Upcoming Art-Related Events in the Twin Ports

Am currently reading Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman. I can't tell if it's the writing that makes it gripping or the story. Both reasons make it a compelling read. If you want to know how the other half lives -- i.e. life behind bars -- you'll get a pretty good inkling here. In one week I heard three people talk about the television show, so was surprised to find it was based on a book. I shouldn't have been. To get an understanding of what the expression "Orange is the new black" means you can check out the discussion on Reddit.

This weekend is the 45th Annual Park Point Art Fair, and if the weather is nice you can go make a day of it. It's a two day event, which means you also get a chance to mow your lawn or go fishing one day and take in the fair on the other.

As many as 10,000 people cram their cars onto the end of Park Point when the art fair falls on a nice-weather weekend. Park Point Community Club (PPCC) and a pack of volunteers make it happen, though this year is expected to be bigger than ever due to a  2015 Festival Support Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board that allows for new interactive sights, sounds and more.

If you want to see how vast the creative energy is in our region, you can't do much better than this. It's all in one place, from functional art to fine art.

The PPCC is touting a number of new activities this year such as:

• Saturday visitors can witness and participate in an iron pour by Common Language art collective (opportunities for 60 people to make a metal tile);
• Sunday visitors can participate in printmaking with the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts.
• An Emerging Artists Tent will feature work by up and coming artists, including students from area high schools and colleges.

There's always music, and a wide range of food options to satisfy even the pickiest eater. For more details on this and other aspects of the event visit their Facebook page.

Rhubarb Fest
One of the funniest words in baseball is rhubarb. When an argument or a fight breaks out it is often referred to as a rhubarb.  Announcer: "This could be an interesting matchup with Sisco at the plate. He and Roger Clemens got into a real rhubarb last time they faced other."

Well this is not the kind of rhubarb you should expect in Duluth this weekend. On Saturday it's the annual Rhubarb Fest down at Leif Ericson Park on London Road. Rhubarb pie is only the beginning. After a day of all things rhubarb there will even be a rhubarb after-party at Red Herring Lounge.

See details in the Trib.

Estate Sale with Lots of Art

Someone sent me a note about an estate sale in Hayward with lots of art. The Round Lake Estate Sale runs from today through Sunday. Supposedly there's a ton of framed and unframed art, including a huge selection of wildlife prints, original art, some 3-D pieces....a few mid-century furniture pieces as well. Visit the Estate of Value website for details. In addition to the art (some of which you can see on this page here) there's all the other usual estate sale type of items from jewelry, coins and crystal to furniture and apparel and all the rest.

And if you're not in the mood for crowds you can just sit on your porch and read a good book. Why not?

Meantime, life goes on all around you.