Spring is an explosion of life in the North! Discovering the birds, wildflowers, insects and more of this dynamic and rich northern landscape is the focus of this festival. Participation in the festival is open to anyone interested in hands-on learning and curious about the dynamics of the northern landscape.

Schedule of Events

7am-3pm: Spring Birding on the North Shore

Course Overview
Spring offers excellent birding opportunities on the North Shore. With the arrival of warblers and other migrants, there is the potential to see an unusual number of species in a short amount of time. Join Michael Karns, avid outdoorsman and life-long birder, for a day-long exploration of a variety of habitats. His approach to birding is equally appropriate for beginning or experienced birders. This class will take place primarily in the field, and participants will carpool to several nearby locations. Students should be prepared for hiking distances of up to a mile over uneven ground and all the charms of the spring forest, including bugs and rain. Youth aged 12-17 may register with a full-paying adult. The youth student will receive a 25% intergenerational discount; call to register.

Required Tools
Participants should wear clothing & footwear appropriate for a variety of field conditions, and bring a backpack with water, snacks and a lunch. Other personal items like sunscreen, bug spray and rain jacket may be advisable.
Binoculars

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3-5pm: Northwoods Nature Through the Lens

Course Overview

Due to an instructor change, this class has an updated description and revised dates.

Discover the art of capturing the stunning North Woods landscape through photography. While smartphones make taking pictures easier than ever, this course helps beginners transition to DSLR or mirrorless cameras to create more impactful images of the natural world.

This hands-on course introduces the fundamentals of photography, including essential camera settings like camera modes, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, ISO, and file formats. We'll dive deep into focus systems - often one of the most challenging aspects of modern cameras to master. The course also includes a brief introduction to Lightroom Classic for photo editing. For those interested in a deeper dive into Lightroom Classic, the instructor offers a comprehensive four-session online course each fall. Combining classroom instruction with field practice allows you to immediately apply what you've learned.

Weather and conditions will guide our choice of scenic locations around Grand Marais. During the first day and first morning of the class, we will stay close to the North House. The second day will include an afternoon field session. We may visit waterfalls, focus on landscapes, or capture Lake Superior's dramatic shoreline. Students should be comfortable hiking 2-3 miles during the course day over uneven terrain and come prepared for varied weather conditions.

Youth aged 12+ may register with a full-paying adult. The youth student will receive a 25% intergenerational discount; call to register.

Required Tools

A camera body and lens that you own
Tripod
Extra batteries and memory cards  
Rain gear,
Long sleeves
Long pants
Hat
Bug net
Sunscreen
Bug repellent
Hiking boots/shoes
Optional Tools
While not required, a laptop or tablet for uploading and editing photos will be helpful for our final day of class as we will be spending time learning about editing software (specifically Adobe Lightroom). Feel free to bring any additional photography gear that you own and want to practice with and/or need help with. This may include additional lenses, filters, etc.

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9am-4pm: Foraging for Spring Wild Edibles

Course Overview
This class is a great first introduction to spring edibles as we focus on just five common, nutritious, and often abundant plants. These early risers sprout up almost as soon as the snow is gone, so you can be eating nutritious local green vegetables long before the farmers market gets rolling. We will start with introductions, ethics, and identification, and then take two field trips to locate and harvest the spring bounty. After the morning field trip we will come back to the classroom and sample what we collected. Participants should be prepared to hike 1-2 miles in the woods.

This course is open to students ages 16+.

Required Tools
Appropriate clothing and footwear to be in the spring woods, which can be muddy, wet and buggy. This should include rain gear.
Water bottle
Snack; we will take a lunch break in town

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9am-5pm: Welcome to Blacksmithing

Course Overview
The Blacksmith Shop at North House has a charisma that can’t be denied: the ring of the hammer and the roar of fire reels in people like a siren’s song. For those who have been drawn in but wondered if they might not have the stamina to stand at a forge all day in a hot and physically intense environment, we offer this introductory course. Longtime teacher Michael Jones will teach the basics of forging at a slow pace, taking breaks for exploration of the history of the craft, and simply relaxing and enjoying good conversation: all at the root of folk school learning. Students will choose from a variety of introductory projects, but the main emphasis here will be on getting comfortable with the tools of the trade, and exploring metalwork in a safe and supportive environment, regardless of physical ability. This course is open to ages 16+. Youth ages 14-15 are welcome to register with a full-paying adult. Youth registrants will receive a 25% intergenerational discount; call to register.

