Spring Things: It seems as we toss one more shovel-full of the latest snowfall that spring might never arrive ... but the signs are already sprouting around the Big Lake and we're using today's Around the Circle This Week to highlight a few "spring buds" particular to our neighborhood. At 12:01 a.m. Saturday (Mar. 25) the Soo Locks will officially open when the 1,000-footer Edwin H. Gott, flagship of the Great Lakes Fleet, locks through the Poe Lock, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today. The Poe, the only lock open until later this spring, actually already has been working. On Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps reported that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Katmai Bay (in photo) had locked through to start breaking ice in Whitefish Bay. Homeported in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the 140-foot-long Katmai Bay was the first of nine bay-class tugboats built for the U.S. Coast Guard and these vessels are capable of breaking ice up to 3 feet thick, according to the Corps. The ports all around Lake Superior have been waking up, with reports of freighter movements in the area of Sault Ste. Marie and elsewhere. In Duluth, photographer David Schauer caught Great Lakes Towing tugs Missouri and Kentucky tag-team breaking ice at Howards Pocket in Superior so the American Mariner and Lee A. Tregurtha could start their respective seasons. “It was slow going for the pair,” David wrote in a Wednesday post.
More Spring Openers: In our Big Lake neighborhood, spring is often jump started by the opening of our favorite seasonal food stops. This week on Wednesday, Gordy’s Hi-Hat in Cloquet opened for its 63rd year of business (and just look at those burgers). Bob Berg did a story on the family-owned business for Lake Superior Magazine back when it turned 50. Founder Gordy Lundquist died in 2021, but the tradition continues with his son, Dan, and grandchildren. Two other anticipated season openers on the eastern side of the Lake in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will wait until April. West Pier Drive-In opens April 3 and Clyde's Drive-in plans an opener later that month. Along with Gordy's, they rank top-of-the-line for tasty burgers in the Big Lake region … and it's not just because they taste like spring.
Winter Begone: Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., has always had its own unique way of marking when it is "done" with winter. For the 52nd year this Wednesday (the first "official" day of spring), students set fire to a winter-representing snowman who also carried the chill of "negativity" for this year's theme of "stress release." Looks like a few days of clear skies in the forecast, so the Snowman Burning 2023 banishment seems to be working for the moment. Don't put away the shovels quite yet, though, to jinx it.
Opportunities: We’ve gotten a few notes across our desk about opportunities to share.
• Want to spend some quality time with a lighthouse? Canadian Lighthouse of Lake Superior seeks applicants for its artist-in-residence program, for summer student positions and for host keepers on Porphyry Island (which turns 150 this year and is in this photo). In its pitch to artists, the group says, "The moods of Superior with the island's volcanic sands and an abundance of nature allow the artist in resident to flourish. From painting to photography, writing and producing mixed media works of art, it’s all about seizing the moment, creating your art and sharing it with visitors."
• Lake Superior Writers has opened its annual writing contest with this year’s theme of “Connections,” ones we make and ones we don’t, say organizers. Categories are Poetry (up to 3 poems), Short-Short Fiction (up to 2 submissions of 500 words or less), Short Fiction (1 submission of 500-2,500 words) and Creative Nonfiction (1 single submission of 2,500 words). Deadline for submission is Apr. 8.
• Creative folk interested in participating in Bayfield Art Escape (Sept. 9-17) need to apply by April 1.
• Brownstone Centre shop in Bayfield is having a BOGO Free sale on its winter apparel ... even though we may have a bit of winter left!
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Friday, Mar. 24: Michigan Tech Art presents a Snowsports Artist Reception from 5-7 p.m. at the Rozsa Center in Houghton. The reception features the work of artists Jared Anderson (installation), Anne Beffel (contemplative photography), Mary Cyr (fiber arts), Terri Jo Frew (fiber arts), Lisa Gordillo (sculpture), Kenyon Hansen (ceramics), Lindsey Heiden (sculpture), Mike Maxwell (audio installation), Libby Meyer (music), Christopher Plummer (photography and sculpture), and Beth Techtmann (multimedia). Meet the artists and enjoy refreshments.
Sunday, Mar. 26: Magnum Opus Ballet presents "Alive!" at 2 p.m. with an uplifting show by choreographers from across the country with dancers from around the world. Performance is in the historic Ironwood Theatre.
