Welcome to the 2022 PDD Holiday Gift Guide, highlighting products made in the Duluth area that one might wrap in paper and put under a tree. It features 15 items, as usual, but the comment area is open for limitless other suggestions. Or email the editors at info @ perfectduluthday.com.
I don’t know Crystal Abernethy well, though I am filled with a deep respect and admiration for her work and her commitment to making a thing. The 9 o’clock Meltdown was a good companion when I was a radio listener. I missed it when it went away, briefly, without realizing that it moved online. There, it’s still a great companion.
See a just-published interview with Crystal on Voyage Minnesota for more.
My name is Nick Campanella. After ten years of typing, editing and revising, I’m proud to say I am now a published author with a successful book called Path of Affliction.
It was a busy weekend in Duluth, despite the rain that postponed the Fourth of July events.
Saturday I missed the Rhizomes, who played in Two Harbors. Crankily, I have decided that I will only be indoors in places with cavernous, flowing air, until the pandemic has subsided. (For more information about the pandemic that is still going on, no matter how many people you see walking around without masks, visit the Minnesota Dashboard. We’re doing okay — COVID hospitalizations are definitely flat, but variants are increasingly resistant to the vaccine.)
I attended the wolf event at Lake Superior College. It was awesome, a blending of art, science, and indigenous cultures, with representatives from the International Wolf Center, the Wildlife Science Center, Timber Wolf Alliance, Wildwoods, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Lake Superior is the biggest lake on Earth. And it’s the best. Want to fight about it?
If you’re like me, sometimes you mention Lake Superior in conversation, and you find yourself saying, “Lake Superior is the biggest lake in the world — by surface area! But if you’re judging by volume, the biggest lake is Lake Baikal!” But screw that. It’s time to take a stand. Now I say, “Lake Superior is the biggest lake in the world and those other janky lakes can suck it.”
What is a Lake?
The issue is nuanced, which triggers me. The definitions we use for lakes are arbitrary. I looked it up on Wikipedia and it just made me angry: “Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean.” Is it not obvious that oceans also lie on land? What is an ocean on, if not land? The ocean is not bottomless. The bottom of the ocean is land — they checked. Another irritating part of the definition is that lakes are “surrounded by land.” Now, don’t tell me oceans are not surrounded by land. There is no difference between oceans and lakes. The definition of a lake as “laying on/surrounded by the land” means oceans are, in fact, lakes.
Went to the Julebyen Christmas Village in Knife River via a great train ride last Saturday and was enthralled with all things Scandinavian; the high spot was a talented funny Finn from Da Rengch named Steve Solkela —— from singing opera to “Play That Funky Music” he has it all covered. And did I say funny? Writes his own songs about Palo and saunas and, let’s face it, all the good things in life. Go see this guy and you’ll be smiling and clapping within two minutes!
Once more through the trove of treasure from Gabriel’s Books in Lakeside. In addition to finding awesome old records and books, you should know, if you have kids: “All children, from birth to high school graduation, may pick out a book for free, each time they visit our store.” They are well-worth a visit.
The 2021 PDD Holiday Gift Guide carries on the tradition of highlighting items with a local connection. What’s new is this year’s curator, as Duluth writer Beverly Godfrey takes a stab at finding those Duluthy treasures we love so much. She had a delightful time getting out to stores in person and encourages you to do the same.
Our list features 15 items, as usual, but the comment area is open for limitless other suggestions. Or email us at info @ perfectduluthday.com.
Yet another opportunity to drink local. This one, however, is homegrown from “branch to bottle.”
Canosia Grove Farm & Cidery, north of Duluth.
Did anyone read the opinion column “Street grids a better option than subdivisions” in the Duluth News Tribune on Monday? The conflict between user groups and the city over the missing segment of the Cross City Trail from Irving Park to Munger Trail was avoidable. Had the city not abandoned the historic plats and in turn vacated rights of way (paper streets and utility easements), there would be a clear and defined route for the trail.
Here it is, the annual PDD Holiday Gift Guide. We’ve always been proud to highlight items with a local connection. This year it seems even more important to support local, take advantage of online ordering, and spread the word on what’s offered from our own community. Below are 15 items; feel free to add to the suggestions in the comments, or email us at info @ perfectduluthday.com with things we may have missed and we’ll continue to build this list.
Last week Bear Creek Trail in Superior opened to hikers, bikers and snowshoers. It’s a 2.25-mile crushed-concrete pathway connecting the Osaugie Trail at Bear Creek Park to Wisconsin Point Road. An extension is in the planning stages that will create an additional trail on the other side of Wisconsin Point Road to parking lot #1. But what is already built is excellent.
Students and faculty may not be on UMD’s campus for a few more weeks due to Coronavirus concerns, but you can enjoy a virtual tour thanks to the UMD Bathroom Reviews Instagram account.
While social media platforms with single-sentence content and auto-deleting videos get all the hype, old-school blogging remains as popular as ever. A cataloging of Duluth-related web logs reveals there might be more of them than ever. So if you’re interested in following the musings of those who do more than tweet, snap, tik and tok, read on.
