June 17–23, 2009, Number 544
Happy Birthday Portage Lift-Bridge!
It’s that time of year again where Bridgefest is celebrated to honor the Portage Lift bridge that connects the Houghton side of the Upper Peninsula to the Keweenaw Peninsula. This festival also includes the Houghton Rotary Seafoodfest where the community can enjoy wonderful seafood dishes and a variety of great food. Here’s a look at what events are taking place this year.
The festival kicks off on Friday, June 19 at 3:00 p.m. with vendor/exhibit booths opening up for the public along the Houghton Waterfront. Throughout the evening there will be an Antique Flee Market sale, the Rotary Seafoodfest, a parade through Hancock, and much more. Saturday continues the celebration with a fishing derby, beach volleyball, vendor/exhibit booths again, ski-ters waterski show (+ more) and then ends the day with fireworks shot off across the Portage Canal waterway. To conclude this fun weekend, on Father’s day, June 21 there will be a cardboard boat regatta, 10-S tri-athalon, Father’s Day pancake breakfast, and then finally a “Feet on Street” hockey championship. I’ve really enjoyed going to Bridgefest for the past 2 years and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area. Unfortunately this year I’ll be unable to attend, but I know that it will be just as good.
Due to the construction of downtown Houghton, some of the events have changed location. Therefore the full Bridgefest 2009 schedule events is posted online with times and locations. Some of the events will also have external links from the schedule to find out more information. Event registration forms can also be found online for those that are interested in participating in the many events that are occuring. There is also a Map-Quest image of the 2009 parade route as the parade will be going through Hancock only and not through downtown Houghton like normal due to construction.
The Houghton Rotary Seafoodfest is a tradition of Bridgefest, as it supplies a lot of great food. This year, there’s a fun contest as well where the Rotary is asking for submissions to name their new lobster mascot. If your name for the lobster mascot is chosen, you win two free lobster tickets, which will be good for two lobster dinners with two side dishes. To find out more information and to enter the contest, check out the Houghton Rotary Club’s "Name the Lobster Mascot Contest."
Food will be served from 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday June 19, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased in advance from any Rotary club member or from the Keweenaw Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Office in downtown Houghton. Another option for purchasing tickets can be done through the Houghton Rotary website where there is a menu with prices and options to chose from (credit card or PayPal required). Tickets will still be available on site as well. All proceeds from Seafoodfest will be given to charities, so this is for a great cause. During the Seafoodfest, there will be music playing continuously from 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday, and noon to midnight on Saturday and the musical line-up is posted online.
Bridgefest is a wonderful time for both the local community and anyone who chooses to visit Houghton/Keweenaw counties this upcoming weekend. There are lots of fun and exciting events to participate in and it makes for a great Father’s Day Weekend! If there are any questions or comments about this article, please feel free to email me at my personal email address. Any suggestions for future article topics are welcomed.
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885