Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By ZACHARY MARANO
HURLEY, Wis. — The Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual Festival Italiano event starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday. This year’s celebration of Italian heritage will include a craft show, games for kids and live music.
The festival is returning after it was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chamber of Commerce Director Rita Franzoi said the festival will be “a day of people getting out and enjoying the last hurrah of summer.”
The festival will feature live music starting at noon with Kyle Anderson performing near Associated Bank on Silver Street, followed at 4:30 p.m. by Marty’s Goldenaires drum and bugle corps. Finally, the rock band IV Play from Mankato, Minnesota, will play from 6 to 10:30 p.m. near the chamber of commerce, Franzoi said.
Vendors will be set up on Silver Street and will have their booths open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be more than 20 vendors selling craft and artisan goods.
There will also be some vendors selling food and beverages in downtown Hurley, but Franzoi said that some of them will not be there for the entire day.
Franzoi said the Booster Club from Hurley K-12 School will also have a booth set up where they will sell Northstar apparel. The chamber of commerce itself will have a booth, where volunteers will sell T-shirts and 50/50 raffle tickets.
There will be a kid’s zone at Heritage Park in Hurley from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that will include a bounce house, an obstacle course and face painting. Franzoi said that Dove Inc. will also have a table with kid’s crafts in the park.
Other events at the festival will include the Bank Club Bar & Grill’s bags tournament and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament sponsored by Hurley’s high school basketball program.
The 50/50 raffle tickets will also be available for purchase in the days leading up to festival at area businesses and the chamber of commerce. The winner will be announced at a drawing at 9 p.m. on the stage where IV Play will be performing, Franzoi said.
