A Royal Remembrance: As the world continues to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, she is being remembered, too, for visits around Lake Superior. In July 1959 as part of the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Royal Yacht Britannia made its way up the Great Lakes all the way to Thunder Bay, bearing the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip. These photos are from the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum, and today the museum released a short podcast recalling the events of that July visit to the Sault. SooToday also reposted a story compiled from the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library about that visit. Country 105, meanwhile, posted video from her time in Thunder Bay.
Apple News: The Bayfield Apple Festival is just around the corner (Oct. 7-9). Organizers announced the winning artist for the festival poster this year. Jamey Penney-Ritter, owner of Bemused Design & Photography (a contributor to Lake Superior Magazine) earned the top popular votes out of nine worthy contestants last weekend during the Bayfield Festival of the Arts. Jamey’s poster features elements of the Apple Festival throughout the years. “Because there are so many complex elements, and they are all fairly detailed, I spent about 55 hours illustrating, down to multiple caramel apples and apple treats,” Jamey told the festival organizers. Recently announced, too, were the festival's Grand Marshal Marilyn Van Sant, a lifelong community volunteer and currently on the board of the Bayfield Heritage Association, and its first ever Apple Festival King Jake Hansen, grandson of Beth and the late Jim Erickson of Erickson Orchards. Festival organizers also have put out a list of needs: Volunteers for the information booth, entertainers for the two music venues during the fest, bakers for the Apple Pie & Dessert contest on Sept. 28 (the public can join the tasting starting at 5 p.m. that day), applicants and floats for the Grand Parade and, of course, additional sponsors.
Rain Pain?: Flood alerts have been issued for several parts of the broader Big Lake region starting today and heading into Friday. "The threat of flash flooding has prompted the issuance of a Flood Watch in the Arrowhead region for this evening through late Friday evening," reports the National Weather Service in Duluth. "Continued showers and thunderstorms are likely into this weekend, with total forecast rainfall up to 2-4 inches north of US Hwy 2." Northwestern Upper Peninsula could also see some heavy rains over the next couple of days and the Thunder Bay area, too, where Environment Canada forecasts rainfall amounts of 60 to 80 mm (2-3 inches) in the next day or two.
A Travel Mammal & a Points Gal: In just 1 minute, 16 seconds, Jim Bamboulis, self described "Travel Mammal," gives a grand video visit to Thunder Bay. During his recent trip to Lake Superior's largest metropolitan area (pop. 113,216), Jim tried a few new things. As he "graphically" posted:
"I was petrified at the thought of rock climbing.
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In Thunder Bay, life happens outdoors. Adventures here are everywhere, including ones that challenge the body, mind, and soul. For me, that was rock climbing.
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But Keegan from Outdoor Skills And Thrills was an excellent teacher who put my mind at ease. My partner Bri was fearless from the start, and got the hang of it pretty quickly. Me? It took some time, but once I pushed through, the rewarding feeling felt great!
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Have you guys tried Rock Climbing before? On your list?"
Meanwhile … Capri Whiteley, social media marketing manager for The Points Guy, posted about her trip to Isle Royale in "I went to one of the least-visited national parks in the US: Here’s why I already want to return." In her story, Capri says, "Imagine hiking to the most famous lookout in a national park at sunset during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year only to find no people, no noise and no evidence people had even been there. For most of my life, I thought that was a far-fetched dream. Then, I discovered Isle Royale National Park." She compared the visitation average at Isle Royale (about 20,000 visitors a year) to the most-visited park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, (14.1 million visitors in 2021). After her visit, she concludes: "But the lack of visitors isn’t due to a lack of beauty." Capri also used the method less traveled to reach the island park … rather than by boat, she hitched a ride on a Isle Royale Seaplanes out of Grand Marais, Minn.
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Thru Sunday, Sept. 18: The Soo Film Festival in Sault Ste. Marie continues today with Michigan Documented, a series of documentaries about life in Michigan or made by Michigan filmmakers. Starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Bayliss Public Library. There are events and film showings through Sunday evening.
Saturday, Sept. 17: Celebrate the whole world at the 33rd Parade of Nations and Multicultural Food Festival on the Michigan Technological University campus in Houghton. The parade starts at 11 a.m. and the Multicultural Festival in Dee Stadium kicks off at noon. Food is take-out only this year.
