Intern Takeover!
Detroit Lakes, MN (August 10, 2023)
Hi there, and welcome to the "intern takeover" blog at Project 412! My name is Grace, and I'm a Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management student at the University of Minnesota.
I started interning at Project 412 in May and it is crazy that this summer is already coming to an end! The wide variety of things happening at P412 all the time means that every day is different, and I am extremely appreciative of everything I have learned from the experience. Today I get to add blog writing to my resume! Before I get into the topic of this blog, I want to give a special shout-out to Amy and Michelle for everything they do at Project 412 and for the community, and for everything I've learned from them this summer.
As we pivot into August, I can’t help but reminisce about all the great things that have happened in Summer 2023:
May kicked off the first addition of art in Detroit Lakes as two recent high school graduates began their senior capstone project mural in the pathway to Dunton Locks by West Lake Drive. The finished product is almost done now and if you get the chance to walk through it (which you should), it feels like an undersea tunnel with adorable fish swimming about.
In June, artist Deneena Hughes and her daughter Sophia painted the mural “Embracing Equinox’ on the South and East sides of the Becker County Human Services building. It depicts each season of the year in Detroit Lakes. The Project 412 office has a birds eye view of this mural, so it was really awesome to see the progression!
June was a great month for live music at the DL City Park Bandshell, with five Fridays of free concerts and food trucks at Trucks and Tunes. Each week featured a different artist or band, with a variety of genres to appeal to all tastes. Corey Medina & Brothers, Martin Zellar, Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome, Rootz Within, and Church of Cash all took the stage. Broken Strings Guitar Club, a non-profit group that aims to donate guitars to aspiring musicians and spread the joy of music, hosted each week. There were also plenty of food options, from La Barista and Wood Fire Pizza to Vittles and the Ice Cream Truck. Bucks Mill Brewing was on hand to provide delicious cold beers. The turnout for Trucks and Tunes was amazing, with packed parking lots and over 600 people attending one of the events.
In addition to the live music at Trucks and Tunes, MusicinDL.com was created to raise awareness to all the live music happening in Detroit Lakes. The site makes it easy to find the live music happening in one place!
July was a busy month for Project 412! Trucks and Tunes continued until mid-month, and we were honored to be Grand Marshal at the Northwest Water Carnival. We had a blast throwing candy at the parade attendees and showing off our matching Project 412 t-shirts. Later in the month, we hosted the first annual baking contest with the Becker County Fair. This year, the contest was for the best chocolate chip cookies. The grand prize winner earned a cash prize along with a ribbon, eternal cookie fame, and additional custom gifts such as an apron.
We had an astounding 53 entries, which doubled our expectations! With that many cookies, we had to find a last-minute additional judge to help us narrow down the field (thank you Kate!). By the end of the day, I can confidently say that those judges were ready to take a break from cookies for a long time, even 14 year old Judge Eli.
Special thanks to everyone who entered, the judges, and Karla with the Becker County Fair for making it all possible. We can't wait to see what people bake up for next year's contest!
We made it to August! This month marks the beginning of more art in DL. Hans Gilsdorf began his mural “Out of Many, One” that will be going on the North wall of the VFW building. The finished product is going to be amazing and we cannot wait to see it. Paul Johnson teamed up with the creative kids at Boys & Girls
Club of Detroit Lakes to conceptualize ideas for an incredible mural. Now, the masterpiece 'Love is the Boys & Girls Club' is in the works and once it is printed on sheets of aluminum panels it will be put up on the Boys and Girls Club Thrift Store of Detroit Lakes MN wall later this month! The final art additions in the works are Hannah Spry’s art surprises going up around town. Keep an eye out for these infusions of art in DL!
Whew, that was a lot more information than I originally thought going into this blog! There was so much going on at Project 412 in Summer 2023 and it amazes me that this is just the beginning of what is yet to come. Stay tuned as more art and vibrancy is brought to DL. Thank you for following the journey and supporting Project 412!