DULUTH.com May/June 2018

JASON LONGSTREET

COMIC ARTIST HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR STRONG WOMEN

PG. 4

SUMMER DRINKS • NEW RESTAURANTS • MUSIC VENUES

JUNE 2018

GROUP PUBLISHER

Neal Ronquist

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Rick Lubbers

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Megan Wedel

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Eric Olson

FEATURES EDITOR

Beverly Godfrey

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES

Ali Comnick ali@duluth.com 218.428.2929

Dee Munson dee@thewomantoday.com 218-940-8434

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Peggy Day

CONTRIBUTORS

Brooks Johnson

Beverly Godfrey

Andrea Busche

Bob King

Dennis Kempton

Kathleen Murphy

Alison Stucke

Abigail Blonigan

Kelsey Roseth

Michelle Truax

Clint Austin

Steve Kuchera

to our readers

Duluth has a lot to offer when it comes to adventure. In this issue, we invite you to see the city at its best, recommending some favorite “Instagram spots.” Or venture out onto the water with a charter boat captain. Take a hike, or look up to the sky. Try some new food, or visit a new music venue. Hit a rummage sale or two; you’ll never know what Duluth history is waiting to be uncovered. No matter where you turn, Duluth has a lot to offer. Here’s hoping you get a chance to savor it this summer!

©2018

Correction: Two pictures by photographer Aaron Reichow ran in the March-April 2018 issue without providing proper credit. They are pictured here. Duluth.com apologizes for the error.

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40 College of St. Scholastica joins ‘Swipe Out Hunger’ campaign

COVER “NORTH” by Jason Longstreet. Artist portrait by Steve Kuchera / Duluth News

PHOTO An aurora in May 2016 spirals all the way to the overhead point in the sky to create these snake-like patterns. BOB KING / RKING@DULUTHNEWS.COM

Q A JASON LONGSTREET

CHARACTER CONCEPT ARTIST

Is it ever too late to follow your dreams? Duluth artist Jason Longstreet is creating his own answer to that question as he gains momentum in the world of comic art, a passion he has had for a lifetime.

Q: Tell me about your journey into comic art.

A: I started out professionally as a color artist for Shot in the Dark Comics about 10 years ago, but I’ve collected comic books since I was a kid. I soon realized it wasn’t as much for the stories but more for the art. I grew up collecting as many Dan Jurgens, Michael Turner and Todd McFarlane comics as I could get my hands on. I would try to collect art books and tutorials they put out in libraries or the rare comic book with sketches in them. To this day, I watch Todd McFarlane do his live tutorial videos on his Facebook page.

I never expected to meet these guys in person, let alone be attending comic book shows as an artist myself next to them and trading art prints with them. I still get starstruck sometimes. I’m a fan first. I recently had Mark Kistler from “Imagination Station” approach my table and ask to trade artwork with me. He said he was hoping he’d find me there. I was so struck, I could barely get the words out enough to say hi and shake his hand.

Q: What kind of art training do you have? Is this something you were always interested in?

A: I’ve always been interested in creating art. When I was growing up I would watch my grandmother, Jill Longstreet, for hours as she was creating her masterpieces. She was a real inspiration for me to improve my skills. In 2003, I went to school for graphic design, and they taught me how to use Photoshop and Illustrator.

I used this to my advantage and took my skills as a graphic artist and put them to use as a digital painter. Having a traditional art background with the tools of Photoshop really helps keep me grounded as an artist. I’m still traditional, but have endless colors and tools at my disposal working digitally. I still try to learn something new every day, whether it’s watching

tutorials from my art mentors online or experimenting in Photoshop myself. I am always growing as an artist. If I’m not, I’m probably bored and need to challenge myself somehow. My painting “Senua” is a great example of this. She has face paint, leatherwork and fur in her costume, three elements I struggle with. The challenge keeps me interested, and I benefit from those learning experiences more often than anything else.

Q: The “about” tab on your website doesn’t have anything on it. Is that kind of thing hard for you to write?

A: It is. I never know what to write. It’s something required as an artist or graphic artist. You have to sell yourself. Most of a freelance artist’s career is spent marketing his or her own work, and being in the advertising and marketing business for over 20 years has not helped me in that matter very much, unfortunately. Sometimes, I even recruit my artist friends to write that stuff for me.

Q: You paint a lot of portraits of women. What do you find interesting or appealing about the subject?

A: A couple of years ago, I vowed to myself to strictly paint women. I wasn’t seeing women represented as often as I had seen men as strong leads. At least, they weren’t as popular. They were around, but not represented in mainstream media. I’ve always been attracted to the idea of a female hero lead in a story. I see this more and more today than I have in the past, but we still have a very long way to go. I get requests all the time to paint a male lead, and I consider it, but I feel like all of my hard work would be lost if I deviated from painting women.

Duluth artist Jason Longstreet (right) meets Ant Lucia, an artist for DC Comics.

Q: Have you ever provided an “artist statement” for your work?

A: In the past I used to provide statements for each piece I created, but I soon realized everyone is going to form their own opinion of my artwork anyway, whether it’s negative or positive, and what I had to say didn’t really matter. I even often find myself changing my opinion of a piece after it’s completed. These days, I put her out there and allow everyone else to make up their own mind on how they feel about it.

Q. You call yourself a “character concept artist.” Explain that title to me. A. Most of the requests I get from people involve well-known characters, and I could easily go online and search that character, take the first image I see, recreate it, and they would be perfectly content with that. However, I prefer to put my own concept on it and give them something unique. This is usually done by diving into my reference resources and finding something that will represent the character’s features and transforming that boring stock reference into something that resembles that character. To me, it’s seeing them in a new light, with a new concept. For example, I was recently approached by Photoshop Creative Magazine to do a Tomb Raider painting for the new Warner Bros. film releasing this year. Lara Croft is a very recognizable character. It makes it easy for me, but at the same time very difficult to stand out as something different. I spent hours searching for references and wasn’t finding

what I wanted. So I decided to search for candid shots of the actress who is portraying Lara Croft in the new film and add the recognizable Lara features to her to give me something completely different than what you would find searching Google for something generic. This can also be seen in my Ciri from the Witcher 3 and the female concept of the Frankenstein painting I did for Crypticon last year.

Q: Tell me about the trade shows you’ve been to. Do you have fans?

A: When I was in the 4th grade, I drew a couple of pictures. I think one of them was a shark and the other a spaceship. I set up a table in the yard and put up flyers down the street that I was selling my artwork and to come to my yard to buy it. I remember a bunch of people telling me I was crazy and people won’t want to buy it.

I ended up selling the shark for a quarter. Today, I’m basically doing the same thing only on a much larger scale.

Yet, there was a large period of time in my life in between then and now where I wasn’t creating art. I was focused on family and my children. I thought I should settle for the maintenance job I had at the time, and I would work construction jobs and cashier on the weekends at a gas station. I was OK with that at the time. I never expected to attend a comic book convention as a fan at that point in my life. I realized later that it wasn’t a selfish decision to pursue my own dream; it was required of me to show my children they could do it, too.

“Rey” by Jason Longstreet

“Black Widow” by Jason Longstreet

“Senua” by Jason Longstreet

PEOPLE

I bought tickets to the Minneapolis Wizard World Comic Con and brought my two boys with me. It was a dream of mine that seemed so far out of reach for me while I was married. I didn’t know how other artists would react toward me, and I was so nervous approaching them to talk. I bought my first piece of artwork from Chrissie Zullo; she has worked for DC and Dark Horse, among others, and I was terrified meeting her. She was so happy to talk to me, and I felt so welcome there. I truly felt like I was in my element. As soon as I returned home, I inquired about the next show. It was in Madison that same year, and I applied to have an artist table, not expecting to ever be accepted, but I was. I had three prints and a couple business cards, but I pulled it off. After that, I started meeting new artists, creators and actors, and I was hooked. I’ve done 12 shows since then, and I have at least one appearance per month lined up across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas City for this year. I always feel weird when people seek me out at a show. I have a small social media following, and I am very tight with my followers. I see them more as friends than fans. I kind of get flustered when people find me at my table and are excited to see me. I get excited to meet them, and we kind of geek out together.

