Painted Rock: The protectors of the Rock of Ages Lighthouse at Isle Royale have launched a bold campaign to raise $50,000 to repair and paint the exterior of the 117-foot tower. The Paint the Rock Challenge seeks to have the funds ready by summer 2023 to mitigate the water intrusion that has been an issue since long before restoration work began at Rock of Ages Lighthouse, say organizers. "Cracks in masonry and missing vent covers have been the primary culprits. … The tower masonry will be cleaned, patched, treated, and painted. Missing steel vent covers will be replicated and installed on the exterior of the 2nd floor. This will allow interior restoration work to continue into the lower parts of the tower that are in poor condition and preserve restoration work that has already been done over the last few years." Donations can be made on a one-time or monthly basis. Or join the Rock of Ages Lighthouse Preservation Society to find out all the opportunities to help.
Just Beautiful: When a state park includes a gem of a water body called "Lake of the Clouds," it should come as no surprise that it might be considered the "Most Beautiful State Park in the U.S." That's the "crown" given this week by Travel Lens to the Porcupine Mountains State Wilderness Park in Michigan. "We used a combination of Yelp and TripAdvisor to find out which state parks are the most aesthetically pleasing to visitors," say the folks at Travel Lens. "More specifically we looked at the total number of reviews, as well as the number of reviews containing the words ‘beautiful’, ‘stunning’, and ‘breathtaking’ for each park. … With a total of 88.89% of their reviews mentioning words synonymous with beauty, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness appears first in our list of most beautiful state parks. As Michigan’s largest state park, this awe-inspiring landscape is plentiful in terms of area and beauty." You can find Travel Lens' full list of 25 online.
Weekend Village: The annual Winter Village opens this weekend (Dec. 3-4) outside the DECC in Duluth, running 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days. Some 40+ local vendors, artists and crafty folk from around the region gather in wee "wooden cabins" with their wares for the holidays and every day. Several artisans who partner with Lake Superior Magazine will be there, including Bekah Rush – our Canal Park Gifts manager and owner of Wonderfully Made (seen here with hubby Matt). In addition to shopping, visitors will enjoy food and beverages from local restaurants in a heated dining space, campfires by the lake, live animals, carolers and free skating inside at the DECC.
Art in the Waves: For our December/January issue, we featured a short update on what's happening with Craig Blacklock. Craig talks about his new art book and the exhibit that will open in Florida. In print, we "dot-com'd" Craig's website when we should have "dot-art'd" it – craigblacklock.art. But you can read about his latest work and make the links online in our "Light Waves" story.
Box Book: Kathy Groth, author of our book SUNKEN, has a kickstarter project for her newest project linked to the saltwater seas. The Shell Box is intended to encourage children, ages 4-9, to get out and explore their world. Wrapped into the story of a girl and her grandmother are the names and identifications of multiple kinds of shells. Donors to the project get a range of thank you items, including signed copies of the book, bookmarks and shell notecards, to name a few. The fundraising continues for a few more days.
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Saturdays, Dec. 3 & 17: Join in the magic of Downtown Houghton's Winter Wonderland Celebration the next two Saturdays. Cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate and take a rustic horse-drawn carriage ride along the scenic Keweenaw Waterway. Enjoy views of the iconic Portage Lake Lift Bridge while traveling along the city's holiday-themed illuminated winter trail. Tell Santa your Christmas wishes while enjoying the songs of carolers. Plus, there will be festive lighting displays, holiday tunes and family photo ops.
Saturdays, Dec. 3, 10, 17: The Marquette Holiday Farmers Market opens on Saturday and everything in the market is made, or grown, by those selling it – local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans.
Saturday, Dec. 3: Michigan Tech Music presents Hygge - Music of Scandinavian Composers, performed by the Superior Wind Symphony at 7:30 p.m. at the McArdle Theatre on campus.
Tonight-Sunday, Dec. 1-4: Michigan Tech Theatre presents A Christmas Carol this weekend. The beloved holiday classic, directed by Trish Helsel, boasts a cast of nearly 40 local youth, Keweenaw community members, and Michigan Tech faculty, staff, and students. Performances are in the Rozsa Center in Houghton at 7:30 p.m. tonight-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Next Thursday, Dec. 8: Bring along the children of all ages to take in the wonder of the 11th annual Downtown Marquette Winter Snow Fun Holiday Parade. Bundle up with friends and family as illuminated floats, tinsel-strewn trucks and colorful carolers transform Third Street into an enchanted scene from the North Pole.
Minnesota
Saturday, Dec. 3: The Grand Marais Art Colony hosts its Studio 17 Holiday Open House, Pop-up Sale and Free Art Activity, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Check out the colony's newest space, Studio 17, and participate in a free drop-in art activity made possible by Joy & Company. Allison Healy will teach Gel Plate Printing 10 a.m.-2 p.m. no pre-registration necessary. Art Colony merchandise and gift certificates will also be for sale and refreshments will be provided.
Wednesday, Dec. 7: The St. Louis County Historical Society and Veterans Memorial Hall’s 2022 Remembrance Dinner will feature keynote speaker Brigadier General Daniel Gabrielli, who volunteered to lead “Operation Allies Welcome.” The project managed the resettlement of 7000+ Afghan refugees from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Daniel has described the experience as “the best deployment I’ve done in my whole 33 years. It was the most fulfilling.” The event starts at 5 p.m. in the Great Hall of the St. Louis County Depot.
Wisconsin
Tonight & Various, Dec. 1, 6, 16, 20 & Jan. 7: Two different events bring holiday cheer to Fairlawn Mansion in Superior this month. Tonight at 5 p.m., enjoy the annual Holiday Sampler with live music from Similar Dogs, plus wine and beer tasting from Keyport, hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction, raffles, games and mansion tours. Or join in one of the Old-Fashioned Christmas self-guided tours (plan for at least a half hour) on Dec. 6, 16 & 20 or Jan. 7.
Saturday, Dec. 3: The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) celebrates Global Fat Bike Day with guided rides for all levels and a post-ride lunch with chicken noodle soup from Coop’s Pizza and other refreshments at CAMBA’s Hatchery Creek Trailhead in Hayward.
Ontario
Friday, Dec. 2: Celtic Christmas with Ukranians at the Urban Abby in Thunder Bay supports the Canada Ukraine Foundation and Urban Abby Overnight Shelter for Women. There will be performances by TbayTrad, Zhuravli Ukrainian Folk Ensemble, Chaban Ukrainian Dance Group, Dave Jonasson and Bohdan Tkaczuk plus Connor Loughlin. Doors open 6:30 p.m.
Thru Dec. 9: Get your entry in now for the Sault Ste. Marie Lighting competition. 2022 Christmas Lighting Awards Program selects residential winners in each of four wards plus three overall business winners. Nomination forms can be found online.
Photo & graphic credits: Rock of Ages Lighthouse Preservation Society; Michigan DNR; Craig Blacklock; Kathy Groth; Bekah Rush; Houghton Winter Wonderland/St. Louis County Historical Society/Fairlawn Mansion/Sault Christmas Lighting Awards