Winterers' Gathering & Arctic Film Festival 2024

Winterers' Gathering & Arctic Film Festival

Winterers' Gathering has wrapped for 2024. Thanks to all who joined to welcome in the coolest season! Join us again in 2025. Look for details at northhouse.org in the spring!

If you missed the 2024 event, get a taste of the 2024 Arctic Film Festival by accessing a handful of the films online:

Twice Colonized
Return to Spur Lake: Bringing Back the Food That Grows on Water
AMERICAN MASTERS: Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology
The Pass
A Sea Change for Superior
Black Ice can be accessed on Hulu currently (for Hulu subscribers)

Overview

The Winterers’ Gathering & Arctic Film Festival celebrates the crafts, customs, history, and stories that have been inspired by winter. Featuring winter-centric coursework, a winter tent camp, gear sale, film festival, speakers, and more, this is a classic event to welcome the start of the chilliest season.

The 2024 Winterers’ Gathering will welcome special guest instructor Niilá Omma to teach a knifemaking course. Niilá is a duojár, a traditional Sámi craftsman, from Skellefteå, Sweden. He uses mainly reindeer antler and birch to make knives, cups, boxes, jewelry and other traditional items, and sells his work in Sweden and internationally. This is his first visit to North House Folk School.

Volunteer

From baking cornbread to setting up campus, join us to usher in the cozy season. Read all about this year's Volunteer Opportunities and then Sign Up Here.

At a Glance

Three days packed with wintery goodness - gathering community, hands on, celebrating the north! Download your digital event guide here.

Gathering Community: Speakers on topics from night skies to Sámi Craft, Sixteen Featured Films, Contra Dancing for families and adults, the Great Gear & Ski Sale.

Hands On: Ten Skill Shares, Friday Dinner on a Stick, Winter Tent Camp, Sunday Family Morning Fun.

Celebration the North: Cold Snap Poetry Slam, Deep Freeze Chili Feed, Featured Speaker Niilá Omma.

Featured Speaker

Saturday 7pm

Sámi craftsman Niilá Omma will discuss his story and what it means to him to be Sámi, to be a traditional craftsman, and to carry his culture in these complicated times.

Arctic Film Festival

Friday – Sunday

This one-of-a-kind festival features films from around the globe that visually tell the story of the North.

The Great Gear & Ski Sale

Saturday 10am

Backcountry skis to winter canvas tents. Ice skates to kites. Winter boots to down jackets. Bring your outdoor equipment to sell or snag a great bargain.

Friday Evening Welcome

Friday 6pm

Join other "Winterers" on the commons to roast your dinner over the firepit, enjoy a special animation by artist Jonathan Thunder projected outdoors, and follow up with a poetry slam and/or contra dance.

Event Details

All Weekend

Presentations and Q&As

Enjoy presentations and special Q&As that cover a wintry topics: from camping tips to travelogues, cultural reflections to studies of northern lands, waters, and skies, these inspiring talks and question/answer sessions offer something for everyone and take place throughout the weekend in the Blue Building.

Presentation: Winter Night Skies: Science and Stories with Travis Novitsky and Bob King

Friday, November 22, 10:30am

Join us for an exploration of the night sky through stories and science. Photographer Travis Novitsky will talk about his book Spirits Dancing, his dark sky documentary Northern Nights, Starry Skies, and will share stories of his experiences under the night sky along with some stories of Indigenous connections to the night sky. ‘Astro’ Bob King will present Silent Sojourning — Making the Most of Winter Skywatching. He'll describe the unique challenges of night-sky observing around the winter solstice and what sights we can look forward to seeing in the upcoming season.

Q&A with Jonathan Thunder following Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology film

Friday, November 22, 3pm film start (14 min)

Following the PBS American Masters film Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology, we welcome Jonathan to share about his work and the film. The audience is invited to ask questions.

Presentation: Lake Superior Climate Change 2.0 with John Shepard and Q&A with Mark and Katya Gordon following A Sea Change for Superior film

Saturday, November 23, 12:30pm film start (60 min)

The warming of the planet’s largest lake due to our changing climate raises issues that reverberate through all of creation. Producer John Shepard shares how the Sea Change for Superior documentary is impacting communities and has led to two new initiatives—one involving wildfire and the other concerning Superior’s endangered estuaries.
Following the presentation North House instructors Mark and Katya Gordon of Amicus Adventure Sailing join John for a question and answer session about A Sea Change for Superior, a timely documentary exploring the legacy of Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake in a time of unprecedented change.