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Artist Jason Longstreet visits with guests to his booth at the Cedar Rapids Comic Con in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Q: Explain to me the scope of what you’ve accomplished. Where are you now, and where would you like to be?

A: My first challenge was finding a niche to identify myself. I needed a subject and a style. I struggled with this for years. I finally starting seeing a style coming through and conversed with my peers as to what I should claim as my own. There was no doubt I wanted to paint women, and that idea quickly turned into a series of paintings over the past two years, and now I have an identity in the art field.

Being invited to be a special guest at shows was huge for me. I’ve had to turn shows down because I have other shows to do that same weekend. In 2017, I was a guest at Chapel Con in Albert Lea, Minn., and I met a group of friends there who introduced me to a whole world of shows outside of Minnesota and Wisconsin. One of those artists is now my fiancee, and we have done an entire year of different art shows and conventions around Iowa and southern Minnesota. Eventually I hope we can both do this full time.

Q: Are you interested in teaching art? Do you do art activities with your children?

A: Whenever I do a show, I always get approached by kids interested in learning how to do what I do. I love when this happens. It gives me an opportunity to give them tips and hopefully inspire them. I usually give them some free artwork and tell them to keep going with it no matter what. I have three children myself, and my two boys, ages 12 and 17, have both taken interest in art. I recently

bought my 12-year-old the same Wacom Tablet I use. He does commissions online for his friends, and my oldest boy designs characters for people he knows for online gaming. My daughter is an award-winning and published photographer. Sometimes I think they are more successful than I am.

Q: Tell me something you like about Duluth.

A: I’ve lived in many different areas across the United States throughout my life, and compared to most of those places, Duluth is unique. What is most attractive to me are the hiking trails and the lake. I am a fan of the wildlife we have here, and I love getting out there and experiencing that as often as possible. I love walking the boardwalk in Canal Park in the summer.

Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?

A: When I’m not home painting or travelling for shows, I am often found playing video games, playing Magic the Gathering or going to movies in the winter and hiking, biking and swimming in the summer. However, the hills we have here do challenge my bike-riding quite a lot.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: I am collecting the Batman White Knight comic book series and trying to finish “The Walking Dead” graphic novels by Jay Bonansinga and Robert Kirkman.

Find Jason Longstreet online at artstation.com/bluejay20 or squareup.com/store/jlongstreet.

“Wonder Woman” by Jason Longstreet

NONREQUIRED HIKING ACCESSORIES

YOU’LL NEVER GO WITHOUT AGAIN

By Brooks Johnson

Shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen — you probably don’t need a checklist when you take off for a quick hike. But your next favorite outdoors accessory could still be out there, hanging on a rack, looking for adventure. Here are just a few somewhat-necessary things you can buy around town that will make you wonder how you ever walked without.

The second half of a can of beer on a warm day is an absolute buzzkill. And if you’re trying to get your buzz on in the backwoods, there’s no frosty mug in the freezer to save you. Luckily, for the hiker who doesn’t want to put their beer down, there is the Yeti Rambler Colster, which promises “the last sip is as cold as the first.” This is, in essence, a heavy-duty beer koozie that securely fastens a can or bottle inside coldpreserving stainless steel. You’ll be the besthydrated* hiker on the trail. (*Beer is actually dehydrating. Use with caution.)

1. COLSTER — TRAILFITTERS

2. BUGPANTS — DULUTH PACK

Is your beekeeper getup too heavy to go hiking in? Do you just refuse to wear pants or socks on the trail? Try BugPants by BugWear, mesh trousers and socks that will keep the flies and mosquitoes at bay. Outsmart those pests while convincing yourself that yes, shorts and sandals make sense in the woods even during the mightiest hatch. Bonus: You don’t actually have to leave the house wearing these, since they pack down into a manageable, hand-held size complete with a case. Not that you should be embarrassed to leave the house wearing BugPants.

3. PACK TOWEL — DULUTH PACK/ YOUR BATHROOM

Maybe you already do this, but it never occurred to me that I could come home far less dirty following an outdoors adventure by simply packing a piece of fabric to mop up my sweat and brush off the mud. Duluth Pack sells a variety of sizes of ultralight towels, a boon for the packweight-conscious backpacker. If you’re going outand-back on Park Point or up the Piedmont trails, a towel from home might also suffice. I mean, not the nice towel. Maybe the one that smells a bit?

This is no frivolous, questionably beneficial accessory, but it deserves attention here — and respect. This is the fanny pack on steroids. A friend in Montana started carrying a fanny pack into the wilderness many years ago, and soon she was packing it everywhere. I knew then we’d moved past cool and ironic and into purely utilitarian territory with the hip-hugging zippered pouch. Frost River takes it all a step further with a pack that can hold two big water bottles bookending a bounty of storage space. The benefits are obvious: “The pack keeps your essentials close at hand, the weight off your shoulders.”

Because nature’s case isn’t good enough, here’s some added security for that mid-hike fuel. It looks like a banana, it holds a banana, and wouldn’t you know, it comes with a slot to make frozen bananas on a stick possible. This really is the best way to say “this perfect package of potassium and carbohydrates matters to me.” Plus, nothing says love for nature like yet another unnecessary use of plastic. For further research, check out the social media savvy GroupOn displayed when customers started asking subversive questions about a similar product. “It can also be used for small cucumbers or very wide carrots,” this true genius among us wrote.

SERVICES

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TREATMENTS

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• Personality

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• Self Esteem

• Smoking Cessation

• Stress

• Trauma

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• Autism

4. LUMBAR PACK — FROST RIVER

5. BANANA SAVER — TRAILFITTERS

Brooks Johnson is a reporter for the Duluth News Tribune.

SUMMER DRINK RECIPES

BY LAKE AIRE BOTTLE SHOPPE

LAKE SHORE SLING

1.5 oz Vikre Spruce Gin

.75 oz Tattersall Orange Crema

1 oz Pineapple Juice

.5 oz Lime Juice

.5 oz Simple Syrup

Rosemary

Combine all ingredients, shake and strain into highball glass. Garnish with Filthy Black Cherry and rosemary.

CUCUMBER BASIL GIMLET

2 oz Vikre Ovrevann Aquavit

.75 oz Lime Juice

.5 oz Simple Syrup

3 Cucumber slices

Combine all ingredients, shake and strain into coup glass. Garnish with cucumber and rosemary.

APRICOT GIMLET

1.5 oz Vikre Juniper Gin

.5 oz Bailoni Apricot Liqueur

.75 oz Lemon Juice

.25 oz Simple Syrup Mint

Combine all ingredients, shake and strain into rocks glass. Garnish with mint leaf.

BLACKBERRY SMASH

2 oz Panther St. Paul Bourbon

.5 oz Lemon Juice

.5 oz Simple Syrup

4 Blackberries

Muddle blackberries, add remaining ingredients. Shake and strain into rocks glass, and garnish with mint.

MEZCAL MULE

1.5 oz Fidencio Classico

.75 oz Lime Juice

.75 oz Passion Fruit

Simple Syrup

2 oz Ginger Beer

Combine first 4 ingredients, shake and strain into highball glass or mule mug. Top with ginger beer, garnish with rosemary.

IT’S ALWAYS BETTER WITH HONOR BRAND

1.5 oz Vikre Honor Brand

.75 oz Fratelli Maraschino

.75 oz Lemon Juice

.5 oz Honey Syrup

Combine all ingredients, shake and strain into coup glass. Garnish with Filthy Black Cherry.

