Fisherman’s Picnic, Magical Music & Raku Firings

by Joan Farnam on August 1, 2019

"Exploring Lake Superior" by Layne Kennedy.

“Exploring the shore near Hovland.” Photo by Layne Kennedy.

Grand Marais is the place to be this weekend if you want to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Fisherman’s Picnic. The event, which has changed a lot over the years, still draws in relatives, classmates and friends from all over the country to celebrate their Cook County roots. It’s also a great time for family fun, competitions, lots of live music, fish burgers, contests and more.

The Fisherman’s Picnic Parade is at 1 p.m. on Sunday. It’s the best parade of the year. Check it out in downtown Grand Marais on Sunday.

There are an extraordinary number of events during the 4-day festival, Thursday, Aug. 1 through Sunday, Aug. 4. Everything from the Cutest Puppy Contest and a Loon Calling Contest, the Big Fish Contest and a professional Log Rolling Tournament, to name a few, will happen this weekend. And there are softball and tennis tournaments this weekend, as well as a Trail Run on Pincushion Mountain. There’s lots of live music on the Harbor Park stage as well as in the festival tent at Voyageur Brewery. And not to forget, the famous fish burgers, served up by the Lions’ Club, which sponsors and organizes the event as a fundraiser for their projects.

On Saturday night, there are fireworks displays after dark, and the Fisherman’s Picnic Parade is on Sunday at 1 p.m., followed by bagpipers playing on the stage in Harbor Park. For the complete schedule of all the activities, click here. A detailed schedule has also been produced by Northern Wilds, and copies can be found at VisitCookCounty and other venues in town.

And, because there are lots of visitors this weekend, local organizations will serve up a great selection of things to do, too.

The Cook County Market, featuring a number of local artists and crafters will be open Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during Fisherman’s Picnic.

The Cook County Market is open for four days during Fish Pic: Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in a new location. It will be held on Wisconsin Street across from the World’s Best Donuts.

It’s in a different location: on Wisconsin Street across from the World’s Best Donuts. (A good placement to get a tasty snack!) All welcome.

North House Folk School has scheduled a variety of activities, including birchbark weaving demos by Beth Homa Kraus Thursday through Sunday. She will also teach a mini-workshop on Saturday. North House will also hold mini-workshops including Try It: Baking and Try It: Timber Framing. And the good ship The Hjordis is making regular trips on Lake Superior. Call North House at 387-9762 for more info and to register.

Dan Helmerson will give a presentation at the Johnson Heritage Post on Thursday at 4 p.m. entitled “Memories of Growing Up and Vacationing in Cook County.”

Dan Helmserson will give a talk about growing up in Cook County at the Johnson Heritage Post at 4 p.m. Thursday.

It should be a fun and interesting presentation. He’s bound to show lots of fascinating photos from the past and tell great stories about them. Free. Open to all.

The Local Food Market, featuring locally grown vegetables, artisan breads, fresh flowers and more will be held at the Cook County Community Center’s parking lot from 4:30-6 p.m. on Thursday.

The Thursday Local Food Market is a popular place to stop on Thursday afternoons from 4:30-6 p.m.

And on Thursday and Friday, check out the Fisherman’s Picnic Raku Firing, which will be held at the Maker’s Market site at 6 North Broadway.

The Fisherman’s Picnic Raku Firing will be held Thursday and Friday nights at the Maker’s Market space on North Broadway.

Each participant will receive a professionally made piece of pottery to decorate. Once the piece is decorated, it will be fired in a raku kiln, and be ready to take home. Firings will at 5:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday and 5:30 and 7 p.m. Friday. Sessions are limited to 10 people. For more info, to register and get tickets, click here.

Also on Thursday night, the Grand Marais Playhouse Summer Theater Festival continues with the staging of “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline” featuring Diane Blanchette and Braidy Powers. The musical, which is performed at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts continues with performances on Saturday, Aug. 3, and Aug. 10 & 11. Tickets are available at the door.