Q&A with Thomas Howes following Gigiigemin Baaga’adoweyang "We are healed by stickball" film

Saturday, November 23, 3:15pm film start (11 min)

Following the Gigiigemin Baaga’adoweyang "We are healed by stickball" film, join Thomas Howes, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, stickmaker and lacrosse advocate, for a Q& A about this powerful film about the revitalization of the Ojibwe game of Baaga’adowewin, or stickball.

See the Saturday Highlights below for the 7pm Featured Speaker.

These short, intensive sessions focus on particularly handy skills. Dress for a partially heated environment. Free to attend, unless a materials fee is listed. Held in the Blacksmith Shop unless otherwise noted.

Click the triangle to see each skill share description.

Friday, 1pm: Home Brewing Essentials: Elevate Your Coffee Game with Fika Coffee

Join us for a fika as we demo popular home brewing methods and share tips to elevate your coffee at home.

Friday, 3pm: Sweater and Sock Mending with Riley Kleve

Just in time for winter, learn how to extend the lifespan of your well-loved clothes. Bring a mending project to work on, and we'll supply the yarn, needles, and mending discs. $3 materials fee payable to instructor. Darning discs are available for purchase after class for $12.

Friday, 4pm: How to Call a Square Dance with Gabe Strand

Square dancing is a time-tested tradition of gathering together with friends over the cold winter months. All it takes is a couple musicians, a few buddies, and an empty kitchen and you have yourself a dance! Gabe will show you how to dance, teach, and call a simple square dance you can bring with you to parties, just like you’d bring a pie to a potluck.

Saturday, 1pm: Handmade Shoes: Lasted Bootmaking with Alex Blust

Boots are essential footwear and most people know very little about how they're made! Learn about how layers of leather come together to make these mysterious shrouds. Terminology, basic tools, and different construction methods will be discussed!

Saturday, 2pm: Fire by Friction! with Ty Sheaffer

Come learn the ancient human technology of rubbing sticks together to make fire! In this skill share we'll use two different approaches: the bow drill and hand spindle. Additionally, there will likely be opportunities to sing some fire songs while we work. Kids welcome! Usually kids around age 9 and up have the strength and coordination to make a lot of smoke, maybe even a little ember! This skill share will take place outside the Blacksmith Shop.

Saturday, 3pm: Folded Birch Bark Blade Guards with Nate Johnson

Learn how to make your own simple, Scandinavian-style birch bark blade guard for your knife. $5 materials fee payable to instructor

Saturday, 4pm: Wintry Needle Felted Landscape with Susan Ferguson

Kids of all ages can get creative by needle felting a northern landscape, the northern lights, or something wintry onto a small square of felt. You'll take home an original piece that you can hang up at home or give as a gift.

Sunday, 9:15am: Wintry Stories and Songs with Erika Ternes

Calling all littles and their adults! Join Erika from the Grand Marais Public Library for stories and songs that help us celebrate this cozy time of year.

Sunday, 10am: Make a Warming Treat with Cooper Ternes

Make chai tea from scratch and cook up some tasty campfire donuts! Dress warm and meet outside the Blacksmith Shop.

Sunday, 11am: Introduction to Isometric and Orthographic Drawing with Phil Stephens

Learn the basics of reading and drawing three-view, isometric, and orthographic plans. Including how to use a scale rule, triangles, and compass. Additionally, learn how to adequately take and annotate dimensions from a drawing.

Sunday, Noon: Weaving with Black Ash with Julia Nellessen

Julia will share what she’s learned from her time working with black ash during her year in the North House internship program.

Arctic Film Festival

This one-of-a-kind festival features films from around the globe that visually tell the story of the North. Documentaries, features, and shorts showcase arctic landscapes, traditional cultures, northern adventures, and changing climates. All film screenings are free and held in the Blue Building.

Click the triangle to see each film description.

