Border Country Outdoor Adventures.

Videos International Falls, Travelogues

Puzzling Through the Museum of Ojibwa Culture: Saint Ignace (and Indigenous History in our Region)

David Beard Jun 04, 2026 No Comments

On a recent trip through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I stopped to visit the Museum of Ojibwa Culture in St. Ignace. The Museum is operated by the city of St. Ignace, and so “the city-operated museum and park portray a vivid picture of life in the Straits of Mackinac over 300 years ago when Ojibwa, Huron, Odawa and French lifestyles met.”

History

Making it Up North: Warrior Printress

PDDTV Jun 03, 2026 No Comments

Janelle Miller and Stacie Renné are the creative duo behind Warrior Printress. From their beloved 1910 printing press, “Gertie,” they create custom, hand-carved, limited-edition posters for iconic regional landmarks like Glensheen Mansion and Bob’s Cabins.

Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.

Videos Making it Up North, Warrior Printress, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Engraved 1871 Duluth Prints from The Graphic

Paul Lundgren Jun 03, 2026 No Comments

British weekly newspaper The Graphic ran a story on Duluth in its June 3, 1871 edition — 155 years ago today — featuring three wood-engraved prints of Duluth scenes.

History