Fall has flown by. So many events have already filled downtown streets. And many have already taken up the search for beautiful fall colors. This weekend a few fall themed events have been promoted by the city of Hancock as the Hancock’s Haunts.
There’s a lot of fun fall events set for Friday and Saturday. City of Hancock DDA Community development coordinator Todd Gast says Friday will start with horror movie fans gathering at the Orpheum theatre. The Griffin Cafe will host a grand re-opening in the city on Saturday. While many volunteers help make a difference.
This year we’ve got a lot of Michigan Tech students, but we need mentors to help them. Just to direct them to help clean up our parks. And we have a lot of other projects. So this is going to be a lot of fun this weekend, a little bit of work, but a lot more fun. So like I always say, we make volunteering fun right here in the city of Hancock – Todd Gast, Community Development Coordinator, City of Hancock Downtown Development Authority
2nd Sandbar’s Amanda Makela says the wolf’s head film festival at the Orpheum has a lot of great movies, and short films. She adds that the festival has been a work in progress, as organizers hosted movie nights earlier in the year with the cc recycling initiative, and held a smaller version of the festival in 2024.
The festival itself at the Orpheum theatre is sort of an annual culmination of this spirit. We’ve had a bunch of shorts submitted to us that we’ve accepted. We’re going to have a shorts program. We’re going to have two feature films and music after each of them. So it’s just a chance to come together, watch some movies and just kind of have a fun spooky time together. – Amanda Makela, Co-founder, Wolf’s Head Film Festival
Across the street from the Orpheum theatre, at the Finnish American Heritage Center, the Hancock Rotary Club will host the Hallo-wine Tasting and Silent Auction. The annual event supports the club’s projects and is the organization’s largest annual fundraiser. This year’s proceeds will also support the fight against polio beyond Rotarians working on local projects.
So the money we raise is going to go towards community projects. And some of the things that we do are like the memorial park downtown was a rotary project and some of the projects over at Lauren Grove Park and with the pickleball court. The other focus of our fundraising is polio plus. Rotary international has worked with the CDC and the gates foundation, among others, over the years to eradicate polio on the face of the earth. Unfortunately, it still does exist in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and it is showing up again in the Gaza Strip. And I always tell people; this is a plane ride away. It’s not gone forever, and it’s a terrible disease. – Melissa Maki, Rotarian, Hancock Rotary Club
There’s plenty of great fall activities happening in and around Hancock on Friday and Saturday. Film screenings will start at 5 pm on Friday at the Orpheum Theater, and will start up again at the same time on Saturday. Full weekend tickets cost 35 dollars, VIP badges cost $90 dollars that includes a special Quincy Mine experience. Those interested in attending the wolf’s head film festival can find showtime details online.
At the Heritage Center, the Hallo-wine Tasting will have catering served by Gino’s, and will feature wine from Lo Duca Bros. Wines from Milwaukee. The Hancock rotary club’s fundraiser tickets will cost 75 dollars. Or $525 dollars for a table of eight.
Saturday includes the Deb Mann Pumpkin Races on Elevation Street with Keweenaw CAPE starting at 11am. Learn about derby requirements, and register for the event here.
While kids and families have fun on Elevation, volunteers will have a different kind of fun. Make a Difference Day in Hancock encourages residents to get out and help their community. Many project sites already have teams of MTU students ready to work. But Gast says, the city needs mentors that will provide some guidance to crews. Most sites work inside city parks to pick up trash, rake leaves, and note potential projects that require the expertise of DPW staff. Call the city of Hancock office to register to make a difference at 906 482 2720.
Learn about the Griffin Cafe grand re-opening here. Families that want to decorate for Halloween can carve pumpkins with the Church of the Resurrection Saturday evening. Or paint a pumpkin with Keweenaw Queers and Keweenaw Mutual Aid Collective on Sunday.
And if you’re not into a Friday night fright, the Keweenaw Center for the Arts hosts Andy Benigio for a comedy night.
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