Paradise, Michigan - - Friday, August 17, the Wild Blueberry Festival,
established in 1984, will begin with its highly attended Blueberry Brunch at 9
AM until noon each day. Some 130
artisans ranging from Mari-time arts, oil and acrylic paintings, refurbished
furniture, herbalist, metal sculptures, fishing lures, fiber artists, chefs,
and jewelers will be descending on Paradise at the Whitefish Township Community
Center. 94% of the artists hail from
Michigan, 31% from the Upper Peninsula. The
art show is open from 9 – 5 Friday, 9 -5 Saturday, and 9 – 4 Sunday.
Making the Wild Blueberry Festival extraordinary is the broad range of
entertainers roaming through the arts and crafts show and performing live on
stage within the community center. This
year’s entertainers include the always popular juggler/daredevil/magician from
Sault Ste Marie, Chet Mitchell; Jewls the Clown, Doc Pawlaczyk’s Family
Medicine Man Show, Papa Crow, Michael Deren as an 1875 Schooner Captain, a mime, Michael Lee, Carl “Bearfoot” Behrend, Richard Paul, Ventriloquist, Soleil Garcia-Johnson, Pianist, and The Blue
Water Ramblers. 2018 is the second year
that the Buggy Down Carriage Company will be offering a petting zoo and
pony-ring rides for children of all ages at the Whitefish Township Community
Schools, slightly north of the community center on M-123 from noon until 3PM
Friday and Saturday, and from 10 until 1 pm on Sunday. Details
for the weekend’s schedule and entertainers can be found in a Wild Blueberry
Festival brochure available at Visitor’s centers in the area or www.WildBlueberryFestival.org.
Don’t forget to stop by the Blueberry Bake Sale inside the community
center; open from 9 – 5 PM Friday and Saturday and 9-4 PM on Sunday. Delectable treats available include handmade
Wild Blueberry Pie, muffins, Wild Blueberry Sauce, and buckle. A popular treat is the Blue Streak made with
a piece of Wild Blueberry Pie, topped with vanilla ice cream, wild blueberry
sauce, and whipped cream. Whole pies
and jars of Wild Blueberry Sauce will be available as well. Oh, don’t ask for cherry pie, as this is the
Wild Blueberry Festival. Each year,
someone asks for Wild Blueberries. They
are available for the picking along the trails and two tracks of Whitefish
Township.
Since its inception the Wild Blueberry Festival has offered Wild
Blueberry related competitions.
This
year is no different. Friday at 2:30 pm
and Saturday at 2:30 pm enthusiastic children will be meeting at the Souvenir
Tent at the community center to get organized for the Blueberry Pie Eating
Contest sponsored by the Berry Patch in Paradise.
Friday and Saturday’s evening Blueberry Jamboree offers free buggy
rides from Sawmill Creek at 6 PM until Dusk with the Buggy Down Carriage
Company. Carl “Bearfoot” Behrend will
be performing from 6 PM – 7 PM at Sawmill Creek Park, Friday evening, kicking
off this year’s Blueberry Jamboree. A locally popular guitarist, Raan McLean is
headlining, the Friday evening Blueberry Jamboree at Sawmill Creek located just
north of the Paradise Inn at 7:30 PM and will be performing Saturday evening
from 6 PM -7 PM, kicking off Saturday
evenings Blueberry Jamboree. Project 906 will be headlining Saturday evening
beginning at 7:30 PM. Bring your
favorite lawn chairs and get comfortable for this popular outdoor concert.
The 2018 Wild Blueberry Festival Chairperson, Wendy Skeans extends her
sincerest appreciation to the many volunteers that contribute to the success of
each year’s festival. The steering
committee of 12 volunteers meets a short time after the festival, to review
what worked and didn’t work, and they begin plans for the next year. This is one major event in the Whitefish Township
Community that utilizes residents, seasonal residents, and visitors from
downstate. From pie building done in
July, to pie baking and serving it takes many hands to support the entire
event. In appreciation to the community
funds raised by the festival a given back to the community; two years ago, the
festival contributed equipment to the Whitefish Township Fire Department. This
last year the festival contributed to the library, the school’s playground
improvement fund, winter decorations and new summer banners for the Paradise
community.
The ever popular Souvenir Tent will be offering popular t-shirts, sweatshirts, and assorted accessories to commemorate the festival throughout the weekend. The festival chairperson expressed appreciation to the many donations
from area businesses for the Fish Bowl activity and the corporate sponsors:
Cloverland Electric, the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, and
the Hiawatha Telephone Company. The Fish Bowl , game of chance, will be available inside the community center
from 11 to 4 PM each day. It is a popular activity for people at all
ages.
Recognizing the culture and
heritage of the Wild Blueberry in the Paradise area, the Wild Blueberry
Festival Committee with the support of the Paradise Area Chamber of Commerce
has developed a great program for 2018.