PLANTER’S PUNCH

2.5 oz Angostura 7yr

1 oz Lime Juice

.75 oz Demarera Syrup

.25 oz 11 Wells Allspice

2 dash Angostura Bitters

Mint

Combine all ingredients, shake and strain into highball glass. Garnish with mint sprig.

DULUTH’S PRETTIEST INSTAGRAM SPOTS

Photos courtesy of Duluth News Tribune

Glensheen

Brighton Beach

Hartley Nature Center

Canal Park

Bayfront Festival Park

Rose garden

Enger Tower

Hawk Ridge

Lakewalk lighthouse

Park Point

Veterans memorial

Lakewalk

SS William A. Irvin

Park Point beach

Seven Bridges Road

Aerial Lift Bridge

DULUTH RELICS

COOKING UP THE PAST WITH COMMUNITY RECIPES

By Kathleen Murphy

My mother was moving into a smaller place, so she offered me a stack of old cookbooks. Among them were three spiral bound books with well-used, ragged cardboard covers. “These will have recipes from people you might remember,” she said. “I can’t bring myself to throw them away, but I don’t have room for all of them anymore.”

Many of us likely still have a few of these cookbooks, even though they were a little inconvenient. The spiral bindings often tangled together, the cardboard-paper pages attracted stains, and let’s face it — there were just so many of them. A common giveaway or fundraising item.

So why was my mother having a hard time parting with them?

“I still have all my old cookbooks,” said Patty Salo Downs, a former Minnesota Power home economist. “They’re mostly beat-up, written in and stained, but I would never throw them away.”

The creation of a series of community cookbooks was a large part of Downs’ job, a way the power company reached out and connected with the community.

“We taught classes on cooking with a microwave, which was a newer technology at the time,” she said. “We’d go to schools and do community education; sometimes we’d even have to lug the microwave with us for demos. We always had a Minnesota Power cookbook, and we’d give them away for free to anyone who wanted one.”

Many people did want one. Long before Pinterest and food blogging, people shared recipes through oldfashioned recipe cards and community cookbooks. Those cookbooks — or as we like to call them in the Northland, the church cookbook, regardless of the organization that printed them — are as much a part of a Midwestern kitchen as the stove.

Flipping through pages transports

me to another era. The cookbooks hailing from the 1970s and ’80s read like a menu from a church potluck, names I’d long forgotten tagged after each recipe. Hotdishes were king, though the cookbooks I found mainly referred to them as casseroles – the word “hotdish” only popping up occasionally. Perhaps, deep down, we’ve always thought “casserole” sounded more formal?

It was also a time when salads weren’t green. Sometimes “salad” implied a pasta side dish, but more often, it was a dessert-type casserole, stuffed with ingredients like Jell-O, marshmallows, and occasionally even candy. A recipe found in one of the Minnesota Power cookbooks was simply titled “Cookie Salad.” It boasted five simple ingredients: vanilla pudding, buttermilk, mandarin oranges, whipped cream, and of course — cookies. Everyone I informally polled had fond memories of this salad, as well as anything containing the words “Jell-O fluff.”

The cookbooks from this era also hinted that we were in a period of change. Traditional Midwestern recipes still prevailed, but a new section had emerged, usually labelled “Ethnic” or “International.” Many of the recipes in this section still somehow called for cream of mushroom soup and a full cup of cheese, but their presence gave us a snapshot into the mood of the time, a point at which Midwesterners were beginning to feel a little more adventurous and perhaps invite a bit of the outside world into their kitchens.

The cookbooks from earlier centuries, on the other hand, were a treasure trove of dishes we typically only know through memories of

grandparents telling us about the great foods they used to eat. Rollmopse and Sillsallad, for example. The first was labelled as a German dish, the second as simply Scandinavian. Both, of course, contained herring. Sunbuckles and Plowtuckers graced the dessert page, as well as a cake straight-forwardly called “Eggless, Milkless, and Butterless Cake: My Mother’s World War One Cake.” One of the books contained directions on how to pickle any tongue.

The joy of cooking from a church cookbook might not always be the actual recipes, or even the resulting dish, but rather the experience shared with people before you.

“I can certainly go on the internet and find a cream of mushroom soup recipe,” Downs said. “But when I use a recipe from my old

cookbooks, I have a tangible connection to someone I once knew. Sometimes that person isn’t with us anymore, and I feel I’m honoring their memory by re-creating their recipes.”

continued on page 17

The newest cookbook from Junior League, from 2012, is still available to purchase

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN MURPHY

Overnight Casserole

Found in the Sieur Du Lhut Tricentennial Cookbook

1 c. raw rice

4 c. milk

1½ lbs. ground beef

⅛ tsp. pepper

½ c. cheddar cheese

½ c. chopped onion

1 c. grated carrots

¼ c. chopped green pepper

1¼ tsp. salt

2 c. potato chips

¼ tsp. garlic salt

Combine all ingredients and place in a large casserole or 9x13 pan. Let stand in refrigerator overnight. Bake 1½-2 hours at 300 degrees covered. Uncover last 30 minutes and sprinkle with chips. Serve with sauce of 1 can each: cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup and ½ c. milk. Blend and heat.

Recipe donated by: Woman’s Assoc. of Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Duluth, Minnesota

Broccoli-Rice Casserole

Found in The Skyline Sampler: The Women of First United Methodist Church, Duluth, Minnesota

2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen, chopped broccoli

1 medium onion, chopped

2 c. cooked rice

1 small jar Cheez Whiz

(or 1 cup cheddar cheese)

⅓ c. butter or margarine

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Cook broccoli until crisp and drain well. Melt butter and saute onion. Mix all ingredients together and place in a 2 qt. casserole. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Can be prepared ahead of time and baked later. Serves 8

Recipe donated by: Jean Merry, Luella Million, Roxanne Wren

Hotdishes made from recipes found in the Sieur Du Lhut Tricentennial Cookbook (1979). Top: Broccoli, Cheese and Rice Casserole; Bottom: Overnight Casserole.

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN MURPHY

continued from page 15

It can be hard to find a modern church cookbook today. One local organization that still carries on the tradition is the Junior League of Duluth. They published a community cookbook in 2012 titled “The Best of Thymes: Celebrating 90 Years of the Junior League of Duluth.”

“It’s a compilation of the four cookbooks we’ve published in the past,” said Rita Rosenberger, a sustaining member of the Junior League of Duluth and one of the members who worked on releasing the cookbook. “There is something special about the community behind these books. There’s just more history in these pages than there is for the recipes I find online.”

She brought out her copies of the Junior League of Duluth cookbooks, showing me how well-used they are. “Also, I love to write my own notes in these books: The date I made the recipe, my substitutions, sometimes just a note to myself,” she said.

A recipe titled “Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes” has the words “Yummo! Used purple potatoes” penciled over it.

Now that I had a few church cookbooks to call my own, I tried a few of the recipes for my own family. The big hit? Cookie Salad.

Cookie Salad

Found in Look What’s Cooking: Favorite Recipes of Active and Retired Employees of Minnesota Power

1 pkg. (3-½ oz.) instant vanilla pudding

1 carton (8 oz.) whipped topping

1 cup buttermilk

½ pkg. fudge striped cookies (break into large pieces)

1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained

Mix pudding with buttermilk. Add mandarin oranges, whipped topping and broken cookies. Refrigerate. This is a delicious sweet salad.

The Cookie Salad from “Look What’s Cooking: Favorite Recipes of Active and Retired Employees of Minnesota Power” (1984)

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN MURPHY

Kathleen Murphy is a freelance writer who loves anything Duluth.

