11th Annual
Wooden Boat Show
& Summer Solstice Festival
** June 20-22, 2008 **
Plan even further ahead: WBS June 19-21, 2009

              

Celebrating the North, Traditional Crafts
and the Joy of Summer!

 

PLANS  FOR  2008  ARE COMING  TOGETHER !! The Wooden Boat Show and Summer Solstice Festival at North House Folk School kicks off the season of light in the North. The weekend includes programs, courses, speakers, demonstrations, workshops, food, dancing, displays and endless opportunities for great conversation.   Initial resources to help everyone make plans for the 2008 Wooden Boat Show include (click to download): 2008 Schedule of Events Boat Display Information & Form Boats To Tools Auction Form Learn more about an important part of the Wooden Boat Show: The Boats to Tools Auction!   Additional resources will be available soon!   Otherwise, take a look back to get a glimpse of what the event will have to offer      2007 Featured Guest   Skip Snaith Skin-on-Frame Boat Builder, Researcher and Revivalist Skip has been a professional boat builder for over 35 years. With experience as a canoeist, kayaker and ocean racer he has sailed, paddled and rowed a wide variety of craft, and has built anything from a glued-lap Rushton Canoe to a fiberglass trimaran. Snaith has been traveling to native villages in Alaska since 1998 as a skin boat teacher, student, researcher and revivalist, spreading the ballistic nylon gospel wherever he goes.  His book, Umiak, An Illustrated Guide, has inspired experiential boat builders like North House Folk School’s own Mark Hansen and has been called a “concise, straightforward, and handcrafted book…giv[ing] the umiak some of the recognition - and reconstruction - it deserves” (George B. Dyson, author of Baidarka).  ** learn more about Skip and his efforts to nurture the revival of skin-on-frame boat building - visit his Kayak Way web site ** during his visit Skip will teach a one day Skin-On-Frame Small Boat Design workshop on June 22 ** Skip Snaith's' visit is funded in part by the Dr. Donald Walker Memorial Fund.     Free Event Member Supported & Volunteer Hosted This special event was largely free and open to the public thanks to the involvement and support of many people.  It is one of several special events that we host throughout the year, celebrating the North and our educational mission.  Strong membership support makes this event and others like it possible (new members are always welcome!)  A team of dedicated and spirited volunteers host the event (call 218-387-9762 if you'd like to help out at future events). * * Featured Guests - Skip Snaith * * Boats to Tools Auction - an auction with a cause, learn more * * Northern Craft Demos - by North House instructors * * Wooden Boat Slide Series - schedule to be announced * * Handcraft Workshops - schedule to be announced * * Wooden Boat Display - focusing on traditional wooden craft * * Festival Courses - scheduled before, during & after the event * * Summer Solstice Festival - featuring the Good Harbor Hill Players * * Delicious North Shore Cooking - a harbor-side barbecue, the     Chowder Challenge, the Steam Bent Brunch (arrive hungry) * * and So Much More! - the weekend's offerings continue to evolve! Wooden Boat Display   All Wooden Boats Hand-Built or Restored Welcome! Wooden boats of all types are displayed during the event. Individual boat builders (both novice and professional) are welcomed to display either wooden boats or related items. North House boat building alumni are especially encouraged to attend and be part of the events Wooden Boat Parade! Download the Details!! Get plugged in today Read more about our featured guests and review the weekend's calendar of events.  Click on these PDF downloads:    ** Weekend Schedule of Events    ** Detailed Program Descriptions    ** Wooden Boat Show Display Registration    ** Boat to Tools Auction Donation Registration    ** Steam Bent Brunch Reservation Form If you are unable to open these forms North House will happily send you forms by mail - please send your request, name & address to info@northhouse.org or call North House at 218-387-9762 2007 Schedule of Events   Three Days Filled with Hands-On Opportunity Thursday ** Thursday - Featured Events     All Day -  2-Hour Sails on the Schooner Hjørdis (call for reservations)               - pre-event courses, follow link below Friday ** Friday - Featured Events     All Day - pre-event courses, follow link below              - Skin On Frame Boat Design with Skip Snaith     9-5    - All From One Tree Demonstration     1-5     - Auction Check-In     5-7     - Opening Ceremony: The Wooden Boat Harbor-Side BBQ     5-7     - Wooden Boat Display     5-7     - Live "On Campus" Radio - WTIP ‘Roadhouse’ Show     5:30   - On the Harbor Games     8-11   - Traditional Community Contra Dance w/Over The Waterfall Saturday ** Saturday - Featured Events     All Day -  2-Hour Sails on the Schooner Hjørdis (call for reservations)     9-5    - All From One Tree Demonstration     9-10  - Waterfront Wooden Boat Display     10-3  - Traditional Craft Workshops (see below)     9-4    - Wooden Boat Speaker Series     11     - Boats to Tools SILENT Auction Begins (click here to learn more)     12-1  - Lake Superior Chowder Challenge ($8 at the door)     1       - North Woods Paddling and Poling Demonstration - Conovers     3       - Boats to Tools LIVE Auction Begins (click here to learn more)              - find a new home for that old boat, raise funds for North House     5       - Wooden Boat Show Film Festival                   The Skiff of Renald and Thomas (57 minutes, by Bernard Gosselin)     8      - Summer Solstice Pageant with the Good Harbor Hill Players     ***   Also underway in Grand Marais           Sivertson Gallery Solstice Gathering - 4-6pm, June 23 Sunday ** Sunday - Featured Events      9:00   - Wooden Boat Parade On The Harbor      11      - Steam Bent Brunch: for members, instructors, friends                  and boat builders (limited seating, $12/person), call                  218-387-9762 for reservations or use use form included above      1        - 10th Anniversary Acknowledgement, Annual Membership Gathering                  and Featured Wooden Boat Show Slideshow Presentation                  Adventures In The Skin Trade with Skip Snaith,                  download full description above      2:30   - Closing Event: Wooden Boat Pie & Ice Cream Social Festival Courses     A wide array of boatbuilding, sailing and traditional craft courses     are scheduled as part of the festival, pre-registration is required - please     call 218-387-9762 for more details     ** visit the course listing by date page (June 19-26, 2007) Wooden Boat Speaker Series     Download event schedule (above) for complete details All From One Tree Demonstrations     Download event schedule (above) for complete details     All From One Tree aims to draw attention to the source material of many     northern craftspeople - the birch tree. This dynamic project underscores     North House Folk School’s process of craft in an effort to celebrate ten     years of programming traditional northern craft.     Demonstrations - June 22-24     Exhibition - Sept 28-30 Traditional Craft Workshops     Download event schedule (above) for complete details Photo Gallery Take a look at images from prior years A picture is worth 1000 words - the following images capture some of the excitement at the 2004, 2005 and 2006 events and hint at the possibilities for this year: Please click to enlarge

