From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art.

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Lorrie Kummeth of Maple Grove has been attending the Minnesota Pottery Festival in Hutchinson for the last five years and says it's always a fun event. The festival runs Saturday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Masonic West River Park in Hutchinson. She notes the area is flat and accessible with easy parking.

Artists will be selling pottery at a range of price points. Kummeth also recommends watching the demonstrations:

"They do pottery throwdowns: Four or five potters up on their wheels, and they have to produce a specific item or a quantity of items,” said Kummeth. “I know this year there are also a couple of raku demonstrations. They're very dramatic. [The pottery] actually is put into fire, and that is part of what creates the colorations, like iridescent blues, blacks, burgundies. The potter doesn't know what the final glazing will look like until it's done firing."

Twin Cities actress and singer Jen Maren suggests seeing "A Second Helping: A Church Basement Ladies Sequel." This musical comedy is the second of nine shows in the series, set in a rural Minnesota church basement in 1969. The show runs through Aug. 9 at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth.

Maren says to expect laughs, hotdish and dancing from veteran comedians Greta Grosch (who also wrote the show), Dorian Chalmers and Janet Paone:

"These three women know these characters so well,” said Maren. “They're in their 21st year of running these shows, so it's a great chance to go see some great comedians at work."

Michael William Doyle is a poet, musician and historian living in Winona. He appreciates the way photographer Mary Farrell captures the landscapes and architecture of his beloved town in her exhibit, "Wide Angle Winona: A Panoramic View," on view at the Winona County History Center through Sept. 13.

"Mary decided to try to show us the horizontality of our community with its tree-covered bluffs, and the islands, and the historic built environment: the last remaining boathouse community on the entire length of the Mississippi River; the Wagon Bridge where many of them are moored near Latsch Island; the port of Winona [and more]. Because she's lived here for so long, she knows exactly where to go at what time of day to capture the way the light falls on this distinctive area," said Doyle.