Celebrate Lake Superior Day, July 21, in Copper Harbor

COPPER HARBOR -- Sunday, July 21, is Lake Superior Day -- and a special public celebration is planned from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Copper Harbor. The Lake Superior Day community picnic and festival will be at the 6th Street dock on the Copper Harbor Boardwalk.

View of  Hunters Point from Copper Harbor, with Lake Superior beyond. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

Festivities include a fish boil and picnic with homemade blueberry and apple pies, rieska (Finnish flatbread) and more; a talk about the health of Lake Superior by Michigan Tech PhD student Marcel Dijkestra, demonstrations of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) built by the Dollar Bay High School Enterprise SOAR (Student Organization of Aquatic Robotics) team, kayaking demonstrations with kayaks by Keweenaw Adventure Company, live music and more.*

For more information about the Copper Harbor event contact Don Kilpela at 906-289-4735.

Celebrated annually since the early 1990s, Lake Superior Day is observed around the lake basin on the third Sunday in July. With 917 shoreline miles, Lake Superior represents more than a quarter of the state of Michigan’s shoreline. Its beauty draws tourists and recreational users, while its natural resources provide local jobs, making the lake an economic engine for the region. Lake Superior also  plays an important role in the transportation of raw materials from the upper reaches of the Great Lakes basin down to the cities of the lower Great Lakes and beyond.

Sunset with freighter on Lake Superior, near the Keweenaw Tip. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

Lake Superior continues to face environmental challenges such as the threat of new aquatic invasive species, pollution from its watersheds and toxic contaminants in fish and wildlife. Michigan has taken a lead role in protecting, restoring and monitoring the natural assets associated with Lake Superior. Since 2010, more than $20 million from sources including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the State of Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program has been awarded to groups in Michigan to help protect and restore the big lake.

At a 2012 Lake Superior Day celebration in Marquette, Emily Whitaker of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve explains some of the group's projects to protect the watershed from mining activity near Big Bay, Michigan. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

Ultimately, protecting Lake Superior depends on efforts from residents, schools, municipalities, tribes, religious groups, businesses and other organizations who are encouraged to take action in their homes and communities to protect the lake and its watershed.

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Summer Youth Crew members collect trash along the Keweenaw Bay shoreline at the Ojibwa Campground for Lake Superior Day 2012. (File photo © and courtesy Erin Johnston)**

To learn more about Lake Superior Day events, visit the Lake Superior Binational Forum at www.superiorforum.net. The DEQ, Office of the Great Lakes offers information on Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes at www.michigan.gov/deqgreatlakes. Environmental information about Lake Superior can be found at www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakesuperior/index.html. 

* To learn about the Dollar Bay High School ROV project, see our May 28, 2012, article, "Updated: High school robotics project to help Isle Royale staff monitor invasive species."

** See the Aug. 19, 2012, article, "KBIC volunteers clean Keweenaw Bay beaches to celebrate Lake Superior Day."

Rozsa Gallery to host Contemporary Ink Painting Invitational exhibit July 19 - Sept. 30

HOUGHTON -- Five well known Contemporary Ink Painting Artists from China and Taiwan will exhibit their art works in the Contemporary Ink Painting Invitational from July 19 to Sept. 30, 2013, in the Rozsa Gallery. The public is invited to a free reception with the artists to be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013.

Rebirth, by Yueh-mei Cheng, who is now a visiting professor of  art at Tunghai University in Taiwan. From 2002 to 2013 Cheng has been a professor of studio art at Finlandia University's International School of Art and Design.

Chinese Ink painting, an essential component of the culture for millennia, has entered a period of bold renewal and reinterpretation. From the simple elements of water and ink with color emerge artworks of intimate subtlety and overwhelming emotional power. The purpose of this exhibit is to introduce the contemporary style of Ink Painting to a U.S.A. audience.

Click here for more information about the artists and the exhibit.

"Trio Bibliothèque" to perform at Portage Library July 19

HOUGHTON -- The Portage Lake District Library invites everyone to bring a lunch and enjoy "Music on the Menu," an outdoor series of events held on the dock outside the library.

"Trio Bibliothèque" will perform from noon - 1 p.m. TOMORROW, Friday, July 19.  Libby Meyer on fiddle, Anna Gawboy on concertina, and Oren Tikkanen on guitar will play a lively and eclectic mix of folk and other genres.

Everyone is invited to eat, relax, and enjoy the lunch hour while listening to some great music. In the event of bad weather, the program will be held in the community room.

Hancock's 38th annual Canal Run to be July 20

Jonathan Kilpela of Atlantic Mine crosses the finish line in Hancock to win the 2012 men's 10-mile run in less than an hour. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

HANCOCK -- The 38th annual Canal Run is July 20, 2013, and features a half marathon, five-mile run, 10-mile run, five-mile walk and 10-mile walk. The 10-mile walk will start at 7:15 a.m. at McLain State Park, half marathon at 7:30 a.m. at Koskela Road, 10-mile run at 8 a.m. at McLain State Park, 5-mile walk at 8:30 a.m. at High Point Road and 5-mile run at 8:45 a.m. at High Point Road.

The Canal Run follows the Portage Lake Shipping Canal along Highway M-203 in Hancock, Michigan. The race course is on a paved road surface. The road is not closed to traffic. Participants are requested to run along the side of the road.

Entry fees will increase Friday, June 19, so register now if you plan to participate. Last-minute registration will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 19, at Finlandia Hall on Finlandia University's campus. Visit http://www.hancockcanalrun.com/ for all race details and registration.

Participants in the 2012 Canal Run register for the race near the Hancock Tori (farmers' market). (Keweenaw Now file photo)

A pre-race pasta dinner from the Keweenaw Co-op will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 19, at Finlandia Hall on the Finlandia University campus.

The Canal Kid's Dash, free for all kids, will be Friday night at 5:30 p.m. in front of Finlandia Hall. It will include a 50-yard dash for children under seven and a 100-yard dash for children seven and up. All participants receive a Canal Kid's Dash finisher's medal!

On Saturday, shuttle service will be provided from the finish line at FirstMerit Bank (formerly Citizens Bank) to all start locations. Shuttles will leave approximately every 15 minutes beginning at 6 a.m. The last shuttle for each race will leave at the following times: 10-Mile Walk, 6:45 a.m.; 1/2 Marathon, 7 a.m.; 10-Mile Run, 7:30 a.m.; 5-Mile Walk, 8 a.m.; 5-Mile Run, 8:15 a.m.

Participants should plan on boarding the shuttle to their race about an hour before the race is scheduled to start.

The Canal Run began in 1975 and is the premier running and walking event in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.

All five events finish in downtown Hancock between FirstMerit Bank (formerly Citizens Bank) and Quincy Green. The awards ceremony will begin around 10:30 a.m.

After the Canal Run head down to the Hancock waterfront near Porvoo Park for an art show and kid's three-on-three soccer tournament. On Sunday head to the waterfront for a volleyball tournament, the fifth annual Canal Swim and a ping pong tournament.

Click here for a Canal Run map.