They’re here! First-year Students Have Arrived
Student leaders, great weather, stunning campus, incredible first-year students: UMD Welcome Week.
Selective Focus: Mary Plaster
Mary Plaster is best known As a papier-mâché artist, and for the Duluth All Souls Night celebration she has led. She tells about her work and the challenges of putting on an event like Duluth All Souls Night.
M.P.: I am a self-employed artist and facilitator, working in a variety of mixed media for 35 years. I paint, sculpt, do graphics, and photography. Fresh out of Missoula, MT High School art classes, I attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design and worked at Children’s Theatre Company in the properties department. I saw my first MayDay Parade in the late 1970s and fell in love with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HoBT). I also attended a mask and physical theatre school near San Francisco. (more…)
Twin Ports couple in New York Times Style section
With photos by Duluth’s Derek Montgomery. (more…)
DuluthiLeaks: 87 Places to Drink ’em Up
Haven’t you always wanted a checklist for places to get soused in Duluth? Well, fortunately the city’s Alcohol, Gambling and Tobacco Commission provides that very list. For the second edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s new feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we take a look at the list of on-sale liquor licenses issued in Duluth. The list breaks down which places can be open on Sunday, have more than one bar, permit dancing, stay open past 2 a.m. without serving alcohol, or serve alcohol between 1 and 2 a.m. (more…)
Jeremy Schwarze – “Duluth”
A new music video … clearly shot many months ago … that … just speaks for itself. Directed by Brad Lester.
New owners reopen Cedar Lounge in Superior
Tim and Naomi Nelson pose inside the Cedar Lounge just off Tower Avenue in Superior.
Trailblazing craft brewery owner and longtime Duluth bar developer Tim Nelson is ready to launch his newest drinking establishment in a historic, working waterfront neighborhood on the Superior side of the Twin Ports.
The Cedar Lounge, 1715 N. Third Street, just off Tower Avenue, opens in the shadows of the Harvest State Co-op grain elevators Friday, Aug. 26. Nelson and his wife, Naomi, purchased the historic bar building in December and the property has undergone a seven-month restoration. (more…)
Poll: Best Drinking Establishment in the Duluth Area
As we enjoy the last dregs of summer in all its boozy glory, we’re on a mission to determine Duluth’s “Perfect Drinking Establishment.” Last week we asked for nominations. The primary criteria (besides offering libations) was location. Bars had to be located within 10 miles of Duluth.
With your input, we compiled 23 nominees that run the gamut from dingy dive bars to sophisticated cocktail rooms. Now it’s time to vote for your favorite. This is a runoff poll. If the bar you initially voted for is eliminated, you can vote again among the remaining options. We’ll post the results in a few days.
At this time we are down to the Top Four: Bent Tap at Bent Paddle Brewing, Breeze Inn, Red Herring Lounge and Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake.
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake – 34.5 percent
Breeze Inn – 31 percent
Red Herring Lounge – 18.5 percent
Bent Tap at Bent Paddle Brewing – 16 percent
Busy Week
I returned from a trip to Manitoulin Island to a busy week in Duluth. I visited the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, where I learned about traditional and contemporary first nations art. (more…)
Then and Now: St. Louis County Courthouse
There is no date on the above postcard image, but it appears to be 1960s-ish. The photo below is a modern-day view.
Slow TV: The Worst James Bond Movie
In Slow TV news, I’m taking a break this month from filming farming in meticulous detail to take you to a tourist trap in Switzerland. The World of James Bond museum sits atop Schilthorn in the Berner Oberland region because that’s where they filmed that one 007 movie with Telly Savalas. You might remember Telly Savalas from his classic Visit Duluth TV spot. George Lazenby starred as James Bond. You won’t remember him at all.
DuluthiLeaks: Gateway Landscape Plaza
For the first edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s new feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we take a look at the development of Duluth’s Gateway Plaza. The “landscaped plaza with a concrete sculptural element shaped in the form of a sail” that sits on the western edge of Duluth’s downtown was envisioned and built in the 1970s as a “landmark entrance” to the business district. Below is a look at early plans and sketches for the “well landscaped triangle.” (more…)
This Week: parties, festivals, fairs and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find in this week’s PDD Calendar:
The Miller Auction Service holds its weekly auction on Monday, people can play mini-golf in Superior to benefit the Old Firehouse and Police Museum, the Head of the Lakes Fair runs from Tuesday through Sunday, the public can attend an open house on the Superior Street reconstruction project, the Lake Superior Zoo is showing its Wild Side and Ladies’ Night Karaoke is going down at R.T. Quinlan’s on Wednesday.
The Silk Shieks bring the instrumental thunder to the Red Herring, little tykes can join up with the River Rovers Nature Playgroup, Sour Fest 2016 is the place for people who like their beers to make them pucker up, Jack Sparrow stars in the final Movies in the Park of the year, the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival is back, there’s a block party going down on Jefferson Street, the fifth Superior Man Triathlon will host over 400 athletes and the 125th anniversary of Minnesota’s state parks and trails is celebrated.
Where in Duluth? #148
Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?
Hop In
When I was nineteen my parents dropped me off on US Highway 2. I had a pack, tent and sleeping bag, a couple hundred dollars in one pocket, a polished agate for a lucky charm in another, and a cardboard sign that said “Seattle.” I’d soon learn it’s better to have a sign that says “west” than the name of a specific city almost two-thousand miles away.
The first person I met was another hitchhiker, a distinguished fellow, grey at the temples, traveling the country playing piano in nursing homes for his meals. Though he carried a miniature book of musical scores to lighten his pack, the odd thing was, as he stood along the road waiting for rides, he lifted weights. About fifty pounds worth. He couldn’t see leaving them at home. Maybe it was a ploy to weed out the wrong drivers, some sort of immediate ultimatum: love me, love my barbells. Those fearful of excess baggage need not engage.
