The Winterer’s Gathering at North House Folk School has become a northland tradition, with yurts and canvas tents popping up on the Grand Marais waterfront, demonstrating winter camping and activities. If the weather doesn’t change, this will likely be the warmest Winterer’s Gathering ever. This year’s event will be Friday, November 18 to Sunday, November 21.
Community members are encouraged to come celebrate the crafts, customs, landscape, history and stories of winter travel and traditional life ways in the north. There are special classes, workshops, a winter tent camp, a gear swap, community dancing, evening films, featured speakers and more.
The celebration kicks off on Friday night with a community dance in North House’s red building to Over the Waterfall
at 7:00 p.m.
Friday also offers a documentary film screening of Qallunaat: Why White People
are Funny,
at 8:30 p.m. in the blue building. This docucomedy is collaboration between filmmaker Mark Sandiford and Inuit writer and satirist Zebedee Nungak. Fresh and original, this documentary has that rare ability to educate with wit. Admission to the Arctic Film Festival is free. Popcorn will be available for sale.
On Saturday, November 20, there will be the Deep Freeze Chili Feed, followed by featured speaker Jon Turk who will present TheRaven’s Gift.
Also on Saturday, another film will be offered: the 1974 tale of whalers stranded—then rescued—by Eskimos in the Arctic in 1896, The White
Dawn.
There are still a few openings in the courses during the week. Call North House for information on Bushcraft:
Wilderness Living Skills; All Ground Up:
Sausage Making; Carving Inuit Style Snow
Goggles; Winter Camping, Clothing &
Expedition Foods; Wooden Toboggan for
Winter Travel: Make Your Own; Finding a
Sense of Place: Connecting Spiritually with
Nature;
and Winter Survival for the Whole
Family.
And throughout the weekend there are a number of very inexpensive and interesting seminars such as Mark Hansen’s Things I Make That Slide
or Winter Camping for Women
with Amy Freeman and much more.
And of course, once again, there will be the Great Gear & Ski Swap, sponsored by the North Superior Ski and Run Club and North House on Saturday, November 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at North House. A large variety of cross-country and alpine ski equipment, tents, skates, sleeping bags and pads, knit sweaters, stoves, and more will be available at the event! It’s also a great venue to sell your equipment. Registration forms are now available online and at the North House Folk School Store.
Visit www.northhouse.org for complete course descriptions and call 218- 387-9762 to register. Permanent residents of Cook County are eligible for a 25% discount off tuition.
A complete schedule of events for Winterer’s Gathering & Arctic Film Festival is available from North House by phone at 218-387-9762 or online at www. northhouse.org.
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