PDD Quiz: 2019 in Review

Test your memory of 2019 headlines and happenings with PDD’s year-in-review quiz!

The next PDD quiz, previewing 2020’s coming attractions, will be published on Jan. 12. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 9. (more…)

News and Current AffairsPDD Quiz

Saturday Essay: Select gems from 2019

Saturday Essay logo genericLast week we highlighted the five most-read pieces from the fourth year of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series. This week we ignore the numbers and look back at a few select essays of similar quality that might have been missed by non-compulsive followers.

In the past four years PDD has published 185 essays showcasing the work of 29 different writers, and we’re always looking to expand that roster. Anyone who has an original piece of literary excellence that seems to fit (or appropriately defy) the established format should email paul @ perfectduluthday.com to get involved.

And now, links to a few select gems from season four … (more…)

RandomSaturday Essay
Bayfront Reggae and World Music Festival
Fond-du-Luth Casino: Wednesday Top it Off

Selective Focus: Sid Boyum

Sid Boyum was born in Duluth in 1914, and lived most of his life in Madison, WI. He was an industrial photographer, graphic artist, folk artist, and sculptor. (more…)

RandomSelective Focus

Owner looking to sell Shorty’s Pizza and Smoked Meat

RestaurantsShorty's Pizza & Smoked MeatsSuperior
Downtown Duluth: Movies in the Park
Pizza Luce: The Bulgogi

Fargo Duluth Montage

The first season of the comedic crime-drama television series Fargo is peppered with references to Duluth, a few of which are collected in the montage above. No part of the series was shot in Duluth, though one scene has the Aerial Lift Bridge inserted into it and has a sort of Garfield Avenue feel. (more…)

VideosReferences to Duluth in Film/TV or Other Media

Duluth’s Christmas of 1889 was finer than ever

This Christmas card from Duluth jeweler Andrew Jackson promotes a special holiday sale 130 years ago, featuring “greatly reduced prices.” (more…)

HistoryChristmas
Weis Eye Center
Downtown Duluth: Movies in the Park

Merry Christmas from Northern Drug Company of Duluth

HistoryChristmasPostcards

Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #33

Another trivia card from a board game purchased at Savers. (more…)

History
Ashwabay Alliance / Big Top Chautauqua
Vision Pro: Clear Vision

Video: Grace Holden dances with Lizzo on SNL

The second song by Minneapolis-based pop star Lizzo on Saturday Night Live, “Good as Hell,” featured Grace Holden of Duluth/Bemidji. Among the four dancers on the floor, she is third from the left in the opening minute, before the rotation.

MusicVideosDancingSaturday Night Live

Another rare find at the CSS Book Sale

I have invited Michael Fedo to talk to my classes several times. He is in some ways an old-fashioned freelancer, following the story where the market will take him. He is, in some ways, an old fashioned humorist. (more…)

RandomBooks
Fond-du-Luth Casino: Wednesday Top it Off
Vision Pro: Clear Vision

Mystery Photo: Three Dudes in Fake Car

A recurring source of confusion in the Mystery Photo series is whether particular images that share the stamp of the Post Card Shop in Minneapolis and the Penny Arcade in Duluth were shot in Minneapolis or Duluth. Here is another such image. (more…)

HistoryPhotosMystery PhotosPenny Arcade

R.I.P. Louis Jenkins

News and Current AffairsR.I.P.Louis Jenkins
Pier B Resort: Courtside Concerts
Bayfront Reggae and World Music Festival

Parking Structure, Michigan Avenue, US Bank

What did I miss? Why is the US Bank-labeled parking structure on Michigan Avenue in Duluth closed?

RandomQueries

The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2019

Saturday Essay logo genericIt’s an annual tradition at Perfect Duluth Day to wrap up each year of the “Saturday Essay” series with lazy top-five lists instead of arduously prepared compositions. Here we go again.

This week is part one, highlighting the essays that were read the most times according to Google Analytics. Next week is less of a popularity contest; we’ll showcase five underappreciated gems. (more…)

RandomSaturday Essay
Vision Pro: Clear Vision
Dubh Linn Irish Pub: Pro Comedy Tour

Grace Holden will dance with Lizzo on Saturday Night Live

Grace Holden, a Bemidji native and longtime trumpeter and dancer for Duluth band Red Mountain, has also been dancing with Minneapolis-based pop star Lizzo for nearly five years. The Bemidji Pioneer reports Holden will be part of the act when Lizzo appears as musical guest on the Dec. 21 episode of Saturday Night Live.
(more…)

MusicSaturday Night Live

Selective Focus: Santa Claus

Select Instagram images of jolly old St. Nick. (more…)

PhotosChristmasInstagramSelective Focus
Fond-du-Luth Casino: Wednesday Top it Off
Dubh Linn Irish Pub: Pro Comedy Tour

Climate>Duluth: Bill Mittlefehldt

Host Tone Lanzillo interviews Bill Mittlefehldt of Cross Currents, LLC. This is show #5 in the Climate>Duluth series recorded at Duluth Public Access Community Television’s studio in City Hall.

VideosClimate>DuluthDuluth Public Access Community TelevisionWeather and Climate

Christmas Greetings from Aunt Lois and Uncle Hermie

Aunt Lois and Uncle Hermie send Christmas greetings from Duluth to their niece in Beverly Hills.

VideosChristmas
Fond-du-Luth Casino: Wednesday Top it Off
Bayfront Reggae and World Music Festival

St. Lutgarde of Aywières at the CSS Book Sale

Annually, the College of St. Scholastica sells books, records, and other media — in part, it looks like, to clear shelves of material that does not circulate, and in part, I think, to offload donations.

I managed to snag a few items worth thinking about. The first was a biography of St. Lutgarde by Thomas Merton. (more…)

RandomBooksLiterature

Bird’s-eye View of Duluth-Superior, 1908

This postcard features a drawing of Duluth, Superior and the St. Louis River, and was copyrighted by Thomas W. Wahl of Wahl Realty Co. in 1908. (more…)

HistoryPostcards
Bayfront Reggae and World Music Festival
Weis Eye Center

So warmly clad in Patrick coat and sweater

HistoryPatrick-Duluth Woolen MillsWinter

Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #32

Another trivia card from a board game purchased at Savers. (more…)

History
FDLTCC: Hot Summer Nights with Corey Medina
Weis Eye Center

Brianna Lane – “Duluth”

Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter Brianna Lane released her song “Duluth” on the 2002 album On Rooftops. (more…)

MusicDuluth Songs

PDD Quiz: Winter Celebrations

Now that winter is here, can winter shenanigans be far behind? Test your knowledge of local wintry festivals with this week’s quiz!

The next PDD quiz, reviewing the events that made headlines 2019, will be published on Dec. 29. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 23. (more…)

EventsPDD Quiz
Barrel Room Smokehouse
Pier B Resort: Courtside Concerts

Taco Arcada closing; Noble Pour opening

A post on the Taco Arcada Facebook page announced Dec. 14 is the final day of business for the arcade/restaurant at 1902 W. Superior St. Owner Tom Hanson told WDIO News the business was doing fine financially, but limited kitchen space at Corktown Deli & Brews, where the tacos were prepared, made it too difficult to produce the volume and variety of food needed to supply customers of two restaurants.

Hanson also told WDIO a new tenant is lined up for the space.

Meanwhile, across the street at 1907 W. Superior St., Hanson is opening a new cocktail lounge called the Noble Pour on Dec. 15.

RestaurantsBars / Drinking EstablishmentsLincoln Park Craft DistrictLincoln Park Neighborhood / The Friendly West End