Last minute registration and bib pickup is available at the Calumet High School (57070 Mine Street, Calumet, MI 49913 – get directions here) from 4:30 to 9 p.m. This will include vendor booths, last-minute registration (or click here to register online), a chance to ask all the questions you’ve been dying to ask our awesome volunteers and the magic moment when you first touch your Great Bear Chase race bib. This is going to be your year!
5 – 7:00 p.m.
Pasta Dinner
The Copper Country area’s Meals on Wheels program is providing the spaghetti feed for the racers. The dinner is a benefit for this valuable program that serves almost 300 people daily. Talented cooks will be creating this pasta feast and the dedicated staff will be on hand to serve. The price is $10 and the menu includes spaghetti and choice of meat sauce or marinara, rolls, ceasar salad, pumpkin bars, water, juice, and coffee. Plan on enjoying a good meal with fellow racers and fuel up for a great race!
5:30 p.m.
Junior Bear Chase
Friday night the Swedetown Trails will be filled with the next generation of skiers as the Copper Country Ski Tigers host the annual Junior Bear Chase. Registration/Bib Pick-Up is at the Swedetown Chalet. Learn more by visiting the Junior Bear Chase page.
Saturday, March 7
7 – 9 a.m.
Bib Pick-Up
If you can’t make it in town for Friday’s bib pick-up, we’ll be at the Calumet High School bright and early for last-minute bib pickups. OK, so it won’t be bright at 7 a.m. in March, but it will be early and we’ll be there with bibs in hand to make sure you’re ready for the big race! Click here for directions to the Calumet High School. There is no race-day registration.
7:45 a.m.
National Anthem
Join us for the official kick off of the Great Bear Chase as we honor our great nation with the playing of the national anthem.
8 – 9:50 a.m.
Race Start
Races will begin as early as 8 a.m., and as late as 9:30 a.m. All races will begin and finish near Spruce Street in Calumet. For 2015, we’ve added even more parking near the stadium (see the map for start/finish and parking)! Here’s a quick rundown of the start times:
50 km Skiathlon – 8 a.m.
50 km Classic – 8:10 a.m.
25 km Classic – 8:20 a.m.
50 km Freestyle – 9 a.m.
25 km Freestyle – 9:10 a.m.
10 km Classic – 9:20 a.m.
10 km Freestyle – 9:30 a.m.
Post Race
Free Pasty Lunch
After you’ve completed the 10k, 25k or 50k race, you’ll need some food. We’ll have that food ready for you at race headquarters at the Calumet High School. Some out of towners lovingly refer to this time as the “Pasty Party.” In the U.P., we just called it lunch. We’ll serve up fresh, award-winning pasties, bakery items, gluten free soup and refreshments! There will also be pasties for sale for those who didn’t race. The High School’s locker rooms (including showers) will even be open so you pasty partiers can shower before hitting the road.
2 p.m.
Awards Ceremony
The awards ceremony will be hosted at the Calumet High School. Awards are given for each age category in each race, including hand-made wood ski’s for 1st place finishers in each age group. 2nd and 3rd place finishers will receive medals. Unique awards will be presented to the overall fastest man and woman in each race, and skating trophies to the top 10 male and top 5 female skiers in the 50 km freestyle. Prize money will also be given to the top 4 male and female skiers in the 50 km Skiathlon consisting of $750, $300, $150 & $50 for 1st through 4th place (racers must be present to claim). Door prizes (including NEW skis!) will also be awarded to those present at the award ceremony. Thanks to Cross Country Sports for helping us out with those!
No other community in the Upper Peninsula celebrates Christmas quite like the Village of Calumet. Festivities begin in early December and continue almost to the New Year. During the weeks preceding Christmas come to Calumet to capture that old fashioned, small town holiday spirit! Enjoy a concert or a play, visit our unique shops and galleries for one- of-a-kind gifts and dine at one of our fine restaurants. Parking is free in downtown Calumet from Thursday, November 27th through Sunday, January 4th.
For more information about any of these events, please contact Main Street Calumet at (906) 337-6246.
