REGIONAL- Area artist Thomas McDonald, who creates artwork on found metal objects and signs, relies on events like the Blueberry Art Festival. He was among many local artists and crafters placed in limbo after the Ely Chamber of Commerce made the difficult decision to cancel the festival due to the ongoing fires just outside the city.
But much to McDonald’s surprise, and to the surprise of many other artists, crafters, and food truck entrepreneurs, the alternative event, collectively titled the “Blueberry Loop,” brought in enough business to total, or even surpass, income from last year’s Blueberry Art Festival.
When news of the cancellation hit, business owners and vendors in both Babbitt and Tower started organizing satellite festivals, along with two venues in Ely that planned to continue on schedule with weekend events.
Within a few days, Central Park in Babbitt had been organized to host vendors and food trucks. Meanwhile, businesses in Tower granted use of parking lots and the city allowed vendors to set up in designated locations without paying the usual vendor permit fee.
The word got out via social media, and local newspapers, radio, and television stations which gave the event a boost. Organizers created an incentive for visitors to drive the loop between Ely, Babbitt, and Tower, collecting cards and receiving a prize when all six (two from each city) were collected.
And people showed up. A lot of people.
Dianna Sunsdahl, who helped organize the event in Tower, said there were cars parked for blocks down to the edge of town on Friday, and town was almost as busy on Saturday.
“It was like the Fourth of July,” she said.
She and her husband Terry run Pike River Products and have a storefront in Tower, but they were looking forward to selling their handmade waxed canvas bags at the Blueberry Festival.
“We had a really good day on Friday,” said Terry on Saturday morning, when his shop had several groups of customers checking out the merchandise. “Yesterday we did better than on the Fourth of July, which previously had always been our best day.” That sentiment was echoed by Victoria Carlson, event co-organizer from Ubetcha Antiques.
“Over the two days we had just over 2,200 people through our doors,” she said.
Pike River Products has opted to take a booth at Harvest Moon in September, one of the two options given to vendors displaced by the cancellation of the Blueberry Festival.
Overall, according to the Ely Chamber, about a dozen of the Blueberry vendors ended up setting up in one of the three towns over the weekend. Some vendors found other festivals or shows to set up at, said chamber event organizer Kristen Switajewski.
For others, who weren’t planning on doing the festival, the impromptu setups gave them a chance to improve their business. Some decided to test the waters, setting up for the first time. For smaller vendors, the festival fee is steep, they noted, and they really appreciated the chance to set up in Tower.
Shelly Orr, of Orr Acres Farms, had sold her paintings the last seven years at Blueberry. She had a reservation at a resort outside of Ely which ended up evacuated. She found alternative lodging in Babbitt and was set up in Tower on Friday and Saturday. The storm that rolled through the area on Friday night destroyed her fair tent, but the Sunsdahls lent her theirs on Saturday, so she was set for another day of good sales.
“Everybody is so nice here,” she said.
Orr, from east central Minnesota, was set up in Ely in 2021, when a dangerous storm rolled through on the first night of the festival, damaging almost all the tents, downing trees, and causing the rest of the festival to be canceled. That year she set up on Sheridan, propping up broken panels to hang her artwork, and was able to continue selling.
The weekend coincided with Tower-Soudan city-wide garage sales, and several families reported as many as 50-percent more shoppers than last year. This year, 18 households held sales on Friday and Saturday. Many reported they hope the event continues next year.
Main Street businesses in Tower also benefited from all the traffic. The outdoor patio at Sulu’s Espresso Café was full, and other shops were crowded. The Tower Café sponsored an impromptu car show, and folks had fun visiting the classic cars parked on Main Street on Saturday.
In Babbitt, the organizers were asking for a $50 vendor fee, to cover insurance and porta-potty rentals. Twenty-seven vendors and four food trucks set up in the park on Central Ave. on Saturday and Sunday. Karen Hamilton, who helps organize the Ely Farmers Market and runs a food truck that sells roasted nuts, spearheaded the event. She said she was amazed at the response from both the vendors and the public.
Some of the vendors were Blueberry “refugees,” but others were smaller businesses happy to have a place to sell. The “Birch Landing Art Fair” was busy shortly after the opening on Saturday morning, with lines for fry bread, kettle corn, and other fair food. Many vendors reported having to do a big restock for the second day on Sunday.
Andrea Dudley, who runs a gluten-free home bakery called Happy Kitchen, was close to sold out by early afternoon. She is also a regular vendor at the Ely Farmers Market, and she was very happy that Hamilton was able to quickly get the event pulled together.
Three Jewels Pottery, of Ely, had been working all winter getting ready for Blueberry Festival, but their booth in Babbitt was busy. They also were selling from an impromptu outdoor booth in front of their Sheridan St. business in Ely.
The Ely Community Center, which has been hosting vendors during Blueberry weekend in previous years, was also busy.
“We’ve been doing as good as last year,” said Pat Chapman, who along with husband Tom, was selling his original artwork, along with a book the couple had published back in 1975, which is now back in print.
Amy Soderberg and her sister Jane Planton were amazed at how supportive the community has been. The two sew kitchen items like potholders and placemats, and of course, had dozens of blueberry-themed designs, that also were selling very well.
Elliot Koschak, of Starbeam Bakery, was on track to sell over 100 of his homemade blueberry pies. He also helped organized the three-city event. He was set up next to Dirty Dog Manufacturing, which had the official 2026 Blueberry Festival t-shirts for sale.
When the fires first broke out, UPS stopped delivering to Ely, owner Linda Enquist-Vandenbranden said, which meant the blueberry-blue colored t-shirts and sweatshirts weren’t being delivered. They used the extra week to adapt their official design to reflect the reality of Ely that week, adding in a fire-fighting plane, flames, and a fire tower to their design, plus a “see you next year” greeting.
Sales were hot, and they actually ran out of shirts by late on Saturday. Special orders are being taken by contacting Dirty Dog through their Facebook page, but it was expected that orders would be closing on Friday, July 31. Most t-shirt sizes are still available, she said. Dirty Dog is also selling brand-new t-shirts commemorating the fire, and a portion from those sales will be donated to firefighting efforts. These t-shirts will be available at Ely Surplus.