Over the past few weeks, I've found myself asking a question I didn't expect. Should we simply move on? The smoke has cleared. Our summer season has come to a close. Visitors are returning, businesses are reopening to a more familiar rhythm, and life in Ely is beginning to settle into whatever "normal" looks like after a summer like this one. Part of me wondered if that should be the end of the story.

I've been trying to write this for a few weeks now, and every version felt like it was answering the wrong question. The question most people seem to be asking is whether I'm leaving Ely. Some have even wondered whether I'm leaving Northern Lakes Arts Association. I understand why. In a small town, information travels quickly, and by the time it reaches everyone, it often becomes a different story than the one that actually happened. So I'd rather tell you mine.

Greenstone Art Camp is not ending. It is evolving. This fall, NLAA is launching a new Friday visual arts pilot designed to better serve Ely families during the school year