05/29/2026
This week's County Connections is all about what you can get up to at your community center this June! Check in out:
COUNTY CONNECTIONS
Cook County Community Center June Programs
By: Anna Klobuchar, Community Center Assistant and Sarah Waddle, Community Center Director
As we slide into warmer weather and summer, your Community Center will be busy this year. As soon as the snow melted, the skateboard park, playgrounds, and tennis/pickleball courts were in full swing, and the Superior Cycling Association began working to install the bike skills park again in the hockey rink. The Pappy Wright Field hosted high school softball games before the school year ended, and youth and adult ball programs are gearing up to begin.
The garden spaces in the Early Childhood Playground area are being revitalized this summer into a pollinator garden. Pollinator-friendly gardens feature plants that provide food and habitat for pollinators like bees and butterflies. There is a volunteer opportunity on Friday June 5th to help plant the garden. No experience is necessary; all materials and direction will be provided. Join us to celebrate sprucing up the playground area while providing habitat for pollinators! Volunteers can sign up to attend at volunteersignup.org/848XR.
Grand Marais Farmers Market: The Grand Marais Farmers Market will be back in the Cook County Community Center parking lot Thursday afternoons from 4:30 to 6:00 pm from June 18 through October 29. Exciting happenings are in store at the market this year! The market offers local produce, baked goods, and other foods all grown or made in Cook County. The market is operated as a partnership between the Community Center and the Northwoods Food Project, a local non-profit organization.
The farmers market is not just a place to find nutritious local foods; it’s also a community gathering space and a local economic hub of activity. Produce found at the market is picked by a local farmer that very day- as fresh as it gets! Shoppers get to interact with our local producers to learn about their farming practices as well as their baking and production methods, and you’re also sure to run into your friends and neighbors. Buying from our local producers not only provides for their livelihood, it also puts money directly into our local economy. With the market located next to the playground and skateboard park, there is plenty for the kids to do too. This year the market will feature monthly cooking demonstrations featuring seasonal ingredients, kids’ activities, and a monthly bike safety station.
SNAP/EBT are accepted at the market! Visit the welcome booth at the market to learn how to use your EBT card to shop. You’ll also get matching benefits in the form of Market Bucks and Produce Bucks which adds to your purchasing power- up to $10 of your SNAP is matched 2:1 with these programs. We also offer a program for WIC recipients, called Together We Grow. Participating families receive $20 at the market each week to spend on local food.
Thanks to generous sponsorship from the Oral Health Task Force and Empty Bowls, we are also able to offer the Power of Produce Club for kids and low-income seniors. This free club is available every week at the market starting in mid-July. Kids ages 4-12 and seniors over 65 who meet income guidelines (available at the welcome booth) sign up to join the club and receive $5 each week to spend on fresh produce. The Club is a wonderful way to try new vegetables and fruits! Come say hello to us under the tent and we can tell you all about these offerings. Follow the Grand Marais Farmers Market on Facebook for updates and announcements.
Kitchen Incubator Program: And don’t forget the other valuable resource at the Community Center: The Kitchen Incubator Program. This program aims to support food entrepreneurs in the start up phase of their businesses. Food businesses apply to participate, and those selected gain access to the commercial kitchen at the Community Center for up to two years at a low hourly rental rate. For more information about this program, visit our website.
Food distributions: On the fourth Wednesday of every month from 1:30-2:00 pm, we host the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Mobile Food Pantry. The food is distributed in a drive through format in the Community Center parking lot. For those wishing to come, please be ready to provide basic information like name, address and number of people in your household. For more information, please email [email protected].
Community events scheduled for June:
Weekly Events:
- Magic the Gathering card game nights: Mondays 4:30-9:00 pm. All skill levels welcome.
- Yoga class with Soteria Yoga: Tuesdays 4:15-5:15 pm and Fridays 8:30-9:30 am. Donation based. This form of yoga emphasizes gentle, continuous motion and breathing, No experience necessary! Come weekly or drop in when you can.
- Community Song Circle: Tuesdays 7:00-8:00 pm. All voices welcome. No prior experience necessary.
- LGBTQIA+ youth group for middle and high school students: Wednesdays 2:00-4:00 pm. Facilitated by Cook County Pride
- Open dance nights with Angel Kelly: Wednesdays 5:15-7:00 pm. Freestyle, Oula, and Flow dancing lets you experience the joy of movement, the love of dancing and connection. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your water bottle.
- Grand Marais Farmers Market: Thursdays 4:30-6:00 pm, beginning June 18th.
Other June events:
- Good Harbor Hill Solstice Puppet Pageant Workshops: May 30-June 14th. Various times- check the website for details: www.goodharborhillplayers.org. All are welcome to join in making giant cardboard and recycled materials puppets, no experience necessary.
- Appalachian Jam music night: Thursdays June 4 and June 18, 7:00-9:00 pm. Bring your own instrument.
- Pollinator Garden Planting Volunteer Event: Friday June 5th, all day. Learn more and sign up at volunteersignup.org/848XR
- Cook County Pride LGBTQ+ and Friends Country Western Dance Night: Friday, June 12, 6:00-9:00 pm. No experience needed, lessons provided.
- Dungeons and Dragons Game Nights: Saturdays June 13 and June 27, 10:30 am-2:00 pm.
- WISE Luncheon: June 16th, 11:30 am-1:00 pm. Learn about the Women’s Initiative for Service and Education and how you can get involved.
- Mobile Food Pantry: Wednesday June 24th, 1:30-2:00 pm. Hosted by AEOA and Second Harvest.
- Film Screening: Palestine 36: Saturday June 27th, 5:00-7:30 pm. Hosted by Cook County for Palestine group, refreshments provided.
-Ecstatic Dance: Monday June 29th, 6:30-9:00 pm. Freeform dance movement in a safe, no judgement space for playful dancing. No talking, no cell phones, BYO water bottle. Everyone is welcome.
If you like to keep up to date on all that is happening at the Community Center, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website.
County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.
