Electronic magazines published in the Duluth area
I’ve been thinking about the energy and quality writing that have gone into electronic magazines in our region. There are the two I have looked at lately — Split Rock Review and New Theory. What publications am I missing? (more…)
Bjorklund half-marathon entry auction to benefit Damiano
Once again Security Jewelers is auctioning one of its sponsor entries to the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon on eBay. This year the proceeds will go to the Damiano Center, a Duluth nonprofit that provides emergency services to low-income and homeless people. The auction ends April 13 at noon.
Lottery registration for the 2017 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon closed Oct. 31. The race is at capacity with 7,000 participants. The entry cost via the lottery was $95. Typically the auction price lands around $225, but the previous time the Damiano Center was the charity of choice the entry raised $1,000.
Vulgar Graffiti
The most common word in graffiti is “fuck.” It often appears by itself — a single word left for others to ponder for decades or else paint over. It is probably meant to express general dissatisfaction with life. An expanded version of the sentiment might read: “I wish to say ‘fuck you’ to every random person who passes here. Such is my anger with the state of affairs in this world and the specific circumstances I deal with in my personal life. Though most people are not necessarily responsible for the things that upset me, I nonetheless hold everyone in contempt.”
It is also not uncommon to see the word “shit” spray painted as a one-word message, which leads me to believe the act of graffiti is often more about exercising the ability to be profane in a public and semi-permanent way than about getting across an idea. At least, I hope so. It seems unlikely that graffiti artists write “fuck” and “shit” as instructions to encourage public fornication and defecation. If they did, they could be much clearer by writing, for example, “shit here.”
There are actual graffiti artists who paint brilliant and thought-provoking murals on concrete pillars, the sides of train cars and so on, but their rebel collages are a bit less common than the scribbled words of the artistically challenged. (more…)
Rachael Kilgour in City Pages
Duluth’s Rachel Kilgour plays the Aster Café River Room in Minneapolis on April 8. She shared the story behind her new songs over tea and a light dinner in Uptown with Youa Vang for a story in City Pages:
Rachael Kilgour stands up for herself on ‘Rabbit in the Road’
Power to the Peeps
Selfless promotion: my family and friends created this art while I was working. Check it out, on display at Hannah Johnson Fabrics in Lakeside. (more…)
Selective Focus: Kirsten Aune
Kirsten Aune just hung a show of her bright, colorful work at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 835 W. College St. She talks about her process and inspiration.
K.A.: I work on cloth to create wall-hangings, garments, toys, table linens, hand bags, lampshades, quilts and lots of other goodies. I create original designs using stencils I cut by hand and then I arrange my visual compositions using bold blocks of color and repeat designs. I have also been using silkscreens to create yardage. However, I have been limited to one color for my designs. I will be implementing a rail system that will enable me to line up multiple screens which will open up more dynamic designs using this medium. Recently, I have been projecting my designs in installations in Duluth, Bergen, Norway and Aarhus, Denmark. Currently, I am planning to incorporate some digital animation for an exhibition at the Nordic Center in the fall. (more…)
Walking My Portrait Home
Retrieving my portrait from the Duluth Art Institute, where it had been part of artist Sarah Brokke’s “Portrait of an Artist” show. On the walk home I stopped a few places, got my taxes done, and had some drinks. That’s my friend Troy there at the end.
The official invite to the Duluth Film Collective
Do you love talking about movies? Or are you a filmmaker? Do you live in or around Duluth? If so, this will be right up your alley.
The Duluth Film Collective was launched by award-winning Duluth screenwriter Matthew Dressel and, as any member can tell you, it’s great to be around such enthusiastic people. But don’t take my word for it! Dressel himself explains the whole group much better in the video above.
Interested? Awesome. The Film Collective meets regularly through its Meetup page. Sign up, find a day that works and join the fun!
Where to dump road salt and dirt in Duluth
The spring ritual of sweeping up excess road salt from sidewalks, curbs and boulevards leaves some Duluthians wondering what they are supposed to do with their bucket of grit.
The city of Duluth’s communications office recommends four dump sites. (more…)
Spring 2017 Duluth-area Beer Festival Primer
The United States now boasts over 5,000 craft breweries as the thirst for quality beer continues. The Twin Ports are clearly part of the trend. Duluth and Superior are home to eight breweries, with two more planning to launch in 2017. Several others dot the north and south shores of Lake Superior. The great news for beer aficionados: there’s no shortage of local beer and opportunities to taste the latest batches. The next three major swillfests are highlighted here.
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Duluth Band Profile: Jacob Mahon
Jacob Mahon developed his songwriting skills playing bars and backyards across central Minnesota. Since his arrival to Duluth, he’s learned how a single compliment goes a long way. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Costello Block rubble of 2007; Wieland Block of 2017
The top photo is from April 5, 2007; the bottom is from the same spot on April 5, 2017.
