Best bets: Zoom with the DAI, flute music outside, hiking and more

Behold the days of the online event-event, one of those things you would have ordinarily attended in occasion clothes and probably not even noticed you were pinching colby from a shared cheese tray. Like so many organizations, the Duluth Art Institute is putting its annual fundraiser online.

The virtual gala is 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 16, and guest speaker Chesley Antoinette will talk about the history of the Tignon Law, a ruling in 1786 that Black women must wear a wrap that covered their hair while in public. (This was enacted to quell the urges of white men who were attracted to them.) Meanwhile, a lot of women turned the tignon into another way to express fashion. Boom, rebellion. Antoinette, a fiber artist and photographer, has an online exhibition right now available on Smartify. The DAI's gala, hosted by Robin Washington and Ramona Marozas, also has a live auction with planes, trains and hand-crafted items available.

Register at duluthartinstitute.org . Those who attend will be offered a Zoom link.

Paula Gudmundson, an associate music professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, will offer a series of short flute concerts at a handful of locations on Sept. 17 as part of the Bach Society of Minnesota's mini concerts series. The program includes solo works by Bach, Telemann and Blavet and will last about 15 minutes each.

Gudmundson will perform at 3 p.m. at Glensheen, 4:30 p.m. at Ordean Court at UMD, 5 p.m. at the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial (corner of East First St. and North Second Avenue), 5:30 p.m. at Pocket Park (1901 W. Superior St.) and 6 p.m. at Veterans Memorial on the Lakewalk. All concerts are free and open to the public.

One Less Guest, which released its album "Monochrome" during peak quarantine, will play its first show at Sacred Heart Music Center, a no-audience streamed concert available at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 on the venue's YouTube page and Facebook Live.

One Less Guest, an indie rock band, is fronted by violinist Ren Cooper. It's among the bands that have continued to find ways to stay at the forefront during this time of social-distanced art and entertainment.

Two authors who have used Northern Minnesota as a backdrop for their popular novels will have a public conversation in an event hosted by Zenith Bookstore. Leif Enger, who lives here and set his "Virgil Wanderer" in this neighborhood, joins with Minneapolis writer Peter Geye, who simply loves it here.

Geye's newest "Northernmost" is about love and survival that is described as part historical fiction, part marital drama. The virtual event is 7-8 p.m. September 22. It's free, but attendees must register in advance at Crowdcast.

The Joseph Nease Gallery is opening David Bowen's solo exhibition "on water," which the UMD professor describes as such: "With robotics, custom software, sensors, tele-presence and data, I construct devices and situations that are set in motion to interface with the physical and virtual world."

There is also new animations by Jonathan Thunder and projector and sculpture work by James Woodfill at the gallery.

Bowen's opening, which is in-person with social distancing measures in effect, is 2-4 p.m. Sept. 19 at the gallery, 23 W. First St.

As if the Superior Hiking Trail isn't enough of a challenge, the organization behind the hill-scape that runs from Deep North to the edge of Wisconsin is offering up another: scale its scenic vistas and prove it.

The Summit Challenge is a chance to check out epic peaks ranging from Larry's Lookout (on the Ely's Peak loop) and Hunter's Rock (between Lutsen and Caribou Trail trailheads), snap a pick and share it on social media with the #SHTSummitChallenge (not required). Then complete a short survey on the hiking trail website, superiorhiking.org, to receive a memento of your victory. (The full list of peaks is also available on the website.)

The challenge runs until Oct. 31.