On Friday, October 30, Ely's Historic State Theater has a double bill. Wicker screens at 3:30 p.m., and the Night of Music & Comedy with Daren Streblow and Presence Music starts at 6:30 p.m. The next afternoon, the Ely Folk School at 209 E. Sheridan St. spends four hours on Halloween letterpress and cardmaking. Within about a month, Ely Nordic will be watching for enough snow and cold to start grooming the trails.
The weeks in between belong to a short list of indoor rooms. In date order, Ely's November calendar starts with Halloween, works through a run of hands-on classes that turn steadily toward holiday ornaments, and ends at a grooming date that depends on the weather.
Halloween Weekend Starts the Month
This year the season changes over a four-day stretch, and each day has something on it:
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 5–6:30 p.m. The Folk School's "Give Your Bike Some Love: Bicycle Maintenance 101" covers the basics as riding weather winds down.
- Friday, Oct. 30. Wicker at 3:30 p.m. and the music and comedy night at 6:30 p.m., both at the Historic State Theater.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 1–5 p.m. "Grave Impressions: Halloween Letterpress, Printmaking, and Cardmaking" at the Folk School.
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 12:30 p.m. V for Vendetta at the theater.
The theater's website lists hours of Thursday and Friday from 3 to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. Those are the hours posted now. Check the event page before you head over on a weeknight later in the month. If the building's history interests you, our earlier piece on the 90-year-old marquee on Sheridan Street covers how it got this far.
Then the Class List Turns Toward the Tree
After Halloween, the Folk School carries most of the month. The order of its classes matters. November opens with a reflective multi-week course, has one family session early on, and from the week before Thanksgiving is mostly ornaments.
| Date | Class | Time | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Nov. 2 | Watercolor as a Pathway Through Grief | 5–7 p.m. | 3 sessions |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Creative Kids: Make Pendant Jewelry, ages 8+ | 1–3 p.m. | One date listed |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Beginner Rosemaling Ornaments | 1–4 p.m. | 2 sessions |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Using Asemic Writing for Art Making | 5:30–8 p.m. | One date listed |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Beaded Globe Ornaments | 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | All day |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Ornament Woodburning | 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | One date listed |
A few things in that schedule are useful if you're planning around it.
The watercolor class is a three-session commitment that starts on a Monday at the very beginning of the month. Signing up for it books part of your November in advance.
The Friday, Nov. 6 kids' class runs from 1 to 3 p.m. on a weekday afternoon. That time works best for grandparents, homeschooling families, or anyone with flexible hours.
Thursday, Nov. 19 is the busiest day on the list. Rosemaling ornaments take up the afternoon, and asemic writing starts at 5:30 p.m., so one person could attend both if the first session ends on time.
The beaded globe ornament class runs all day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If family is in town that weekend, it's a full day you could plan around. The woodburning class the next Saturday keeps the ornament run going into December.
Registration goes through the Ely Folk School's event list, and the school's phone number is 218-235-0138.
The Third Wednesday Has a Standing Plan
The Folk School fills the weekdays and Saturdays. History Happy Hour fills one evening a month. According to the Ely Echo's community calendar, the program runs October through May, usually on the third Wednesday of the month at 5 p.m. at the Boathouse Brewpub & Restaurant. Each one is free, in person, and 30 minutes or less. Jess Edberg, executive director of the Dorothy Molter Museum, hosts.
If November follows that pattern, the date is Wednesday, Nov. 18. The October session was on the 21st and covered the history of cemeteries. The Echo listing names a long list of in-kind supporters: the Boathouse, Ely's Heritage Preservation Commission, the Dorothy Molter Museum, the Ely-Winton Historical Society, the Ely Echo, the Timberjay, Boundary Waters Connect, and the Ely Folk School. With that many organizations involved, it's one of the more dependable evenings on the winter calendar. Look for the November topic in the Echo's calendar as the date gets closer.
December 1 Is a Target the Weather Can Move
Ely Nordic's trail page says the grooming season "will normally begin on December 1st or when sufficient snowfall and cold temperatures permit," and that an earlier start may happen if conditions allow. So the first groomed night could come in late November or slip well into December, depending on snowfall.
The same page has a few details that help you be ready when grooming starts:
- Grooming happens at night. It usually starts after dark and finishes before sunrise. The club asks skiers to stay off trails while grooming is underway and right after, so the surface can firm up.
- A Minnesota ski pass is required on all ski trails. The Minnesota DNR's ski pass page is where you can get one before the first good snow.
- No dogs on groomed trails. The trails also follow a non-motorized use policy.
- Volunteers do most of the work. The club maintains the trails year-round, mostly with volunteer labor, and trail reports come from volunteers and board members.
- The full grooming season runs through March 15. After that, grooming becomes less frequent depending on weather and trail use.
Ely Nordic posts trail maps on Trailforks for the Hidden Valley Recreation Area. A dry November afternoon is a good time to walk the routes before they're covered in snow.
What's Already Penciled In Past the Snow
Once grooming starts, the calendar keeps going. The Folk School has "Print and Paint with Andy Warhol: Exploring the Blotting Technique" on Dec. 17. In the first week of January it starts 2027 Makers Mornings on Jan. 7 at 9:30 a.m., with a felted-pin class that same afternoon.
The larger date is the Ely Winter Festival, set for Feb. 4–14, 2027. The festival calendar is taking event submissions now. If your group or business wants to be part of it, November is a good time to send something in.
For more on how downtown is laid out after this year's construction, see what changed on the ground in downtown Ely. For the bigger picture of the town, our Ely neighborhood guide is a good place to start.
If you're spending more of the year at your place near Ely, or wondering what a cabin is like between paddling season and ski season, Taylor Glynn and the team at Vermilion Real Estate Services are glad to talk through how the year actually goes up here. Make your cabin dream a reality. Schedule a showing and we'll put the November calendar next to the listings.
