Celebrating Winter … Even If It Came a Little Late
This weekend and next some of our major celebrations of winter around the Lake are on the schedule. Depending on the snow cover, there may be a few slight changes in plans, but the idea of lifting up the season remains.
Lake Superior Ice Festival – Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27 – is a family-friendly celebration in Superior surrounding multiple activities and opportunities to get out and have fun. "Our vision is to attract people of all ages and abilities to share in Superior’s passion for all things winter and come together to celebrate the coolest aspects of our city," say organizers. Kids' activities abound, like a snowshoeing obstacle course, craft projects, s'mores and hot chocolate and such. Grown ups have lots of chances to participate, too, with Kubb, disc golf, mini golf and cornhole tossing games, plus ice fishing, saunas and watching ice sculptors work. Saturday night there will be fireworks. See more about the full weekend here.
On Saturday, Jan. 27, Karhu kylkeänsä kääntää, or "the bear rolls over," as the saying goes and the Finnish-American community welcomes everyone to Hancock, Mich., to mark the half-way point of winter with Heikinpäivä. (About 40% of the city's population has Finnish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census.) The monthlong festival already is under way with a series of classes, events and entertainment that snowballs into a full-blown festival this Saturday. There will be Tori Markets, a Heikinpäivä Parade (11 a.m.) followed by the spiral bear dance (see photo) and the wife-carrying contest. In the afternoon, there is a polar plunge with outdoor saunas on the Quincy Green. An exhibit of "Animal Life: Art from the Kalevala" is on display at the at the Copper Country Community Arts Center until Feb. 29. End the evening with the Iltamat Dance and buffet at the Finnish American Heritage Center. Keep updated on Facebook here.
The annual weeklong Bon Soo Winter Carnival officially launches for the 60th year next weekend, Feb. 2-10, in Sault Ste. Marie. The first Bon Soo was in 1964, and some might say it's gotten better and wider every year with events all around the community (including the "bum slide" seen here). There are also concerts, community sporting events, Science North presentations, helicopter rides, trailer rides with Mr. Bon Soo, frozen canoe rides, ponies, vendors, art exhibits … an exciting and exhaustive list of activities, which can be found here.
Also next weekend is Negaunee, Mich.'s Heikki Lunta Winter Festival, Feb. 2-4. Enjoy bonfire gatherings, snowshoe lantern tours, a fish fry and breakfasts, public sliding with the UP Luge Club and an open house with the Ishpeming Ski Club, plus fireworks, the Freeze Yer Fanny fatbike race and a pasty eating contest, to name just a few.
The Tale of a Traveling Poppy
Every day, one will notice multiple posts on the Facebook page Missing Pets in the Northland alerting the community to dogs and cats found or lost and trying to reunite them with their families … or to get them to the proper shelter for finding a forever home. Just this week, there was even a bunny (owner found!) and a winter-furred cow (Linus is safe!),
But a week ago came one of the most unusual stories the site has followed. A cold, hungry pooch showed up on a porch in West Duluth and was taken in by the homeowner, who also has a dog. She posted a photo on Missing Pets, asking if anyone knew anything about the pup, who had a collar, but no tags. Then she had the dog scanned by a local veterinarian for a micro-chip. Bingo! Poppy, as the dog is named, has a family that has been looking for her … for a long time. The family is in Texas, and Poppy disappeared on a roadtrip with friends of theirs to New Mexico in November. She had not been seen since leaving the RV campsite in that state almost two months ago.
"She is OURS!!!" posted Sarah Roberts. "We live in TX … she's been missing for 7 weeks and our hearts are so overjoyed that she is safe and has been found!!!!! … Praise Jesus for sweet people in this world!!!"
The family arranged boarding for the dog until they could come to bring her home. No one knows for sure how Poppy ended up about 20 hours road time from where she disappeared. The collar she was wearing was not the one she left New Mexico wearing. Did someone make off with her intentionally, or pick her up thinking to do a good deed for an abandoned dog? (Missing Pets advises if you see a "lost" dog, to check with a vet or a shelter in that area rather than removing the dog to a far away location.)
