Fisherman’s Picnic, Grand Marais’ 90-year-old festival still acts like a kid

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The scent of fizzled fish and fried donuts clung heavy in the air – an odor both delightful and distracting. With the sun hidden behind a thick layer of Lake Superior mist, I took comfort in knowing the day was not lost to the clouds. A large, cement-colored seagull chimed in from the fog-saturated skies above. Nearby, a young child with coveralls gazed longingly as his mother dressed a corn dog with ketchup.

With nothing to do, but move forward along First Avenue in downtown Grand Marais, away from the shores of the Big Lake, my feet continued ambling and suddenly I was outside a large bingo tent.

“N-36!” a woman’s voice called out slowly. “N-36!”

The street scene felt like something straight from an old newspaper clipping, handed down from the 1950s.

My city of Grand Marais was the driver, with time in both the rearview mirror and standing on the road in front of me. This was Fisherman’s Picnic, this year a nine-decades old annual tradition here that combines quirky competitions, flavorful foods and heartfelt hometown charades and parades.

Fisherman’s Picnic blossoms this small North Shore community into a bustling scene of celebration. It’s an observance of the past and the present; the recognition of a community built by sturdy souls who use the rugged terrain and expansive lakeshore bordering town. It’s also a coming together of classmates and friends, those who never forgot the uniqueness of their hometown.

“It speaks to our heritage as a community. From fishing, to logging, to the arts,” says Kjersti Vick, the marketing manager for Visit Cook County and a graduate of the local high school.

In 2019, Fisherman’s Picnic celebrates its 90th year. It’s a remarkable milestone for an event that makes competitive sports out of everything from log rolling to fish tossing. (Yes, a contest where people literally toss fish to one another, won by those who can toss a dead herring the farthest without dropping it.)

With a population of about 1,350 people, the downtown atmosphere changes dramatically when some 10,000 people arrive to join the celebratory atmosphere that is Fisherman’s Picnic. Hotels are booked solid, with reservations made up to a year in advance. The municipal campground and park in Grand Marais, located just a few blocks from the hub of the Picnic, also hosts many here to celebrate the extended festival weekend.

Linda Jurek, executive director for Visit Cook County, graduated from Cook County High School in 1978. She sees Fisherman’s Picnic as a celebration that caters both to longtime locals and first-time visitors. Her high school classmates, just like all the graduating classes from the local high school, return for the Picnic to celebrate old times alongside the new faces in town. “Many visitors make their annual pilgrimage to Grand Marais specifically to enjoy the atmosphere of the event,” Linda says.

“This is a reunion for visitors and locals alike,” adds Kjersti Vick, Visit Cook County’s marketing manager. “It’s authenticity packs the county with enthusiastic Picnic lovers and soon to be converts. Planning is a must because rooms fill up quickly.”

Fisherman’s Picnic typically takes place the first weekend in August (Aug. 2-4 this year). It’s hosted by – and is the largest fundraiser for – the Grand Marais Lions Club, which sells raffle tickets and also caters to hungry attendees by offering more than 1,000 pounds of their legendary fish burgers. True to the name, a fish burger is breaded herring served on a large bun. They go for $4 a burger, and many eat more than one during the weekend.

“I ate a half dozen this weekend,” Michael, a local resident, told me last year, as he eyed the nearby fish burger stand with a faraway glitter still in his eyes.

Grand Marais Lion Stuart Jackson helps with the planning for the celebration each summer. “I’ve been a member of the Lions for 45 years, and I’ve been in charge of the fish burger stand for 44 years,” Stuart says with a laugh. “I’ve tried to slip out of it little by little, but it seems to come back and haunt me and keep going and going!”

Fellow Lion Bob Laine, who described himself as a “jack of all trades” when it comes to his role during Fisherman’s Picnic, literally hauls wheelbarrows full of herring from a dock in the harbor to the fish burger stand. “I make at least five trips from Dockside Fish Market to downtown at the stand,” Bob says.

Showcasing the popularity of the fish burgers during the Picnic, the North Shore-style sandwiches even have a song written about them: “They’re all red ready and they’re all red hot. Pickle in the middle and the mustard on top.”

