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June 2006 Happenings

Co-housing group to meet June 28 in Hancock

Posted 06/27/2006 

HANCOCK -- All interested people are invited to the next co-housing meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28, at 501 Reservation St. in Hancock (the old Glad Tidings Church -- enter at ground level from the parking lot behind the Scott Hotel building). The group will discuss passive solar house design and some will share information from the annual Midwest Renewable Energy Association's annual Energy Fair in Wisconsin on aspects of building a sustainable community in the Keweenaw. For more information, contact Merle at 482-7803 or email mkindred@charter.net.   

Community prepares for 2006 Relay for Life June 23-24

By Wade Wainio  Posted 06/20/2006 

HOUGHTON -- The Copper Country's eleventh annual Relay For Life, a 24-hour fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, will take place from 1 p.m. on Friday, June 23, to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, at the Houghton High School track on Gundlach Road. According to Kathy Archambeau, event manager, the Relay For Life is "the signature event for the American Cancer Society" in its fundraising for research, education and advocacy programs. The Relay For Life is a community event. The public is invited to join the teams in walking and to enjoy the activities. This year's theme is "Copper Country Goes Hollywood: Relay With The Stars." Read more and see the Schedule of Events.
Photo: Houghton residents Diane Shoos and her daughter Anna decorate Luminaria to honor family members (cancer victims and survivors) for the 2006 Copper Country Relay for Life to be held Friday and Saturday, June 23-24, at the Houghton High School track. (Photo © 2006 Michele Anderson)

Reading the Landscape of the Keweenaw to focus on forest studies

Posted 06/19/2006 

GRATIOT LAKE -- The Summer 2006 Reading the Landscape of the Keweenaw will focus on "The Forested Landscape" -- a series of six (9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) Saturday sessions of art and natural history field trips in various Keweenaw forest locations with forest experts and Michigan artists. The program will begin July 1 with a woodland hike near Eagle Harbor to study diverse species in the landscape. On July 8, participants will study the ecology and history of the Estivant Pines and their impact on the local community. On July 15 participants will hike through recently logged and recovering forests and study sustainable forest practices. The program will also offer forest management on July 22, orienteering skills on July 29 and edible berries on Aug. 5. At each of these sessions participants will work with a local artist on a creative project, from sketches to ornaments. Finally, Dave Dempsey, author of Ruin and Recovery, will present a slide lecture and discussion from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the Eagle Harbor Community Building. Registration and advance payment of $15 per session are required. Visit the Gratiot Lake Conservancy Web site for details.
Photo: Charlies Eshbach, Keweenaw photographer and conservationist, in the Estivant Pines Sanctuary, where, along with artist Bonnie Loukus, he will lead the July 8 Reading the Landscape session on old growth forest. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2006 and courtesy Charles Eshbach.)

TNC to dedicate Nicole Bloom Trail to Lookout Mountain June 18

Posted 06/16/2006 

MARQUETTE -- The Nature's Conservancy (TNC) will dedicate the Nicole Bloom Trail up to Lookout Mountain (Mt. Baldy) near Eagle Harbor at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 18. Since M-26 is currently closed at Eagle River, go past Phoenix and take the first paved road on the left (3-4 mi.), the Eagle Harbor cutoff road. Just before reaching Eagle Harbor turn right on a two-track road located just across from the west end of Eliza Creek Rd. There is a Nature Conservancy sign at the entrance to this road and an area to park just before the sandy hill. Meet in the parking area. For a map visit the Northwoods Wilderness Recovery Web site.
Editor's Note: Nicole Bloom of Stevensville, Mich., a Michigan Tech graduate in Environmental Engineering and Biological Sciences, lost her life in a tragic accident while climbing in the Grand Tetons, near Jackson, Wyoming in June 2003. Read the tribute to Nicole by her friends.

