Cancellation of Blueberry Festival another blow

ELY- The fires north of Ely couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Ely Chamber of Commerce as they got down to the last-minute planning for this year’s Blueberry Art Festival, previously set for July 24-26.
Events director Kristen Switajewski said the week prior to the festival is normally spent focused on all the last-minute things needed to turn Whiteside Park into the premier festival hosted in this region. This year, it was spent weighing the various arguments for the painful decision to cancel Ely’s biggest event of the year.
While organizers were initially optimistic, the difficulties of running the event became clearer Saturday night after the chamber met with fire officials, emergency responders, and area law enforcement. The cancellation needed to be made in time to notify the vendors and the public, Switajewski said.
“I certainly didn’t want to give out that news,” she said. “We want the best for our vendors and the public. Their health and safety are our major concern.”
The chamber has since told vendors they can roll over their booth reservations until next year, or have a booth at this year’s Harvest Moon Festival, set for Sept. 11-13, which is expected to be much larger than usual.
Chamber officials acknowledge the decision is a blow. “That festival brings in anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 people into the city,” said Tanner Spicer, president of the chamber. “As we all know, this is our peak season. This is when Ely makes its money, and how we get through the winter. These fires are unprecedented, and the ripple effects of the of this is not going to be felt just now. This is going to carry on for the rest of the year and beyond.”
Spicer said the chamber had to weigh the impact of cancellation against the risk of bringing thousands of people into the community at a time when many nearby areas are subject to evacuation orders and emergency responders are already stretched thin.

Pitch to shop locally
Even as the chamber made the decision to cancel Blueberry, they’ve issued a plea for area residents to shop locally, to help make up for the lost summer traffic affecting so many businesses right now.
“Everybody always says shop local, but oftentimes that doesn’t happen,” said Spicer. “Now is the time to stop talking and actually start doing. Live what you’re preaching. Live what you say. If you need to buy something rather than run to Virginia and go to a big box store, stop at one of our local stores and actually buy it there.”
“Ely itself isn’t on fire,” Spicer emphasized. “People can still come here. We can still support them. We can we could really use the business.”

Alternative vendor
locations in Ely,
Babbitt, and Tower
With the cancellation of Blueberry, business boosters in neighboring locations have scrambled to create everal alternative locations for vendors who had planned to be in the area this coming weekend. The Blueberry Bazaar and Bake Sale is still set for July 24-25 in the Ely Community Center. The Whiteside Food Court, on the east side of Whiteside Park, will still be open with both food trucks and vendors, including blueberry pies for sale and this year’s official Blueberry Festival t-shirts. Official festival t-shirts will also be for sale at Ely Surplus.
The city itself is not under any evacuation orders as of press time and the dense smoke that had blanketed the city last week has largely cleared.
The Birch Landing Art Fair in Babbitt will be setting up an outdoor vendor area on July 25 and 26, located on Central Blvd., right across from Zup’s. Hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Sunday. Karen Hamilton, owner of the Beyond Nuts food truck and one of the organizers of the Ely Farmers Market, has taken the lead of the newly established event. As soon as Hamilton learned of the cancellation of Ely’s festival, she reached out to Babbitt Mayor Andrea Zupancich to see if they could host an alternative space in Babbitt.
“We know this is a devastating blow to many vendors,” she said. “We see this as a chance to salvage their weekend. We are reaching out to Blueberry Festival and Farmers Market vendors. We are also cross promoting with the event still going on in Ely,” she said.
The response has been fast and furious, she said on Monday.
“My phone has blown up with calls, texts, and emails,” she said. “I got interviewed by WDIO. It’s gaining speed, and I spent all morning responding to messages from vendors.” She was especially exited to hear that Barb’s Fry Bread Truck will be there.
“We have insurance, porta-potties, signage, and all the stuff we need to make it happen,” “We are charging a nominal $50 fee to cover the cost of the insurance and porta-potties.”
“It will be awesome,” Hamilton said.
And in Tower, food trucks and vendors are expected to set up at various locations on Main Street, mainly at the Little Green Pantry building (vendors indoors and outdoors). This “Blueberry Bust” event will take place Friday and Saturday, and will have at least three food trucks, plus at least eight vendors confirmed as of Tuesday afternoon). Tower -Soudan is also hosting city-wide garage sales on both Friday and Saturday with 18 sales listed so far. Hours for both days are 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. for these sales, and maps are available in Tower and on Facebook.
There will also be a car show on Saturday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Tower Café. Anyone who brings their car can register by 12 noon to enter to win a $50 gift certificate to the café.