Discover the craft of the cooper on-site at the Grand Portage National Monument's reconstructed Historic North West Company Fur Trade Depot. This special opportunity to learn first hand with a practicing cooper introduces participants to the different elements of coopering – white, slack and wet. Each participant will build a wooden watering bucket, learning to shape the wood, make the metal hoops and assemble. On site, the class will then assemble a traditional fish barrel (historically referenced as a salmon tersk barrel), a 110 gallon barrel that’s short, fat and pudgy – a classic barrel created for shipment and storage. The barrel project will introduce students to a life-long skill set and fascination with coopering techniques and tools. The class will take place the week of the famed Rendezvous Days, held on-site at the grounds of the Portage National Monument in Grand Portage, MN (35 miles NE of Grand Marais).

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