With Independence Day falling on a Saturday, many in Ely were bracing for an even busier-than-usual Fourth of July weekend.
Those expectations seem to be met, and then some.
Thousands gathered on Ely’s streets and sidewalks for Saturday’s July 4 parade, and an estimated 1,500 people turned out at Whiteside Park for the July 3 Rock the Park event.
Together, those events and associated activities made for a hectic weekend in town, one capped by the July 4 evening fireworks display over Miners Lake.
Mother Nature cooperated, with temperatures reaching 80 but not unbearably hot during the roughly 90-minute parade.
As usual, parade-watchers got a head start, putting chairs out along the parade route as early as a day-and-ahalf before the parade.
For the first time, a count was conducted and it was noted that more than 2,200 chairs were placed along the route.
Given those numbers, and crowds lined up deep beyond the chairs along many city blocks, crowd estimates of 10,000 or more for the Ely parade may not be far off.
Bands including one from Ely Memorial High School as well as the always-popular Ely Klown Band entertained along the parade route, and Ely Echo publisher and longtime community volunteer Nick Wognum served as grand marshal.
The parade started with the Ely Honor Guard and veterans atop a giant truck, and ended with a caravan of emergency vehicles.
In between, parade-watchers saw floats, classic cars and political candidates including gubernatorial hopeful and current U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D), DFL U.S. Senate candidate Angie Craig and both State Sen. Grant Hauschild (D) and her Republican opponent Babbitt’s Andrea Zupancich.
And as always, Zup’s Food Market played a large part in the parade, distributing everything from pretzels to plungers to those in the audience.
Before and after the parade, the city park was filled with children, families and others for games, food and beverages.
The previous evening, the park was the hub of activity for Rock the Park.
Since the initial event in 2022, Rock the Park has taken off and has now become a staple on the Fourth of July weekend calendar and serving as a true community gathering.
“I started thinking back to the first year when we were like ‘is anybody going to come to this thing?’ to now we’ve got to the point where there are bands reaching out to us, and we know who needs to be booked a year out in advance,” said Rob Wilmunen of the Ely Events Group.
Three acts - Willie Martin and the Rangers, The Whiskey River Band and Aftershock - entertained an audience that included all ages.
Sponsored by the Ely Events Group, Rock the Park includes a variety of musical acts and numerous components aimed at children and young families, including bouncy houses, a medallion hunt and a sawdust pile for kids, and free watermelon.
“We try to say that friends, family and fun is our motto,” said Wilmunen. “We invite YoungLife to participate and we have the inflatables, and I think the PTO did very well on pop and water, and then Jimmy Zup has taken over with the sawdust piles and medallion hunts and those sorts of things and it adds a family aspect to all of it.”
The event lasted several hours and resulted in long lines at food trucks and brisk business for the Ely firefighters, who sold beer and other beverages.
Like July 4, organizers also had the good fortune of cooperative weather. “We were fortunate on the weather front,” said Wilmunen.
Determining attendance was an inexact science, but the Ely Events Group sold out of 1,000 buttons for the event and then sold hundreds of stickers and can coozies as substitutes.
Plans for 2027 are already in the works and next year’s Rock the Park is already booked for Saturday, July 3.
