BALL CLUB — Sometimes all it takes is a little grit.
Annie Humphrey grew up playing basketball and had long dreamed of painting a mural on a basketball court. She figured a mural would be too expensive. Turns out the solution was surprisingly simple: concrete paint with grit in it.
"The Art of the Game" is Fire in the Village's mural celebration in Ball Club on August 29 from 12:00 p.m. to 9 p.m., which includes a basketball tournament, dinner, fashion show and live music. The event is described as more than a mural unveiling, but an intentional bridge-building event and celebration of village life.
The basketball tournament will feature teams of families and community leaders from Ball Club. Along with locals, Humphrey said the goal is to also include non-Native groups, who don't usually come to the Rez to experience Anishinaabe culture and community.
The process
Humphrey has been working hard on the Ball Club basketball court mural, one of the first of its kind in the area. Family and friends have been stopping by to assist.
"I've been painting ... I don't answer my phone. I miss Zoom meetings. They're like, 'Hey, where you at?' ... I'm painting! I'm on the court," Humphrey said in a recent Bright Spot conversation on the KAXE Morning Show.
All ages have been included in the mural painting, and Humphrey described her daily visits from area kids on bikes. She created two designs and assumed the kids would choose the more contemporary design. They instead wanted the traditional Ojibwe animal design: a bear, turtle and eagle. It's called "The Art of the Game."
Humphrey explained the kids requested the bear have a conversation bubble too, saying, "I'm open! Pass it, fool!"
Basketball is at the center of the celebration, Saturday, Aug. 29, at the powwow grounds in Ball Club.
After the three-on-three basketball tournament, the evening will include dinner, live music and a fashion show with designs from Humphrey, Amber Buckanaga and Anthony Rivera.
Registration begins at 11 a.m. for the basketball games. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. with the fashion show and live music to follow. Everyone who attends will be eligible to win the door prize, an aluminum canoe.
Contact Humphrey if you would like to volunteer as a scorekeeper or referee or during the basketball games. They are also looking for models for the fashion show.
Listen to our full conversation above to hear more about Humphrey's basketball history, the fashion designers and what Ball Club means to her.
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The Bright Spot is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
