After eighteen successful seasons, The Woodtick Band has now started their nineteenth season. They play in the quaint Woodtick Musical Theater, located in the heart of Akeley, Minnesota. About a ten to fifteen minute drive, south of Walker, Minnesota. Please, note the map to the right.

Their show has a well balanced mix of country, bluegrass, folk, gospel and comedy throughout. Sometimes, all at the same moment! They add their own style to songs from as far back as you can remember as well as songs that the young ones listen to on the radio. By adding their own style, they convert these songs into something everyone can enjoy while still maintaining the original song. One of the most satisfying parts of the show is that you do not have to worry about your children hearing profanity or any sort of unsavory humor.

The Woodtick Musical Theater is one of the venues I hear the most recommendations for. So, after putting it off for too long, my family and I decided to go. Before the show, the host asked everyone in the audience to show their hands if it was their first time visiting the theater. About half the audience raised their hands. Next, he asked those who had been to the theater before to raise their hands. The other half of the audience then raised their hands! At first, it was surprising but after seeing the show it was easy to see why the theater and band have such a large fan base.

The show is reminiscent of Prairie Home Companion, minus the pretentiousness. The members of the band are all local artists who each bring their own musical and comical styles to the table, creating a premium blend of that old fashioned, Northern Minnesota charm we all love. The size of the theater is small enough to make it personal, yet it fits enough people to hear roaring laughter.

Soon enough, we will be able to say we’ve been there more then twice! If you want to find out more about the theater and show times, the Woodtick Musical Theater has their own website. Be sure you call ahead to reserve tickets. Often times, the shows are sold out!

Woodtick Musical Theater’s official website: www.woodtickTheater.net

Last Wednesday I went ice fishing out of my car. After a couple days of rain you are fortunate if you can drive a truck around out on Leech Lake. The best way to get around right now is by ATV. Walking is not a good option unless you have high boots. With spring coming up now is the time to either get some close-out ice fishing equipment or start building up your arsenal of lures for spring and summer.

Choose Your Lure!
Before you choose your lure you need to know what are you going to be fishing for and what consider what time of year it is. Leech Lake has most of the species of freshwater fish that fishers of all types aim to catch. Most are looking to catch Walleye but the open season on Walleye does not start until May 15, 2010. So you are going to want to keep those small jigs around for Panfish, like Crappies, Bluegills and Pumpkinseed since they are always in open season. They can be a lot of fun to catch too since when one is biting usually all of the others are too. This means many platefuls of fish!

Panfish
Get some bobbers. They are cheap and make all the difference in being able to see any nibbles. Use some tiny jigs, even ice fishing jigs will work. For bait, wax worms and maggots are best. Panfish are not too picky about color. They are not too hard to persuade. If it looks mostly like food, they will try to eat it. As long as you stick to brighter colors they will usually try to bite.