Winterer’s Gathering at North House Folk School

Award winning Pioneer PBS filmmaker Mike Scholtz and long-time collaborator Dana Conroy premiered their newest film “Built with Love” at the North House Folk School Winterer’s Gathering. Two weeks before leaving for Norway to film, Conroy was run over by a car as she crossed Wacker Drive in Chicago. She was knocked unconscious, suffering a head wound as she slammed into the windshield of the vehicle. “Doctors said I had an 85 percent chance of dying from my injuries,” she said. Scholtz encouraged Conroy to make the trip and she did, although she wasn’t sure she could stand in front of a camera due to her injuries. Staff photo Brian Larsen

An estimated 500 people attended various events at the 2022 Winterer’s Gathering and Arctic Film Festival held at North House Folk School this past weekend, said North House Communication and Marketing Manager Joe Beres.

Highlighting the weekend was featured speaker Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University. “The Red Building was packed with people, many of them locals, to hear Truer speak on Saturday night,” said Beres.

Truer is the author of several books – including The Cultural Toolbox. In addition, he shared Ojibwe Winter Stories and included a presentation on environmental stewardship and an Indigenous perspective on healing communities.

Every chair of the Blue Building was filled on Friday at noon with folks coming to the world premiere of Built with Love. The full-length documentary followed Pioneer PBS Senior Producer Dana Conroy as she traveled along the coast of Norway, meeting some of the last traditional boat and sailmakers. As Conroy gets to know the largely stoic boatmakers, she asks a simple question, would you quit your job for love? The non-responses are hilarious as the boat builders— some with their partners standing near—stare off into space or give reasons why they don’t want to answer the question.

Volunteer Jay DeCoux and North House Staff member Liv Solerud get the chili going for Saturday evening’s festivities. Photo courtesy of Joe Beres

So, why was Conroy asking such a fundamental question? Turns out her great-great-grandfather gave up his career as a fisherman to marry a girl he had grown up with. At that time, you weren’t allowed to marry under your class, and she came from a poor family, said Conroy. So, instead of giving up on the girl, he married her and moved to southern Minnesota, where he farmed the rest of his life. And, oh yes, Conroy said he and his wife fished nearly daily. They never returned to Norway.

“He gave up everything for love,” said Conroy.

Following the film, Olav Luksengard Mjelva played his fiddle, introducing the crowd to Hardanger fiddle music. Olav’s music was featured in Built with Love, and he was instrumental in helping the PBS crew navigate through Norway on their 11-day filming adventure.

The weekend was filled with many traditional activities, the chili feed, the Great Gear and Ski Sale, winter tent camp tour. In addition, there was Cold Snap Poetry Slam, a sled dog puppy meet and greet, seminars on dark skies, polar life in Greenland, and more.

“It was a great weekend,” said Beres. ‘A really nice turnout.”