Loggers, classic cars and blueberries, oh my!

Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. (Screenshot from "Itasca Conversations"/A+B Productions)

Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. (Screenshot from “Itasca Conversations”/A+B Productions)

We now wind into the “flurry of activity before we realize the leaves are already changing” part of our Northern Minnesota summer. It’s hot and time moves fast.

On the western Mesabi, Grand Rapids holds its annual Weekend of Wheels car show and swap meet, an event I always find preferable to the county fairs. My sons like the cars and the swap meet provides an interesting collection of curios. The car show and swap meet happens this Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31 at the Itasca County Fairgrounds and IRA Civic Center on the north side of Grand Rapids.

Also this weekend up on the Vermilion Range, you can enjoy Ely’s annual Blueberry Festival — a weekend packed with local events, live music and displays, and blueberries of course. Though not blueberry picking locations; those are secret. (Ely Blueberry Days schedule)

Also this weekend in Effie, one can enjoy the Northstar Stampede Rodeo, the longest running rodeo in Minnesota. They don’t have a website, you just go to Effie on Friday and Saturday.

Next weekend, Aug. 5-7, brings Tall Timber Days, another Grand Rapids tradition. Friday night brings a street dance featuring friend of the blog and Great Northern Radio Show distinguished alumnus Actual Wolf, a Grand Rapids native. There are logging exhibitions and other fun all day Saturday, culminating in another street dance Saturday night. More fun tags on Sunday’s schedule. (Tall Timber Days schedule)

The Gems of Itasca video series, a production of A Plus B Productions in Grand Rapids, created a fun video showing the history and general vibe of Tall Timber days. You can watch it here:

There are certainly more events happening all over Northern Minnesota. The county fairs will start rolling in like summer thunderstorms in due time. This time of year is still summer, it is. But you can hear the airplane’s engine noise ease lower. You can feel the change in altitude. This short flight of another season is almost over. Pack up your bag. Round and round the year we go.

The leaves will change, and so will lives.

Comments

  1. Heath Burthwick says

    I would like to recommend the North Central Minnesota Farm and Antique Association show in Blackberry Minnesota just East of Grand Rapids. I believe it’s the 13th and 14th of August this year. Chisholm has its parade and events the same weekend so a person could have an awesome time with different things to do that weekend. The thing that really ads to Blackberry show is the horses. The North Star Draft Horse Club demonstrations. I hit many farm shows across the state and North Star Draft Horse Club makes Blackberry the best for horses. Of course the volunteers there work hard serving food and very nice tractors and a flea market. I also recommend for all people to hit a farm show near them. Many all over the State. These clubs are filled with wonderful people and looking for members. But you don’t need be a member to go and admission is very very reasonable.

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