Holiday Favorites: Halloween, that end to fall, is officially over and we're heading into the "winter" holiday season. It all made us remember a few of our favorite holiday things. In the next weeks, there will be plenty of holiday related events listed in Around the Circle This Week, but we wanted to highlight these for you to plan now to enjoy. One thing coming back will be the CP Holiday Train bringing music, joy and charity on its rails in both Canada and the United States. For the north of Lake Superior leg of the Ontario journey, the first stop will be in White River on Dec. 1 and then in Mobert, Heron Bay, Marathon, Schreiber, Nipigon and Thunder Bay on Dec. 2. You can check the Holiday Train Tracker for details … and to see where else in the two countries it will travel. Besides ferrying great music acts – and providing its own stage – the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will also be supporting food shelves on its 24th annual run. If you've never seen the train, read about it in Molly Hoeg's "Christmas Spirit Rides the Rails" story for Lake Superior Magazine. While the train has been around for awhile, another holiday tradition quite specific to our region is only two years old. Marquette will again blaze with Holiday Lasers on the Ore Dock on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays in November and December, beginning Nov. 24. The light show transforms the Ore Dock with the colors of the season. Last year was the first for the laser show and there is a YouTube video by MLive on the display.
Fur Funds: The 17th annual Fur Ball, silent auction and raffle this Saturday (Nov. 5) at the AmericInn Ashland Splashland Waterpark. Sadly, though, someone walked off with one of the main silent auction attractions … a limited distribution football with transfer signatures by the Green Bay Packers. Rick Olivo of the Ashland Daily Press reported on the theft. "After two straight years in which the Chequamegon Humane Association has been forced to cancel its main fundraiser, the organization was looking forward to its Nov. 5 event to boost its financial picture," Rick writes. "One of featured attractions was to be a donated 2021 collector’s series football with the transferred signatures of the Green Bay Packers players and coaching staff. Available in limited quantities only through the team, the footballs are highly sought by collectors." Hopes are that whoever took the football might return it at some point, but the good news is that a supporter, Jill Runkel, donated an even more collectable football celebrating the Packers first 90 years, from 1919 to 2009. Meanwhile if you want to help support the shelter, you can see options online, including ways to volunteer and merchandise to buy. Or check out all the new pups and kits up for adoption on the Facebook page.
Remembering: Next Thursday, Nov. 10, will mark 47 years since a massive Lake Superior storm took down the Edmund Fitzgerald and all of its 29 crew members. Many survivor families are from the Big Lake region and it's appropriate that special ceremonies are held in remembrance each year. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, where the bell taken from the Fitzgerald is kept, will hold an onsite ceremony for family members only, but it will livestream the ceremony at 7 p.m. ET. The link will be posted on the museum's website. In Minnesota, the annual lighting of the beacon at Split Rock Lighthouse will allow for in-person attendance. The historic site will be open all day for visitation and the ceremony will begin later in the day. This annual event commemorates the sinking of the freighter and the loss of the crew, but is also a time to reflect on the memory of all lives lost in Great Lakes shipwrecks. At 4:30 pm, the names of the crew members will be read to the tolling of a ship's bell. Following the ceremony, the lighthouse beacon will be lit. A livestream will capture the names ceremony and will remain on following the event broadcasting a view of the lighthouse as its beacon sweeps Lake Superior, allowing viewers around the world to join in commemoration and reflection.
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 4-5: REVOLVE CC, a creative conference, promotes visual arts, music, literature, technology, performance art and creative businesses. Main speakers include Keisha Howard, a game designer and futurist; visual artist Christina Mrozik; Seth Polansky, producer and lawyer to creative types; and author/artist Chris Stark. The two days of activities create time for networking and learning. Register online.
Friday, Nov. 4: Friday will be your last chance to view “UP Focus,” an exhibit featuring Linda King Ferguson and Lindsey Heiden at the DeVos Art Museum on the Northern Michigan University campus in Marquette. While you’re there, take in “Jan Manniko: The Last Place on Earth,” which is open until Nov. 15.
Minnesota
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 4-6: Lutsen will host some hot jazz for the cool nights this weekend for the Lake Superior Jazz Festival. On Friday evening, starting at 6 p.m., there are Jazz Dinners with the Dan Nelson Trio at Cascade Lodge & Pub and with Brilliant Colors Jazz Trio at Lutsen Resort. Starting at 7 p.m. at Papa Charlie’s, South Side Acres performs followed by the Andrew Walesch Orchestra at 9 p.m. On Saturday, enjoy the Gypsy Mania Hot Club Quartet 1 p.m. at the Summit Chalet at Lutsen Mountains and a Jazz Dinner with the Dan Nelson Trio at Lutsen Resort. Later at 9 p.m. Adonis Rose and the The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra plays at Papa Charlie’s. On Sunday, wrap up with a Jazz Brunch with Briand Morrison in Moguls Grille at Caribou Highlands.
Saturday, Nov. 5: The Duluth Cross Country Ski Club hosts its annual DXC Winter Warmup from 6:30-11:30 p.m. at the Grand Avenue Chalet at Spirit Mountain. Proceeds from this celebration of the upcoming XC ski season go toward DXC Youth Ski programming. There will be live music from Boxcar, food from Baptism River Barbecue Company, and a silent auction.
Saturday, Nov. 5: Works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Michael Tippett will be the focus of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra’s MasterWorksIII with the DSSO Chorus starting at 7 p.m. in the DECC.
Monday-Saturday, Nov. 7-12: The weeklong Eat Downtown – Flavors of Fall launches Monday in Duluth with 12 eateries offering special menu deals (including our landlords, Dubh Linn Irish Brew Pub). Find the special fall menus online.
Wisconsin
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 4-6: Keynote speaker Dr. Tamitha Skov, the space weather physicist known as Space Weather Woman, kicks off the 5th Annual Aurora Summit at Legendary Waters Resort and Casino in Red Cliff. The event celebrates the art, culture, science and photography of the Aurora Borealis. The weekend is filled with photography clinics, educational sessions, a swap meet, a raffle and fun activities. Last minute tickets available.
Sunday, Nov. 6: The Rivet Run/Walk takes on a 5K trail great for walkers, runners and families at Pattison State Park outside of Superior. Proceeds benefit the trail upkeep, plus there are awards and door prizes.
Ontario
Thru Nov. 30: Thunder Bay has launched its Novemburger and this year is a tasty one. Chefs at 16 local eateries came up with special burgers on the menu all month with $2 from each sale going to the United Way of Thunder Bay. It’s not just a good cause, it’s a competition and you can vote for your favorites. A downloadable “passport” helps you track the burgers you’ve chomped
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 4-5: Northern Ontario Country Music Association hosts its annual Northern Ontario Country Music Awards this weekend. Friday is the Great Northern Opry All Star Event and Saturday there will be an awards show, plus an opry show and dance and a celebration of the latest Great Northern Opry inductees.