Chain Drive Festival to feature both cross-country and downhill mountain bike races June 17-18

Posted 06/14/2006 

HANCOCK -- The 12th Annual Portage Health System Keweenaw Chain Drive Festival, June 17-18, offers mountain bikers point-to-point cross-country races, including the Junior Chain Drive for youth up to age 13, on Saturday, and a Downhill and Technical Dual Slalom on Sunday. The 16- and 32-mile cross-country races will be held at the Maasto Hiihto/Churning Rapids trail system in Hancock. Distance events will begin at 10 a.m., starting at the Best Western-Franklin Square Inn in Houghton. The Junior Chain Drive will start and finish at Portage Health System in Hancock following the 16- and 32-mile race events. On Sunday, June 18, downhill bike racing comes to Mt. Ripley's 400 vertical foot course -- with tight singletrack, open runs, big jumps and drops and technical sections. Also on Sunday, the new Technical Dual Slalom will replace the Technical Time Trial of the last four years. Adapting a dual slalom format, riders will race head-to-head down a track filled with jumps, burms, skinnies, teeter-totters, bridges, etc. Visit www.chaindrive.org for details. You can register onsite up until 30 minutes before start.
Photo: On Monday, June 12, Keweenaw Trekkers head for Hancock's Maasto Hiihto trails to check out the course for the June 17 Chain Drive races. Dan Dalquist, Keweenaw Trekkers president and volunteer coordinator for the Chain Drive, notes it takes a core of 50-60 volunteers to put on the Chain Drive. To join the Trekkers call 482-8198 or email dand@chartermi.net. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2006 Gustavo Bourdieu. Printed with permission.)

Keweenaw Krayons to hold art workshops June 13, 20, 27

Posted 06/12/2006 

MOHAWK -- Wisconsin artist, Margaret Mary Gerhard --  director of Green Arts, a company dedicated to saving the planet by recycling in the arts -- will lead a “Magic Wand” Keweenaw Krayons Art to Go Workshop from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13, in the Renée Stemler Memorial Art Room in the Mohawk School. If time allows, participants will also work on other projects, using recycled materials. While supplies are furnished for the workshop, participants are encouraged to bring their own special items such as photos, memorabilia, stones, feathers, driftwood, etc., to decorate their art. Youth under age six must be accompanied by an adult or older teen. Please register by calling 337-4706 or email staff@keweenawkrayons.com. Keweenaw Krayons will also hold workshops on Scrapbooking June 20 and Pop-Up Puppets June 27. Funds are available to provide taxi ridesfor those lacking transportation to the workshops. Visit their Web site for more information.

Joseph Youngman to lead birding walk in Chassell June 10

Posted 06/09/2006 

CHASSELL -- The Einerlei in Chassell will sponsor a Birding Walk with Joseph Youngman at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 10. After meeting at the Einerlei store at 8:30 am, the group will walk through several locations around Chassell. The event is free of charge, but pre-registration is requested. Be prepared with sunscreen, bug dope and walking shoes (trails could be damp). Reply to shop@einerlei.com or call 906-523-4612. The Einerlei will donate 10% of the day's sales to the Copper Country Audubon Club and the Manitou Island Bird Survey. Manitou Island, off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, is a major migration pathway for many species of raptors, waterbirds and passerines. Trips are made in the spring, summer and fall to document the birds that pass through Manitou during the migration seasons as well as the birds that breed there. According to Youngman, “We've recorded 191 species, we've spent 60 days on the island surveying the birds, and we've found over 80 species breeding on the island.” For more information visit the Einerlei Web site.

Chamber Music Society to present Schumann Festival June 8

Posted 06/07/2006 

HOUGHTON -- The newly-formed Hancock Chamber Music Society will present the Second Annual Schumann Festival at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 8, at Portage Lake United Church, 1400 E. Houghton Avenue, Houghton. The concert features works of Robert Schumann in observance of the 196th anniversary of his birth. Musicians are Mary Richards-Kallman, mezzo-soprano; Neil Paynter, pianist; Andrew McInnes, violinist; Jose Delgado-Guevara, violist; and Patrick Quimby, cellist. They will present Schumann's Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann zur Erinnerung an die Dichterin (Seven Songs to words by Elisabeth Kulmann, in memory of the poetess), Op. 104; Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart (Poems of Mary, Queen of Scots), Op. 135; Märchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures), Op. 113; and Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47. The concert is free and open to the public; however, a free-will donation will be taken at the door to benefit the Keweenaw Family Resource Center. For information on upcoming chamber music concerts, visit http://www.neilpaynterproductions.com.