A local woman had us throw our gear into the back of her truck and got us out of town. Then, straight out of my youthful road-trip dreams, I was picked up by a semi and rode high in the cab all the way to North Dakota. I spent the night in the open on a bit of scruffy highway median, sleeping in the dew. (more…)
The Red Plan’s little brother
As the Duluth school district struggles to find money to pay for the insanely expensive Red Plan, a similar situation is playing out to the north. In 2009, St. Louis County School District officials and consultant Johnson Controls argued that closing several old schools and building new consolidated schools would result in significant savings for the school district. Anyone who followed that publicity campaign could not have failed to notice marked similarities with Duluth’s Red Plan, which was also pushed by Johnson Controls.
In fact, as Marshall Helmberger points out in a recent Ely Timberjay story, almost all of the claims and promises have turned out to be worthless. (more…)
Google Fiber experiment over; Duluth spared
Bob Collins reported this week for Minnesota Public Radio that “Duluth dodged Google’s fiber optic bullet.”
Six years after Duluth came up short in its bid to be a test community for ultra-high speed internet connections, the experiment is looking like an expensive boondoggle. After digging up a half-dozen cities to lay fiber-optic cables, the company is now shifting into plans to transmit fast internet through the air.
Duluth Tall Ships 2016 “Parade of Sail” Photos and Video Clip
Duluth’s Tall Ships Festival runs Aug. 18-21. The video above and photos below are from Liftoff Aerials (a/k/a the “PDD Drone”). The music is “Ocean Blue” by Duluth band Glen’s Neighbor from the album Behind the Door.
Duluth’s C.J. Ham looking good in purple
Duluth native C.J. Ham is the Minnesota Vikings leading rusher over the first two preseason contests. He has gained 60 yards on 20 attempts, including a game-winning touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in week one. He also has three receptions for 27 yards.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Ham told WCCO-TV. “Just having the opportunity to be in the NFL and be with the team I grew up watching, it’s a dream come true.” (more…)
Selective Focus: Flo Matamoros
Tonight (Friday, August 19) at Prove Gallery, there’s an opening of a collaboration between Flo Matamoros and Brian Ring called “The things they carried.” Flo Matamoros tells how her spontaneous, flowing style came to be.
F.M: My creative background is one that has been shaped by obsessive curiosity through the tool box that Art History is and the amount of creative mentors I have had since a child.
I was fortunate enough to receive around 7 years of classical painting training from age 7 until 14 in El Salvador (thanks mom!). So, I had to paint a lot of what I consider boring shit. Still life, landscape, flowers, etc. My professor said I had to master all that “boring shit” before I was allowed to paint the human form. So it took me until my freshman year at St. Scholastica (I started my higher education as a Chemistry Major because I thought that painting was bogus and Art was meh) to get over myself.
(more…)
Culture Through Digital Storytelling: AICHO and In Progress
On Day 2, the kids were sent on a scavenger hunt that encouraged them utilize different camera techniques.
The kids were broken up into teams; they learned not only how to use the cameras, but how to teach each other.
Those who visited Brighton Beach last Thursday might have spotted the group of the kids playing in the waves of Lake Superior. They may have also noticed some touting high-end DSLR cameras and bright colored notebooks, wandering the shoreline with eager faces. That’s because, last week, the American Indian Community Housing Organization partnered with a St. Paul-based nonprofit, In Progress, to host culturally specific photography and storytelling workshops for Native American youth.
Lesson facilitator Kristine Sorenson made the journey up from the cities to the Gimaajii location to teach kids ages 8-12 how to use professional camera equipment (ranging in price from $800 to $6,000 per camera) and document the beauty in their lives. The results of their adventures couldn’t have been more inspiring.
A good number of photos featured here were taken by both myself and the participating youth and volunteers; however, at first glance, I’m willing to bet that no one would be able to distinguish who took which of the images here! (more…)
What is the perfect Duluth-area drinking establishment?
The time is almost upon us for a poll about something most Duluthians are practiced in: drinking.
We know Duluthians like to drink. In fact, St. Louis County rates among the top counties in the country for binge drinking, with a rate of 26.7 percent (though surely some Iron Rangers are skewing the percentage).
Though it’s not a statistic to be proud of, we certainly understand the inclination. And we’d like to pinpoint where the people prefer to imbibe. The poll isn’t scientific. How you choose the “perfect” drinking establishment is purely subjective. You can nominate a craft brewery, a swanky joint with handcrafted cocktails or a crusty dive bar with the cheapest swill and shots of whiskey. It’s up to you. Name your favorite bar, pub, saloon, nightclub, watering hole or whatever you call it in the comments to this post.
Once we compile an ample list of nominees, we’ll post the poll and the people will decide. It will be a runoff vote where the list of options will be whittled down during the voting process as favorites become apparent.
Any drinking establishment in Duluth or 10 miles of its border is eligible for nomination. Bars in Superior, Hermantown, Proctor and the many bordering townships qualify for nomination, but more distant places like Two Harbors and Cloquet do not.
Three of Kip’s Dumps
Above is Kip Praslowicz‘s latest memory-card dump video, a retrospective of his life in Duluth (largely spent at local music clubs) during the wet hot summer — July 1 to Aug. 9.
Kip’s dumps have been happening more frequently than we can keep up with at PDD. Below are his two previous dumps, spanning June 3 to July 1 and March 16 to June 3 (minus the Homegrown Music Festival, which was on a separate memory card. (more…)