After the post about Poppy, the Texas family did FaceTime with their long-gone dog. The Missing Pets followers expressed excitement about Poppy's pending homecoming.
"This makes me so happy!" posted one follower of the site. "I’m from Texas but moved to the area last year and can’t imagine what she must be thinking about this weather 🤣. Glad she’s getting reunited and headin’ home."
Fox21 did a story when Poppy's pop arrived from Texas to take her home. "“It was really neat just to see her again for first time and just shocking, really, because we weren’t really expecting to see her again,” Nicholas Roberts told Jenna VanSickle. You can see the full story here.
See pictures of Poppy at home here.
We put a few questions to Amy, who helps with administration of Missing Pets in the Northland, where the Poppy story unfolded.
When did Missing Pets in the Northland start up and what was the catalyst?
Missing Pets in the Northland came to fruition late March of 2016 when Lily the Beagle went on a three-week adventure in Cloquet, Minn. She was a newly adopted dog that bolted from her elderly owner the very day she was adopted. Jodi (one of our admins and the vet tech of our group) would post to Garage Sale sites and the posts kept getting deleted, so she started Missing Pets in the Northland, and now we have a following of almost 27,000!
I'm sure you have many cool stories, but is Poppy one of the longest-distance reunions?
Yes! Poppy is definitely our longest distance reunion to date!
What are some tips for pet owners whose pets run away?
Sadly, we now have to warn people to ignore scam texts asking for a code to verify their identity. But the MAIN steps to take if your dog goes missing is highlighted in this graphic from Lost Dogs of America (seen here). In conjunction with #3 - Be sure your contact information is up to date on their microchip as well as flagging the pet as lost.
Scent items (unwashed clothing of yours and the dog's) and SIGNS are the two most crucial things IMMEDIATELY! We also encourage people to call their local authorities and say "non emergency" and report them as lost. We have reunited a lot of animals via emergency dispatch.
How can people donate or support Missing Pets in the Northland?
We aren't a non-profit yet, but if people want to donate they can send a check made payable to Jodi Carlson and mail it to Missing Pets in the Northland, 1110 Cloquet Ave., PMB 184, Cloquet, MN 55720. Or they can message us on Facebook to get Admin Amy's Venmo info. To support us and become a part of our amazing pet village, please find us on Facebook. Like and share all our posts. IF you ever loose a pet or find a pet, please send us a message via Facebook.
Rutt Finds His Way Home … We Think
Have you been tracking the adventures of Rutt the Moose on the Loose? Rutt was first spotted in late 2023 near Flandreau, S.D., not your usual moose habitat. Thanks to the youngster's spike antlers, he's been easy to track on this north-heading route… and even earned a couple Facebook pages – including the public group Minnesota's Moose on the Loose, aka The Central MN Moose on the Loose. In early January, Rutt seems to have made his way back up to the northland, having been spotted near Borup, Minn., in the northwestern part of the state. He was photographed by Laurie Kappes, who told us "Rutt certainly has drawn a following."
Speculation is that Rutt might have actually traveled south from North Dakota, so perhaps he indeed is now near home once again. Check out the map plotted by Michelle Pip showing Rutt's route right here.
NPR did a story in November, noting some 26,000 people were tracking Rutt. You can hear that story here. Rutt even earned a story in the Washington Post, which explains how the old Facebook page, started for a different moose, ended up following Rutt. You can read that story by Cathy Free here.
That's So Cool … A Northern Name-dropper
Actor Daniel Durant (on left), who grew up in Duluth, was in the Oscar-winning movie "Coda," has danced with the stars and now will join two other deaf actors at the Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, signing the national anthem. Daniel, is following in the footsteps of another "Coda" actor, Troy Kotsur, who performed the Star Spangled Banner in sign language at Super Bowl LVII last year. Joining Daniel on the Super Bowl stage will be Anjel Piñero and Shaheem Sanchez.
