Best Bets: Twin Ports Music Festival joins Art in Bayfront Park – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH — It’s the dog days of summer, the opposite of the dogsled days of winter. Opportunities abound to get out and enjoy the warm weather.

Art in Bayfront Park, the annual harborside art festival, has long been scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18. The event recently announced a fun addition for music fans: the third annual Twin Ports Music Festival, which previously took place at Earth Rider Brewery, is joining forces with the art fair.

That means the music is free, with eight acts from the Head of the Lakes and beyond taking the stage at set times from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. Lost Island Society (Saturday) and MoonShroom (Sunday) have the anchor slots

(artinbayfrontpark.com).

Energetic Minneapolis singer-songwriter Jaedyn James is booked to play the pier at Glensheen on Aug. 14. The local Jaed-Babes, as her fans are known, will surely turn out for a show that has a special resonance. James was part of the lineup for

Jazzy, Classy, Queery

— a 2023 Studio Four showcase curated by musician

Diona Johnson,

who died less than two months later. James’ debut album, “Loving You So Hard,” draws on Duluth talent including cover artist Cherry Koch and mix engineer Nat Harvie.

Janie and the Spokes open the Wednesday pier show

(glensheen.org).

Contributed / Paramount Pictures

If Generation X had “Dirty Dancing,” millennials had “Save the Last Dance”: a romantic drama about seemingly star-crossed lovers brought together by blending disparate dance styles and adding some PG-13 heat. While the 2001 movie’s racial stereotypes make it a movie that must be approached with a critical lens, it has inspired untold numbers of young viewers to hit the floor, whether with sneakers or pointe shoes.

Zeitgeist promises to transform into Stepps Nightclub on Wednesday, Aug. 14, when the Zinema is screening the film as a benefit for Minnesota Ballet

(zeitgeistarts.com).

Contributed / Duluth Playhouse

The 2004 movie “Mean Girls” has enjoyed one of recent years’ more successful movie-to-musical adaptations, hitting Broadway on 2018 and spawning multiple national tours — including one that launched last year, starring University of Minnesota Twin Cities graduate Natalie Shaw as Cady Heron.

It’s a little ironic that there needs to be a special “high school version” of a show set in high school, but never mind that: you can watch Duluth youth battle the bullies onstage at the NorShor Theatre this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 16-18) under the auspices of Duluth Playhouse’s 2024 Teen Intensive training program

(duluthplayhouse.org).

Bob King / File / Duluth Media Group

William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” features mythical characters living in the forest, so why not bring a production of the play into the woods? That was the reasoning of Mary Fox and Cheryl Skafte, directors of Zeitgeist Theater’s “Dream,” playing this Friday through Sunday, Aug. 16-18, at Hartley Nature Center. The cast includes both adult artists and, from Zeitgeist’s theater camp, young actors.

“Shakespeare can be incredibly versatile, with room to experiment, so we thought we’d turn it up a notch and take Midsummer outdoors, often where Shakespeare was originally performed,” said Fox and Skafte in a news release

(zeitgeistarts.com).

Jed Carlson / File / Duluth Media Group

This summer’s encampment at Priley Circle has been

dismantled,

but it will be remembered as a flashpoint in city history and as a protest against American officials’ support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

The camp was documented by painter Grace Borell, and prints of her work have been placed on sale at Falastin. A couple of Borell’s originals are also on display at the deli, which saw an

outpouring of community support

after

temporarily closing

due to threatening graffiti painted on its exterior. “I want it to be a story of hope and perseverance,” said Borell about her work

(Art By Grace on Facebook).

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He’s a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he’s also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance. You can reach him at jgabler@duluthnews.com or 218-279-5536.