Smelt Parade Workshops in lower Lafayette

Saturdays : May 11, 18 & 25  3-6pm

Wednesdays : May 15 & 22  6-8pm

Fridays : May 17 & 24  6 – 8pm

Jim Ouray  #218-370-8980 Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe

PPCC Meeting Tuesday March 19 & Camp Lafayette Summer Program Link to Register

See you at Lafayette; meeting starts at 7pm but come a bit earlier to check in with your neighbors and meet our new neighbors! Better yet, maybe invite your new neighbor to join you?

The March Breeze is here.

Link to agenda and notes

From the PPCC Youth Program Committee:

Hello Families,

Registration is live! Click here to begin. Please reach out if you have any questions or notice any issues with registration. 

We have a new liaison-in-training and Caleb will be immersing himself in all things PPSYP registration over the next few days. Please give 2-4 days for the expected confirmation email before you send payment. 

Looking forward to a wonderful 2024 season!

The Camp Lafayette Team

Here are dates:

Welcome to the Park Point Summer Youth Program (affectionately known as “Camp Lafayette”). This experiential education summer program is designed to give youth from 5-12 years of age exposure to new friendships, learning, and leadership.  Housed in the historic Lafayette building on Park Point, the program has differentiated learning and teaming activities for three grade levels.  Three counselors engage the campers as they grow gardens, play on the beach, travel and tour museums in Duluth, read at the library, sail, hike on the Superior Hiking Trail, stand-up paddle board, build lego structures, do weekly community service projects, play board games, play court games, play kickball, experience varied field trips, and plan for an end of camp celebration. The camp runs Monday-Thursday 8:00-4:00pm for nine weeks starting June 10 to August 8 (excluding July 4th).

PPCC Meeting on Tuesday 2/20, 645 social & 7pm meeting

Link to agenda.

Link to speeding car video from 2/2/2024. Please call 911 and note description of vehicle and license plate if you can do this safely.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to Rinkfest on 2/4! A few Photos are here.

RinkFEST 2024 was held on Sunday, Feb. 4 from noon to 3pm in lower Lafayette. We grilled and ate 100 hotdogs complete with Coney sauce and chopped onions! The fire was lovely!

  • Skating or water skiing, bonfires, hot dogs, hot beverages and delicious delights from the Lafayette Community Edible gardeners! Everyone is welcome! Come to socialize even if skating isn’t happening due to the warm temperatures!

We are grateful for the efforts of Rinkleader Mark Elden & team in making skating a possibility this winter!
Nancy Olson cleaned up lower Lafayette and got everything ready for the gathering. The treats were fabulous! Thank you to everyone who contributed to a memorable gathering this weird & remarkable winter!

Photos and videos from Lafayette skating fun!

The February Breeze is here!

Best sunset skating!
Flooding by Tom Reistad on 1/20/2024- Thank you!

Membership Pizza Party! January 16, 2024 at Lafayette

6:30pm set up, 6:45pm PIZZA and 7pm First Meeting of 2024! The January Breeze is here.

Link to agenda and referenced documents

2024 PPCC Membership Form is Here

The December Breeze is here.

Best wishes for super start to 2024!

Lafayette Community Edible Garden Holiday Party Photos from 12/11 are here.

Fun party, a lot of laughing and great neighbors!

PPCC Meeting 11/21 7pm; check in with neighbors 645pm

Read the details here in The November Breeze

Meeting reminder: PPCC 11/21 7pm ; hoping to see you there!645 check in w neighbors.

This portion is canceled: Our guest:Sarah Johnson , Minnesota GreenCorps member serving at Western Lake Superior Sanitary District will join us!“For my work plan this year, I am working to reduce food waste and divert food scraps to be made into compost at WLSSD. Food scraps make up 15-20% of waste going to the landfill. When landfilled, these food scraps produce methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. I would love to connect to your community club at this month’s November meeting. If there is sufficient interest, I’d like to schedule a future workshop where I can empower your community with the tools and knowledge needed to divert their own household scraps.”

Committee Reports, Art Fair updates, Youth Program 2023 Wrap Up & 2024 program proposals and timelines

You Are Invited to a Creative Hands Meeting     Our November meeting falls two days after Thanksgiving this year. If you are in town and don’t have a houseful of company or maybe you do and want a two hour break, please consider coming to the Saturday, November 25 Creative Hands meeting. We will meet at our usual time and place: St. Andrew’s, from 9:30-11:30. Coffee and tea will be available.     Please let me know if you plan to attend by Wednesday, November 22. I don’t want to be knitting all by myself for two hours.A blessed Thanksgiving to you.Sandy–
Sandy Carlson 
St. Andrew’s by the Lake Episcopal ChurchInstant Church Directory, Lector & Chalice Schedule, Creative Hands Organizersandy@standrewsbythelake.org

Next PPCC Meeting 10/17, 7pm, See you there!

Meeting agenda notes & communications

Agenda

Fray on the Bay photos from 9/9

The Breeze of October

Hope to see you at the meeting; stop by at 645pm to check in with your neighbors.

