Year in Reflection: Photo Highlights from 2024
From courses to kids' camps to opening the new Welcome Center, 2024 was a year to remember. Thank you to all of you who were part of this year at North House!
2024 was a monumental year for North House. At the opening of the Welcome Center, we celebrated a future of building community connecting more people with craft than ever.
Amisdt the building process, we also hosted 3000 students for over 450 classes, had more sails on Hjørdis than ever before, and welcomed thousands of community members and visitors to campus through events, public programming, and partnerships with the local schools.
Each course, event, and public program is another small step in building the future of the folk school.
So whether you enrolled in a course this year, stepped aboard Hjørdis, danced in the Red Building, toasted the opening of the Welcome Center, or simply followed along from afar, we're grateful that you've been a part of this year's story.
While it would be impossible to share every highlight from 2024, here are a few moments from this last year that made North House sing:
Gracee, Julia, Lauren, and Phil spent 10 months living on campus and taking courses as interns.
Julia Kalthoff (Sweden) carves an axe handle during Wood Week. Thematic weeks like Fiber Week, Wood Week, and Basket Week brought guest instructors from around the globe.
Programs like Textile Traditions brought Cook County students to North House to learn traditional craft as part of their school day.
Contra dances are a classic part of North House events—we hosted three of them in the Red Building in 2024!
North House is a crossroads for craft—this summer, a group of textile artisans from India visited North House and shared about their craft.
Summer youth camps continue to thrive. Instructor Lauren Newby led a group of summer camp students in building a play house on the commons, which was enjoyed by all campers during recess.
Lake Superior brings a touch of magic to each day. The clouds gave way to a rainbow during this year's Summer Solstice Pageant. Photo by Dennis Chick.
International guest instructor Shuji Nakagawa (Japan) taught one of the first-ever courses in the new Welcome Center during Unplugged.
We served over 450 pieces of carrot cake during the Community Open House in the Welcome Center!
Niilá Omma, our Winterers' Gathering Featured Speaker, taught his first class at North House and gave a presentation on his life as a duojár (Sámi craftsman).
With the Welcome Center open to all, we're excited for our future of enriching lives and building community through teaching traditional northern craft!