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Saturdays, Jan. 27-Feb. 24: Two hikes in one day at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park near Ontonagon, repeated every Saturday through February. There will be a guided snowshoe hike from 1-3:30 p.m. and then at 6-8 p.m. there will be a Lantern-lit Trail hike.
Sunday-Saturday, Jan. 28-Feb. 3: The tale goes that the International-500 Snowmobile Endurance Race was born when in 1968 Sault Ste. Marie businessmen admiring a Chevy Camaro wondered, "Could a snowmobile run 500 miles?" Since 1969, the year of the first race, the answer has been "Yup." The weeklong event starts with a Mini-5 Kids race at 1 p.m. Sunday and whoosh through a number of events, including skate night on the 1-mile oval track, vintage races, meeting with the riders and, of course, the races. Read about it all online.
Minnesota
Saturday, Jan. 27: Fresh off an award-winning screening at the Duluth Superior Film Festival, the slapstick comedy "Hundreds of Beavers" returns to Zinema 2 in Duluth for a one-night showing at 7 p.m. The cast and crew will be there for the wacky story of a frostbitten battle of Jean Kayak and the diabolical beavers who stand between him and survival. See the trailer here.
Saturday, Jan. 27: Embark on a mesmerizing journey as Duluth's visionary percussionist Zack Baltich and author Alec Osthoff converge for an extraordinary evening. Zack's groundbreaking compositions blend genres, complemented by Alec's upcoming novel excerpts. It starts 6 p.m. in the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater in Ely, presented by the Northern Lakes Arts Association.
Wisconsin
Friday, Jan. 26: Come meet oil painter Samual Weinberg during his 5-week residency at Ghost Ship Gallery in Washburn. He will be featured guest Friday during the 5-9 p.m. karaoke rally.
Friday, Jan. 26: Come to hear the Blue Canvas Orchestra Songwriter Circle at The Backstage in Bayfield, 7 p.m. with Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua musician/songwriters Scott Kirby, Michael Laughing Fox Charette, Rowan Nelson-Ferris and Musical Director Ed Willett for a night celebrating the art of the song and the music muse.
Saturday, Jan. 27: Enjoy a training day and a fun race at night. Ski the Birkie Trail at a relaxed pace during the day, enjoy a nice meal, rest up and then come back to race under the stars. Do one or both at the Birkie Tour and Night Race in the Cable-Hayward area. Headlamp required for night race.
Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 27-28: Legendary Waters Resort & Casino hosts its 7th annual Legendary Winter Pow Wow. All are welcome for the family-oriented event with grand entries at noon and 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
Ontario
Starting Tonight, Jan. 25-Feb. 10: "Two Indians" by Falen Johnson comes to the Magnus Theatre Mainstage in Thunder Bay starting 7:30 p.m. tonight. The play tells the story of Win, who lives on the rez, and Roe, who fled to the city after a family tragedy. After years apart, the two cousins reunite in a Toronto alley to recreate a ceremony from their childhood, but can they remember how?
Wednesday, Jan. 31: The 2023-24 Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour brings a curated lineup of the best in mountain and adventure films to Sault Ste. Marie. This year’s tour has licensed 37 films from around the world, including films from Canada, USA, Switzerland, France, Sweden and more. Showings are at the Sault Community Theatre Centre, starting at 6 p.m.
Photo & graphic credits in order of appearance: Heikinpäivä; Lake Superior Ice Festival; Heikinpäivä; Bon Soo; Heikki Lunta Winter Festival; Missing Pets in the Northland; Laurie Kappes; Daniel Durant; I-500 Snowmobile Race Endurance Race/Hundreds of Beavers/Birkie Tour & Night Race/Magnus Theatre