lsday
Held this year on July 16 – it's always the third Sunday in July – Lake Superior Day was started in the early 1990s by a group of Thunder Bay residents who sought to celebrate the body of water that dominates and defines our region. Other organizations and communities followed with festivities of their own, some of which span the entire weekend, and created Lake Superior Day(s) – which might be appropriate for such a large Lake.
Michigan
Baraga – Friday, July 14: The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community celebrates Lake Superior Day early with a beach cleanup, 8:30 a.m. to noon. Meet at Sand Point Light Station at the Ojibwa Campground.
Ontonagon – Saturday-Sunday, July 15-16: On Saturday at the Porcupine Mountains Folk School, explore a wide variety of memoir forms with Lake Superior Magazine contributor Felicia Schneiderhan. She will guide you through a variety of activities, and begin your own Lake Superior memoir piece. • On Sunday, the folk school is hosting a screening of the film “Water on the Table,” about the ongoing fight over clean water.
Marquette – Sunday, July 16: The Marquette Maritime Museum invites you to celebrate, experience and appreciate Lake Superior Day. Stop by the museum for a complimentary garbage bag to clean up your favorite Lake Superior beach and get a free postcard and $1 off museum admission. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Copper Harbor – Sunday, July 23: Copper Harbor community volunteers, along with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, are organizing the 5th annual Lake Superior Day Festival with lots of special activities at the 6th Street Dock along the Copper Harbor Boardwalk (near Isle Royale Queen boat dock).
Enjoy fish stew (Kalamojakka), homemade pies, rieska (Finnish flatbread) and more at a community picnic ($5 donation suggested). Canoe races and kayak demonstrations. Interactive art (paint the model freighter!). Learn about the health of Lake Superior from a presentation by Great Lakes scientist Dr. Marty Auer from Michigan Tech’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Live music, talks, poetry and more.
From 1 to 4 p.m., a special highlight is the opportunity for festival attendees to find out how scientists study the Great Lakes by taking a 40-minute scientific excursion in the harbor aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel the Agassiz. These excursions are offered as part of the Ride the Waves Program funded by a grant from General Motors. On each scientific excursion, Dr. Marty Auer, a Michigan Tech Great Lakes scientist, will demonstrate the use of sampling equipment to collect data on water clarity, temperature, and turbidity that tells us about the health of the lake. Participants will explore the link between land uses and the health of the Great Lakes.
The Agassiz will depart every 45 minutes from the Isle Royale Queen dock beginning at 1 p.m. Space is limited to 17 persons per excursion. Participants must be at least 7 years old, and children must be accompanied by an adult. All participants should wear closed-toe shoes. Interested participants may pre-register for a scientific excursion aboard the Agassiz by filling in the form https://goo.gl/forms/88V0xjoUPYN0nMuT2 or email Lloyd Wescoat at lwescoat@mtu.edu. Space will be available for on-site participants.
Ontario
Terrace Bay – Sunday, July 16: Terrace Bay is throwing a Lake Superior Day beach party. Join in to meet paddlers, demo anything that floats and learn skills from the experts. Dive into the world of kayaking and standup paddleboarding. Free boat tours. Beach cleanup. Hiking. Artisan market and food. Welcome the Métis Nation of Ontario Canoe Expedition members, who will present to the community about traditional Métis art, dance, music and culture.
Wisconsin
Bayfield – Saturday-Sunday, July 15-16: In honor of Lake Superior Day, the Bayfield Festival of Arts will highlight the artists who incorporate materials that are sourced directly from the Big Lake. Those artists will be given a badge that says “Lake Superior Sourced” to display on their booth and will also be mentioned in the festival directory. Examples of materials that are Lake Superior Sourced include: Lake Superior agates, sea glass or basalt set in jewelry, painted or photographic images of Lake Superior, ceramics built with local clay.
Port Wing – Saturday, July 15: The activities include a birdwatching and photography hike, a market and vendors, informational displays at the town hall, a tour of Everett Fisheries, a Coast Guard boat on display, presentations about wildlife and wetlands, fish boil, standup paddleboarding lessons, kayaking, a bonfire and stargazing.
Superior – Sunday, July 16: Celebrate at Barker's Island Festival Park, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with live music, art and fun. Free activities include standup paddleboard demos, art exhibits and vendors, readings by local writers, photo booth, educational activities, arts and crafts, poetry readings, native plant sale, farmers market and live music. Facebook event page
Washburn – Sunday, July 16: The celebration takes place at Thompson’s West End Park. Horseshoes, beach volleyball, Gritty Fish Crossfit, free sailing mini-classes, brats and baked goods, water quality demos, cornhole competition, paddleboarding and kayak demos. Plus, have your portrait taken for the Words for Water project.
Ashland – Monday, July 17: On Monday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Bayview Beach, help clean up the beach, learn about water safety, and try standup paddleboarding and kayaking. Refreshments will be served.
Minnesota
Grand Marais – Sunday, July 16: Voyageur Brewing Company hosts a celebration, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Cook County Aquatic Invasive Species Department will have outreach displays and Lake Superior facts. There will be actual-size freshwater silicone fish for printmaking, minnow races, motorized boat races and a rusty crayfish boil. It is also National Ice Cream day, so there will be sweet treat-related prizes.
Duluth – Friday-Sunday, July 14-16: Friday and Saturday at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Duluth’s Canal Park, various science, environmental and business organizations will set up informational tables about water use and water issues. This year the programs will focus on the future of our water resources and especially on children.
