Mercer hosts 35th annual Loon Day

MERCER-Hundreds of people took in the array of goods and crafts Wednesday during the 35th annual Loon Day art and craft show.

Merchants and visitors flocked from all over the country, including New York, Illinois, and Texas as well as Michigan, Minnesota and all over Wisconsin.

All of downtown Mercer was filled with booths and tents with just under the full capacity of 250 spaces for vendors.

A few of the crowd favorites included the hand percussion wooden frogs from the Frog Buddies, the live bee hive display at the Silver Wings Honey booth and the versatile salsa/bloody mary/dry rub mix at the JD's brand booth.

One passerby at the Frog Buddy stand even ran over to the booth exclaiming "Oh my gosh, it's the frog people! I love these!"

A few under the radar highlights included a kids bow and arrow made from PVC piping and pieces of water noodles as well as the Mercer Fire Department's sprinklers for kids to run through.

There was constant chatter from the little ones about these two items, all throughout downtown.

One girl who had run through the sprinkler even yelled across the street to her mom "That was amazing! Now you have to get wet!"

Hurley's own Northwoods Manufacturing even made it out to the show as a vendor, with a group of students dedicating a beautiful summer day to promoting and selling their projects.

Woods teacher Roger Peterson was surprised by just how many people were walking past their booth.

"It has been steady shoulder to shoulder people since this started," Peterson said.

"I didn't realize just how many people actually came out to this."

Besides the vendor stands with crafts, goods and handmade items, there were also several food and drink stands scattered throughout as well as a designated food court.

The morning even held a performance by the Lakeland Barbershop Chorus and the annual loon calling contest.

The event has become so big over the years, it now has it's own website.

For more information about the day, be sure to check out http://www.mercerloonday.com and watch for the event again next year.