June 19th, 2019
You may have seen Nicki Marie slingin’ her elaborately folded paper star creations at various craft and cultural festivals around the region. She was also a recipient of a folk art and traditional apprenticeship grant made possible for the North Dakota Council on the Arts and learned scherenschnitte and wycinanki through Tower City based folk artist Meridee Erickson Stowman in 2016. This Thursday, Nicki Marie’s first gallery exhibition titled, “Northern Stardust” will be opening…
May 29th, 2019
With all the coverage of artists in the Fargo-Moorhead area in the High Plains Reader, it can unfortunately be easy to forget that the rest of the state hosts their own fair share of artistic talent. Take, for example, Fargo’s neighbor to the North, Grand Forks. Since 2001, Grand Forks has hosted an annual event originally named “ArtFest”, which was organized and operated by the North Valley Arts Council (NOVAC).
Unfortunately, in December of 2016 NOVAC dissolved, but Grand…
May 1st, 2019
The Plains Art Museum is ready to take you back in time – or forward, if you prefer – for their 23rd annual Spring Gala. The theme for this year’s event, which takes place on Friday, May 3, is Time Machine.
The Spring Gala is the museum’s biggest fundraising event every year. It will include a silent auction, music from Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome, who will take the stage at 9 p.m., and food catering from Urban Foods, Chef’s Table Catering, Concordia, and Nichole’s Fine…
May 1st, 2019
Minnesota State University Moorhead held their grand opening of Picturing Nam: U.S. Military Photography of the Vietnam War last Thursday at the Roland Dille Center for the Arts. The exhibition is the final installment of the Minnesota Remembers Vietnam initiative from MSUM and will run through May 25.
Picturing Nam will be a one-of-a-kind experience in that visitors to the art gallery will be able to see some photographs and images that have not been previously available for public…
April 10th, 2019
“I started to look around at state arts council positions because I felt that even though I had never done that, I felt like it would be a really good blend of skills, so I started to look around in 2016. A few jobs came up but I knew I didn’t want to work for a large state agency,” Kim Konikow, executive director of the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA), said.
She went on to say, “I can’t say I ever thought about North Dakota. It was not on the top of my list but it was…
April 3rd, 2019
As you drive the stretch of Highway 49 between Glen Ullin and Elgin, you’ll experience a variety of land features. You’ll see rolling hills, open fields, and great expanses of pasture land surrounded by barbed wire fences and curious cattle. Glorious buttes and cut banks of the area surround and contain the Heart Butte Dam. To say it’s a breathtaking view is an understatement.
Highway 49 is dotted by a few farmsteads and grain bins as one would expect from a state with such a…
March 27th, 2019
This month at Dakota Fine Art gallery be sure to check out guest artist Mitchel Hoffart’s exhibition, “Flora, Fauna, and the Abstract World.” Hoffart, who lives in Moorhead, is a mixed media artist with an extensive and diverse body of work and a long and growing list of exhibitions and awards.
While Hoffart says it’s impossible to pin down his art into a specific category, he does work with some recurring themes. After being commissioned to create a multitude of 12x12 elk…
March 20th, 2019
Hidden away in the tiny North Dakota town of Lefor I find Karen Valley, an author and an artist. She is without a doubt the artist’s artist. Her soul is art, talent and words. Meeting her is a true experience in finding a soul so full of art. At 85 it will never find a stopping or retiring point in her life. It is, she says, what she needs to do.
Quoting Karen, “It is a gift from God and you must use it and so I do.”
Among her authorships she draws coloring books. They have titles…
February 27th, 2019
Though Harvey North Dakota based photographer Lew Ableidinger has switched from film photography to digital photography and back he couldn’t avoid the analog.
“I returned to film because I wanted to start shooting large format, which corrects perspective and produces a negative with so much more detail and information than can be produced with all but the highest end digital equipment,” Ableidinger said.
“There's also something nice about having a physical object as opposed to…
February 20th, 2019
Two local art exhibitions had their opening receptions last week, the first one being at the Spirit Room last Thursday. Their current exhibition, “Wonderful Works of Whimsy,” will be displayed until April 13th, free to view during the hours of 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“Whimsy” celebrates the fanciful nature of creativity, with bright colors, surreal images, and unique designs. Food and drink were served as some of the artists present gave talks on their pieces.…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Filmmaker Antonella Sudasassi Furniss constructs an engaging sophomore feature with “Memories of a Burning Body,” selected by Costa Rica to be entered for consideration as a possible Oscar…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