On Friday and Saturday, the Bally Blacksmith Shop will be open and demonstrations will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop is a project of the Cook County Historical Society and is located near the Co-Op parking lot in downtown Grand Marais.

On Friday evening, the Johnson Heritage Post will host an opening reception for a new exhibit, “Circle Tour Art” by Douglas Ross. The opening reception is from 5-7 p.m.

This painting by Douglas Ross, one of the works featured in an upcoming show at the Johnson Heritage Post.

The exhibit features a great selection of the paintings he did while on a circle tour of Lake Superior. The exhibit continues through August. The Heritage Post is closed on Tuesdays. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Monday and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

Also on Friday, the musical, “The Marvelous Wunderettes: Dream On” will be staged at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, one of the musicals featured the Grand Marais Playhouse‘s Summer Theater Festival.

The Marvelous Wunderettes features KarenBlackburn, Tina Hegg Raway, Karina Roth and Diane Stoddard.

There are only two performances left is this fun show: Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Not to be missed.

Also on Friday, Tettegouche State Park will host an opening reception for Kyle Voigtlander, who will be exhibiting his work through August.

One of Kyle Voigtlander’s intricate works which will be featured at Tettegouche State Park this month.

The opening reception is at 7 p.m. From 6-7 p.m., there will be a coloring activity for all ages in the Great Hall at Tettegouche. All welcome. Free.

On Saturday, Lissa Grover will teach mini-workshops on making glass coasters in the glass studio at the Grand Marais Art Colony. The workshops will be from 9-11 a.m and from 1-3 p.m. The coasters will be fired and ready for pick-up the next day. For info and to register, call the Art Colony at 387-2737.

Also on Saturday, Sugarloaf Cove is offering a creative writing workshop with author Kendra Atleework at 10 a.m.. Entitled “Creative Writing: Setting, Place and Landscape,” the workshop will consider how authors conjure place as character and how we can evoke setting as more than an arbitrary backdrop and create a landscape that deepens character and propels plot.

Sugarloaf Cove will host a creative writing workshop on Saturday.

This workshop will take place outdoors, weather permitting. Light refreshments will be provided. Free, but registration is required. Click here to learn more.

And author Joan Crosby will sign her book, “The Tucker Lake Chronicles” at the Lake Superior Trading Post from 1-3 p.m. Saturday.

And last, but not least, nationally acclaimed mystery writer, Sara Paretsky, will be at Writer’s Salon at Drury Lane Books at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Sara Paretsky will be at Drury Lane Books for a Writer’s Salon at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Paretsky will read from her new V. I. Warshawski mystery, “Shell Game,” take questions from the audience, and sign books. Open to all.

Sunday: The Fisherman’s Picnic Parade: 1 p.m., downtown Grand Marais.

On Monday, Grand Marais’ own author, Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux, will tell stories about Brave Girls & Wise Women at the Grand Marais Public Library at 1 p.m.

Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux will tell stories about brave girls and wise women at the Grand Marais Public Library at 1 p.m. Monday.

Hear how Tatterhood battles a band of trolls, Manka solves impossible riddles, and Vasalisa dares to knock at the witch’s door. Daring heroines reclaim fairytales as fierce, funny, and feminine. Program length is 60 minutes, intended for youth ages 7-12, but appropriate and enjoyable for teens, mixed age audiences and adults. Stories will likely be too long for kids younger than 6. Free.

Upcoming:

A Weekend of Book Arts will be held at the Grand Marais Art Colony Aug. 16-18.

The Grand Marais Art Colony will host a Weekend of Book Arts Aug. 16-18 featuring mini-classes, a studio tour as well as full-day classes on everything from bookbinding to book making. For more info on the offerings, click here.

And the concert, Gunflint Woods, Winds, Strings, and a Little Jazz, will be held Aug. 18 this year featuring a variety of classical and jazz music. This popular event features a number of local and regional musicians and is held at the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department Hall #1 near Poplar Lake.