Annual Fisherman's Picnic

Summertime festivals are celebrated throughout the country and are usually events that local residents and visitors look forward to. In Cook County on Lake Superior’s North Shore, Fisherman’s Picnic in Grand Marais is the big festival that everyone looks forward to. Fisherman’s Picnic is an annual event taking place over the first full weekend in August. The festival weekend is filled with live music, food vendors, kiddie rides, street sales, a parade, and more. Plus, don’t forget the famous Fishburgers!

All About Fisherman’s Picnic
Live Music at Fisherman's Picnic

Live Music at Fisherman’s Picnic

Known locally as Fish Pic, this is the big family-friendly festival in Grand Marais. With fun activities all weekend long for everyone! Celebrated annually for 9 decades, the town of Grand Marais truly comes to life for a weekend of fun and excitement. There’s live music with beautiful Lake Superior as the backdrop. Food trucks with a delicious variety of foods. Kiddie rides in the main downtown parking lot. Kids love the inflatables that often run down Wisconsin Street. For art lovers, booths featuring fine art, clothes, and other treasures from the area and around the state.

Most of the Fisherman’s Picnic activity happens in the downtown harbor area. Some activities happen further in town at the community center and local schools.

No matter your age, whether you’re a long-time resident or a first-time visitor, you’re bound to have a great time during Fisherman’s Picnic.

Schedule of Events
Murray the Moose marches in the Fisherman's Picnic parade

Murray the Moose Marches in the Fisherman’s Picnic Parade

Traditionally, Fish Pic would kick off each year on Wednesday night with the Old Timer Gathering at the Senior Center. However, in recent years, the traditional gathering has been replaced with the WISE Woman “Buffet in a Box”. The meal includes local favorites like Lena’s fishcakes with homemade tartar sauce, Swedish meatballs, potato salad, homemade dessert bars, and more! Pre-ordering is usually required as the boxes have sold out in the past.

Thursday usually starts slowly, but the highlight is the 11 am opening of the Fisherburger stand in the Grand Marais Harbor. Locally famous, most cannot visit Fisherman’s Picnic without stopping by the fishburger stand for lunch at some point throughout the weekend. Live music in the harbor also starts at this time. The highlight for many is the Bingo and Beer tent. It opens at noon on Thursday.

Friday and Saturday are fun-filled days that you can start with a pancake breakfast at the Community Center. Then, head downtown for a day of fun in the sun with tons to see and do. Activities include a medallion hunt, kayak tours, baseball games, kids’ activities, and more. Another popular favorite activity? Saturday’s Cutest Puppy Contest!

Saturday night brings a fireworks show over the Grand Marais Harbor and street dances around the Harbor Park State. Finally, Sunday afternoon everyone lines up Broadway Ave and Wisconsin Street for the parade at 1 pm. Don’t forget to bring a bag for all that candy! Things wrap up quickly after the parade concludes.

Plan Early!

So come to spend the weekend at America’s Coolest Small Town and experience how they do a town festival. The schedule of events changes a bit from year to year. You can find the official Fish Pic schedule on the Grand Marais Lions Club Website. If you want to attend Fisherman’s Picnic festivities- plan early! Lodging in the area starts booking up a year in advance and the entire county is usually booked up by summertime.