NORTHWEST REGION

EVENTS

July 2 Spooner – Barbaro at Potter’s Shed, 6 p.m. July 8-10 Spooner – Heart of the North Rodeo July 9 Spooner – Sean & Ian and the Smokin’ Loons at Potter’s Shed, 6 p.m. July 9-11 Bruce – Bruce Blue Hills Festival July 9-11 Turtle Lake – Inter-County Fair July 10 Chetek – Brew & Rib Fest July 10 Barnes -- Vatten Paddlar Canoe Kayak SUP Races July 10-11 Centuria – Centuria Memory Days July 10-11 Cameron – Heritage Days July 10-11 Turtle Lake – Inter-County Fair & Parade July 14-18 Rice Lake – Barron Co. Fair July 15-18 Ladysmith – Northland Mardi Gras July 16 Spooner – Chicken Wire Empire and DJ Salquist at Potter’s Shed, 6 p.m. July 16 Ladysmith – Junior Fair Truck and Tractor Pull July 16-18 Birchwood – Bluegill Festival July 16-18 Hayward – LCO Honor the Earth Pow Wow July 16-18 Luck – Lucky Days Festival July 16-18 St. Croix Falls – Wannigan Days & River Spirit Celebration July 17 Balsam Lake – Bass Classic Fishing Contest July 17 Ashland – Bay Days July 22-25 Spooner – Washburn Co. Fair July 23 Spooner – The Plott Hounds and Rhoda at Potter’s Shed, 6 p.m. July 23-24 Iron River – Chamber Vendor Fair July 23-25 Various – Northwoods Art Tour July 24 Shell Lake – Triathlon July 24 Washburn – Car Show July 24-25 Frederic – Gem and Mineral Show July 24-26 Iron River – Lions Blueberry Festival July 25 Centuria – Chasing Bigfoot 25: 5K and 25K July 29-31 Hayward – Lumberjack World Championships July 29-Aug. 1 St. Croix Falls – Polk Co. Fair July 30 Spooner – Armchair Boogie and Rebecca Macone at Potter’s Shed, 6 p.m. July 31 Mellen -- Penokee Mountain Bike Road Race and Tour

Come for the Music at Big Top Chautauqua

BAYFIELD – We recommend making at least one trip up to Mount Ashwabay, just five miles south of downtown Bayfield! There you can take in one of more than 50 nights of the rich and diverse entertainment scheduled under the Big Blue Tent, officially known as Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua (sha-ta-qwa). This non-profit performing arts organization operates an intimate 900seat, all-canvas, state-of-the-art tent theater. Big Top produces and presents: a summer season of concerts, interactive lectures, and features a highly acclaimed professional local ensemble – The Blue Canvas Orchestra (BCO). The BCO is in partnership with Laughing Fox Charette for the creation of Anishinaabe Dibaajimownin: an Ojibwe story and is supported by a grant from The National Endowment of the Arts. Alongside talent from the northern midwest, Big Top continuously features nationally known artists. This year includes Garrison Keillor and Friends, Tanya Tucker and The Trinity Irish Dancers. The tent season runs from June to September and runs educational outreach and produces performance broadcasts year-round. When the warm summer nights call for the royal blue tent walls to be lifted you will see patrons basking in the moonlight. The stars seem to have extra twinkle when the modern sound system is contrasted to the abundant natural surroundings. If hunger should strike amidst the show never fear, Mount Ashwabay (BTC partner organization) has delicious local favorites such as Lake Superior White Fish Street Tacos and Scandinavian style bratwurst. Naturally, there are also many other northern Wisconsin favorites like cheese, wine, and beer. Should you wish to take a souvenir home, the gift tent has apparel, CD’s, books, gift cards, and other souvenirs. This is a one-of-a-kind venue nestled between The Chequamegon National Forest and The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Big Top Chautauqua is located at the base of Mt Ashwabay, five miles south of Bayfield. The address is 32525 Ski Hill Rd., Bayfield. For more information call the office in Washburn, WI at 888-244-8368 or visit bigtop.org.

Yo Ho! Take an Adventure-Filled Trip to See the Lumberjack World Championships

HAYWARD – You don’t have to travel far to see a world championship event featuring highly skilled lumberjacks. The 2021 Lumberjack World Championships (LWC) will be entertaining the crowds during three full days, July 29-31, in Hayward. The competition and festival fun will all take place in the historic Lumberjack Bowl on the shore of Lake Hayward. The LWC is the oldest and most revered timber sports competition in the United States. The 61st annual event will draw contestants from across the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The forest athletes will compete in 24 events involving sawing, chopping, speed climbing, log rolling, and boom running. Lumberjacks and lumberjills will be vying for individual and overall championship crowns and a share of the $68,000 in prize money. The top ones will get lucrative endorsement contracts from related manufacturers, so the competition will be as keen as their axes!