Ten years ago the Costello Block was a pile of bricks, brownstone and timber at 22-24 E. Superior St. It was demolished to make way for A&L Properties’ redevelopment and expansion of the Wieland Block, which incorporated two century-old structures to the east of the Costello Block — the Hayes Block and the Wieland Block, shown in both images above. (more…)
The view from Duluth’s “House of Rock”
Perhaps second only to Glensheen Mansion in fame among Duluth homes is the Arthur and Ella Cook House at 501 W. Skyline Parkway. For those who have looked at the property and wondered what the view of the city is like from that bluestone stairway, the postcard above offers an illustrated perspective from roughly the 1930s. (more…)
Duluth Band Profile: Pizzaghost
Pizzaghost takes audiences to the ethereal plane of noise and punk rock. Keyboardist Jack Klander and bassist Ben Jacobson explain the anarchy of the group’s live shows.
Help Kaylee Matuszak appear onstage with Brandi Carlile
From Kaylee Matuszak:
Hi everybody! If you know me, you know how much I love Brandi Carlile and what a huge inspiration she is to me. She’s running a contest in which I submitted a cover of one of the songs from her album “The Story.” If my video gets enough votes, I could be chosen to perform the song live onstage with her in L.A.! So if you’d please take a minute to vote for my video and share this around, I would be forever grateful to you. You can vote once a week! Voting ends on April 17th at 9am, so don’t delay! Thank you so much!
Vote at: Brandi Carlile Cover Stories Contest
Trepanier Hall is now the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center
Gimaajii Program Coordinator Daryl Olson presents Dr. Robert Powless with a plaque honoring his contributions to the Native community. Photo by Ivy Vainio.
On March 24 the American Indian Community Housing Organization opened its doors to the community to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Gimaajii-Mino-Bimaadizimin. The Gimaajii Building is AICHO’s official headquarters and serves multiple functions; not only does it provide 29 units of permanent supportive housing to area families, but it’s Duluth’s only American Indian center. In conjunction with its supportive services, AICHO has established a thriving arts and cultural program, working with Native American and emerging artists to help them overcome barriers to their professional careers, including unexpected costs, public awareness and finding their voice in the community. AICHO hosts hundreds of events each year and averages around 15,000 visitors annually — many of the events have taken place in the auditorium and art gallery space formerly known as Trepanier Hall. On the night of Gimaajii-Mino-Bimaadizimin’s fifth anniversary celebration, AICHO officially unveiled the new title of this space in honor of a man who’s been there from the beginning. (more…)
Burger blogger takes northland burger tour
I joined Burger Radio‘s visit to Big Daddy’s Burgers in Duluth as part of the podcast’s Northland Burger Tour. Tastefully astute, yet by no means snobbish, Bruce’s latest installment describes his burger dining experiences at Gordy’s Hi-Hat, the Anchor Bar and Big Daddy’s Burgers. Bruce covers the Minneapolis-St. Paul burger scene but enjoys tasting and reviewing burgers nationwide. (more…)
Dubz – The Westside Walk Videos
“Don’t You Cry” video by Hunter Bjork.
The 19th annual Homegrown Music Festival features a block of Duluth hip hop on Friday, May 5, at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon. The lineup features Willie Diction, Eddiedition, Dubz and Jaze.
Featured in this post are seven music videos from tracks off the debut Dubz album Westside Walk, released in March 2016. Take a step back and watch him work.
(more…)Outdoor Duluth/North Shore Wedding
My fiancé and I are getting married Aug. 11, 2018. We already have our reception venue booked for our Duluth wedding, but we need help finding a unique, outdoor space for our ceremony. I have seen the post from 7 years ago about different spaces like the parks Duluth has to offer, but we are looking for more of a wooded location and we don’t want a lot of traffic going in and out. We are willing to go within 30 miles of Duluth to find it. Any ideas would be great!!
Duluth Technical College baking classes TV commercial
We’ve had bits of luck on Perfect Duluth Day in the past when we’ve put out requests for someone to step forward with video of old Duluth TV commercials. Well, here’s another attempt.
A query in the PDD inbox reads:
I’m searching for an obscure commercial for baking classes that were held at the vo-tech college, old LSC, from the 1980s. We’ve recently had a family member pass away and he was in the commercial as the baker. If you have any ideas of where to get the footage, that would be fantastic. We believe it was on Channel 10, WDIO, with Jack McKenna.
Lake Superior College was known as Duluth Technical College in the 1980s. It merged with the Duluth Community College Center in 1995 to form LSC.
Price Check: Duluth-area Gym Membership
If you are anything like me, you may have fallen behind on your New Year’s resolutions (or maybe you haven’t even started.) Whether you decided to give up soda or sweets or to get a gym membership, those are big commitments to follow through with.
As April quickly approaches, it is easy to feel depressed about not achieving those resolutions. It is never too late to start though.
You may want to add some weightlifting into your routine a few days a week so your co-worker stops calling you “chicken legs.” Or, you may want to jump-start your weight loss so you feel comfortable in something other than a sweatshirt this summer.
The reason for getting a gym membership does not matter; what matters is that you start.
Here lies the 14th feature for the Price Check series where we compare prices of products and services in Duluth. The prices below reflect the monthly rate the establishment charges, with tax included, for those who sign on for a one-year membership. Various caveats are noted. (more…)
Park Point Asterisk
A giant asterisk has appeared on Park Point, leading some observers to wonder: Does this beach have a caveat?