Recipe donated by: Adelia Lipponen of Cloquet

SUMMER WEATHER TAKES MUSIC OUTSIDE

By Tony Bennett

Summer is right around the corner, and that means the outdoorconcert season is upon us. All year, musicians wait for the chance to get out into the sun and fresh air and ply their trade in an environment that is unlike the dark bars they usually lurk in. And audiences look forward to it, too, judging by the amount of festivals and other outdoor events that come around each year.

Southwire performs near the end of 100-foot pier on the grounds of Glensheen Mansion in Duluth. CLINT AUSTIN / CAUSTIN@DULUTHNEWS.COM

Bayfront Festival Park is always a place to see lots of great live music, each summer — whether your tastes run toward reggae, blues, rock, or otherwise, there’s always an event going on. But there are other venues that have established themselves as being live-music hotspots in the green months. Glensheen Mansion is one that in recent years has focused on presenting a slate of performers in the elements as part of their Concerts on the Pier series.

“Concerts on the Pier features Minnesota music every Wednesday night in July on the waters of Lake Superior,” said Emma Deaner, event sales manager at Glensheen. “Free outdoor summer concerts have been happening at Glensheen for many years. However, in recent years, all of the bands began playing on the 100-foot pier extending into Lake Superior. Each of the featured artists have a Duluth connection, making the series a showcase for our region and Minnesota’s musical talent. Concertgoers now come in the thousands to line Glensheen’s Lake Superior shoreline while kayakers and boaters enjoy the water. Concerts on the Pier is a celebration of the lake, local music, one of Duluth’s historic locations, and Minnesota. This experience provides northerners a way to experience Minnesota culture at its finest.”

Deaner herself has performed (with her band Superior Siren), as have acts such as Haley, The 4onthefloor, and many more. It’s a series that has gained popularity as time has gone on, and it has helped Glensheen get even more people to their historic estate during a prime tourism season.

“This concert series has grown appreciation for the estate as a true community center, all while actualizing our mission to inspire Minnesota pride by preserving and sharing the legacy of Glensheen, and to serve as an incubator for positive change,” Deaner said,

The 1,000-foot American Integrity enters the Duluth Harbor as blues fans listen to the music at the Bayfront Blues Festival. CLINT AUSTIN / CAUSTIN@DULUTHNEWS.COM

Celtic folk group Willowgreen performs for a crowd of more then 1,500 at Chester Bowl. JUSTIN HAYWORTH / DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE

adding that the Congdon family, who originally built the estate, were supporters of local artists.

“The best part,” Deaner said, “is the sense of community one feels when everyone comes out of the woodwork on warm summer nights to celebrate the unique place we call home.”

They do that at Chester Bowl, too. The Chester Creek Concert Series is a free, family-friendly event on Tuesday evenings that has established itself as a longtime favorite for folks who want to listen to live music outdoors. This summer will be the series’ 36th year.

“Our goal is to bring the entire community together every Tuesday night for an evening of excellent, free live music,” said Dave Schaeffer, executive director of the Chester Bowl Improvement Club. “In 2017, we averaged 520 in attendance at each show. We deliberately mix genres, showcasing the best musicians in the region, and balance out returning favorites with acts new to Chester Bowl’s stage,” he said.

This year, performers include Coyote, Alamode, and Feeding Leroy.

“There is no other venue in Duluth quite as family-friendly as Chester Bowl,” Schaeffer said. “The setting itself is beautiful, with the stage nestled next to the creek between two hillsides. Many people tell us that part of the reason they keep coming back every week and every year is because of the concert setting itself.”

Throw in the one-off street dances and festivals that pop up here and there all summer, and it makes for another outdoor-concert season positively packed with music.

Tony Bennett is a Duluth musician and freelance writer. Read his weekly album reviews in Thursday’s A&E section of the Duluth News Tribune.

NORTHERN LIGHTS

INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF SEEING THIS MOST SPECTACULAR OF NORTHERN SPECTACLES

By Bob King

Northern lights happen when a solar storm called a flare or a gash in the sun’s atmosphere called a coronal hole sends high speed streams of tiny, subatomic particles in great, ghostly waves toward the Earth. Normally, Earth’s magnetic defenses shed those particles and we’re no worse for the wear, but occasionally they link into our magnetic field and make a beeline for the atmosphere.

When the torrent collides with oxygen and nitrogen atoms and molecules about 60-200 miles overhead, they get excited. Excited atoms “relax” by releasing energy as light. That’s exactly what happens in the aurora. Both oxygen and nitrogen shoot off tiny jolts of red and green light. Taken together, they create the amazing colors and shapes of the aurora.

A vivid pink curtain of northern lights unfolds across Lake Superior at dawn on the morning of July 15, 2012. At right, the moon, Venus (below moon) and Jupiter create a glitter path in the lake’s calm waters. A large solar flare sent a storm of particles toward the Earth, sparking auroras through the night. BOB KING

Galileo himself gave us the name aurora borealis back in 1619. Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn, and “borealis” is a Greek word that refers to the “north” or “north wind.” If you’ve ever seen the aurora, it often begins as a glow above the northern horizon that resembles dawn. There’s also an aurora australis or southern lights that appears at the same time as the northern version.

The best time to see them is within a day or two of a large flare, a massive explosion in the sun’s lower atmosphere with the power of millions of nuclear bombs. Flares often arise in large sunspot groups. But since we’re now near the low end of the 11-year solar cycle, there aren’t very many big sunspots. That’s why the aurora is less frequent now than a few years ago. Still, it can occur anytime.

Auroras are most common in the Arctic and Antarctic regions but during strong activity, can work their way south to the northern U.S. Northern Minnesota is an excellent place to see at least a half dozen shows a year. You can check my Astro Bob blog (astrobob.areavoices.com) and Spaceweather (spaceweather.com) for alerts about upcoming storms and potential auroras.

Or you can check the Planetary Kp index at swpc.noaa.gov/products/ planetary-k-index. Kp is an indicator of magnetic activity high in the atmosphere. It’s rated from 0 to 9, with “0” meaning no chance for an aurora to “9” for a raging, sky-filling storm of light. If the Kp is “3” or less, it shows up as a green bar at the site. Kp=4 is yellow, and 5 and above are red. Want to know if an aurora’s likely to show? If you see red bars reaching to 5 or higher on the right side of the graph, it’s time to head outside for a look! That simple.

To photograph the aurora, you’ll need a camera, tripod and preferably a wide-angle lens, though a “normal” lens will work OK, too. Your camera must be able to take time exposures of at least 15 seconds.

First, use the camera’s auto-focus feature to focus on a distant object like the moon or a cloud, then click your lens into “M” or manual mode.

A brilliant “pleated” auroral arc bows across the northern sky on Sept. 8, 2015. Auroras form when high speed particles from the solar wind or solar flares make it past Earth’s magnetic defenses and excite atoms in the upper atmosphere, causing them to give off energy we see as the aurora. BOB KING / RKING@DULUTHNEWS.COM

You’re now set for the night. If there’s no moon out, secure the camera to the tripod, set the lens to M and focus on a bright star using the camera’s “live view” function. You’re now ready to take pictures of the aurora.

Set the ISO to 800 or 1600, the lens to its widest setting (usually f/2.8, 3.5 or 4.5) and expose from 10-30 seconds. Check the camera’s back viewing screen to make sure your exposures are in the ballpark.

I do a lot of aurora watching from dirt roads in the countryside north of the city of Duluth. Your best bet is to drive north of town since most northern light displays happen in the northern sky. Good places to look are up Rice Lake Road in the Island Lake area, Pequaywan Lake Road and the Fish Lake area. You can also drive up the North Shore to a pull-out and watch from there.

Seeing a great aurora display takes time, patience and a willingness to sacrifice sleep. Sometimes the lights will start out looking unimpressive, but don’t let them fool you. Often, if you stick around, you’ll see an amazing show. Make a habit of looking up at night, and I promise you that sooner rather than later, you’ll have your fill of one of nature’s grandest spectacles.

