August 2014

In the August issue of White Bear Lake Magazine, you'll learn how local beekeepers are working to help protect the honeybee, meet this year's Prep Elite stand-out students and get a behind-the-scenes look at an incredible backyard transformation complete with a modern-day moat

The Sandcastle and Creatures Building Contest was sponsored by the White Bear Center for the Arts and one of the many annual events at Manitou Days.

 

The month of August occupies a special place in the local foodie’s um, gullet; not only because summer produce is at its height, but also because it’s State Fair season—i.e., stuff-your-face-with-fun-food season. The iconic “fun food” being, of course, some kind of hot dog, brat or sausage.

 

For a time during the 1940s and 1950s, downtown White Bear had its own theater district. The Avalon Theatre was the manifestation of the dreams of Mrs. Jesse Jensen, who had come to town in 1920 with her two children and operated the Auditorium Theatre on Fourth Street.

 
Maiden Dixie is just one of the bands set to perform at the first annual White Bear Music Fest.

Aiming to be the biggest music event in White Bear Lake history, the White Bear Music Fest on August 22 and 23 will offer music for nearly every taste.

 

For most people, moats are the things of fairy tales or medieval times long, long ago. Filled with crocodiles and accessible only by drawbridge, they surround grand castles and protect the kings and queens that live within. But that’s just for most people.

 

High school goes by in a snap, but it’s a defining moment and milestone for most of us.

 
Tim Bartz, left, and Justin McPhee, owners of Mold Craft, have taken their Willernie business to a whole new level of success.

Sometimes great opportunity doesn’t come in the form of a new idea or invention, but rather in the perfection of a practical idea that can facilitate others. Mold Craft, the custom injection-mold making company located in Willernie, has qui

 

With schoolwork, family obligations, jobs, friends and other activities, yes, high school can be a busy and trying time for students. And when you add in the importance of a good grade-point average (GPA) to get into college, it’s little wonder that some students feel stressed.

 
Craig and Gloria Drake don full beekeeping gear to handle the mesh frames where their bees deposit the honey.

There’s been a lot of buzz about the vanishing honeybees. And rightly so, as honeybees are crucial to the survival of countless crops, including carrots, cucumbers, onions and almonds. Without pollinators, these and other foods would disappear.

 

An old stone church requires upkeep.

 
“My Friend” by Gary Schafer won third place in the wildlife category in last year’s photo contest.

For the second year, White Bear Lake Magazine will host a photo contest, giving readers the opportunity to share what the lake-area looks like through their lenses.

 

When he’s not improvising on the trumpet with a jazz-inspired solo, or rehearsing his latest musical number, Sam Burnham, a senior at White Bear Lake Area High-South Campus, is doing chemistry homework.