Love the Parade of Nations, Win a Trip to Chicago

Blizzard marches with students from Bangladesh.
Blizzard marches with students from Bangladesh.

If you love the Parade of Nations, you might win a trip to Chicago. The Parade of Nations is this Saturday, Sept. 19, and at the multicultural festival that follows it at the Dee Stadium, a drawing will be held for a trip to Chicago for a family of four, including air fare, two nights in a hotel and tickets to Chicago attractions.

To be entered in the drawing, make a posterboard-sized sign that says “I Love PON” and hold it up during the parade. You can substitute a heart for the word “love.” Then watch for the blue “Love Bug” – a Volkswagon beetle painted blue, with hearts on the sides. Love Bug attendants dressed in blue shirts will be walking beside the car, handing out tickets for the drawing.

The "I Love Parade of Nations" drawing will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Dee. The holder of the winning ticket must be present to claim the prize.

Floats can still enter the Parade to compete for a $200 community float prize, a $200 student organization first prize and a $100 student organization second prize. Register online

International Food, Entertainment

This year, the multicultural festival will feature the food of 18 nations, including Moroccan, Indonesian and Italian. The multicultural festival begins at noon at the Dee, right after the 11 a.m. parade from Hancock to Houghton.

Posters drawn by children from Chassell Elementary School and E. B. Holman Elementary School in Stanton Township will be on display at the Dee.

Entertainment at the festival, with emcees Mark Wilcox and Kris Kyro, will include the Kivajat Dancers, Woodland Drum and Dancers (Native American), a Tae Kwon Do demonstration by the Husky Tae Kwon Do Club, the Copper Country Cloggers, and Bollywood dancers from Michigan Tech’s Indian Students Association.  Performances by members of Tech’s African Student Organization, Iranian Community and Chinese Students and Scholars Association, singer-songwriter Jan Arnold and the Michigan Tech Dancers are also on the program.  Singer Karen Colbert will sing the National Anthem and give a short performance.

Storytelling, Wine Tasting

The celebration of our multicultural heritage begins on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with an international storytelling program from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Portage Lake District Library.   Stories will focus on “World of Lore and Legends,” the theme of this year’s Parade of Nations.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, the Hancock Rotary Club is sponsoring an international wine and food tasting at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, with a silent auction before the tasting. Proceeds benefit the Hancock Rotary’s local and international programs. Tickets are available online.

The Parade of Nations Facebook page will be holding a trivia contest all week, with prizes every day.

Parade of Nations is sponsored by Michigan Tech, Finlandia, and community businesses and residents. It is a celebration of the international character of our community. This is the 26th annual Parade of Nations.

 

 

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.