One of the hits of last year’s Ely High School All-Class Reunion is back - and may well become a permanent staple on the local calendar.
Heritage Fest is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 16, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Pioneer Mine Complex.
It’s a spinoff of sorts of the Heritage Day that was held during the all-class reunion, but this year’s event is longer and has some new twists - including a threehour polka party in the middle of the event.
Mike Tarvin, one of the organizers of the Heritage Fest, said the popularity and success of last year’s event sparked the push for an encore.
“Last year when we are on the all-class reunion committee we were trying to think of some events and my wife came up with it and the whole committee thought it was a great idea to have a Mining Heritage Day,” said Tarvin. “It was very well attended, and very successful. People loved it. And after that we thought let’s try to make a bigger event and try to bring in a wider audience.”
Finding a date that didn’t conflict with other goings-on in Ely was the first challenge, but mid-August proved to work and the lineup has quickly come together.
Music will be a staple with the Solkela Polkela Band, popular across the region and part of last year’s festivities, leading things off.
Next comes a focus on music that all but defines Ely’s heritage - polka.
“In the middle of the afternoon, we’re working with the Slovenian Union of America, and they have a chapter right here in Ely, and they’re going to put on a polka party, a polka dance party and jam session with local artists.”
The polka party runs from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and is followed by the classic rock music of Ranger Things, going from 6 to 9 p.m.
“That may attract a different audience,” said Tarvin.
The event will include plenty of food, including ethnic fare.
“We’ll have potica, strudel, Finnish tarts,” said Tarvin. “We’ve got a good number of bakers and some more traditional things like cookies and pies. That will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.”
JR’s Beef, Daredevil Dogs and Wilderness Wood Fire Pizza are among the other food offerings, and there will be a full bar including beer, wine, soft drinks and cocktails.
The Pioneer Mine Complex itself is also featured as part of the event, with a nod to the region’s history and an era when Ely had an operating mine at that venue.
“We want to bring attention to that place as it’s on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Tarvin. “We’d like to get more people down there to see what’s going on.”
The Ely-Winton Historical Society will put on what Tarvin described as “a short walk and talk history tour, bringing people around the western side.”
Free tours are also part of the schedule.
A focus on Ely’s history is part of the event and the goal is to attract not only longtime residents but visitors to the region as well.
“We will have a good time and celebrate our heritage,” said Tarvin.
The event is sponsored by the Ely Arts and Heritage Center, the Slovenian Union of America, Twin Metals Minnesota and the Ely Echo.
While only in its second year, Tarvin hopes the event becomes part of Ely’s schedule of various festivities.
“We think it’s going to be a great time,” he said. “We’re starting to get some sponsors and we think it can get bigger and bigger and maybe even a multi-day festival. We would love for it to be an annual event.”
