Summertime

It’s July, “and the livin’ is easy,” because if it isn’t summertime now in the north country, it’s never coming. There are plenty of summertime activities at the Fosston Community Library Arts Center (although some of them are off-site). The summer Thursday night Music on the Porch concert series is sponsored by the FCLAA, but it takes place at Melland Park on the porch and lawn of the Heritage Center. All concerts are on Thursday evenings at 7 with free admission. I’ve been to the first two and the weather has cooperated. Coming up are four more concerts: July 7 – Sydney Melby will be performing 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s folk and rock music. July 14 – No Rest for the Pickers is made up of Sawyer Corcoran on fiddle, Johnny Pfaff on bass, Aiden Larson on mandolin, Joel Verschay on guitar and Corey Compbell on banjo. July 21 – Caleigh, an all-woman ensemble consisting of Dee Furfano, Lenore Siems, Deb Steinbar and April Lawson, all from Bemidji, have been playing Celtic music together since 1998. July 28 – The Occasionals, a rotating selection of Bemidji-based musicians will play tunes from many genres. They are a spinoff group of The Seasonals. Starting mid-July, there will be a display of Summer Youth Art in the Sorensen Gallery. With some cleaning, decluttering and painting (a really blue floor), space in the library basement has been transformed into a space for the summer art classes taught by Kirby Vossler. Stop by take a look. “Frozen, Jr.” directed by Abby Pearson was a huge success. With a cast of thousands (well, 40 or so) and sellout audiences, I think everyone had a good time. I certainly enjoyed watching it. The summer reading experience, “Explore! Underwater” continues at the library through the month of July so there is still time to pick up a reading log and qualify for the chances at some great prizes. There will be two more special programs: On Wednesday July 13, at 2 p.m. a naturalist from Itasca State Park will present “Underwater Exploration – Fish Sense. Apparently, fish have a special sixth sense. Who knew? On Friday, July 22, at 2 p.m. as the grand finale of the summer reading experience, there will be a pool party at the Fosston Civic Center. Participants are asked to come directly to the civic center for an hour of free swimming. Children under eight should be accompanied by an adult.