A Look Back A Look Back  Without question, one of the highlights of the the Wooden Boat Show event are the special guests we welcome to campus each years   Garrett/Alexandra Conover For 26 years Alexandra and Garrett have been professional canoe and snowshoe guides based in Willimantic, Maine. Garrett is the author of Beyond the Paddle. Together, they co-authored, the Snow Walker's Companion. Now in it's third edition the book continues to serve as the leading guide on extended winter travel. The Conover’s method of travel reflects traditions refined by generations of wilderness guides. In 1999, Outside Magazine profiled Alexandra and Garrett along with five others under the heading of "The Great Ones: 20th Century Heroes for a New Millennium." Together, they live in their permanent wall-tent home on the Big Wilson Stream.  Learn more about their 2006 Winter Walk in northern Maine.   In 2005, Becky Mason, "Canada's First Lady of the Wooden Canoe" was our special guest. Becky has journeyed in canoes for as long as she can remember and learned to paddle before she could walk. She acquired her paddling skills and her love for canoes from her father the late Bill Mason, the author and filmmaker of the "Path of the Paddle" series. To learn more about visit the Red Canoe web site.     In 2004, Joanie & Gary McGuffin from Canada shared their passion with North House for three full days. Their experience paddling in the north, stunning wilderness photography, and compelling program made the event even more memorable.    In 2003, three special guests: , Jerry Stelmok (canoe builder & author), Deborah Sussex (professional photographer) and Joe Seliga (canoe builder) - pictured below left to right. The three cooperated on the book The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga (copies available through the North House school store).