While standing near the fishburger stand during last year’s Picnic, I frequently observed a line stretching back the length of a semi-truck. Beyond the stand were rows of other vendors, with more food and dozens of artists. The scene created a steady hum of sound, where individual noises came to the surface only by careful, closer listening or direct conversation.

Deciphering Picnic chatter became an intriguing pursuit for me beside the booths. At one end of the vendor tents, a middle-aged man spoke lovingly of birch trees, as though they were children he once knew. About 20 yards away, an artist and musician named Carlos Quinche played an enchanting melody on a handmade wooden flute. As he whispered the notes through the instrument, the fog began to lift and sunbeams decorated the scene. The air was fresh and mellow gently blowing off the Big Lake.

Many of the fundamental roots of Fisherman’s Picnic remain intact after 90 years of fish tossing, loon calling and embracing the local culture. However, Linda notes, changes have occurred to the lineup over time. Absent these days is the carnival-like atmosphere that once accompanied the weekend, including the Ferris wheel that offered spectacular views of the Big Lake, though some smaller rides do still give kids a thrill. No longer can be found the piles of sawdust where kids once hunted for pennies. And while there is live music during Fisherman’s Picnic, Linda says, the dance moves accompanying the tunes have altered over the decades.

“The streets came alive at night with a popular street dance,” Linda recalls. “I remember vividly that rice would be tossed onto the street so you could dance a waltz or polka in smooth dance-floor fashion.”

The parade on the last day of Fisherman’s Picnic is often a highlight for many attendees. Last year, as I stood on a crowded sidewalk watching the floats supporting local businesses and organizations move slowly along Wisconsin Street in downtown Grand Marais, I realized I was seeing something that transcended time while reflecting place.

This could have been that first parade in 1929 (with a few vehicle alterations), and I might be a wide-eyed youngster instead of, let’s say, a “seasoned” reporter. It made no matter. Fisherman’s Picnic showcases community life once celebrated all across small towns in this country. In wonderfully select pockets, the celebration continues.

PICNICS PAST Ninety years of festivities leaves plenty of fun and funky images behind, like images from the Cook County Historical Society. Music has always been part of Fisherman’s Picnic, like this singing session (top) with Sharon Bushman, Mildred Thoreson, Irene Malner and Margie Nelson in 1960. Vehicles tend to be one way to date the decades, though this little historic model actually joined the parade to promote Foremost Ice Cream in 1960. In 1954, a truck hauled Miss Fishburger (and if you look closely, something may be amiss with this miss – a crowning tradition that’s faded). In 1936, crowds headed for the Grand Marais beach to enjoy their fish burgers while watching boat races on Lake Superior. During this celebration weekend, the Cook County Historical Society offers a popular demonstration at the Bally Blacksmith Shop, and its other sites, the Cook County History Museum, Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, St Francis Xavier Church and Fish House and the tug Neegee are also open.

IN THE BEGINNING Gene Erickson has been with the Grand Marais Lions Club for 53 years, which means he’s also helped at Fisherman’s Picnic that long. (The Lions Club took over organization of it in 1951.) He recalls his older relatives talking about going to the “Commercial Fisherman’s Picnic” by horse-and-buggy or boat back in the early 1920s. A history gathered on the event suggests that the Commercial Club took it over in 1938, sponsored by the Fishermen and Trucking associations and the modern Fisherman’s Picnic was born. The Picnic was not held during World War II. The reason for the first gathering seems to be lost to history, but Gene suspects it brought the North Shore communities together; the Picnic once migrated between the towns. Even today, it’s cause for reunion. “You get to see people who you might not have seen for 10 years,” he says. Through it all, the fish burgers remain one of the most consistent elements – and his favorite – part of the event. “After you work so hard, I guess (my favorite thing) is to be able to go to the fish burger stand and get a good fish burger.”

IT’S NOT TOO LATE! Even though it’s true that the local rooms book up quickly, if you’d like to experience Grand Marais’ major hometown celebration, you can try to book lodging a little way out of town – such as in Lutsen, Tofte, Grand Portage or the Gunflint Trail – or you can just make it a day trip to Grand Marais, about a two-hour drive from Duluth. Watch www.visitcookcounty.com for updates and advice.

Joe Friedrichs covers his adopted town as news director for WTIP Radio and contributes to its “Boundary Waters” podcast.