DULUTH — It’s the dog days of summer, the opposite of the dog sledding days of winter. There are plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy the warm weather.
Music and art at the Bayfront
Art in Bayfront Park, the annual harborside arts festival, has long been planned for this Saturday and Sunday, August 17 and 18. The event recently announced a nice addition for music fans: The third annual Twin Ports Music Festival, previously held at Earth Rider Brewery, will be held in conjunction with the art fair.
That means the music is free and there will be eight acts from Head of the Lakes and beyond performing at set times on both days from 10am-4pm. The main acts are Lost Island Society (Saturday) and MoonShroom (Sunday) (artinbayfrontpark.com).
Contribution by Jaedyn James
High-energy Minneapolis singer-songwriter Jaedyn James is scheduled to play the Pier at Glensheen on Aug. 14. The local Jaed Babes, as her fans are known, are sure to show up for a show that will elicit a special response. James was part of the lineup for Jazzy, Classy, Queery – a 2023 Studio Four showcase curated by musician Diona Johnson, who died less than two months later. James’ debut album, Loving You So Hard, draws on Duluth-based talent, including cover artist Cherry Koch and mix engineer Nat Harvie.
Janie and the Spokes open the pier show on Wednesday (glensheen.org).
Contributed / Paramount Pictures
If Generation X had Dirty Dancing, Millennials had Save the Last Dance: a romantic drama about seemingly ill-fated lovers brought together by mixing different dance styles and adding a little PG-13 heat. Although the 2001 film must be viewed with a critical eye due to its racial stereotypes, it has inspired countless young viewers to hit the dance floor, whether in sneakers or pointe shoes.
Zeitgeist promises to transform into Stepps Nightclub on Wednesday, August 14, when the Zinema screens the film as a benefit for the Minnesota Ballet (zeitgeistarts.com).
Contributed / Duluth Playhouse
The 2004 film Mean Girls had one of the most successful musical adaptations in recent years. It came to Broadway in 2018 and sparked several national tours – including one that started last year and in which University of Minnesota Twin Cities graduate Natalie Shaw played the lead role of Cady Heron.
It’s a little ironic that there has to be a special “high school version” of a show set in high school, but no matter: You can watch Duluth’s youth fight the bullies on the NorShor Theater stage this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 16-18) as part of the Duluth Playhouse’s 2024 Teen Intensive Training Program (duluthplayhouse.org).
Bob King / File / Duluth Media Group
In William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” mythical characters live in the forest. So why not set a performance of the play in the forest? That was the thought of Mary Fox and Cheryl Skafte, the directors of Zeitgeist Theater’s “Dream,” which runs Friday through Sunday, August 16-18, at the Hartley Nature Center. The cast includes both adult artists and young actors from Zeitgeist’s theater camp.
“Shakespeare can be incredibly versatile and offers room for experimentation. So we thought we’d go one step further and move Midsummer outdoors, often where Shakespeare was originally performed,” Fox and Skafte said in a press release (zeitgeistarts.com).
Jed Carlson / File / Duluth Media Group
That summer’s encampment at Priley Circle has since been cleared, but it will be remembered as a turning point in the city’s history and a protest against the American government’s support of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The camp was documented by painter Grace Borell, and prints of her work were offered for sale at Falastin. Some of Borell’s originals are also on display at the deli, which experienced an outpouring of community support after it was temporarily closed due to threatening graffiti on its exterior. “I want it to be a story of hope and perseverance,” Borell said of her work (Art By Grace on Facebook).
Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. Previously, he worked for eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as a theater critic at the Minneapolis alternative weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He is co-founder of the pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential and a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance. Reach him at [email protected] or 218-279-5536.
