Sometimes it can be hard to find activities to do as a family, especially at a low cost. Waterstop Infoshop may be the next one-stop shop for opportunities to get creative and learn together.

Tucked behind the NorShor Theatre, a new creative commons space has been growing. Waterstop Infoshop began on November 1st, 2024, with the co-founders wanting to create more things to do with their kids.

Waterstop is an Infoshop and creative community space in downtown Duluth, Minnesota offering free/low-cost classes in the creative arts, family and popular education events, and a place for people of all ages and backgrounds to begin

How it started

“I’m a parent of two young kids, and I continually find that there is not enough to do with kiddos in this town, and I think that’s probably true for adults too,” said Thomlin Swan, one of the co-founders. “Especially in winter, it’s really hard to just find spaces to play together, try activities together, relax together.”

And the Waterstop Infoshop became the place to find those things to do with their family. Local artists and community members visit the space to host a variety of events in this small space. One of their most frequent events is their Alleycraft Community Art Sessions.

These art sessions are from 3:30pm-5pm every Wednesday. As local artists guide participants through the process of turning trash into treasure. Lately, they have been making bookmarks and working on their community mural, their Mama Water Mural for the Waterstop’s wall. During all these sessions, the artists use upcycled materials to show creativity is not limited by materials.

Thomlin said, “Each week we’ll have a little project to work on, and I try to use upcycled supplies as much as possible so that we can learn how to take care of the earth and also express ourselves.”

The Waterstop Infoshop offers a myriad of free or low-cost classes for people of all ages. These classes are in visual arts, movement arts, and any kind of creative practice you can imagine. The events are designed for families and just for adults to have fun. In the short few months, they have been up, the infoshop already has a full calendar.

Waterstop Events

Wednesday evenings are the Alleycraft community art session. Right after that, they host Deep Listening from 6:30pm to 7:30pm That’s facilitated by a local artist named Jess Morgan. It’s a guided session of ways to explore vocal and movement improvisation at the same time. Similar to their Authentic Movement. A workshop where you can go and learn how to tune into your body. You don’t have to have any movement experience at all. A safe container for moving improvisationally without music, without choreography, just fully self-guided. This occurs on Monday evenings from 5:30pm to 7pm.

The Waterstop Infoshop also hosts an open dojo. So, if you practice any martial arts form and want to come to practice it with other folks. You can go do that on Sundays from 9am to 12am and Fridays from 6pm to 9pm.

They also work to help people find self-improvement and connection to themselves and the world around them. They host a film series called “Where Is My Mind?” The films are some documentaries and some narrative films. “But all exploring the extreme absurdities of our time and trying to unpack that and understand how we got where we are,” Thomlin said. As well as their Community Sharing Circles. A facilitated circle where everybody is welcome to listen to each other and share what’s on their heart.

And many more events are planned and created each week. Waterstop connects and works with local artists to host even more events and provide for the community. You can find more details and see what events are planned for this month on their website, Waterstop Infoshop — Emergent Seas.