Last week was the Fisherman’s Picnic in Grand Marais, Minnesota.  Usually we don’t get to attend local festivals because we have to work on weekends but the Fisherman’s Picnic started on Thursday, so we went down for the afternoon.

We heard mixed reviews from the folks at Grand Portage about the Fisherman’s Picnic.  Mostly about how crowded it is.  Having attended Red, White and Boom in Columbus and Ribs, White and Blue in Akron, we wanted to see what crowded meant in northern Minnesota.  There wasn’t anything close to a crowd on Thursday afternoon:  maybe several hundred people.  So we lucked out in getting to enjoy the picnic without having to put up with no parking and lots of folks.

We walked around all afternoon and enjoyed our time at the Fisherman’s Picnic.  We checked out the craft booths with the usual handwork.  There was a booth selling Minnesota maple syrup items that was tempting.  Another booth I found particularly interesting was the fish leather – made in Iceland!  We also checked out some of the local shops.  There are plenty of touristy shops, but I especially enjoyed the woodworking shop called Joy and Company.  The owner / artist was there and very easy to talk to about the beautiful items he makes and sells.  If I still had a large house, I would have spent more money!

We tried the famous “Fishburger.”  The local Lion’s Club puts on the Fisherman’s Picnic and they sell the iconic fishburger.  We heard mixed reviews on these, but everyone said we had to try it.  Tom and Johnny each bought one, while Val and I stayed with hot dogs.  The hot dogs were cold and the fishburger was disappointing.  It wasn’t even a burger!  It was half a fried lake herring on a hot dog bun.  But the cheese curds at another food booth were excellent.  Johnny and Val had never tried them and Johnny declared that he may have found a new favorite food.  He thought they would be better with some jalapenos.  There weren’t many food booths but Grand Marais has lots of good restaurants so no one needed to go hungry.

We enjoyed a couple of the live music groups.  Music was going on the whole time we were at the picnic.  We also enjoyed sitting along the Lake Superior shore and watching some of the children who were brave enough to swim in the water.

We finished off our time in town by visiting That Little Red House yarn shop.  I have been helping Val and Deb with knitting and Val needed some more yarn.  There was lots of beautiful yarn but I restrained myself – somehow my yarn cupboard is still full!  It is a cute shop and it is good to know that yarn is only 45 minutes away if I need it.

The Fisherman’s Picnic was a fun way to spend an afternoon.  The weather was gorgeous, there weren’t any crowds, and we enjoyed exploring a little more of the town.