Friday, November 22

9am - Birchbark (72 min, Gus Ganley, 2024)

As political tension between the U.S. and Russia continues to intensify, Birchbark focuses on the commonalities between the Ojibwe people in the U.S. and the indigenous Karelian people in Russia.
Interwoven into the stories of two countries, we discover the surprisingly touching true story of a young woman from northern Minnesota who is re-discovering her ancestral roots.
Language: English

12:30pm – Into the Ice (86 min, Lars Henrik Ostenfeld, 2022)

A journey of discovery into the vast ice masses of Greenland, whose melting will change life on our planet. A documentary narrative about science, nature, and adventure. With their groundbreaking research, glacier researchers Jason Box, Alun Hubbard, and Dorthe Dahl-Jensen are helping to find out how quickly the ice really melts—and what effects this has on us humans.
Language: Danish and English with English subtitles
Content advisory: minimal language

2:15pm - Return to Spur Lake: Bringing Back the Food That Grows on Water (11 min, Finn Ryan, 2024)

There have always been only a few special places in the world where wild rice (known as manoomin to the Ojibwe people) grows—which made it troubling when manoomin stopped growing in the early 2000s at Spur Lake, a 113 acre lake in Oneida County, Wisconsin. A group of conservation partners have come together to bring wild rice back to Spur Lake because of its environmental and cultural importance. Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin: wisconservation.org
Language: English

3pm - Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology (14 min, Sergio Rapu, 2023)

In this PBS American Masters episode, filmmaker Sergio Rapu follows Anishinaabe artist Jonathan Thunder as he dives deep into the inspirations behind his surrealist paintings and animations. From the killing of an iconic American hero to critical perspectives of how Indigenous people were portrayed in early children’s cartoons, Thunder’s art prompts viewers to take a critical look at our shared mythologies. Q&A with Jonathan Thunder following film.
Language: English

Be sure to join Jonathan during Dinner on a Stick Friday at 6pm to view his animation Manifest’o.

4:15pm - The Home Game (79 min, Smári Gunnarsson, Logi Sigursveinsson, 2023)

This feel-good Icelandic sports doc is about one man's dogged attempt to finally stage a home game on the football pitch his father created 25 years earlier. By registering the non-existent team of their small town to the Icelandic FA Cup he gives himself a 50/50 chance to fulfill his father's dream.
Language: Icelandic with English subtitles
Content advisory: minimal language

9pm - Black Ice (97 min, Hubert Davis, 2022)

This Canadian documentary focuses on the rediscovery of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, a Nova Scotia-founded ice hockey league made up of Black Canadians. The film unravels the history behind and surrounding its establishment in 1895. While revisiting the race-based prejudices of its existence, the film then connects it to lingering and persisting anti-black racism in the world of ice hockey today.
Language: English
Content advisory: language, mature themes

Saturday, November 23

9am - A Line in the Snow (14 min, Ryan Rumpca, 2024)

A Line in the Snow follows professional arctic explorer Annie Aggens and her two daughters on a dog sledding winter camping trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The group learns valuable life and wilderness skills powered only by their own two feet and a team of four-legged friends. Director Ryan Rumpca will introduce this film.
Language: English

9:15am - The Pass (14 min, Andrea Wing, 2023)

Rogers Pass (British Columbia) represents one of the most complicated avalanche programs in the world. Ski touring through its storied terrain is only possible thanks to the visionary mountain guide who engineered the ski system years ago, and the woman she mentored who’s now at the helm of that avalanche program. The stakes are higher than most skiers could ever imagine.
Language: English

10:30am - 40 Below: The Toughest Race in the World (97 min, Marius Anderson, 2023)

The Arrowhead 135—it’s been called the toughest endurance race in the world...why would anyone do this, especially when it’s 40 degrees below zero? Set in northern Minnesota, we meet Leah, a junk food-eating scientist, and Bill, an accomplished ultra-marathoner who just can’t seem to finish this incredibly challenging race. They run, bike, or ski 135 miles over three days in the solitary woods, sometimes hallucinating and barely stopping to rest or sleep in the snow without getting frostbite or freezing to death. What can we learn from them about life, love, and happiness?
Language: English
Content advisory: minimal language

12:30pm - A Sea Change for Superior (60 min, John Shepard, 2023)

