Another year of Peter Mitchell Fun Days is now in the books for Babbitt, with sunny weather and a full slate of events contributing to the week’s success.
Organizers and community members pulled together a total of 58 events for this year’s schedule, with most occurring Friday, June 19 through Sunday, June 21.
Festivities began with the Walleye Whamma Fishing Contest on Saturday, June 13. This year, participants brought in 81 fish for weighing, with overall winner Mike Lund of Cambridge, MN, reeling in an eight and a half pound walleye.
Among many other events, offerings included a car show with over 70 cars, pie and pancake socials, a watermelon feed, the Peter Mitchell Fun Days 5k, fireworks, and tournaments for bean bags, cribbage and pickleball.
At this year’s pageant, Amelia Sandy won the title of Miss Babbitt and judges selected Braelynn Buschman as 2026’s Little Miss Babbitt.
The festivities also included outdoor live music performances from Jammin’ Joe, the McCullough Brothers and the Northwoods Band.
Beyond a week of celebration, Peter Mitchell Days offers a chance for the community to come back together, especially those who grew up in Babbitt but moved out of town, said organizer Connie Koivisto.
“We get a lot of people who were born and raised here who just come home for the weekend,” Koivisto said. “Some classes actually have class reunions on that weekend.”
Koivisto’s father was “very, very involved” with Peter Mitchell Days while she was growing up. After moving back to the area in 1987, Koivisto herself became involved with the planning and preparations.
“Quite a few years ago, the whole event was starting to dwindle, but we worked hard to get it back up to where it’s at now,” Koivisto said.
She attributes Peter Mitchell Days’ comeback to volunteers who have stepped up over the years to put together the event. Preparations occur “pretty much” year-round, Koivisto said, with detailed planning and many meetings.
“We have a good core group of volunteers,” Koivisto said.
“Every event is important, everybody who’s willing to step up to help with an event is important,” Koivisto said. “That’s what makes the whole week.”
