Art curator and bilingual instructor William Franklin recommends a trip along the St Croix River this weekend for the River Valley Potters Fall Tour, with stops at three pottery home studios in Shafer and Marine on St. Croix.

Nick Earl, Peter Jadoonath and father-daughter duo Guillermo and Alana Cuellar are the host potters, each of whom will host an additional four to six artists, ensuring that there will be plenty of handmade ceramics to see at each stop. Franklin particularly appreciates the work of fellow Venezuela-to-Minnesota transplant Guillermo Cuellar.

The pottery tour runs Sept. 16-18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s part of a larger event called Take Me to the River, which celebrates “art at every bend in the river” through Oct 2.

Rachel Miller looks forward to her hometown Lakeville Art Festival every third weekend of September. Held on the grounds of the Lakeville Area Arts Center, Miller says the two-day festival is a celebration of art that is intimate in feel. She loves getting to know the creatives who return year after year for the juried arts show as well as those emerging on the scene.

“Each time I go, I am so inspired, and it’s not just because of the fine artists. It just gives me a sense of community,” said Miller.

She particularly recommends checking out the vivid paintings of Olga Krasovska, originally of Ukraine, now living in Granite Falls, and the wooden furniture of Justin Hossle of Minneapolis,  who she says won Best in Show at last year’s festival. The festival also includes a community art project. This year it’s a 3D sculpture whose theme is “Setting Sail” — along with a youth art tent, live music, food, and art demos.

The festival runs Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sharon Mansur of Winona was a McKnight dance fellow from 2018, and she is looking forward to seeing SOLO: the world-premiere dance performances by the 2020 and 2021 McKnight cohort. The performance will be a night of hip-hop, rhythmic Chicago footwork, Brazilian contemporary choreography, and modern contemporary dance. Each of the six dance solos lasts up to 10 minutes, interspersed with short videos showing behind-the-scenes looks at the artist’s process.

Each year, this prestigious award goes to three dancers who each develop a new solo dance work with the help of a choreographer they commission. Last year, the previous two cohorts presented their work as dance videos amid the pandemic; this year, the performances will be live.

The 2021 dance fellows whose work will be presented this year are Alexandra Eady, Hassan Ingraham, and David Stalter, Jr.  The 2020 fellows are Non Edwards, Melissa Clark, and Marciano Silva dos Santos.

The dancers take the stage Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Goodale Theater at the Cowles Center for Dance and The Performing Arts in Minneapolis. Saturday’s performance is pay-as-you-are and will be live-streamed.