Ely plans “Red Hot” fishing weekend events

Area lakes won’t be the only place with activity during the opening weekend of the 2004 fishing season.To coincide with the fishing opener, the Ely Chamber of Commerce is promoting its Red Hot Weekend, a series of events designed to appeal to those who’ll make the trek north to fish with a special effort to reach those who won’t even wet a line.“Basically the idea is to bring more people to Ely,” said Denise Dreschler, part of the weekend organizing committee. “With the opening of fishing the thought was there will be a lot of guys who are out fishing so we wanted some offerings that would appeal to women and families so they would have something to do.”Among the events tentatively set for the weekend of May 14-16 include:• A glass etching workshop sponsored by Northern Lakes Arts Association;• A kennel tour hosted by Gateway North;• River Point Lodge’s informal style show and promenade for Red Hatters;• A Saturday evening performance by The Wildkats at Grand Ely Lodge;• Nature walks with a naturalist at Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast;• A designer workshop scheduled by Bare Bones Studio• Storytelling at Lisa’s Second Floor Bookstore;• A city-wide sidewalk sale coordinated by local merchants;• Reduced prices for golf at the Ely Golf Course.Organizers are also working on a possible boat tour from Moose Lake to Prairie Portage.The Chamber is advertising the event around the region, and also in markets such as the Twin Cities.More information can be found on the Chamber website (ely.org) and those who wish to plan an event may still do so by calling 365-6123.You can still add to the list of events to make this a real ?RED HOT WEEKEND.  Contact the Chamber or one of the committee members for more information.  Committee members are:  John Mills (J.D. Mills Company), Denise Drechsler (BaskeTree), Cecelia Rolando (Northern Lakes Arts Association), Angie Wittrup (Grand Ely Lodge) or Jeff Potter (Vertins).