Bob King is the Duluth News Tribune’s photo editor and an amateur astronomer.

BOOK SIGNINGS

Bob King will be signing copies of his new book, “Wonders of the Night Sky You Must See Before You Die,” at the following events.

Thursday, April 26

1-3:30 p.m. Duluth News Tribune

Sunday, April 29

1-3 p.m. Bookstore at Fitger’s

Saturday, May 5

2:30-4 p.m. Zenith Bookstore

Wednesday, May 9

6-7 p.m. Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium at UMD followed by a free sky show

Rays of northern lights reflect off the ice on Eagle Lake north of Duluth on March 17, 2015. BOB KING / RKING@DULUTHNEWS.COM

CHARTER A BOAT FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

By Beverly Godfrey

Duluth sits on the biggest freshwater lake in the world. You ever want to get out onto it? Anyone can do it without investing in a boat. A multitude of area charter captains will take you out on custom-made adventures.

Customers will have a few responsibilities before showing up for a day of fishing. They’ll need a fishing license (requirements vary, so ask about your specific outing), snacks and beverages, sunglasses, sunscreen and clothing appropriate for the day. That last one can be tricky for some guests.

“Tourists will show up without a jacket,” said Charlie Nelson of Nelson’s Guide and Charter Service. He emphasized the importance of bringing warm clothing because even if it’s 80 degrees on shore, it can get cold out on the lake.

Nelson said he starts getting calls when there’s a hint of spring in the air and people start to believe it actually will get warm again. He said everyone has heard of the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” and being out on a lake is a quintessential way to enjoy a Minnesota vacation.

“Mostly it’s going to be people who like to fish, who don’t have the resources

ADVENTURE

ONLINE

Find the perfect charter fishing match for you:

• visitduluth.com/attractions/charter-fishing

• duluthcharterfishingguides.com

said they were planning to have the fish mounted.

Some of Nelson’s favorite “big fish” stories also involve young children. He recalled an 8-year-old out with his grandfather who “fair and square” caught a 28.5-inch walleye.

“My goal is always to make it educational and enjoyable,” Nelson said. “I kind of tailor the whole day to what they want to do and what they would like to see.”

Nelson books days for four-hour or eight-hour blocks. He doesn’t doublebook days, which he said makes things more casual. “I’m not staring at my watch,” he said.

Bambenek said people get nostalgic out of the big lake: “Lake Superior is kind of awe-inspiring.”

to go fishing,” he said. “You sit in Duluth and think, ‘Man that looks like fun to be out there.’”

Parker Bambenek of Superior Pursuits Charter Fishing said having patience and a good attitude are key to having a fun day. He has seen it all when it comes to levels of experience, from people who have never held a fishing rod to tournament pros. His youngest angler was 3.

“There’s really nothing to be nervous about,” Bambenek said. “I’m a nice guy. I’ll answer any questions, be honest, tell you what’s going on with the fishing on the lake.”

He said he had a young boy catch a 15-pound lake trout last summer. “Everybody got really silent when the fish got in the boat,” he said. “They were flabbergasted how big this fish was.”

After the shock wore off, the boat exploded with excitement. Bambenek

Beverly Godfrey is features editor of Duluth.com magazine.

Nelson’s Guide and Charter Service shared this photo of Duluth's Ryan Forstom with a 26-inch walleye he caught and released in June 2017.

Superior Pursuits Charter Fishing shared this photo of a customer with an 8-pound lake trout.

NORTHLAND MEN COMPETE FOR BEST BEARD AT ‘BREWS AND BEARDS’

By Michelle Truax

Where there’s a beer, there’s a beard. It’s kind of a rule up north, right?

Well, the guys behind Duluth Beard Company are giving us a whole gaggle of reasons to celebrate our bearded brethren. They recently hosted their first Brews and Beards event at Lake Superior Brewing Company.

DBC co-owners Scott Rabold and Josh Kirkpatrick invited gentlemen near and far to show off their facial hair, enjoy a pint of beer and try out their products.

hair rivalry couldn’t hurt.

“We needed something to keep people’s attention and have fun, so we threw together a beard competition,” Rabold said. “We had three different categories: best over six inches, best under six inches, and then best partial — you know, a mustache or goatee. And people started signing up when they came in through the door.”

“It was all really spontaneous and a lot of fun,” Kirkpatrick added. “It’s part of our existence, so why not have a good time with it.”

And for a little extra ambiance, Andy Hauswirth got the crowd grooving with live music.

Since this contest was a surprise to a few competitors, it seemed only fair to make sure they were looking top-notch. So Rabold and Kirkpatrick enlisted help from Randall Anderson of Dapper Jacks Barber Shop.

After enjoying a trim from Dapper Jacks Barber Shop, Brad won overall Best Beard by a popular vote.

Jack nearly beat out Brad for Best Beard thanks to a lively crowd cheering him on. He was just shy of the top prize.

“I’m very picky about who I let touch my beard, and there’s one guy in town who’s phenomenal,” Rabold said of Anderson’s work. “I thought maybe we can get him … to get people into the concept of keeping up your beard and having it look good, and not just Grizzly Adams.”

Unless Grizzly Adams is what you’re going for. In that case, the guys at DBC are behind you 100 percent.

“I know people that let them grow and bush out and see how big and thick they can get,” Rabold said. “But no matter how you do it, you have to own it. It’s whatever you want to do with it. You have to be OK with what you look like in the mirror.”

And according to Kirkpatrick, times have changed.

“Mainstreams Fashions for Men is one of our retails spots. It’s the concept [that] you can still wear a suit and take care of your beard … and be presentable. There’s no reason successful people that wear three-piece suits to work are required to shave. It’s not a social faux pas anymore.”

DBC’s beard products are all handmade in small batches and packaged onsite. They sell two types of beard oils and balms, as well as a mustache wax. Current locations include Duluth Pack, Lake It, Vikre Distillery, Electric Fetus, Canal Park Brewery, Language of Hair, Makers Mercantile, Mainstream Fashions for Men and Verde Salon.

Find them on Instagram and Facebook as “Duluth Beard Company,” or email them at duluthbeardcompany.com.

Michelle Truax is a multimedia producer for Duluth Media Group.

Dale, sporting a fresh trim from Dapper Jacks Barber Shop, came in second for beards under six inches.

Eric took first place for beards over six inches.

Nate took first place for beards under six inches.

Phil was the runner up for beards over six inches.

PLATED

MARTHA’S DAUGHTER JOINS A NEW ERA OF NEW AMERICAN IN DULUTH

By Dennis Kempton

It wasn’t all that long ago that downtown Duluth was pockmarked with the likes of McDonald’s. And legend says — since this was before I moved here from the East Coast — there was also a Burger King. In the past 15 years, the culinary profile of the Zenith City has matured. The latest surprise to take up residence is Martha’s Daughter, in the Historic Arts and Theatre district, in a resurgent and increasingly cosmopolitan downtown. Nearly impossible to remember as soon as I walked into the restaurant was its former life at 107 E. Superior St. as the Original Coney Island, where sleepy, red-eyed locals soaked up omelets, eggs and toast in the early morning hours and where one could drop in for fries and a coney. Martha’s Daughter’s chef de cuisine, Nyanyika Banda, took the leap to remodel brick and mortar in an urban style that gently urges Duluth off the gritty trail and on to modern sleekness. I won’t say it’s done up in a New York state of mind because those comparisons are overcooked. The luminous orbs suspended from the tin ceiling reflect a dramatic cool calm that’s still comfortable enough for locals mingling among the inevitable tourists coming in due course. And the soothing beats of world music would take down any “you betcha!”- marinated Northlander’s anxiety about the decor and the cuisine. And it is cuisine. New American. And that brings with it all it’s meant to imply — diversity and adventure.

