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June 2007 Happenings

Reading the Landscape 2007 field trips to explore Keweenaw "Shorelands"

Posted 06/28/2007  

GRATIOT LAKE -- The Gratiot Lake Conservancy will offer "Shorelands" as the theme of this summer's Reading the Landscape of the Keweenaw art and natural history field trips for adults. The trips will take place on seven Saturdays: June 30 through August 11. Beginning with an evening boat tour along the easternmost coast of the Keweenaw with limnologist Judith Budd on June 30, the series will include two other sessions for adults and families: Sand and Pebbles on July 28, near 7-Mile Point, and Lake's Edge, August 11, on Lake Superior and Gratiot Lake shores. Adult trips (16 and older) are Coastal Geology, July 7 at Horseshoe Harbor; Lake Effect, July 14 at Great Sand Bay; Bete Grise Beaches, July 21 at Bete Grise; and Harbor Shores, Aug. 4 at Eagle Harbor. Visit the Gratiot Lake Conservancy Web site for details and the 2007 Reading the Landscape Brochure. Registration is required. Call 906-289-4514 for information.
Photo: Lake Superior shoreline at Bete Grise South -- part of the Bete Grise Preserve. The July 21 Reading the Landscape session will offer an Ojibwe perspective on historical and current uses of this shoreline's natural resources. Click on photo for larger version. (Keweenaw Now file photo © Michele Anderson)

Fiddlers ReStrung to Perform June 26 at Finnish American Heritage Center

Posted 06/25/2007  

HANCOCK -– Fiddlers ReStrung, a group of talented high school-age musicians from Saline, Mich., will present a bluegrass and American folk music concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, at the Finlandia University Finnish American Heritage Center (FAHC). The 15 or so members of Fiddlers ReStrung play fiddle and other instruments, sing and even do clogging. They have appeared throughout North America and have performed with many internationally known musicians. They recently received several invitations to play in Europe. Advance tickets, available at the Finnish American Heritage Center, are $10 for adults, $5 for students (including Finlandia, MTU and Suzuki Association students). For more information visit FAHC at 435 Quincy St., Hancock, or call 906-487-7505.
Photo: Fiddlers ReStrung at Niagara Falls. Visit their Web site at www.fiddlersrestrung.com. Videos of their performances can be found at youtube.com. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo courtesy Finlandia University)

Relay for Life to raise funds for American Cancer Society June 22-23

Posted 06/20/2007  

HOUGHTON -- The 2007 Relay for Life, sponsored by The American Cancer Society, will take place from 1 p.m. Friday, June 22, to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at the Houghton High School Track. Barb Maronen, logistics coordinator for the Relay, said the participants hope to reach at least the annual goal of $140,000 in funds for the American Cancer Society. Last year they raised $144,000. "Last year we also surpassed the $1 million mark for 11 years of doing relays," Maronen noted. Since the theme this year is "Cancer Takes a Holiday," many of the teams have selected a particular holiday for generating their events. Click here for the 2007 Relay schedule.
Photo: 2006 Relay for Life participants, from left, Elizabeth Flynn, Diane Shoos and Vicki Bergvall walk together at the Houghton High School Track. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2006 Michele Anderson)

Household electronics recycling collection to be June 16

Posted 06/15/2007  

HANCOCK -- The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) will hold their annual e-waste collection from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 16, at the Houghton County Fairgrounds (Ingot and Birch Sts.) in Hancock. They will 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. There are some fees, but the collection is subsidized. Visit the RSVP Web site for information on costs and a complete list of allowable items or call 482-7382. The contractors for the program promise 100% recycling. None of the materials enter the landfill. 

Chain Drive Festival offers mountain bike races June 16

Posted 06/15/2007  

HANCOCK -- The Portage Health System Keweenaw Chain Drive Festival will offer 16- and 32-mile mountain bike races on Saturday, June 16, at the Maasto-Hiihto / Churning Rapids Trails in Hancock. Distance events will begin with a 10 a.m. roll-out through downtown Houghton, starting at the Best Western-Franklin Square Inn. The finish will be at the Portage Health System hospital parking lot in Hancock. Awards are at the finish area at 2:30 p.m. This year the Junior Chain Drive -- timed races for youth ages 8-13 and above and non-timed races for those age 7 and under -- will be at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, starting and ending at the Portage Health campus, using a single-track trail in a wooded area east of the hospital. See the locator maps. The Chain Drive promotes the family sport of mountain biking and supports trail preservation efforts throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula. All funds raised by the festival will go to trail improvement, access and acquisition projects in Houghton and Keweenaw counties. Read details on the Chain Drive Web site. See photos of the 2006 Chain Drive races on Brockit.com. 
Photo: The 2006 Keweenaw Chain Drive distance races get underway as bikers cross the Portage Lift Bridge from Houghton to Hancock. Click on photo for larger version. (Keweenaw Now file photo © 2006 Michele Anderson)