Minnesota
Today, Sept. 15: Enjoy the music of Bryan Bielanski, a singer-songwriter based in North Carolina, tonight at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth. Bryan is touring the United States to promote his new music release, "Bryan's Super Happy Fun Time II". He describes his sound as "Imagine Nirvana and the Beatles had a kid together who became an acoustic rock singer-songwriter."
Today, Sept. 15: Duluth Pack in Canal Park hosts its first Minnesota Maker event from 4-7 p.m. today. There will be gear raffles, gifts with purchases of certain items, hot chocolate by Mike & Jens Cocoa plus the chance to see the products of Duluth Pack, Faribault Mill, Art By SJ Neilson, Fitz Craft Creations and Duluth Candy Co.
Friday, Sept. 16: St. Louis County Historical Society turns 100 in style with a free celebration, 4-9 p.m. at The St. Louis County Depot. Master of ceremonies Ken Buehler will keep things lively and introduce the music by Laura Velvet and the Bookhouse Boys and Steve Solkela's “Overpopulated” One-Man Band. MidCoast Catering does the food, plus view new displays and tour the galleries. The event is free, but registration requested.
Friday, Sept. 16: Zeitgeist in Duluth hosts its Spirit of the Times Indoor/Outdoor Block Party Extravaganza, in-person fundraiser. Starts at 6 p.m. Enjoy the street-wide tents, outdoor stage, screen, bar and dance party on the streets.
Saturday, Sept. 17: Artist Robbie Steinbach will give a talk on "Writing with Light: From the Darkroom to Etching with the Sun" for the Grand Marais Art Colony. She will share the story of her path from the darkroom to the world of printmaking, exploring multilayered images she has created through the solarplate intaglio process. No registration required; starts at 10 a.m. in the Eco-friendly Print Studio.
Tuesday, Sept. 20: Toast Duluth's status as a Tree City USA during Arbor Day at the tree planting event, Wheeler Athletic Complex. There will be presentations, a chance to chat with the city forester, sustainability officer and others overseeing the city's natural resources plus the planting of white pines in Wheeler Park. Starts at 2 p.m.
Wisconsin
Saturday, Sept. 17: The Humane Society of Douglas County hosts its Cause for the Paws 5K Walk/Run at Barker's Island in Superior starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Each registrant gets a T-shirt and a bandana for your dog (or other tolerant pet). You can register online. If you bring your pooch, bring proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination, too.
Wednesday, Sept. 21: Join the volunteer clean up to remove purple loosestrife flowers at Woodstock Bay. From 5-6:30 p.m. the St. Louis River Alliance and city of Superior host the invasive species eradicating event. Meet at the Woodstock Bay Public Landing Parking Lot at 15 White Birch Trail.
Ontario
Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 17-18: ThunderCon has arrived. This weekend Thunder Bay hosts a 6th year of celebrating pop culture, including appearances by the DinoThunder of Kevin Duhaney and Jeff Parazzo, the Blue and White DinoThunder Power Rangers. Check out the full list of activities and amazing guest list of big and small screen stars.
Saturday, Sept. 17: The Grand Parade in Sault Ste. Marie is a family-friendly walk to raise funds for the F.J. Davey Home Foundation. Check in starts at 10 a.m. with opening remarks and the send off at 11 a.m. at 733 Third Line E.
Saturday, Sept. 17: Algoma University's visiting scholar Dr. Daniel Laxer will deliver a talk entitled "Listening to the Fur Trade: Soundways and Music in the British North American Fur Trade." The 7 p.m. presentation in the Doc Brown Lounge on the Sault Ste. Marie campus is based on his book of the same name.
Sunday, Sept. 18: Across Ontario, Big Lake region cities are hosting Terry Fox Run events honoring the brave young man who attempted to run across Canada 42 years ago to raise awareness and funds to combat cancer. His mission tragically ended 11 kilometres east of Thunder Bay when it was discover that the cancer that caused the amputation of his leg had spread to his lungs. That city's Terry Fox Memorial overlooking Lake Superior honors him. Look up times and places for each town: Fort Frances; Atikokan; Thunder Bay; Schreiber; Marathon; White River; Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie. These communities join more than 650 others across Canada sponsoring events to raise funds for cancer research.
Photo & graphic credits: Sault Ste. Marie Museum in Ontario; Bayfield Chamber & Visitor Bureau; National Weather Service; Jim Bamboulis; Carpi Whiteley; Soo Film Festival/Grand Marais Art Colony/Humane Society of Douglas County/Algoma University