Main Street Downtown Event Schedule
Friday, December 5
First Friday events at galleries, shops, and eateries, 6:30 pm – 9pm
Terry Lee Goffee – Johnny Cash Tribute, Calumet Theatre, 7:30 pm
Saturday, December 6th
Visits with Santa and free goodie bags, Rowe Furniture, 11:00 am -1:30 pm
Holiday music by strolling musicians, various downtown locations, 12:00 pm -3:00 pm
Poor Artists Sale at CLK High School Gym, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday, December 10th
CHS Band & Choir Holiday Concert at Calumet Theatre – 7:30 pm
Friday, December 12th
Club Indigo presents “The Bishop’s Wife,” Calumet Theatre, Dinner – 6:00 pm, Movie – 7:15 pm
Saturday, December 13th
Visits with Santa and free goodie bags, Rowe Furniture, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm
Sled dog ride provided by Copper Dog 150, Agassiz Park, 1:00pm – 3:00 pm
Holiday music by strolling musicians, various downtown locations, 12:00 pm -3:00 pm
Saturday, December 20th
CHS Senior Class Play – “A Christmas Story,” Calumet Theatre, 7:00 pm
Holiday music by strolling musicians, various downtown locations, 12:00 pm -3:00 pm
Sunday, December 21st
CHS Senior Class Play – “A Christmas Story,” Calumet Theatre, 2:00 pm
Sunday, December 28th
Movie Magic presents “Elf,” Calumet Theatre, 3:00 pm
For information about activities at the Calumet Theatre please check their website
or call (906) 337-2610.
Heritage Celebration 2014
August 11 -16 2014
The Event this year is held to commemorate the Keweenaw Maritime History.
Heritage Celebration Week Events throughout Calumet:
Miner’s Reunion • Mon., Aug 11, 6:00 p.m. • Free and open to public
Coppertown USA
Red Jacket Road, Calumet
906.337.4354
Keweenaw Heritage Center 20th Anniversary Celebration • Tues., Aug. 12 (ticketed dinner event)
Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne’s
25880 Red Jacket Rd., Calumet
906.337.2410
Shipwrecks of the Keweenaw (slide presentation) • Wed., Aug. 13 • 7:00 p.m. • Free and open to public
Calumet Colosseum Ballroom
110 Red Jacket Rd., Calumet
906.337.2507
Red Jacket 1913 • Thurs. & Fri., Aug. 14 & 15 • 7:30 p.m. (ticketed performance)
Calumet Theatre
340 Sixth St., Calumet
For ticket information call 906.337.2610
Saturday, August 16
8:30–10 a.m. • Walk In the Park • Calumet Lions Club Park & Nature Trail
Join this walk through the Calumet’s newest park at Calumet Lake. Turn north onto Waterworks Street off M-203.
9–11:30 a.m. • Pannukakku Breakfast in Agassiz Park (prepared by Finlandia University Food Services). Enjoy this Finnish specialty in the park before heading over to watch the parade!
10 a.m.–4 p.m. Coppertown USA Mining Museum will host an open house. Refreshments will be served.
All Day: Visit our downtown merchants for Heritage Celebration Specials!
10:45 a.m. • Great Deer Chase Mountain Bike Race start
5th Street in Calumet
11 a.m. • Heritage Celebration Parade
5th Street in Calumet
11:30 a.m.–4 p.m. • Food, Fun, Music, Vendors, Kids Games in Agassiz Park
11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. • Free trolley rides through historic Calumet (originating and ending at Agassiz Park)
1–4 p.m. • Morrison School Open House
Tour the renovation in progress! Corner of 7th and Elm Streets in Calumet.
2014 PastyFest Pasties
The Judges
The Winners Are
Daniel and Marsha Klein won for Traditional (Individual)
Tim Bies (of Michigan House) won for Non-Traditional
Connie's Pasties won for Traditionl (Commercial)
Connie from Connie's Kitchen
2014 Community Service Awards
The Community Service Awards was held Friday evening, June 27 at the Calumet Colosseum. Our three award recipients this year are Sue Dana (receiving the Rita Finch Community Service Award), Dick Dana(receiving the Russell R. Erkkila Community Service Award), and Ed Gray (receiving the John Perona Copper Country Traditions Award).
Here is a brief description of each of the awards and the people they were created in memory of:
About the John Perona award:
The John Perona Copper Country Traditions Award
Giovanni Batista Perona, a.k.a. Johnnie Perona, was born in 1920 near Calumet on the farm owned by his Italian immigrant parents. Johnnie was born into a musical family, and Calumet in those days was an ethnic and musical melting pot. John learned to play French-Canadian reels, Slovenian polkas, Croatian waltzes, and Finnish schottisches. He became a proficient player of the fiddle, the Polish concertina, and the rhythm bones.