You can see the creepy invasive species bottled and on display by Minnesota Sea Grant (along with information about how to keep them from our lakes and streams). Or learn about managing the Superior National Forest from the U.S. Forest Service. The Sappi staff shows how the paper company works to reduce water use and keep water clean at its Cloquet operation. Plus you can chat with folks from Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program, Jay Cooke State Park and the Save Lake Superior Alliance (they may bring agates). Or try to stump the editor with Big Lake questions at the Lake Superior Magazine table.
Inside the center, there are the usual free maritime displays, plus special showings of films about the Great Lakes and the maritime heritage.
There also will be an informational treasure hunt where participants gather stamps on an entry form to place into a drawing for a grand prize Friday and Saturday. The prizes feature books and products related to Lake Superior, donated by Lake Superior Magazine, Minnesota Sea Grant, Visit Duluth and others.
A series of “10-minute Tent Talks” offers activities, readings and short presentations by environmental experts, artists and writers under a tent outside the center – a children’s focus on Friday and more grown-up topics Saturday. Twice daily free tours (1:15 & 3:15 p.m.) will guide participants through the history of the piers and Aerial Lift Bridge.
In the evenings Friday and Saturday, Dances on the Lakewalk, the Freshwater Dance Collective celebrates the Lake with free dance performances directed by choreographers from Duluth, Minneapolis and California. Starts at 7 p.m. each night in Lake Place Park (corner of Superior Street & Lake Avenue).
During the weekend, The Duluth Experience tours will include information about Lake Superior Day and the Big Lake. The Brewery Tour focuses on how this Great Lake’s water influences our great craft beers.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Duluth will hold a special service at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 16, on the shores of Lake Superior, at Ecumen Lakeshore courtyard, 4002 London Road, with a reflection by Dr. Liz Austin-Minor, professor at the Large Lakes Observatory.
Tent Talk schedule
Friday:
10:30 a.m. – Science in Motion by Cathy Podeszwa and Marco Carreon, “Dances on the Lakewalk” choreographers
11 a.m. – River Animals: Learn how the health of the St. Louis River impacts the critters who call it home by Carly Hawkinson, park naturalist, Jay Cooke State Park
11:30 a.m. – Science in Motion by Cathy Podeszwa and Marco Carreon, “Dances on the Lakewalk” choreographers
Noon – Get Habitattitude! Don’t let your pets go wild by Ryan Hueffmeier, University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program and Natural Resources Research Institute
1 p.m. – Up & Down the Soo Locks by Denise Wolvin, director of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center
1:30 p.m. – All Hands on Deck: Navigating Our Port & the Great Lakes by Adele Yorde of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority
2 p.m. – River Animals: Learn how the health of the St. Louis River impacts the critters who call it home by Carly Hawkinson, park naturalist, Jay Cooke State Park
2:30 p.m. – All Hands on Deck: Navigating Our Port & the Great Lakes by Adele Yorde of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority
3 p.m. – Up & Down the Soo Locks by Denise Wolvin, executive director of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center
3:30 p.m. – Get Habitattitude! Don’t let your pets go wild by Sean Loftus, University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program and Natural Resources Research Institute
Saturday:
10:30 a.m. – Big Lake, Big Changes? How we can help a resilient Lake Superior face climate change impacts by Tom Beery, MN Sea Grant climate change extension educator
11 a.m. – In Hot Water: North Shore Fisheries & Climate Change by Dean Paron, MN DNR area fisheries supervisor
11:30 a.m. – It’s Only Natural: What are SNAs and where do I find them on the North Shore? by AmberBeth VanNingen, MN DNR SNA specialist
Noon – Get Habitattitude! Don’t let your pets go wild by Ryan Hueffmeier, University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program and Natural Resources Research Institute
12:30 p.m. – Big Lake, Big Changes? How we can help a resilient Lake Superior face climate change impacts by Tom Beery, MN Sea Grant Climate Change Extension Educator
1 p.m. – In Hot Water: North Shore Fisheries & Climate Change by Dean Paron, MN DNR Area Fisheries Supervisor
1:30 p.m. – It’s Only Natural: What are SNAs and where do I find them on the North Shore? by AmberBeth VanNingen, MN DNR SNA Specialist”
2 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. – Going Coastal – Readings from the Lake Superior Writers fiction winners by Marie Zhuikov and Maxwell Reagan
3 p.m. – Get Habitattitude! Don’t let your pets go wild by Sean Loftus, University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program and Natural Resources Research Institute
Lake Superior Day Ideas
What will you do for Lake Superior Day? Here's a list with some suggestions for what you or your group might do to support and celebrate Lake Superior.
- Clean a beach or shoreline
- Show a film
- Have families paint a Lake Superior mural
- Lake Superior photo or art show/contest
- Music concert for the Lake
- Film showing
- Invite an educational speaker to your group/church/school
- Clean up a boat landing
- Share information with your group on invasive species
- Sign up people as Lake Superior stewards
- Post a message on Facebook about the importance of protecting the lake
- Donate funds to a local organization like Water Legacy, SkyBlue Waters, etc.
- Pick up garbage and bring to WLSSD
- Clean a storm sewer
- Teach a small group about responsible boating
- Create a water garden
- Reduce your use of water
- Carry a metal water bottle
- Collect rain water and use in your garden
- Create a water proclamation for your community
- Participate or donate to a women’s water walk
- Raise money and awareness for a fish restoration project, wild rice area
- A guided hike
- Kayak demos
- Charter fishing open house
- Remote controlled boat races
- Rock painting for kids
- An evening of water poetry
- Lighthouse open house
- Talk on climate change effects on Lake Superior
- Lake Superior bike tour
- State Parks visit/tour along the lake
- Wastewater treatment plant tour
- Paddleboard demo/lesson
- Sailing regatta
- Rowing club demo
- Blessing of the Lake
- Coast Guard tour
- Household hints on saving water
- Community picnic on the beach
- Learn about shipwrecks