Youth & Family Day

Wednesday, August 15, 2018 Everyone is welcome to join us for some or all of this free event (the forecast looks great – sunny and 70!). We are excited that participants will include: Kids and families from Wild Within (Ely’s adventure day care program) Youth and families from Ely Community Resource Tribal youth from the Bois […]

2018 Construction

Canoe Country Greetings! Each week (until September 19th) we meet on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. at the Ely Folk School (EFS) for friendship, sharing, hands-on learning about traditional birch bark canoe construction, cultural history, and more. Everyone is welcome to visit, observe, or participate. This week’s Birch Bark Canoe Project (BBCP) schedule includes: Tuesday, June […]

Field Harvest

Due to the great success and excitement of last year’s Birch Bark Canoe Project, Ely Folk School is proud to announce the 2017 project schedule. Anyone who is interested can participate in the Tuesday and Wednesday evening gatherings April 11 through August 23 from 5-9 p.m. Your first visit is free, and then a $10 […]

20′ Canoe Update

Thanks to instructor Erik Simula, birchbark canoe building has been a ‘flagship’ of the Ely Folk School since we launched in spring 2015.  Erik facilitated a team of EFS volunteers and students who crafted our first canoe, a 14-footer, literally from the ground up: first by gathering spruce root, pitch, cedar and birchbark in the […]

2016 Pow Wow

It all started on a whim. A year ago, Ely Folk School members Paul and Sue Schurke were looking for a novel get-away and noticed it was summer Pow Wow weekend for the Ojibwa community on the Canadian side of the Boundary Water’s Lac La Croix. Seizing the moment, they arrived there on an overnight paddle from the Little Indian Sioux trailhead. […]

Building the Canoe: 2016

by EFS on September 2, 2016  Crafting Authenticity Did you notice the fine piece of paddle-able art that took shape this summer on the lawn next to the Fisherman’s Headquarters building? The Ely Folk School’s birch bark canoe building project was headed by Erik Simula, former interpretive ranger and canoe builder at Grand Portage National Monument. The project […]