I was seated quickly in the lively and full restaurant when I walked through the door and immediately felt a communal vibe the row of tables for two inspired. Dining is a social experience. Embrace it.

My server was eager to tell me about the specials without me having to ask. She was passionate about the food, as if she’d pulled me off the street herself

to eat there. I had planned to ask her for recommendations but got the sense she’d recommend all of it. I settled on the corn cake and then the lake trout. “Are there any dietary restrictions or allergies I should tell the kitchen about?” my server asked. It’s the first time I’ve ever been asked. I liked it so much, I almost wished I’d had an allergy.

The interior of Martha’s Daughter, a new restaurant in downtown Duluth, features a mix of old and new. CLINT AUSTIN / CAUSTIN@DULUTHNEWS.COM

She returned moments later with pickled carrots and hummus for an amuse-bouche, both house-made. Sweet and vinegary with a hit of heat, the carrots and hummus gave me that thing food should: flavor that builds and lingers until you notice it’s gone. Arriving on the heels of my highkicking carrots was the corn cake. I’m a native southerner. I expected something akin to my beloved cornbread. I was wrong. This savory Latin-American dish is made from masa de maiz, a corn flour that is a LatinAmerican workhorse ingredient for the things we love about that cuisine, including tortillas and tamales. The cake was moist and rich; not dense, but substantial. Complimenting the rich familiarity of the corn were the earthiness of black beans and pinto beans. In a small dish, balance of flavors is a requirement. The cake avoids being a one-note experience. The zing of pickled red onion, the brightness and freshness of queso fresco — a creamy unaged white cheese, and a tomatillo crema — a foamy cream with what is essentially a Mexican tomato, brought together a pleasantly composed dish that marries comfort food with bold, southern-border adventure.

The key to cooking lake trout is having a screaming-hot oiled pan and a dry fish with skin side down. Fish is easy to ruin in the wrong pan and with any moisture on the surface. My trout was seared to a delicious doneness with crisp skin. It was a beautiful consistency and opacity and flaked effortlessly. The fish was served on a flavorful bed of celeriac, swiss chard and fried capers. Celeriac is the unsung hero of this dish,

with its distinct notes of celery and parsley composed with that superhero of Mediterranean cooking, swiss chard. The heartiness and earthiness of these big, leafy green vegetables is balanced with the intensity of capers. Fried capers in olive oil intensify in their saltiness, seasoning the entire dish in layers.

continued on page 32

Corn Cake at Martha’s Daughter.

PHOTO BY DENNIS KEMPTON

VANILLA BEAN, DULUTH

BRINGING CASUAL, FAMILY-FRIENDLY FARE TO DULUTH’S MOUNT ROYAL NEIGHBORHOOD

By Andrea Busche

Duluth’s new Vanilla Bean restaurant is anything but, well, vanilla. Cozily nestled into the Mount Royal Shopping Center, their kitchen has been cooking up a variety of American and Scandinavian dishes since opening on Feb. 9. And its ambitious owners are not new to the business, already owning several local restaurants.

FRESH LOOK AND FEEL

The longtime restaurant space has been freshened up and features black booths, dark wood tables, light wood floors, exposed beams, and grey and maroon walls. Paying homage to local athletes, one of the restaurant’s hallways features sports jerseys, including the UMD Bulldogs.

There is a beautiful white bar where patrons can grab a cocktail or a specialty coffee. Baristas and bartenders can whip up anything from a salted caramel latte to a bacon-wrapped, mini doughnut bloody Mary. A grab and go counter rotates sandwiches and desserts.

The menu features classic Minnesota fare such as tater-tot hotdish and pasties, along with breakfast foods, burgers and seafood. They offer locally brewed beer, wine and cocktails, and specialty coffees crafted from Gene Hicks Gourmet Coffee in Ely. Their menu, offering both brunches and dinners, is an adventure for every diner, and the restaurant has rapidly established itself as a neighborhood favorite.

FOURTH ADDITION TO COUPLE’S PORTFOLIO

If you’re from around these parts, the Vanilla Bean name is most likely familiar. Co-owners and spouses Jason Vincent and Jeff Anderson began their adventures as restauranteurs in 2014, when they purchased Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors. This restaurant, which has been open since 1998, is a well-known dining destination because of unique offerings such as ovenbaked omelets, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, soups, sandwiches and pan-seared fish.

After finding great success with their first venture, they opened the Vanilla Bean Coffee House in the Fitger’s complex in July 2015. Last year, the couple took a turn from their Vanilla Bean brand when they opened their upscale, nautical-themed restaurant, The Boat Club, in the Fitger’s complex.

To the delight of its regulars, the Vanilla Bean menu and ingredients are the same as in Two Harbors, though the menu is revisited and updated seasonally.

The Duluth location has about 50 employees, including an executive chef and line cooks who have all received special culinary training. Jason and Jeff were pleased to share that both the chef and the general manager are women — a rarity in the restaurant industry.

RIGHT LOCATION, RIGHT TIME

The restaurateurs were still celebrating the opening of The Boat Club, and certainly not interested in operating another restaurant, when the Woodland Avenue location became available. They were dining at the former Northern Waters Restaurant when Jason commented to Jeff, “You know, this would make a perfect Vanilla Bean.”

Vanilla Bean Duluth opened almost exactly one year after The Boat Club. With this new addition, the “family” of dining establishments for the Anderson-Vincents is complete, at least for now. “We will not be celebrating another grand opening in February 2019,” Jeff said emphatically.

THE FOOD

I dined recently at the Vanilla Bean with photographer Michelle Truax, who is both a vegan and teetotaler. I am neither! Thankfully, the restaurant offered options for both of us — and everyone in between.

Jason Vincent and Jeff Anderson, Vanilla Bean owners.

continued from page 29

Finished with a luxurious beurre blanc, reminiscent in texture to that of a light hollandaise ringing the fish, it pulled together all the flavors into a perfect bite.

The simplicity of Martha’s Daughter’s decor and the effervescent ease of its staff and ambiance provide the restrained canvas needed to convey flavorfully complex food that is genuinely and caringly composed with dramatic and unpretentious presentation at affordable prices. It’s a compelling spot for date nights, business dinners and catching up with friends over small plates. It’s a true ambassador for New American cuisine — that diverse marrying of cultures and flavors that define the country’s (and the city’s) emerging culinary surprises.

Dennis Kempton is a Duluth freelance journalist and culture writer.

Lake Trout at Martha’s Daughter.

PHOTO BY DENNIS KEMPTON

continued from page 31

After some intense conversation with Jeff, Jason and our server, Jo Jones, Michelle opted for the Ricotta and Mushroom Gnudi with a dairyfree Ricotta. From the menu: Ricotta and Mushroom Gnudi - Ricotta dumplings and Maitake mushrooms with carrot risotto.

Michelle’s entrée came with either soup or salad. She chose the salad, which featured a generous spring mix topped with cukes, tomatoes and homemade vegan croutons. The vegan dressing option was a balsamic vinaigrette.

Michelle commented that the Gnudi dumplings were crisp and flaky on the outside, while rich and creamy inside. There was a hint of garlic, along with other delectable seasonings detected in each bite. The risotto was creamy, offering a strong mushroom flavor, with chunks of carrots and mushrooms throughout. The food was artfully surrounded by a halo of pretty microgreens.

“The consistency of the dumplings is like a little fried potato ball,” Michelle said. “If I got a cup

of these at the fair, I’d be pretty happy.”

She ordered a hot specialty coffee drink — a Chai Latte made with almond milk. “It’s very creamy,” she said. “It doesn’t taste vegan. There’s a strong clove flavor; it would make a good fall or winter drink. It’s comforting and rich, but light and frothy at the same time. It feels indulgent, and it’s freakin’ delicious.”