A documentary exploring the legacy of Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake in a time of unprecedented change. The greatest of the Great Lakes, holding ten percent of the world’s surface freshwater, is among the fastest warming of the world’s large lakes due to climate change. Presentation with producer and Q & A to follow.
A co-production of the Hamline University Global Center for Environmental Education and PBS North.
Language: English

3:15pm -Gigiigemin Baaga’adoweyang "We are healed by stickball" (11 min, Finn Ryan, 2024)

In its creation story, the game of Baaga’adowewin is given as a gift and tool for life. After forced assimilation, the game and Ojibwe lifeway remained dormant for almost a century. This film shares the return of Baaga’adowewin, or stickball, as Ojibwe communities walk the path of cultural revitalization and exercise their treaty rights to heal from historical trauma and overcome challenges today. Join Thomas Howes, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, stickmaker and lacrosse advocate, for a Q& A following the film.
Language: English

9pm - Twice Colonized (91 min, Lin Alluna, 2023)

Aaju Peter is a renowned Inuit lawyer and activist who defends the human rights of Indigenous peoples. She's a fierce protector of her ancestral lands in the Arctic and works to bring her colonizers to justice. As Aaju launches an inspiring effort to establish an Indigenous forum, she also embarks upon a deeply personal journey to mend her own wounds, including the unexpected passing of her son.
Languages: English; Danish, Inuktitut, Greenlandic (English subtitles)
Content advisory: language

Sunday, November 24

9am – Hoofs on Skates (13 min, Ignas Meilūnas, 2024) - Family film, animation

In this family-friendly Lithuanian animation set in a winter wonderland, two friends are having a blast ice-skating on a frozen lake when suddenly a strange and unfamiliar world cracks open underneath them: now they must learn how to deal with the otherness, not letting the fear rule.
Language: No dialogue

9:20am - Katatjatuuk Kangirsumi (Throat Singing in Kangirsuk) (4 min, Eva Kaukai, Manon Chamberland, 2018)

Katatjatuuk Kangirsumi depicts Kaukai and Chamberland, two Inuit teenagers from Kangirsuk, Quebec, performing Inuit throat singing over scenes of the changing seasonal landscape in the community.
Language: no dialogue

9:30am - Belonging: A Journey of Inclusion and Nature (18 min, Danami-Maurice Champion, 2023)

In Belonging, follow Dalorian, a returning student, and his classmates in GCST 1970, an innovative program designed to immerse urban youth in nature-based education and environmental justice. As the group discovers the great outdoors, from the serene lakes to the Bois Forte Museum's enlightening exhibits on native tribes, the film uses Dalorian's authentic reflections to grapple with a thought-provoking question: What does it mean to belong in nature? With its blend of raw and poetic visual storytelling, the film captures the splendor of the natural world and the beauty of a community finding its place within it. Belonging isn't just a film—it's an evocative exploration of identity, nature, and the spaces where the two intertwine.
Language: English

10am - Lost But Not Forgotten: A History of Commercial Fishing on Minnesota's North Shore and Isle Royale (130 min, Frederick Dudderar, 2023)

The story of the rise and precipitous fall of commercial fishing on the Minnesota North Shore and Isle Royale. A story of Fur Trade exploits, the appropriation of Ojibwe lands, European immigration, industrial development, and environmental catastrophe. It is a story of profound loss. A life and heritage lost, but not forgotten.
Language: English

Harborside Winter Camp, All Weekend

An opportunity for winter campers to set up their shelter near campus, whether it be a canvas wall tent, an expedition or 4-season nylon-grade tent, or a traditional Mongolian yurt, and share information and ideas about winter camping in the elements of cold weather. Participants are invited to be a part of the Winter Tent Tour scheduled on Saturday at 2pm.

Camping costs vary: The Grand Marais Recreation Area is right next door to campus and is the place to pick a spot and register. Plenty of sites are available on a first come/first served basis, and they do not take reservations. The Park Office is open Monday-Friday / 8 am-4 pm. There is also a night drop box if you arrive on the weekend. In November, campsites typically cost $10 rustic/night or $20 electric/night. Wood bundles, potable water and porti-poti onsite. Hot showers and more at the local YMCA.