On the agenda:

Our guest will be Jim Filby Williams from the City of Duluth with updates on flooding and erosion issues and collaborations with PPCC MP50

County seeking to simplify property tax plat numbering system by consolidating parcels; stay tuned for details on upcoming presentation

Boardwalk and Internet upgrades at Lafayette- status report

Cutting trees on the Public Row-on the Watch Committee report

Skating at Lafayette this winter- for this to happen volunteers will be needed!

  1. BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS 10/1

St. Andrew’s by the Lake Episcopal Church

October 1, 2023, 9:45 AM

Please join us with your pet(s) as we gather in a big circle in the Mission Hall.

We worship this Sunday with all the creatures we love. We join the Psalmists and rejoice with all living things. We sing with all the birds and animals that make our lives richer because of their presence.

Treats for the pets and their human companions will be served after the service. 

Comfort Companions

2. Charlie Parr Concert Fundraiser for Wildwoods 10/6

Park Pointer Laura N. is on the Wildwoods Board. Wildwoods helps injured, sick, and orphaned wildlife in the community. You might remember the PP fox mange fundraiser a few years ago. Link to event here .

Join us on October 6 from 6:30pm-9:00pm for an intimate concert at The St. Louis County Depot in Duluth (506 W Michigan St.)

We are honored to share with you that Minnesota’s own Charlie Parrwill be performing a fundraising concert for Wildwoods supporters!

Charlie Parr is an incorruptible outsider who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us. He hasn’t moved to LA or Nashville; he’s stayed in the cold grey north of Minnesota, because that’s his home.

You may know Charlie as the socially conscious musician who freely shares his talents at public events, so it is a very big deal that he is helping to fundraise for Wildwoods. Tickets are $50, and the proceeds will go to support our work with orphaned and injured wildlife.

We have 265 tickets available. All tickets are general admission (seating is first come, first served).

Reserved seating is available for wheelchair, visual, auditory, and any accommodation. Please send accommodation requests to jessica@wildwoodsrehab.org.

Fire Workshop moved to Friday Sept. 22, details here

September 2023 Breeze


Friday September 22, 7-9pm, Lafayette, 

Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng: Together we are gathering around the fire; our guest speakers will be:

Evan Larson, Professor of Environmental Sciences & Society, University of Wisconsin-Platteville                

Melonee Montano, Graduate Fellow, Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Presentation Summary

The old pine forest on Minnesota Point is loved by many. Rooted in sand shaped by the waves of Lake Superior, the trees of this forest carry stories of ecological and cultural change that span centuries. In this presentation, Evan Larson and Melonee Montano will share the work and results of Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng, a two year project funded by the Wisconsin Sea Grant program that is helping to tell a more complete, accurate, and truthful history of people on Zhaagawaamikong neyaashi, the places also known as Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point. Fire history information derived from scars within the rings of long-dead red pine trees indicate the important role of fire in shaping the forests on Minnesota and Wisconsin Points; Indigenous Knowledge describing traditional Anishinaabe practices of using fire to promote blueberries and many other plants and medicines highlights the reciprocal relationship between people and land, moderated by fire, expressed in these tree-ring records. Dramatic and ongoing changes in the structure and composition of the forests coupled with increased fuel loads and fire risk on both points are expressions of settler-colonialism disrupting these long-standing relationships between people and place. Weaving together Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science vividly illustrates these changes and the processes driving them – the purpose of this presentation is to share these results and to help create space for conversations of what to do next as our collective understanding of the world around us changes and grows.

Hosted by Park Point Community Club, Friday, September 22, 2023, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Lafayette Community Center (3016 Minnesota Ave., Duluth, Minnesota)

Fire, Blueberries and Treaty Rights

Sept. 19 Mayoral Candidates Forum

The PPCC Meeting is on Tues. Sept 19 and 7pm with 6:45pm the start of pre-meeting check in with neighbors. Mayor Emily Larson and Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert will join us for a forum and q & a. They are also invited to stay afterwards from 8-830pm to meet and visit with neighbors.

Questions sent in advance to the candidates; each candidate will have up to three minutes to answer during this portion of the forum. During q and a, residents will have up to 30 seconds to ask and the candidates will have up to two minutes to answer. The candidates may stay until 830pm to connect with neighbors. A timer will be used to monitor progress of the answers.

Park Point Community Club’s Signature Civility Cookies will be served.