Required Tools
Safety glasses (provided, but you may wish to bring your own)
Ear protection (provided, but you may wish to bring your own)
Leather gloves
Jeans
Cotton shirts (no nylon clothing)
Leather shoes
Clothing comfortable to be outdoors

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4-7pm: What's This Rock 3? Southern North Shore’s Geological Story

Course Overview
How many times have you walked along a cobbled beach or a rocky ledge along the North Shore and wondered, “What’s this rock? Where did it come from? Why is it here?” Lace up some sturdy footwear and head into the field to be immersed in the fascinating geology of the southern part of Minnesota's North Shore with University of Minnesota Duluth emeritus geology professor Jim Miller. This is a third part of the “What's This Rock?” series* that will focus on “reading the rocks” between Silver Bay and Two Harbors. Like the other What's This Rock courses, the geology of this area tells the 1.1 billion-year-old story of fire and ice that created the Lake Superior basin. An introductory lecture on Friday evening (at the Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center) will introduce you to basic geologic terms and principles that will help us interpret the geologic story of the area. On Saturday, we will visit various rock exposures between Two Harbors and Silver Bay that illustrate the story of lava eruptions that spilled across a vast barren landscape over one billion years ago. We will also investigate sediments and landforms formed by enormous continental glaciers that carved out the Lake Superior basin over the past two million years. On Sunday morning, we hike around Tettegouche State Park and examine its diverse geology. Students aged 16+ may register for this course independently. *The three courses in the "What's This Rock?" series do not need to be taken sequentially nor are they prerequisites to each other. Students aged 8-15 may register with a full-paying adult. The youth student will receive a 25% intergenerational discount; call to register.

This course will not be based at North House Folk School. Instead, the instructor will meet the students at Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center, which will serve as the homebase for the course. Students are encouraged to make lodging arrangements in the Tofte/Silver Bay/Two Harbors area. The class will carpool to sites in the area.

Ability/ Skills required: Most of the field trip stops for WTR3 will be visiting roadcuts along Highway 61 or rock exposures along or near the shore. Most of these stops involve short hikes, less than 1/4 mile, along gravel footpaths with mild to moderate inclines, on irregular bedrock surfaces, or along cobbled beaches. The Sunday morning field trip involves a more challenging terrain. We will make a 2-mile hike along the shoreline between Shovel Point and the mouth of the Baptism River that involves significant changes in elevation (+/- 500’). Because of the rigor of many of these field trip stops, sturdy footwear is strongly recommended and people with physical mobility issues are discouraged from enrolling.

Required Tools
Sturdy footwear
Rain gear
Hat
Water bottle
Lunch for Saturday
Optional Tools
Camera  
For safety reasons, rock hammers are not allowed
All participants will be given a high-visibility orange vest to wear during highway field stops  

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9am-5pm: Wool: The Full Experience

Course Overview
Wool is an incredibly versatile, durable, and beautiful fiber that is surprisingly easy to make into fabric. Start at the very beginning of the process in this team-taught class, as we shear sheep from Prairie Willows Farm and then go through processing wool, step by step together; shearing, skirting, washing, drying, carding, making batts, spinning, and finally felting. Once the wool is processed and divided amongst the class, we will practice the very foundation of making fabric; spinning fibers, which leads to knitting and weaving.  We will also work on the ancient method of making fabric, wet felting.


Wet felting wool pre-dates weaving and knitting and has recently seen a resurgence of popularity, as it is relatively easy and extremely versatile. Students will go home with new skills and one substantial wet-felted project. The course will be led by two fiber experts: Elise Kyllo, a former artist in residence at North House Folk School, specializing in wet felting, and Heidi Quist, a shepherdess from central Minnesota who raises sheep and is in charge of bringing and shearing the wooly guests of honor. This is a unique opportunity to immerse fully in wool craft and connect directly to the source. This course is open to students ages 12+ if accompanied by an adult. A 25% tuition discount applies to the youth registrant when registering with a full paying adult; call to register.

Required Tools
2 large towels
Clothes that can get dirty/wet or an apron
Plastic bags to bring your wet projects home
Optional Tools
Feel free to bring your favorite tools and whatever materials you might feel appropriate for this course. Apron, rubber gloves, etc. If you have your own carders and spinning tools you may bring them. Also, feel free to bring your own raw wool that may be processed and felted with, if suitable for felting.

Register here