Friday Highlights

Friday, November 22

Tour the North House Campus

5pm

Discover the rich folk school tradition, visit the classrooms, and hear the stories with North House Executive Director Greg Wright!
Meet in the School Store.

Open Fire Dinner on a Stick & Outdoor Screening of Manifest’o Animation by Jonathan Thunder

5:30pm

Gather around a bonfire and cook over an open fire as a community. Participants bring their own food; we’ll provide the fire and the pointy sticks. Sausages to steaks, pudgie pies to home fries, it’s all welcome. The fire will be ready by 5:30 and beginning at 6pm, we’ll enjoy an animation by Duluth-based Ojibwe artist Jonathan Thunder. Bundle up! Location: Fire circle.

Snowshoe Shuffle Traditional Community Contra Dance

6:30pm family dance, 7:30pm community dance

Don your winter wardrobe and warm up at this friendly community contra dance. The dance takes place in the historic timbered woodshop and features the musical magic of Grand Marais’ Over the Waterfall. No experience needed to dance—we’ll show you how! Red Building.

Cold Snap Poetry Slam

8pm

Cold Snap Poetry Slam is a friendly celebration of the spoken word and the glories of the frozen North! Join in the fun at 8pm by reading one of your own works or any selected seasonal poetry of your choosing. By sharing your favorite hibernal verse, presenters will receive wide recognition as cultural icons, as well as a free bottomless bag of popcorn for the weekend! Blue Building.

Saturday Highlights

Saturday, November 23

The Great Gear & Ski Sale

9am check-in, 10am sale start

Bring your outdoor equipment to sell or get in on some great bargains and buy. Registration forms are available to print now and will also be available on-site that morning. Backcountry skis to winter canvas tents. Ice skates to kites. Winter boots to down jackets. All are welcome. Location: Commons

Tour the North House Campus

11am

Discover the rich folk school tradition, visit the classrooms, and hear the stories with North House Executive Director Greg Wright!
Meet in the School Store.

Winter Tent Camp Tour

2pm

Peek behind the flap of some of the tents set up for the weekend. Hot to cold, yurt to quinsey, there’s always an intriguing variety of cozy habitations on display. Meet at the fire circle.

Artisan Development Open Studio

4-6pm

Drop by the Artisan Development Program studios to meet our Resident Artisans Gabe Strand, Cooper Ternes, Riley Kleve, and Ty Sheaffer and see some of their current works in progress. The Artisan Development Program is a two-year professional development and residency program for craftspeople through North House. Location: Betsy Bowen Gallery and Studios building, 301 1st Ave W

The Deep Freeze Chili Feed

5:30-7pm

Bundle up and grab your bowl for this traditional winter favorite: chili & freshly baked cornbread. Hot chili (your choice: vegetarian or meat) is cooked up in the kettle and enjoyed in the company of other hearty winterers. $10/person paid at the door/ Kids 8 and under eat free. Blue Building

Featured Speaker: Niilá Omma

Duodji: Sámi Craft as Cultural Expression

Saturday, 7pm

Niilá Omma grew up in two worlds: much of the time, he was a student at Swedish public school who loved reading and riding his motocross bike. On the school holidays and in the summer weeks, he would spend time with his family who lives inland and help them in their work as traditional reindeer herders. Craft (duodji) is still an important part of the nomadic lifestyle the herders lead. When Niilá was in his early twenties, his grandfather taught him many skills right in his garage. Today, Niilá still walks in two worlds, blending traditional and modern lifestyles as a maker. Niilá will discuss his own story and what it means to him to be Sámi, to be a traditional craftsman, and to carry his culture in these complicated times.

Sunday Highlights

Sunday, November 24

Family Morning Fun

Kids of all ages will enjoy family-focused activities Sunday morning including a sweet and silly Lithuanian animation at 9am followed by wintry stories and songs. Stick around for campfire donuts and hot chocolate to top the morning off!

Coffee with the Director

10 am

Join Greg Wright in the Green classroom at 10 am for a conversation reflecting on a transformational year at North House, and looking ahead to the coming year. If you have questions about the Folk School or are wondering how you can get involved, this is a great opportunity to learn more about our work on campus and in the wider world of craft. Light refreshements will be served - RSVP online ahead or at the event.

Latest Update: December 5 2024

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