WALLEYE CAKES AND A BREW

I ordered the walleye cakes from the appetizer selection. From the menu: Hand-pattied cakes with braised walleye, red onion, carrot, celery and panko, topped with lemon dill cream sauce.

I was nervous about whether an appetizer could be a filling meal. Jo set me straight, and she was right; I was full for the entire night. This dish came with four generously-sized cakes with fluffy, lightly crisped edges. The walleye was diced into tiny pieces, and it blended well with the surrounding panko batter. The chunks of celery, carrot and onion were surprisingly

IF YOU GO:

Vanilla Bean is open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, and offers happy-hour specials

Monday-Friday, 4-6 p.m. Visit thevanillabean.com for more information.

large and added a nice crisp texture and fresh flavor to the cakes. The lemon dill cream sauce was rich and amazing, and I requested an additional serving on the side so I could dunk my cakes. I would highly recommend this dish.

I paired the walleye cakes with a Minnesota Gold Light. The light, straw-colored, smooth-drinking lager was a fresh complement to the fish cakes.

YOUR NEW NEIGHBORHOOD FAVORITE

With unique menu offerings, an approachable price point, and a comfy-casual setting, Vanilla Bean Duluth may just become your new favorite restaurant. And their famous brunch simply can’t be beat.

“We truly strive to create an experience for our customers,” Jeff said.

Jason echoed the thought, sharing simply, “We offer great food, at a great value, in a great environment.”

Andrea Busche is a Duluth freelance writer. She wrote this for The Vanilla Bean.

TEA FOR YOU

… OR TWO, OR THREE OR MORE

By Alison Stucke

Aspot of tea can refresh you when you’re hot, warm you when you’re cold, soothe you when you’re not feeling well, wake you up when you’re groggy, or calm you down for bedtime.

If you’re already a tea lover, or if you’d like to try sipping this divine beverage with more than 4,000 years of history, Duluth offers a delicious and healthful variety of tea options.

Here’s a peek into several tea-serving places you might enjoy.

THE SNOOTY FOX

1831 E. 8TH ST.

You don’t have to be “snooty” to enjoy tea, but this little fox knows the “good stuff” when it comes to tea! Located in the Chester Bowl area, The Snooty Fox offers tea of many types and tastes, including black teas, black blends, chai, dark teas, puer teas (a variety of dark tea, fermented and probiotic), Oolong and Oolong blends, green and green blends, white teas, mate (a South American beverage brewed like tea but which is actually not a tea but a stimulant), herbal blends, decaf teas, local blends, and Rooibos blends (Rooibos is a shrub-like plant native to the mountainous areas of the Western Cape province of South Africa).

To celebrate spring or early summer, try a Strawberry Rhubarb or Cherry Blossom tea latte, or the seasonal favorite “Evening on the Porch” (a blend of chamomile, rosehips, raspberry leaf, papaya leaf, peppermint, spearmint, blackberry leaf, passion flower, red clover, star anise, wild cherry bark, lemon peel, wintergreen, lavender, stevia and extracts).

You’ve got to try it to believe it! Bubble Tea, also known as boba tea, is a creamy, flavorful beverage, and The Snooty Fox serves it up cold in a delightful variety of flavors, including Creamsicle (with blood orange and French vanilla flavors), Vanillavender (with vanilla and lavender flavors), and many more (see thesnootyfoxteashop.com/bubble-tea/ for the entire menu). The ‘bubble’ part of the name refers to the chewy tapioca pearls or fruity Bursting Boba served in your drink.

The Snooty Fox tea shop. CLINT AUSTIN / CAUSTIN@DULUTHNEWS.COM

Four teas steep at The Snooty Fox. CLINT AUSTIN / CAUSTIN@DULUTHNEWS.COM

Using a 7-tea blend and repurposed oak barrels, The Snooty Fox also brews their own refreshing and probiotic Kombucha, a fermented tea beverage. They serve it on tap.

BEANER’S CENTRAL

324 N. CENTRAL AVE.

Beaner’s Central in West Duluth features Fair Trade and Certified Organic loose-leaf teas from Rishi tea, “fresh each season and direct from tea gardens around the world.” Sit down for a while and sip a cup of Rishi black tea such as Darjeeling 2nd Flush Muscatel; a green tea like Dragon Well (it’s pan-fried in woks); or a caffeinefree botanical blend such as organic Unity (a blend of spicy ginger, soothing licorice, and zesty lemongrass blended with immunity-enhancing Ayurvedic herbs).

If you’re in the mood for something spicy, bold, and robust, enjoy a Chai. Or, if you feel for something more calming, order Local Blend by Anahata Herbals, an herbal dispensary

in Duluth. This tea blends organic chamomile, rose hips, red clover blossoms, nettle, raspberry leaf, and locally wildcrafted cedar. It’s definitely a must-try. If it’s a foggy Duluth day, order a “London Fog” (Earl Grey

Organic Fair Trade tea with milk, soymilk, or almond milk).

Beaner’s Central also offers fabulous food and breakfast menus, as well as frequent live music. See beanerscentral. com for more information.

Beaner’s Central offers loose leaf tea options.

AMANDA HANSMEYER / DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE

WHOLE FOODS CO-OP

610 E. 4TH ST. AND 4426 GRAND AVE.

Health and well-being are the focus of the teas of Duluth’s Whole Foods Co-op. Kombucha tea on tap is the hot (well, actually it’s cold) news at both store locations. Snooty Fox and NessAlla kombucha are sold. Bring in your own container, or purchase one at the store.

In the Co-op’s refrigerator section, you’ll find a selection of bottled kombucha teas and other teas proponing to be good for the gut. In the hot tea section, find Yogi teas called “Stress Relief,” “Throat Ease,” “Breathe Deep” and others.

DULUTH KITCHEN CO.

MARKET GOURMET

600 E. SUPERIOR ST.

If you want to enjoy your tea at home, check out the loose tea and tea sachet selection at the Market Gourmet in Fitger’s Inn.

Blended in Two Harbors with ingredients from all over the world, Zenith Tea Works loose teas come in brown paper bags with windows to see the beautiful tea and charming names like “Misted Mountains in Days of Yore,” “Ice Queen,” “Grandpappy’s Pipe” and “The Agate Hunter.” They’re fun to try, and you’ll probably find a favorite. Don’t forget to purchase a tea infuser in the shop.

Organic teas from Octavia Tea Company come in silver tins designed to keep teas fresh and flavorful. These loose teas come in a variety of types and flavors including Tumeric Plum Berry, Silver Needle White Tea and Orange Spiced Black Tea.

If you like your tea delivered via sachet (rather than loose), explore the fine selection of Harney & Sons Fine Teas, including “Ginger Liquorice,” “Dragon Pearl Jasmine” and “Paris,” a fruity black tea, with caramel and vanilla flavors and a touch of lemony Bergamot, “suggestive of Parisian tea flavors in Paris tea shops.”

Sonoma’s Chardonnay and Rosé iced teas will be a delight in the upcoming warmer weather.

Also at this shop you’ll find a wonderful variety of specialty honeys and sweeteners for your tea.

Alison Stucke is a Duluth freelance writer.

DULUTH FIGURE SKATING CLUB MEMBERS LEARN A LESSON IN PERSEVERANCE

By Kelsey Roseth

Always get back up.

That’s the wisdom shared by 9-year-old Elizabeth Scudamore, a member of the Duluth Figure Skating Club. Last year, the young skater was at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center for the annual Northland Figure Skating Competition, which is one of the largest figure skating competitions in the Midwest. While warming up and practicing a move, she caught the wrong edge of her skate, lost her balance, and hit her head — hard.

“I had a concussion,” Scudamore said. Once the Duluth skater obtained treatment, she placed first in another competition a few months later. She wouldn’t give up — she said skating means too much to her. “You feel the beat of the music, and you can actually glide to the music on the ice, and it just makes me happy,” she said.