Upcoming PPCC Events: August 15, 24

Next PPCC meeting is Tues. August 15, 7pm with time for checking in with neighbors at 645pm. We will have an update on the new Sky Harbor Airport terminal at this meeting: construction schedule for both the terminal and the snow removal equipment garage project. Updates from:

Kaci Nowicki
Principal, Sr. Airport Planner
(She/Her/Hers)
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®)
651.894.2508 mobile | 651.490.2000 main

  • Thursday, August 24, 10am-2pm at Lafayette, includes burgers and brats! USACE with updates on the Section 111 study & Using NOAA Tools to Understand Erosion and Flooding on Minnesota Point & a lot more! Poster sessions from 12-2 in the lower level. John Swenson, Andy Breckenridge, Harry Jol, Melonee Montano and college students from Fond du Lac will be presenting research results and tools. Everyone is welcome!
  • Friday September 22, 7-9pm, Lafayette,  Ojibwe Use of Fire on Minnesota Point Workshop with Evan Larson and Melonee Montano

The Breeze of August

The PPCC Exec. Board supported this plan last month, link here to draft.

Meeting notes.

Events earlier this month!

Scoops at St. Andrews By the Lake: Do you love ice cream and learning new things?  If so you will want to be at St Andrew’s By the Lake Church on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 for the first installment of Scoops @ St Andrew’s.  Love Creamery ice cream (and a vegan alternative) will be served starting at 6:30pm outside on the Crossing.  Mingle with your Park Point neighbors until 7:00pm when our speaker for the evening, Michael Cochran will share with us the history of rowing on Park Point.  Michael is an entertaining speaker, with a rich knowledge of rowing in Duluth.  He is also the author of “Invincible: History of the Duluth Boat Club, Established 1886

Found Toyota Highlander Remote Key July 8 at 23rd & MN Ave. Email parkpointcc@gmail.com if you have lost a remote for your vehicle.


Park Point 5 Miler: Thursday, July 13, at 6:30 PM


Murder on Park Point, Friday July 14, Upper Lafayette 4-5:30pm PPCC with Lake Superior Writers Group and author Jeffrey M. Sauve,https://northstareditions.com/product/murder-at-minnesota-point/

63rd annual Duluth International Rowing Regatta: Saturday, July 15, all day

The Breeze of Park Point ~ July 2023

PPCC meeting Tuesday June 20, 7pm; Art Fair this Weekend!

645pm: Arrive a little early and say hi to your neighbors

Guests: Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj

Meeting notes.

Looking ahead to July: Airport Planner Kaci Nowicki on the new terminal at Sky Harbor Airport with updates; bidding starts in June.

The June Breeze is here.

51st Park Point Art Fair is on 24, 25 June! To volunteer, call Diane G. 218-727-4067

Park Point Art Fair

Park Point Recreation Area     

June 24 & 25, 2023     

10am – 5pm

Important May meetings: 16th & 18th

MN Point Open House~ the public is invited!

“Strengthening Coastal Community Resilience in the Great Lakes Region”

Thursday May 18 from 5-7pm, upstairs at Lafayette. 

Your interest & participation are vital to MN Point resiliency efforts!

Pizza & Refreshments will be served

We welcome Dr. David Hart, Minnesota Point ASFPM Project Lead. Dr. Hart is a Senior Scientist with the University of Wisconsin Aquatic Sciences Center and serves as the Assistant Director for Extension at the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. David’s research and outreach occur at the intersection of geographic information science, urban and environmental planning, and coastal management. Since 2014, he has directed a staff of outreach specialists who extend coastal science throughout Wisconsin.

He will give an overview of the coastal resilience self-assessment, how it is being used on Minnesota Point and how it has been used to benefit other Great Lakes communities. Topics will include:​​stewardship of the dunes, shore-land permits, monitoring erosion rates, city policies, and more. Community engagement will be a vital & integral piece of this planning process as emphasized at the April PPCC meeting. 

Minnesota Point has been selected as one of four coastal communities by the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) to receive a year of training and technical assistance to assess flood vulnerability and develop plans and policies that emphasize natural and nature-based solutions. 

The ASFPM Open House is scheduled from 5 – 7 PM on Thursday, May 18th at Lafayette and will include: 

  • Pizza & Refreshments,Thank you DNR & PPCC
  •  Information tables (DNR Coastal Program, City (Planning, Naturalist), PPCC MP50 (maps), ASFPM, and a short presentation.  David Hart, ASFPM, will speak from 6:00 – 6:30 about the Flood Plain Self-Assessment.  
  • Sharing information and dialogues around tables of interest. 

Strengthening Coastal Communities Resilience in the Great Lakes Region Challenge: Minnesota Point

  •  Our team is led by Julie McDonnell, Mn DNR and consists of other members including City of Duluth, Duluth Planning Commission, UMD, Park Point Community Club’s MP50 and Fond du Lac. 

The May 2023 Breeze

Technology to Impact Reckless Driving on Park Point! Neighbors are getting in touch with our state legislators as there are currently bills in the Minnesota House and Senate that would legalize speed and stop light camera use in the State of Minnesota.  This technology might really impact the speeding problems on Park Point. The bill, SF2026/HF2098,would allow cities throughout Minnesota to use radar speed cameras to enforce traffic laws. Here is a template to contact elected officials.

Tuesday 5/16/2023  PPCC Agenda/Notes Here

Call to Order, 7pm, social at 645 pm , Councilor Roz Randorf is planning to attend the beginning of the meeting.