Month: June 2011
Scottish Fest – June 25
Saturday, June 25 · 9:30am – 1:30pm
Fitger’s Courtyard
600 E. Superior St., Duluth
Saturday is the annual Duluth Scottish Heritage Association Highland Dance Competition. Pre-Premier Competition begins at 9:30 a.m. Duluth Scottish Heritage Assn. Pipes & Drums Band will perform in Fitger’s at Noon. Premier Competition Begins at 1:30 PM with awards ceremony to follow. The public is invited to attend; all events are free to the public.
Beer Festival – Lutsen – July 9
As a reminder to all those beer lovers out there, Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival is happening in Lutsen on Saturday, July 9. Tickets are $25 and the breweries and brews listed below will be there. There will also be live music by Joe Paulik as well as Eric Frost & Friends.
Details at hoppedupcaribou.com. It’s going to be a good time!
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Far West Fest June 25 & 26
Saturday, June 25 from 8am – 1am
Sunday, June 26 from 9am – 5pm
1300 block of Commonwealth Ave – Gary
Coyote at Rhubarb Fest 2011
Coyote at Rhubarb Fest (11th Avenue East and London Road) 1 p.m. set!
7th Annual CHUM Rhubarb Festival
Is this going to be fun?
7th Annual CHUM Rhubarb Festival
June 25, 9 AM to 4:30 PM
11th Ave East and London Road, Duluth
Admission is free!
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The best breakfast downtown …
… I might have had this morning. At least, best per-dollar, with the awesomest staff: the Coney Island.
On April 10, 1921 Gus Saites, a Greek immigrant, had a few hundred dollars and an idea. He would head to Duluth from St. Paul and open a restaurant on East Superior Street in the bustling town of Duluth Minnesota. Nearly 90 years later this idea continues uninterrupted in the same location and under the same tin ceiling as on that spring day in ’21.
A Summer Night of Sondheim
Join Renegade’s friends Adam Sippola & Carolyn LePine with Evan Kelly, Susanne Wilfahrt and Patrick Colvin on June 24 and/or June 25 for an evening of music from composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.
Tickets are $10, and all ages are welcome. Reserve your seat online at teatrozuccone.com, or get them the day of the event at Teatro Zuccone. The box office opens at 6pm. Doors open at 7:30pm, and the show starts at 8 pm.
Join Renegade Improv afterward both nights for 10:30 Main Event Shows. For more information and weekly schedules, check out 3dayweekendmn.com.
M’haha Window on “History Detectives”
Duluth’s “Minnehaha” Tiffany window (sometimes referred to as the “Hiawatha” window) designed by Duluth’s Ann Weston-and a watercolor associated with it-will be featured on next week’s “History Detectives” on PBS North. Look for Wade Lawrence, former director of Glensheen, for his expert analysis of the window.
Here are the air times/dates/PBS description:
Tuesday, June 28 – 7pm on PBS North
Tuesday, June 28 – midnight on PBS North
Saturday, July 2 – 6pm on PBS 2ndChance
Sunday, July 3 – 5pm on PBS North
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Seen on a run along Grand Portage Trail, Jay Cooke State Park
False Soloman’s Seal
Yellow Lady Slippers
Also seen in bloom, but not photographed: strawberries, mertensia, wild roses, the last of the large flowered trillium, thimbleberry, and buttercups.
The sun is shining and the trails should be drying out if the weather holds. Perfect time to get outside and discover what wildflowers the trails in and around Duluth hold!
Cold Water Surfest with Crew Jones
Saturday, June 25, at 10 p.m., Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar presents Cold Water Surfest with Crew Jones for free!
First Street Renaissance
Vietnamese Iced Coffee
My heart broke when the European Bakery closed (though I admit only shopping there once a month wasn’t much help in keeping it open). It relit today.
I had an awesome lunch at Saigon Cafe (114 W First St., Duluth, MN 55802). At $6.99 for all you can eat, the $2.99 for the Vietnamese coffee was an easy treat.
(Vietnamese Coffee is the reason I keep condensed milk at home: also known as ca phe sua da or cà phê sữa dá), it is made with dark roast coffee individually brewed with a small metal French drip filter into a cup containing sweetened condensed milk, stirred and poured over ice.) (more…)
Duluth’s Retro Antique Mall
You may have noticed a new antique store has opened at 118 E. First St. in Downtown Duluth. It’s a pretty crazy collection. In one corner is some of the remaining used book inventory from R. O. Carlson’s famous store, next to it is stuff from the old Molly’s Bar in Superior … and on and on. There are about 10 different people selling stuff in there, one of whom is Doug Moen, best known for his massive collection of retro clothing. (more…)
Fun and flowers this weekend at Jay Cooke State Park
It’s Duluth’s own backyard state park. In half the time it takes to drive to Gooseberry, you can get reach this big park straddling the rugged St. Louis River valley. You could even ride your bike out the Munger Trail.
Head out to Jay Cooke State Park this weekend and check out the lady’s slippers that are blooming. Or get up early for a birdsong walk with Larry Weber. The St. Louis River should be raging under the Swinging Bridge. These ideas and more are on my blog.