It was his bones playing that was largely responsible for his being designated a Master Folk Musician by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. As a Master Folk Artist, John taught bones-playing to two apprentices and dozens of workshop participants and was honored with awards at the American Rhythm Bones Festival.
John passed away in February of 2009, and it was with much sadness that our Copper Country community said goodbye to a great man and legendary talent. For an individual who so celebrated life and music, we honor John’s memory with this award.
About the Russel R. Erkkila Award:
The Russell R. Erkkila Community Service Award
Russell was instrumental in shaping the Village of Calumet for more than twenty years, serving on the Village Council and as President Pro-tem from 1983-1986, as Village President from 1986-1996, as a member of the Village Downtown Development Authority from 1986-1999, on the Village Planning Commission from 1988-1999, and on the North Houghton County Water and Sewage Authority from 1986-2002. He was a strong supporter of the Keweenaw National Historic Park and even testified before a U.S. Senate Sub-Committee Hearing on the formation of the Park. He was also a member of the Village Fire Department for eighteen years. Sadly, Russell passed away in 2002. We honor his memory with this named award.
About the Rita Finch award:
The Rita Finch Community Service Award
Rita Barbara Jean Dower was born the youngest daughter of Polish immigrants on September 28, 1931, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She married Chet Finch in 1945 and had two sons. Rita graduated from the Petoskey Beauty Academy in 1965, and the Finch’s moved to Calumet in 1968. Rita opened Rita’s Barberette in 1969, running it until 1981. She became the first female Calumet Village president in 1976, serving two consecutive terms. She was very community-oriented and was involved with the Altar Society at St. Paul the Apostle Church, the Ingot Club, The V.F.W. Auxiliary, the CLK Sportsman’s Club, the Calumet Downtown Development Authority, and the Calumet Theatre, from which she received the Helen Baratono Award. She was known to all as the “hat lady” because she was rarely seen without one of her hats. Sadly, Rita passed away in March 2005. It is with great honor that we name this award after her.
2014 PastyFest T-Shirt Winner
Logo design winner Jake Steinhoff holds his certificate while his father proudly holds this year's t-shirt emblazoned with Jake's art work.
Schedule of Events
Friday June 27th
7:00 pm Main Street Calumet Community Service Awards – Calumet Colosseum Ballroom – coffee & cake
Saturday June 28th
11:00 am – PastyFest Parade – 5th Street
11:00 am - registration opens for Horseshoe Partners Tournament – Agassiz Park
11:30 am – 5:00 pm - PastyFest in Agassiz Park
Music – The Backroom Boys Jazz & Polka Band
Food
Vendors – Main Street Calumet Market
Free Horse-drawn tours
Old-fashioned Kids Games
Pasties!!
1:00 pm Pasty Bake-off Judging begins (winners will be announced once judging is complete)
Join us on Saturday, June 28th
to Celebrate
PastyFest 2014
Food - Fun - Games - Pasties - Music-Crafters
Agassiz Park
Calumet, Michigan
Click here for an application form if you wish to be a 2014 PastyFest vendor
The Parade
Click here for an application to participate in the parade
The Bake Off
Click here for an application to enter the Pasty Bake Off
Miracles on Main Street: Red Jacket Educational Institute
Imagine a village serving as a community campus for youth enrichment, community recreation, and lifelong education: A village rich in cultural heritage with a people determined to preserve their community heritage, improve economic prosperity, and provide a broad range of educational opportunities for citizens of all ages. Welcome to Calumet, Michigan and “Miracles on Main Street.”
Main Street Calumet is spearheading this project and has recruited a one-of-a-kind “Miracle Network”; an unprecedented and unique community partnership of local government, school, federal agency, and nonprofit organizations to create and deliver educational, vocational, historic preservation, and recreation programs to the residents of Calumet and the Keweenaw Peninsula. Current partners in the “Miracle Network” include: the Public Schools of Calumet, Laurium and Keweenaw (CLK); the National Park Service (NPS); Keweenaw National Historical Park; the Charter Township of Calumet; the Village of Calumet; the Calumet Theatre; the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St Anne’s; and other interested entities and individual citizens. Located within the boundaries of Keweenaw National Historical Park, the Red Jacket Educational Institute’s campus consists of the historic buildings owned by these groups....READ MORE
es on Main Street: Red Jacket Educational Institute
