MARQUETTE, Mich.— Special events related to an exhibit of works by Alger County resident Niel Haapala will be held Sept. 10-11 at Northern Michigan University’s DeVos Art Museum. All are free and open to the public.

            Haapala spent much of his working days in the logging camps, where he learned to carve wood and paint from a German prisoner of war. But it wasn’t until he retired that he found his artistic calling. The exhibition, titled “Niel Haapala: An Illustrated History of Louds Spur and Other Small Histories from Alger County,” features paintings and wood carvings the artist made to share stories, jokes and local history.

            A reception for the exhibit will take place from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10, in the DeVos Art Museum. Two additional events are scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 11. At noon, Stuart Baird of Calumet will give a woodcarving demonstration. From 1-3 p.m., the museum will host an open house reception and family day, with art activities for children of all ages.

The exhibition and related programs are presented in conjunction with the Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival presented by the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at NMU and supported, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Haapala’s work will be on display through Sept. 26.