Scudamore is one of more than 100 dedicated figure skaters who are part of the DFSC, a group with a long, notable history in the Twin Ports. The 91-year-old organization was one of the first 10 figure skating clubs in the country, and it has produced many U.S. Figure Skating gold-testing medalists with several national and international competitors.

“It’s not only physical training, it’s also kind of mental training,” said Aili Arnovich, a 15-year-old skater from Superior. “If you mess up on something, you have to be able to forget about it and keep going,” she said.

Aili Arnovich in a split jump. BY KELSEY ROSETH

Inspired by her aunt, a figure skating coach and choreographer, Arnovich is pushing her limits to perfect her edges, spins, and jumps — and her hard work is paying off. She was recently awarded a gold medal in senior-level moves by USFS, the skating governing body. “You have to have good energy. You can’t push yourself too hard because you’ll get injured, but you can’t not push yourself because then you are going to start missing,” said Arnovich. She skates for 12 to 14 hours a week, six days a week.

That ingrained work ethic, and the commitment to challenging yourself, is shared by many of the club members. Young men and women in the club often serve as role models for their classmates and peers. “School is really important to me,” said Gabriella Lott, and 18-year-old gold medalist from Duluth who has skated since she was 2 years old. Today, she practices five to six days per week. “Even though [skating] is an individual sport, there is a group aspect to it. I grew up with pretty much everyone here, and some of my closest friends are the skaters at this rink” Lott said.

Gabriella

Year-round, beginning skaters practice for hours at Mars Lakeview Arena to master the fundamentals of skating. On top of that, the rule of thumb is that for each hour spent in a lesson, a skater should practice for one hour on their own. Many skaters often show up for additional classes or hire a USFS coach for a private or semi-private session.

Advanced skaters have 20 available hours of ice time for practice each week, and they participate in USFS-sanctioned test sessions. In addition, they participate in annual competitions, exhibitions, clinics, and parades — all guided by a small team of devoted coaches and club leaders.

“You’re everyone’s cheerleader,” said Alyssa Reder, the director of Learn to Skate Duluth. With about 25 years of experience, she grew up as a competitive figure skater and today serves as a professional coach. The joy in her position is “having them be successful, and having them fail, and working through that with them,” said Reder. She said there’s often a closeness, a bond, that’s developed between the coaches and their skaters, which makes the club experience more impactful. “There are things [the skaters] can’t always talk with their parents about, or they want to emotionally let you know, and we try to be that encouragement,” she said.

Simply put, figure skating is a lot of work — mentally and physically. Despite the graceful appearance of skaters gliding effortlessly along the ice, there’s more to figure skating than you may realize. Consider the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Many of us were glued to the television as we watched promising young skaters competing in one of the hardest challenges of their lives — and the points are calculated based on moves that can be hard to master.

For example, picture an ice skate. On each blade, there are four edges. Figure skating points are partially scored by the edge of the blade skaters use to leave the ice during a move, and the edge they land on. In this sport, small details matter.

Despite the challenges and complexities associated with training as a figure skater, to these young men and women, the triumphs make each struggle worth it. Elizabeth Scudamore was one of the many skaters who experienced a failure and kept pushing forward. She was moved to write about her concussion experience and sent the story to USFS’s Skating Magazine. “I wrote how much I love to skate,” she said. Her message prompted DFSC to have each skater write their own #GetUp story, in line with a national campaign to motivate figure skaters and cheer on their success. With figure skating, falls, misses and fails happen often, and skaters learn from a young age what perseverance can accomplish.

For more information on the DFSC, visit: duluthfsc.org.

Kelsey Roseth is a Duluth freelance multimedia journalist and writer.

Learn to Skate Duluth skaters get their test sheets at the end of a session.

PHOTOS BY KELSEY ROSETH

Skater Madeline Manion performs a leg up spin.

Coach Alyssa Reder talks on the ice with an adult skating student.

COLLEGE OF ST. SCHOLASTICA JOINS ‘SWIPE OUT HUNGER’ CAMPAIGN

By Abigail Blonigen

While people often joke about the college student’s reliance on ramen noodles, the situation may not be a laughing matter. As the price and demand of higher education increases, so do other monetary problems such as food insecurity.

At the College of St. Scholastica, student body president Jason Chavez-Cruz took note of this upon the release of the Boynton College Student Health Survey in 2015. It stated 22.1 percent of St. Scholastica traditional students reported worrying about whether their food would run out before they had money to buy more; 14.7 percent reported experiencing a food shortage in which they did not have money to purchase more.

The 2017 report of the biannual survey reported that those numbers had changed to 23.7 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively.

“Since freshman year, I’ve known people that don’t have food, friends that don’t have food, that can’t eat,” Chavez-Cruz said.

This concern led him to create a task force within St. Scholastica’s Student Senate to tackle the issue of food insecurity. While St. Scholastica does have a student food shelf, Chavez-Cruz emphasized the need for hot, fresh meals. This is how he came across “Swipe Out Hunger.”

Meal swipes are used in the Greenview Dining Room at the College of St. Scholastica. One swipe is good for one all-you-can-eat meal.

Swipe Out Hunger is an organization that began at the University of California-Los Angeles in 2009, in which students used their meal cards to buy sandwiches for homeless people in their community. They now have 36 campus partners in 18 different states and have served 1.4 million meals. The nonprofit has been recognized by the White House, Forbes, the New York Times, and more for their efforts to end student hunger.

While programs vary campus to campus, Scholastica aims to keep theirs student-centered, with students being able to donate their unused dining swipes to students facing food insecurity.

After writing a proposal in December and receiving approval from the college and Aramark, Scholastica’s food service provider, in February, Senate put together a team and partnered with Campus Ministry to get the program up and running.

Dining services agreed to allocate 1,000 swipes right off the bat to help

launch the organization: 500 for the spring 2018 semester, and 250 for the following two semesters. However, it is dependent upon student donations to keep it going. Students may donate up to eight meals each with an overcall cap of 500 per semester. In addition, dining services will donate $200 each semester for students to make sandwiches for those facing food insecurity in the Duluth community.

As of March, food insecure students may receive up to five swipes per month, though this is subject to change upon development of the program.

“The number of swipes we’re able to give a student is not going to meet all of their food needs, but at least it’s one way we can offer support,” said Jessica Ellingson, campus minister at the college. “Hopefully their dollars for their other meals can spread that much further.”

Within the first few days of the program being live, five students had already signed up to receive dining swipes.

The College of St. Scholastica Swipe Out Hunger team (from left: Lindsey Lampi, Chantel Armijo-Cruz, Itzayan Rocha, Jason Chavez-Cruz) will recruit students to donate their unused dining swipes to students facing food insecurity.

PEOPLE

The meals will be put on their student identification cards so no one will know whether or not they are donated meals.

The Swipe Out Hunger team, which consists of Senate members Chavez-Cruz, Chantell ArmijoCruz, Itzayan Rocha and non-Senate member Lindsey Lampi, will advocate for the cause and encourage students to donate unused swipes at the end of each semester. Ellingson, who oversees the club Volunteers Involved Through Action which maintains the student food shelf, will take on administrative responsibilities to ensure confidentiality.

The College of St. Scholastica is the third college in Minnesota to join the Swipe Out Hunger campaign, following Carleton College and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Abigail Blonigen is a Duluth freelance writer and student at the College of St. Scholastica.

Bruce Cvancara (left), director of dining services, will put the swipes on students cards anonymously. Jessica Ellingson (right), campus minister, will take care of the administrative side of the program and also works with the College of St. Scholastica student food shelf.

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Meal swipes are used in the Greenview Dining Room at the College of St. Scholastica. One swipe is good for one all-you-can-eat meal.