Memorial service to be held for Janet Avery June 11

Posted 06/04/2006 

HOUGHTON -- A memorial service for Janet Morrow Avery of Gratiot Lake, Keweenaw County, will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, in the Memorial Union Ballroom on the Michigan Tech campus. Janet taught composition and technical writing in the Department of Humanities at MTU from 1981 to 1991. She was also the founder and president of AWAKE (Association Working Against Keweenaw Exploitation). Janet passed away March 4, 2006. The Reverend Dr. Bill Kennedy will speak, and all friends of Janet and her family are welcome to join in the celebration of her life and spirit. Read Janet Avery's obituary.

Volunteers needed for Copper Harbor Trails Day June 3

By Sam Raymond   Posted 06/02/2006 

COPPER HARBOR -- National Trails Day Festivities in Copper Harbor begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 3, at the Keweenaw Adventure Company. Guest columnist Sam Raymond invites volunteers to help whip the Mountain Bike and Hiking Trails into shape for the season, including removing deadfall and debris, raking, brush trimming, bridge building, benching/root removal, making a couple of re-routes and working on some new trail creation. Rewards include free showers and sauna, a pasta feed and a concert in the evening by "Mike Labeau and The Blackflies" at Zik's Bar and Grill. more
Photo: Sam Raymond in front of his colorful Keweenaw Adventure Company sign, Copper Harbor. (File photo by Michele Anderson)

RSVP to hold Electronics Waste Recycling collections June 3, 17

Posted 06/02/2006 

HANCOCK -- The RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) will hold Electronics Waste Recycling collections from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, at the Houghton County Fair Building in Hancock and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, at the L'Anse Village Garage. This is the RSVP's third round of e-waste collections since Spring 2005. Recycle computers, monitors, TVs, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and more. There is no limit to the amount a household can bring, but businesses must make arrangements to participate. Fees are charged for some items, but the collection is subsidized. The contractors for the program promise 100% recycling. None of the materials enter the landfill. At the last local program 30 tons of electronic waste were collected. For information on costs and a complete list of allowable items call 482-7382 or visit www.wupdhd.org/rsvp/e-waste.html.

Finlandia to exhibit "Progressions," wood-fired pottery 

Posted 06/01/2006 

HANCOCK -- Finlandia University's Finnish American Heritage Center (FAHC) Gallery will host "Progressions," an exhibition of wood-fired pottery by artists Kenyon Hansen and Simon Levin June 2 through July 7, 2006. Featuring over 100 pieces of clay work, "Progressions" gives viewers a rare glimpse into the process and progressions of creating wood-fired pottery. An opening reception for the artists will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday evening, June 2. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. more

Spring Art and Music Festival to offer family fun June 10

By Wade Wainio  Posted 05/28/2006  Updated June 1, 2006

HOUGHTON -- The 5th Annual Spring Art and Music Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, on the Houghton Waterfront (between the UPPCO building and the new Portage Lake District Library) and will coincide with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Library. Sponsored by the City of Houghton and the Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC), the festival will include an art fair with demonstrating artists, a Giant Puppet Parade, a lively variety of music by local and regional musicians, a brat roast, an extreme bake sale and Copper Country Suzuki's Striding for Strings family race fundraiser. more
Photo: At the 2005 Spring Art and Music Festival Striding for Strings event, racers, ages 7 to 9, take off for their 1 km (0.62 mile) run. (Keweenaw Now file photo © 2005 Michele Anderson)

May 2006 Happenings -- July 2006 Happenings