Minnesota
Thru Apr. 29: The Winter Plein Air Gallery Exhibition continues through next month at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais. The gallery is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and entry is free.
Today, Mar. 23: Minnesota Ballet hosts an Open Dance Night at 7:30 p.m. in the ballet's Studio Four Theater in The Depot with all dancers welcome for solo, duet or group performances. Just bring your music on a smart phone, and any props you need, and the ballet folk will take care of the rest. The studio features a beautiful, professional dance floor, plus theater lighting and sound. There will be open dance nights once a month through June.
Friday, Mar. 24: The Nordic Center in Duluth hosts the opening reception for "Leading With Our Hearts: Ojibwe, Sami, and Nordic Designs from Nature." The exhibition, which continues through Apr. 29, features traditional and contemporary floral and geometric designs from Ojibwe, Sami and Nordic textile traditions. Ojibwe floral beadwork and regalia from Fond du Lac Reservation members and Swedish-Norwegian inspired paintings of folk dress motifs, embroideries and tapestries will be presented in an installation to promote the healing power of nature and to celebrate cultural traditions of the North.
Thru Apr. 2: The Duluth Playhouse presents “Into the Woods,” a musical that brings everyone’s favorite storybook characters together for a relevant modern classic. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Wednesday-Wednesday, Mar. 29-Apr. 2: The Minnesota Film Festival centering at Zeitgeist in Duluth brings a couple dozen regionally made films into town, including sessions on Stories from Lake Superior (8 p.m., Mar. 30), Indigenous Filmmaker Shorts (2 p.m., Apr. 1), pitch competitions (for pitching your ideas) and an awards ceremony. Check out the schedule and ticket sales (for the full event or individual sessions) online.
Wisconsin
Saturday, Mar. 25-26: Author Tracy Chipman will be at the Washburn Meditation Center from 4-6 p.m. to launch her new memoir BOREALIS MUNDI - resting in place, loss & grace. Says the author's website, "This book is for anyone who has been claimed by a place – by a grove of birch, by an inland sea, by a red granite gravel road, and for those who wander the wild shoreline of loss and the holy terrain of love and rebirth."
Sunday, Mar. 26: The Chequamegon Food Co-op in Ashland hosts Monarda Thrasher, teacher, gardener and herbalist, for a session on "Growing Medicinal and Culinary Herbs." Learn how to grow herbs from seed or seedling and about general best practices and about specific herb qualities. Reserve in advance, space limited.
Wednesday, Mar. 29: Bring the kids to meet the University of Wisconsin-Superior mascot for "Books with Buzz!" from 4-7 p,m, in the Jim Dan Hill Library. UWS students and staff will provide crafts, activities and book reading for children in the Twin Ports area with opportunities to meet Buzz and other special guests like the Cat in the Hat.
Thursday, Mar. 30: Join the free Zoom webinar "Apostle Islands in National Geographic: The Story Behind the Story" to talk about this month’s National Geographic story on the Apostles. On the panel are David Guttenfelder, an eight-time World Press Photo Award-winning journalist focused on global geopolitics and conservation; Stephanie Pearson, Duluth-based freelance writer and author of "100 Great American Parks," published by National Geographic; and Tom Irvine, executive director of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation and the great-grandson of Lake Superior lighthouse keepers quoted in the story.
Ontario
Saturday, Mar. 25: Algoma Highlands Conservancy hosts a snowshoe rendezvous on the Hakon Lien Loop (6 km round-trip), meeting 10 a.m. at Robertson Creek Trailhead, The Hakon Lien Loop offers a visit to Hakon Lien cabin, perhaps catching a glimpse of industrious beavers maintaining their pond and a breathtaking view of the waterfalls. Register in advance.
Saturday, Mar. 25: Join the Spring Market at the Moose, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Moose Hall in Thunder Bay. Free admission to see the works of about 65 makers of local crafts and other unique gifts.
Photo & graphic credits: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; David Schauer; Gordy's Hi-Hat; Lake Superior State University; Canadian Lighthouse of Lake Superior; Michigan Technological University/Minnesota Ballet/UWS Jim Dan Hill Library/Algoma Highlands Conservancy