Note, none of the reservable campsites are available. If you zoom up to the park tonight or early Friday, you could still snag one of the first-come, first-served campsites.
PDD Gravatar Poll, Fourth Bracket
[poll id=”7″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Hot Shot — 54.1 percent
Tamara — 15.3 percent
Ethan — 11.8 percent
Mary — 9.4 percent
Edgeways — 9.4 percent
Why Do We Run?
Video by Timothy Johnson
Total Freedom Rock @ Lake Ave
Thursday, June 23 at 10pm
Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar presents:
Total Freedom Rock for free!
When in Duluth? Downtown Waterfront Interim Report
I was trying to find an old photograph last week and I did not find what I was looking for but I did find something that only a history nerd, Duluth loving, public space adoring, Lake Superior worshiping kid like me would appreciate. So naturally I am posting images here as best I can.
Several images after the jump, so you might not want to try this over dial up or on your smartphone, and if anyone knows how to ge the full image in a downloadable PDF or another handier document type, knock yourself out. I’d love that.
Public input needed to prioritize parks and trail needs. Meetings scheduled.
The public is invited to attend public meetings which will solicit citizens’ opinions on city park and trail priorities. The meetings will be held 6-7:30 PM on the following dates;
Wednesday, June 22 at the Central Hillside Community Center located at 12 E. 4Fourth St.
Thursday, June 23 at the Duluth Heights Community Center located at 33 W. Mulberry St.
Tuesday, June 28 at the Portman Community Center located at 4601 McCulloch St.
Wednesday, June 29 at the Morgan Park Community Center located at 1242 88th Ave. W.
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Skyline: The Pride of Every Duluthian
The recent post “Lost Dog at Lakeside Super One,” which reunited Jessica with her sweet and crazy dog Marley, ended up spinning off into a discussion about the Lakeside neighborhood and it’s history/boundaries/etc.
While pondering that, PDD’s Fairy Research Spy unearthed this June 30, 1907 Duluth News Tribune article about the ongoing development of Skyline Parkway. (Of course, it wasn’t called “Skyline” until 1929.) (more…)
“reLeaf Duluth” Tree Planting Party!
The city of Duluth seeks volunteer tree planters for its “reLeaf Duluth” program. Sunday, June 26, 2-5 PM. Meet at Portland Square at the corner of 11th Ave. E. and E. Fourth St. No experience needed, all ages welcome! Training provided by city of Duluth staff and Louise Levy, certified arborist and tree care advisor. For more info contact jgibbs @ duluthmn.gov or 218-730-4308 or 218-269-4712.
American Cancer Society Relay for Life
Join the American Cancer Society at this year’s Duluth Relay for Life at Bayfront Park on July 22.
The event beings at 5:30pm and continues until 6am the following morning. Join us for the opening ceremonies at 6:15pm, the Luminaria lighting at 9:15 or check out Mynx performing from 8-9pm! There will be food for sale, a climbing wall and Japanese Restorative Therapy sessions. Come out and support your local American Cancer Society!
Eighth Birthday Party Announcement and Other PDD-related Matters
Next Wednesday, June 29, is Perfect Duluth Day’s eighth birthday. As usual, we are having a little get-together, and as usual we are inviting you all, as frightening as that might seem.
So swing on by the Burrito Union next Wednesday in the vague window of 8:30 to 10 p.m. or so. There will be no program or live music or plan to get people drunk and sell them condos; it’s just our annual opportunity to meet in person and shoot the breeze with the folks who put the P in our double-D.
In addition, yours truly will be a guest on “The Local” with Christine Dean next week, celebrating PDD’s birthday by playing songs with “Duluth” in the lyrics or title. That’s Wednesday, June 29, 5 p.m., on 103.3 FM KUMD.
By the way, we should probably let you all know what’s up with some of the technical weirdness PDD intermittently experienced in recent weeks. Here are the boring details:
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Aurora Baer @ Lake Ave
June 22, 10 p.m.
Lake Ave Cafe
Free show
Duluth Hillside Plan Review Forums
On June 9, NHS Duluth, Duluth LISC, and City of Duluth Community Development staff held a revitalization plan review meeting. At this meeting, we addressed what had happened since the plans in 2007 and 2008 were created, and we started gathering neighborhood priorities for the next three to five years.
The next meeting will focus on the input from the first meeting and go a bit deeper into the specifics and details about neighborhood priorities. Your input does matter! The meetings will be held at the Central Hillside Community Center on Thursday, June 30, at 6 PM. Pizza and beverages will be provided.
Other neighborhood meetings will be held as follows:
Morgan Park, Tuesday, June 28, Good Fellowship Center, 6 PM
West Duluth, Thursday, June 23, City Center West, 6 PM
Lincoln Park, Both meetings have been held, more info to follow.
If interested in meeting summaries, contact Dan at NHS Duluth at (218) 727-8604 x. 207, or by email, dollhoff @ nhsduluth.org.