Festival Ironwood offers mid-summer celebration

By MEGAN HUGHES

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood — Festival Ironwood is here again, and as always, it comes with a slew of activities for all ages, according to Will Corcoran and Keith Johnson, two of the organizers.

The midsummer community festival centered in the Depot Park downtown offers music, food, fun and games morning, afternoon and night through Saturday. There will be a fun run, craft fair, car show, plenty of music under the tent, and the world’s largest duck pick enjoyed by all -- everyone’s a winner.

“We have a lot of new entertainment planned this year,” said Corcoran. The duo spoke to The Globe on Monday to highlight some of what is to come.

Thursday

Thursday gets an early start, with the Youth Volleyball Tournament taking place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tournament is geared toward 13-18-year-olds, and will take place at the Depot Park sand volleyball courts.

The festival’s opening ceremonies will be held at 4 p.m. with a presentation by the Ironwood American Legion Post 5.

The Launching of the Ducks for the duck pick will take place at 4:15 p.m., and it will take place throughout the festival. More than 50 bikes that have been donated as prizes for the duck pick, as well as a variety of other goodies, said the organizers.

Live music performances will be held throughout the day under the big top, with the Richie Yurkovich Polka Fest starting at 4 p.m., and Vanderhagen Ray performing at 7:30 p.m. Live music will occur throughout the festival, as well as many other live performances.

There will be a 50/50 raffle each day, with a drawing held late in the evening. The winning numbers will be posted at the Depot Park each day.

Friday

Friday is kids’ day at the festival, with events aimed for younger audiences, including games, a bouncy castle, and other fun projects scattered across the park to keep kids entertained.

It all starts in the morning and will also include a 50-foot obstacle course, mechanical bull, as well as the ever-popular trout pond fishing game, where kids can catch trout from a pond on-site to either release back to the pond or have cleaned to take home.

A kids Trike and Bike show, organized by Ironwood Public Safety Department, will take place at noon at the park.

At 1 p.m. a wood chip scramble will take place under the pavilion, followed by a watermelon eating contest at 1:30 and a sandcastle building contest at 2 at the volleyball court.

Also on Friday, the Michigan State Police will have its Hidden In Plain Site drug prevention exhibit on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

An outdoor singles pool tournament will be held at 6 p.m. at the Depot Atrium.

Live music under the tent on Friday includes: The Piano Man and the Tamster at 1:30 p.m .; Red Higgins at 5 p.m .; and Branded: Hot Country with Kasey Kuker at 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Starting early on Saturday morning, registration for the annual Walk, Run and Roll will take place under the big top at 7 a.m. with race time starting at 8:30 a.m. The race comes with two distances, a 2-mile walk and a 5-mile run, and is available for individuals as well as for family registration.

The Old Depot Car Show registration begins at 8 a.m. with the show at 9 a.m. Last year, the show had a record 122 entries, according to organizers. Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. The show will turn into the Old Depot Car Show Cruise, beginning at 5 p.m.

The adult tier of the sand volleyball tournament will begin at 9 a.m., with registration due by 8:30 a.m.

The partners pool tournament will beginning at 9 a.m. in the atrium.

The ever-popular arts and craft show will begin at 10 a.m., lasting until 4 p.m. Vendors will begin setting up at 8 a.m.

The Business and Professional Women’s Club is bringing back its strawberry social this year, to be held at 11 a.m. at the Depot Pavilion.

Saturday’s performances include: Flash Back at 9 a.m .; Car Show Loud Pipes Contest at noon; Gogebic Range Concert Band at 12:15 p.m .; a dance performance of local dance studios at 1:30 p.m .; Todd Haeger DJ music at 4 p.m .; Marty’s Goldenaires at 6:30 p.m .; and the Whitehouse Players at 8 p.m.

Preparation for the festival began just after the winter holidays, according to Johnson, with big top rental being placed less than a week into the new year.

The festival takes a lot of planning according to the duo, who have held the lead for more than a decade, but what makes it work is the team they have on hand that head up the different parts of the festival.

“Keith and I are there if needed,” said Corcoran. “We do a lot of organizing and stuff behind the scenes, but our committee? We let them run with it. We don’t interfere, and let them do what they want to do. We are there if they have questions.”

“They always make us look good,” said Johnson.

They said they try to get many types of music to perform, so that no matter your taste, the audience will find a musician they enjoy.

Johnson and Corcoran spoke highly about the support that the Festival gets not only from the community but also by local organizations.

“Mike Myers who runs the chamber, he does a lot for us,” said Corcoran.

“He puts our schedule together, he puts together the forms and gets it all up on the website for us,” said Johnson.

For a full list of events, visit the chamber page ironwoodchamber.org/festival-ironwood.