Celebrate spring at Houghton's sixth Art and Music Festival June 9 

Posted 06/07/2007  

HOUGHTON -- Celebrate the arrival of spring with the Houghton Spring Art and Music Festival, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 9, on the waterfront at the bottom of Huron Street in downtown Houghton. The festival, now in its sixth year, provides an opportunity to hear live local music and shop at regional artists' booths. The music starts at 11:30 a.m. with harp music by A Harpo, the New Zealand Jazz Apples at noon, Tatterdemalion at 1 p.m., Orphan’s Torch at 2 p.m., Fiddlehead at 3 p.m., Erin Smith at 4 p.m. and the Neverland Rancheros at 5 p.m. The art fair starts at 11 a.m. and will feature a variety of art and fine craft. Many of the artists will be demonstrating. There is plenty of parking, and the event is free and open to everyone. more
Photo: The New Zealand Jazz Apples, with Mike Irish, right, on guitar, perform at the 2006 Art and Music Festival in Houghton. Also pictured are, from left, Scott McIntosh (bass), Mark Lucier (drums) and Jake Pearse (alto sax). The group will perform again at this year's festival June 9, when Irish and Pearse will be joined by Aaron DeGabriele (tenor sax), Jake Posega (bass) and Collin Osenroth (drums). (Keweenaw Now file photo © 2006 Gustavo Bourdieu)

New exhibits open Friday in Hancock, Calumet and Baraga art galleries 

Posted 05/31/2007  

HANCOCK --  Three new exhibits will have opening receptions Friday, June 1, in local galleries. "Stones and Walls," an exhibition of new work by Joyce Koskenmaki, will be featured in the Kerredge Gallery of the Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock during the month of June, opening with a reception from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 1. In 2002, Joyce Koskenmaki retired from teaching drawing and painting half-time at Finlandia University in order to work on her art full time. "Stones and Walls" brings together themes from her past history and her life in the Upper Peninsula. At the Vertin Gallery in Calumet, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., an opening reception will be held for "Through my eyes," a collection of work by Keweenaw photographer and Keweenaw Now contributor Joe Kirkish. The show moves with Joe over half a century in his drive to keep his work innovative, with new and exciting images for the viewer. Also from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, the opening of "May or May Not," a group exhibit for the month of June, will be held at Gallery 325 in the Baraga Town Hall. Koskenmaki says art lovers can make all three of these openings by starting in Calumet at 6:30 p.m. and ending in Baraga by 9 p.m. For more information visit the Community Arts Center Web site or call 482-2333 and the Vertin Gallery Web site or call 337-2200.
Image: "8 stones, 1 shell" by Joyce Koskenmaki. Click on image for larger version. (Image © 2007 Joyce Koskenmaki. Reprinted with permission) 

Nominations sought for 2007 Heart and Hands Award 

Posted 05/20/2007  

HANCOCK -- Celebrate a Copper Country person who has given of his or her heart and hands in the service of peace, justice or the environment by nominating the person for the 2007 Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award. Nominations are due June 16, 2007. For information and a nomination form, contact Heart and Hands Society, 53044 Hwy M203, Hancock, MI 49930 or email: tkinzel@pasty.com. Phone: 482-6827. The awardee will have the privilege of naming a local nonprofit to receive the $1000 award, which will be announced on July 4, 2007. 

MTU Archives to host historical photograph exhibit May 17

Posted 05/17/2007 

HOUGHTON -- The Michigan Tech University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections will exhibit historical photographs from its collections at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, in the Archives reading room on the Garden Level of the J. R. Van Pelt Library. The exhibit, "Images of the Keweenaw: Selections from the Archives' Staff," includes prints of some glass plate negatives which have never been seen before. The event is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served. The exhibit will remain in the reading room through July 6 and can be viewed during the department's normal hours of business. A short presentation will also highlight the new Keweenaw Digital Archives at MTU. For further information, contact the archives at 487-2505 or copper@mtu.edu. See details on Tech Today. Photo: Quincy Mining Co. miners sit on the last piece of a 300-ton mass of copper 4,000 feet down No. 2 Shaft Quincy. Mr. William Rule is in white coat. Date: 1912? Photographer unknown. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech Archives. Reprinted with permission.)

CCGAP to hold raffle, dance fund-raiser May 12

Posted 05/08/2007 

HANCOCK -- The Annual Raffle and Dance fund-raiser for the Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) will take place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 12, in the Forestry Building on the Michigan Tech campus. The MOON DOGS will play a variety of music for dancing! Raffle tickets will be sold at the door for $5 apiece. The grand prize is a soft, hand-woven Guatemalan wool blanket; many other prizes will be offered. The event will also include a silent auction of Guatemalan hand crafts: purses, mirrors, ponchos, rugs, wall hangings, etc. Snack food will be available. Read about the recent water project in two Guatemalan villages by MTU's Engineers Without Borders in the CCGAP April 2007 Newsletter on their Web site.
Photo: A young mother tries out the new hand pump on the new well, courtesy of Michigan Tech's Engineers Without Borders, in the village of  Nueva Libertad, Guatemala. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2007 Sue Ellen Kingsley. Reprinted with permission.)

Guatemala accompanier to speak in Hancock May 10

Posted 05/08/2007 

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) will sponsor a presentation by Lindsey Engelman on Thursday, May 10, at the First United Methodist Church in Hancock. Lindsey recently returned to her home in Texas after serving seven months as an accompanier for witnesses in a landmark trial bringing charges of genocide against Guatemalan ex-presidents. She will show pictures and share her experiences with the public following a potluck meal at 5:30 p.m. Read a letter from Lindsey on page 3 of the CCGAP April 2007 Newsletter on their Web site.
Photo: Lindsey Engelman and friends in Guatemala. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2007 and courtesy Sue Ellen Kingsley. Reprinted with permission.)

May 2007 Happenings -- July 2007 Happenings