Quilters, artists sew up new partnership deal

Like a needle and thread, the Northland Art Society and the Northern Lights Quilters’ Guild in International Falls belong together.
The two groups—in connection with the Citizens for Backus A/B— are putting that partnership to work this week as they host an autumn arts festival, entitled “A Patchwork of Arts,” at the newly re-named E.W. Backus Auditorium for Performing Arts across the river.
“Because it’s all different arts coming together under one roof,” said Kay Arnold, a member of Citizens for Backus A/B and the Northland Art Society, in explaining the name of the festival (not to mention the quilting reference).
“It’s not just crafts or music or quilts, it’s everything,” she stressed.
Arnold said the idea to make the arts festival a large event was born from the smaller, biennial quilt show the Northern Lights Quilters’ Guild normally holds.
This year, the guild rented space in the auditorium and it got everyone thinking. Soon they’d opened it up and the quilters’ guild was “all for it.”^The arts festival runs today and Friday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and again from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is $2 per day.
The festival will feature quilts made by the Northern Lights Quilters’ Guild set up on the large stage area that is the E.W. Backus Auditorium for Performing Arts.
Local quilters spent the past two years creating the quilts.
Arnold said the Northland Art Society also will have a display of member art, as well as art from local artists, in the Backus Art Gallery.
She added if any local artist would like to display their art during the show, they can bring it along.
The festival also will see booths set up by local artists selling and showing their wares, including Tom Karsnia, a local carver and painter, as well as a local jewellery maker.
There will be a booth by local photographer Helen O’Brien showing some of her images as well as a quilting booth set up by Carolyn Napper. She will have a quilting machine there and run quilting demonstrations.
Arnold said any local artist who still would like to get involved in the festival can do so by setting up a booth to sell their wares for $25 (U.S.) for all three days.
“Right now we’ve just filled the bottom floor [of the auditorium],” she noted, adding the second floor has plenty of room for more booths.
Friday and Saturday also will see musical acts.
Donna Fredrickson of the Falls High School would be bringing the school choir to sing along with the auditorium’s grand piano on Friday.
On Saturday, local pianist Jesse Caurion, and later pianist Henry Wiens, also be playing the grand piano starting at noon.
“We also have a piper,” added Arnold, saying his name is Dan Sheppard. “He’s been taking lessons in Fort Frances.”^Sheppard will be playing Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
As an added bonus, Janet Wagner, who runs the dance studio located in the auditorium, will have her studio open Friday evening and Saturday for tours, hopefully with a few of her young students performing.
The festival also has great activities for the kids.
Just down the hall from the dance studio, the Northland Art Society will be holding some children’s art demos.
“In the Art Room [which really was the former Backus Elementary School art room], we’ll have three demos, from 10 to noon, noon to 2 p.m. and 2-4 p.m.,” said Arnold of the activities on Saturday.
“The demos with children . . .
they’ll be painting rocks and we will also be showing them water colour techniques,” she explained, adding the third demo will be on stroke painting with acrylics.
“They’ll learn splattering the paint, salting the paint, sponging the paint, and scrapping the paint.”^Kids also will get a chance to get dirty Saturday as the old weight room in the basement will be turned into a place kids can write on the walls.
“We’ll put paper on the walls for painting and finger painting,” said Arnold, adding anyone wishing to have fun painting the walls should remember to wear old clothes.
The small coffee shop, run by eight women who pooled resources to provide coffee in the Backus building during events, will be open all three days.