ELY – Following a severe storm that altered the 2021 Blueberry/Art Festival, planning for this year’s edition of the Ely community’s major summer festival began back in January and will kick off next Friday, July 29.
With Mother Nature’s cooperation, more than 200 art, craft, and food vendors will fill Whiteside Park starting at 10 a.m. next Friday, and stay until Sunday, July 31 at 4 p.m. “They will be joined by thousands of visitors to our wonderful community,” said Ely Chamber of Commerce Event Director Ellen Cashman, who has spent hundreds of hours planning the event layout featuring many of the favorite vendors, plus at least 30 new ones.
“Our festival is a juried show, so each new applicant is reviewed by a panel of area artists and crafters,” Cashman explained. Those same jurors judge all the vendors on Friday morning and award the top three winners in both the art and craft categories.
“We are excited to have a very diverse group of artists and crafters including some fantastic ones from the Ely area,” she said. “We have Tom McDonald from Bear Island Art Factory who does recycled metal art, Dafne Caruso who does both jewelry and mixed media paintings, Ginny Stage who does embroidered textiles, Annette Mattingly who does pressed flower art, Ben Pawlak who features wood crafts, and many more.”
Several of the new artists are also from Ely, including Brian and Jill Siegel who work with mixed media and Nina Wray who creates beautiful pottery.
“Our food court is filled with many popular vendors offering tasty treats including turkey croissants, fresh seafood, corn dogs, brats, cheese curds, authentic Mexican food, BBQ, waffles, funnel cakes, oriental food, and frozen yogurt,” Cashman said.
The Ely Kiwanis is in the pavilion again this year with their delicious blueberry pies, ice creams and sandwiches. The beer tent is also back this year, and the proceeds will go to support the Ely Fire Department and their activities.
Pengal’s Basswood Trading will have the Blueberry/Art Festival t-shirts, sweatshirts, and blueberry pop. “There truly is something for everyone,” she added.
Visit the Ely Chamber of Commerce booth for their first annual Blueberry/Art Festival button. The buttons are only $5 each and funds go to support the festival. Buttons are also available at the chamber office at 1600 E Sheridan St. in Ely.
The third annual Operation Blueberry event kicks off on Thursday, July 28. A map and list of participating businesses will be available on Friday, July 22. Some businesses are offering blueberry sales and specials, while others are doing special events. Maps will be available at the Ely.org website, at the chamber office, and at the chamber festival booth. The chamber booth will also have the coveted “Blueberry List” featuring blueberry art, crafts, food, and many other items offered by vendors at the festival.