January is music and snow, art and festivals.

First up, of course, are New Year’s Eve parties, and there are plenty to chose from with a wide selection of music this year.

Cook County’s Most Wanted plays for the New Year’s Bash at the Gunflint Tavern on New Year’s Eve, The Shack Shakers play at the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, and Wildwood plays at the Harbor Light Supper Club & Bar. Trail’s End Band plays at Windigo Lodge, Blueberry Jaam plays at the Cascade Lodge Pub and Papa Charlie’s features DJ D’Angelo as well as fireworks and a parade.

Michael Monroe is holding a series of Log Cabin Concerts with Michael Johnson over the New Year’s weekend, too, with concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Call 387-2919 for reservations and more info.

The next week, Lutsen Mountains and Papa Charlie’s hold Snowball 2012 with a variety of bands playing from Jan. 5 through Jan. 7 including Dead Man Winter, the San Souci Quartet, John Wayne & The Pain, Rooster McCabe, Smokin’ Joe Scarpellino, Useful Jenkins and Wookie Foot. That festival is immediately followed by College Week, with lots of music, comedy acts and more at Papa Charlie’s.

Ramona Abrego holds a painting she did of Sarah Hamilton's dog, Roger. The painting is at Trail Center.

Classical music takes center stage Jan. 13-14 when the Grammy award-winning Parker Quartet comes to Grand Marais for free workshops with K-5 Cook County students after school on Friday, Jan. 13, and a concert in the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the North Shore Music Association.

The Quartet won the Concert Artists Guild Competition as well as the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France in 2005, the Cleveland Quartet Award for the 2009-2011 seasons and a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.

Daniel Chong, Karen Kim, Jessica Bodner, and Kee-Hyun Kim are currently artists in residence at the University of Minnesota. They are also teaching instrumental lessons at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and partnering with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to launch All Hearts Listen, a concert series in the Twin Cities.

Midwinter also brings the Sunday night classical music series at Bluefin Bay. This year Clare Chopp, who plays violin and viola and pianist Sam Black launch the series on Jan. 8 from 6-8 p.m. Other scheduled concerts this month include flautist Betty Braunstein and string bass player Vincent Osborn and then the Broadway-Swider Classical Duo.

And not to forget, the winter music series in West End establishments starts in January as well with apres-ski music scheduled on weekends and during the week. Local musicians from throughout the county play at Lutsen Resort, Papa Charlie’s, Moguls, the Bluefin Grille and the Cascade Lodge Pub. Musicians include Bump & Barbara Jean, Eric Frost, Pete Kavanaugh, James Moors, Joe Paulik, Timmy Haus, Jim Miller, Michael Monroe and Gordon Thorne, to name a few. Check out our calendar for details and times.

And for those who want to play in a more relaxed atmosphere, consider Open Mic night at Papa Charlie’s on Tuesday nights hosted by Bump Blomberg. It starts at 7 p.m.

The end of the month brings an array of festivals and events, including the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, which starts out in Duluth on Jan. 29, the Winter Arts Festival (Jan. 30 - Feb. 12) and Winter Tracks, Feb. 3-12.

The Winter Arts Festival, organized by the Grand Marais Art Colony, includes the Winter Plein Air festival, which draws plein air painters from around the region to ski across a frozen lake and stay at YMCA Camp Menogyn, venturing out each day to capture light and form in the frozen landscape. An exhibit of the works will be at the Grand Marais Art Colony Feb.3-12 with the opening reception at the Art Colony at 6 p.m. Feb. 3.

Also that weekend, snow sculptors will be carving snow blocks located in various locations around the county during the Snow Carving Symposium. A stipend and lodging can be provided to registered artists.

The deadline register for both of these events is Feb. 14. Contact the Art Colony at 387-2737 or visit www.grandmaraisartcolony.org for more information.

There’s another Art Colony deadline in January as well. For the last few years, the Art Colony has partnered with the Spirit of the Wilderness Church to put on a Spring Theme Exhibit, which has always garnered high praise and enthusiasm. This year’s theme is “Rhythms of Darkness and Light.” Participating artists are asked to explore the effects of darkness and light on their art and lives. The exhibit is open to every media. Artists must register by Jan. 20. The artwork is due by March 6, with the exhibit opening March 23. Contact the Art Colony for more information.

In other art news, Beryl Singleton Bissell’s “A View of the Lake” and Marcia Hyatt’s “What Have We Mythed?” have been nominated for a Minnesota Book Award. The awards are announced April 14.

Marlyn Johnson has a collection of rock collages at The Attic crafted from Lake Superior driftwood, beach rocks and agates. Johnson will be retiring after this season.

Winter reading suggestions from Drury Lane Books include “Travels with Odysseus: Uncommon Wisdom from Homer’s Odyssey” by Michael J. Goldberg and “Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha” by Tara Brach.

Marian Lansky's "Earth Magic" is at Sivertson Gallery.

Mariann Lansky has new giclee prints at Sivertson Gallery. Lansky, an artist in her own right, also works with her husband, Duluth printmaker Rick Allen.

Sivertson Gallery’s popular Fireside Chat series begin the second week of February, culminating with the Inuit Premiere March 17. Stay tuned for details.

New exhibits open at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery on Jan. 13 including Brian Holden’s multimedia exhibit “Wilderness,” and “A Sense of Place,” featuring 36 American and Canadian printmakers, organized and circulated by the Windsor Printmaker’s Forum, as well as an exhibit of Patricia Deadman’s photographs from the gallery’s permanent collection.

Bryan Hansel is teaching a Lake Superior Winter Photography workshop through Lutsen Resort Feb. 10. For more info and to register, visit www.lutsenresort.com.

And finally, if you’re going to be in Duluth this month, stop by the Duluth Art Institute’s exhibits in the Depot. “Homecoming,” an exhibit by Martin DeWitt, former director of the Tweed Museum of Art, is open through Jan. 8. An installation by 60 artists who have exhibited at the DAI in the past, “Ochre Ghost: Ab Initio,” is also on exhibit. The DAI’s Annual Membership Show opens Jan. 18.