Summer’s season brings many people to the Copper Country, and while many stay around Houghton, visitors will find plenty to explore in Calumet. From the Keweenaw National Historic Park to new art in the community and a foodie’s favorite festival, Calumet offers diverse attractions for summer visitors.
Calumet’s summer has been busy already, with residents enjoying music in the village, recreation at the parks, and anticipation building for Pasty Fest. Jared Howard, director of Main Street Calumet, says the village comes alive after winter.
“Calumet’s always been that spoke kind of in the destination to go from place to place to kind of see the history of everything happening and I think it’s been a beautiful time this year especially with how busy the National Parks has been, how busy downtown has been and how people are excited for the events that are happening,” Howard said.
Saturdays throughout the summer open one of the Copper Country’s largest farmers markets. Howard praised the market’s appeal to both locals and visitors.
“And so many visitors come up and remark on how interesting and cool a lot of our, not only our farmers, but a lot of the craft marketers who are up there as well, just kind of make that small little strip of farmer’s market an awesome place to shop to be and something to be proud of as someone who lives up here in the Keweenaw that we have such an awesome vibrant market scene,” Howard said.
The National Historic Park offers a variety of walking tours around the community. Howard participated in a “ghost tour” that highlighted faded advertisements popular during the height of copper mining.
“It’s just a fascinating look into the history window of what this place was, because you walk around downtown with the National Park Service and you hear these stories of things that happened up here, which have been amazing from scandalous stories to some really inspiring stories like the Big Annie folks who are going to be unveiling the statue in August,” Howard said.
Art helps communities capture their historic past and look toward brighter days. In August, Broad Brush hosts a free teen mural art camp with support from a grant award from the Keweenaw Community Foundation.
Mary Kozmore, co-owner of Broad Brush Studios, described the research process for the project. “I know I’ve been looking at like fireweed, lupin, lily of the valley. Oh I’ve looked at so many plants over the past like probably a month or two,” Kozmore said.
Lisa Gordillo, co-owner of Broad Brush Studios, explained the mural’s concept. “We proposed it as a wildflower mural so that the teens that are involved would just get a sense of the different natural plants that are really important to our area and how to care for them. And then Mary’s just been designing up a storm to get it ready to go,” Gordillo said.
Pasty Fest helps Calumet wrap up a summer full of fun with full bellies. Howard described the festival’s evolution and unique traditions.
“Pastyfest started as this little celebration of a piece of food that brought people together, but it has expanded to one of the richest, quirkiest festivals that we have up here. Again, Pastyfest is embracing the ye olde atmosphere, so we’re going to have the competition between ketchup and gravy,” Howard said.
Activities and events around Calumet and Laurium will make the most of summer’s last sunny days. August will feel especially busy, when the Big Annie statue is unveiled, new art goes on display, and the village fills up for the pasty festival. Those interested in concert details, tours with the National Park Service, or other events in Calumet can find more details online.
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