The countdown is on to Ely’s busiest three days of the summer.
Now in its 45th year, the Blueberry/Art Festival begins Friday at Whiteside Park, runs through the weekend, and promises to bring thousands of people to the community.
If past precedent is any indication, by noon Friday the park will be overflowing with vendors, visitors and shoppers for what has become Ely’s signature event of the summer.
The 2024 event was busy at levels seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, although patrons and vendors faced at times scorching heat.
This year’s festival figures to be even busier with the park filling to capacity and then some with 229 vendors occupying 278 booth spaces. It’s the largest festival since prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, when there were 270 booth spaces.
“We were so excited to be at capacity last year, and with the increase in booth spaces, we are full again,” said event director Kristen Switajewski. “Based on our records, we have not had this number of booths since around 2018.”
After last year’s overwhelming demand, Switajewski proactively adjusted the festival layout and added extra booths to accommodate even more vendors.
Attendees can look forward to both returning vendors and many who are new to the festival.
The annual Blueberry Bazaar will be held July 2526, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ely Community Center. Over 18 vendors, handmade goods, free admission, air-conditioned shopping during Blueberry/ Art Festival weekend.
The Ely Kiwanis will once again be in the pavilion, selling their popular freshbaked pies. New for 2025, WELY will be broadcasting live from the bandshell, adding to the atmosphere at the city park.
The food court is always a busy spot in the park, and this year promises an array of options with crowd favorites like Bob’s BBQ, Becky’s Oriental, and Schweiby’s returning. A delectable new addition is Ruhland’s Strudel Haus, featuring freshly made sweet and savory strudels.
Just under 80 percent of the vendors are making return appearances, but organizers say new artisans to look out for are:
• Diane Tomas of Quills & Things creates beautiful paper quilled items incorporated into frames, wood, glass, and jewelry;
• Rachel Holden of Dimi Dolls & Company offers heirloom woodland-themed dolls with intricate hand-embroidered details;
• Joe Lecheler and Cicely Matz of Iconosancta Studios handcraft exquisite wood furniture and paintings inspired by Byzantine and Greek designs.
The festival is being planned and organized by the Ely Chamber of Commerce, which has sponsored the Blueberry/Art since its inception.
Always held on the last weekend of July, the Blueberry/ Art Festival has grown from humble roots and in its four-decade history has become a major happening.
In addition to the festivities at the park, some entrepreneurs set up shop nearby to cash in and the Chamber is promoting downtown businesses to festival-goers through its Operation Blueberry. The Operation Blueberry map will be available, starting Tuesday, at the Chamber office.
The Ely Chamber of Commerce is once again offering People’s Choice judging for the art and craft vendors. For $5 individuals can cast a ballot for their three favorite art and craft vendors, plus they receive the official festival button. Sales for the People’s Choice buttons will continue at the festival. All ballots must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. Winners are announced on Sunday, July 27.
This year’s festival comes on the heels of a hectic summer in Ely and organizers expect nothing less this weekend.
This figures to be the largest festival in several years.
The 2020 festival, along with most other area events, was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Plans for a more typical 2021 event went awry because of the weather. During the evening of the festival’s first day, a severe thunderstorm brought rain, hail and damaging winds that wreaked havoc across the area and inside the park, where trees fell and many vendors had tents damaged. The rest of the festival was subsequently cancelled.
Festivals from 2022-2024 have been more typical in nature with the number of booth spaces occupied steadily growing.
