The artistic community of Minot will be out in full force this weekend with the Why Not? Minot Festival, which began Friday.
The festivities began at the Carnegie Center, where an arts and crafts flea market was held - the flea market will also be held today, from noon to 8 p.m. Delvin Cree and Albert Standing Chief, both of Dunseith, sat in one corner, selling a variety of Native American handicrafts, such as dancing sticks and dreamcatchers, while Carmen Bader of Lansford sold candles. These candles, however, aren't your mother's candles. They're wickless candles, which are "safer, cleaner and smell better than regular candles," Bader pointed out. The way these candles operate include a mecanism in which the candle is heated on the bottom.
With scents such as coconut lemongrass, thunderstorm and cinnamon bear, there should be "scents for everybody," Bader said.
"It's a product I believe in," Bader said. "I think its a neat idea. My dog knocked them over and its not that hard to get out of the carpet."
Between these two tables, Elly Blue sat, clicking away on a laptop and sipping coffee. Blue and her partner, Joe Biel, of Microcosm Publishing, based out of Portland, Ore., are on a crusade, focusing on bicycle culture, activism and advocacy.
With books with such titles as "Divorce Your Car!." "Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It" and "Highway Robbery," the ideology of Microcosm Publishing is self-evident. Microcosm Publishing was founded by Biel; Blue was along for the ride, associated "through romance," she said. In two presentations - the first being Friday and the second this afternoon at 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the Carnegie Center - they are presenting a forum on bicycle activism, which is free to the public.
"It's been really great," Blue said about her time in Minot thus far, noting "good engagement" between herself and the community. She added that via Amtrak, she has been to Minot before, but only during the smoke breaks that Amtrak allows during the cross-continental trips. Blue said she always wondered what Minot was like; now she knows. The "in-tact downtown" is fascinating, she said, noting "there's a really good spirit here." After meeting the organizers, Billy Luetzen and Jazmine Wolff, of the Why Not? Festival, Blue deemed them "realistic and smart."
"They're making things happen," Blue said. "The kids are good; they're on to something."
In addition to the bicycle adovacy forums, Blue and Biel set up a stand selling books and zines - home-made magazines devoted to different subjects, such as environmentalism, feminism and the random - which has proved to be popular.
Outside of the Carnegie Center, Sonja Kessler, an artistic bundle of blond hair and freckles in sandals, sits in her van, selling prints of her photography.
The van itself is a work of art in itself - a canvas on wheels, perhaps.
Kessler, who lives in Velva, but lived in Salt Lake City and participated in an artists tour - a "9,000 mile loop," explained that the art comes from people she met while on tour, "random people from random places" who used everything to decorate the van, be it acrylic paint, spraypaint, oil and markers.
Kessler and her van will be out and about for the festival today, she said.
Meanwhile, at the 62 Doors Gallery and Studios, the art may not be on the side of a van, but it is just as interesting.
Joe Faiai, an artist who lives in Minot, was among the artists whose works are displayed at 62 Doors. The gallery, which features nine individual studio spaces and a printmaking studio, is an interesting collective for Minot's artistic crowd. The art doesn't end on the canvas; it can be found on the walls.
"Door, wall," Faiai said, as he walked down the hall, knocking on the wall, which incidentally is made of old doors. The way to differentiate between a faux and actually door is by the glass window, he pointed out, taping the glass.
Today, 62 Doors will host a Do-It-Yourself Screen Printing class - $3 if you bring your own shirt and $5 if not - from 4 to 9 p.m., in addition to the open art exhibit, which is free to the public. Concerts will also be presented at the Pangea House, 109 Central Avenue West, and Barley Pop, 437 North Broadway.
On Sunday, the Why Not? Festival will conclude with activities at the Roosevelt Park.
For more information, check out the festival's website at (whynot.pangeahouse.org).
