It is the most wonderful time of the year — the time of giving and gifting to all the people in our lives. This holiday season is also an opportunity to shop local and support Twin Port businesses. Perfect Duluth Day’s nifty gifty gift guide features items from 15 local artists, shops and creators whose products could make the perfect present for anyone on your nice or naughty list.
The Way There
This Duluth apple tree has brought many hours of joy to its owners. (September 2022 photo by Maija Jenson)
There is redemption for bad apples; at least for the apples on your backyard tree. You might have a bad apple tree of your own or just wonder “Are those apples on Skyline good to eat?” A little tree love and your Halloween party guests will be bobbing for apples they can actually eat.
… so my kid and I can race these cars around at the speed at which they are intended.
Emerson? Washington? Where’s a good gym floor in Duluth that some dad off the street can access these days?
Welcome to the 2023 PDD Holiday Gift Guide, an annual tradition that highlights products made in Duluth and the surrounding area. You’ll find 16 gift ideas here, but the comment area is open for suggestions.
Part 1: Background
About five years ago I came across the article Du Luth’s Birthplace: A Footnote to History. In 1966, the author visited the French village where Duluth’s namesake was born and documented the few traces of him that remained. The article is well researched (all the quotes from Sieur du Lhut used here are taken from it) but the images are low resolution scans of black and white photos taken more than 50 years ago. I wanted to see more of what the place actually looks like.
The lake is out there somewhere in this desolate wasteland at the peak of human endurance. Pro tip: If downtown is closed up because of blizzard conditions, the Boat Club is still open because it’s part of the Fitger’s hotel, and they’re all trapped in there eating each other, but it’s open. A great place to hole up here in the last outpost of civilization during the snowmageddonpocalypse. That is a vat of pepper-soaked vodka. Bloody Mary review: 9/10.
Duluth music weirdos,
Who can repair my 17(?)-year-old Technics SX-PR51? It turns on, but that’s it. I’m sure it needs a circuit board thing or a new fantambulator or something. I would rather pay an individual than pay Schmitt Music, but I’ll do what I have to do.
… and I don’t mean in terms of the audio quality.
This Duluth-based podcast has international reach. What They Don’t Tell You About Being a Survivor is “a podcast that builds community amongst those affected by trauma, with the purpose to promote healing and social change.” What makes it challenging to listen to is the intensity of the topics, the intensity of the personal experiences shared. According to the website …
Welcome to the 2022 PDD Holiday Gift Guide, highlighting products made in the Duluth area that one might wrap in paper and put under a tree. It features 15 items, as usual, but the comment area is open for limitless other suggestions. Or email the editors at info @ perfectduluthday.com.
I don’t know Crystal Abernethy well, though I am filled with a deep respect and admiration for her work and her commitment to making a thing. The 9 o’clock Meltdown was a good companion when I was a radio listener. I missed it when it went away, briefly, without realizing that it moved online. There, it’s still a great companion.
See a just-published interview with Crystal on Voyage Minnesota for more.
My name is Nick Campanella. After ten years of typing, editing and revising, I’m proud to say I am now a published author with a successful book called Path of Affliction.
It was a busy weekend in Duluth, despite the rain that postponed the Fourth of July events.
Saturday I missed the Rhizomes, who played in Two Harbors. Crankily, I have decided that I will only be indoors in places with cavernous, flowing air, until the pandemic has subsided. (For more information about the pandemic that is still going on, no matter how many people you see walking around without masks, visit the Minnesota Dashboard. We’re doing okay — COVID hospitalizations are definitely flat, but variants are increasingly resistant to the vaccine.)