Qualifying competition is at 12:30 p.m. both Thursday and Friday. Professional quarterfinals are at 6 p.m. Thursday, with professional semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday and professional finals at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Novice finals and axe throwing competitions are at 1 p.m. Saturday. In addition, there will be the Birkie’s Lumberjack 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. Saturday, live music all three days, vendors with unique merchandise, Swinging Axe Beer Tent and food for all-day family fun. The first 250 kids 12 and under starting at 2:30 p.m. Thursday will get foam axes. When gates open at 11:30 a.m. (all three days) you can try your hand...er...feet at logrolling! For more information, and to purchase tickets online, go to LumberjackWorldChampionships.com. All tickets purchased for the rescheduled summer 2020 LWC will be honored at LWC 2021.

July 29, 30, 31

3 Days of

Competition &

Festival Fun

in Hayward's

Lumberjack

Bowl

Sawing, Chopping, Speed Climbing, Log Rolling, Boom Running, Live Music, Food, 5k Fun Run & all day Family Fun!

Buy your tickets online and save! www.LumberjackWorldChampionships.com

Playing ‘Tag’ Will Reward Anglers

CHETEK – The Chetek Resort Owners’ Association invites you to come to Chetek – “City of Lakes” – and take part in their 35th annual Fish-O-Rama, which goes from now until Oct. 1. Those entered in the season-long contest are looking for a tagged fish at the end of their lines. More than 400 tagged crappies and bluegills are swimming in the famed Chetek Chain of Lakes: Pokegama, Chetek, Ojaski, Prairie, Moose Ear and Ten Mile lakes. Each lake has tagged fish. In total, they are worth $50,000 in cash payouts. The legendary Fish-O-Rama dispenses anywhere from $25 to $1,000 for each tagged panfish. (Previous year’s tags are worth $5.) You must purchase a 2021 Fish-O-Rama button and register prior to catching and collecting on a tagged fish. Buttons are available from most Chetek area resorts and businesses at $3 each, $5 for husband and wife, or $6 for a family button, which covers parents and children through 17 years of age. If you catch a fish with a cylindrical tag near the dorsal fin, take it to the Rod & Gun Sport Shop on Second Street in downtown Chetek where a list of all tags and sponsors is kept. Lodging is readily available in the area. The Chetek Resort Owners’ Association comprises 35 resorts, motels and campgrounds that focus on promoting tourism in the Chetek Lakes area. The Information Center provides visitors with current travel information from the Chetek area and surrounding communities.

Fun Places to Visit in Polk County

ST. CROIX FALLS -- Tops on our list of fun places to see in Polk County is Interstate State Park, part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The reason for its ranking is its dazzling beauty. But it also offers a bevy of other pursuits, including hiking, kayaking/canoeing, camping, swimming, and rock climbing. The two paddlewheels that ply this stretch of the St. Croix offers a unique view of those towering cliffs. Pothole Trail with its namesake holes drilled in the rocks from a raging flood eons ago shouldn’t be missed. OSCEOLA – The city of Osceola has a charming downtown with plenty of gift shops, eateries and ice cream shops. What captures our attention in the downtown however is Cascade Falls. Down, down, down we go on wooden steps (134 if we remember correctly) to a small stream that tumbles over the rocks. You can slip behind the falls or take a cooling shower. During evening hours, the falling water is bathed in colored lights. Back on higher ground, hop on the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway passenger train departing from the Osceola Depot. ST. CROIX FALLS – Stop by at a winery. Polk County has three! All in St. Croix Falls. Dancing Dragonfly Winery, 2013 120th Ave.; Chateau St. Croix Winery & Vineyard, 1998A State Rd. 87; Deer Lake Winery, 1721 U.S. Hwy 8, DRESSER – Trollhaugen Outdoor Recreation operates zip lines and a high ropes challenge course from spring to autumn. BALSAM LAKE -- The Polk County Museum in Balsam Lake showcases the unique importance of Polk County through historic and cultural artifacts and exhibits – all providing a fascinating look at their past and housed in a beautiful building built in 1899. Visitors are invited to discover the historic treasures that fill this former county courthouse now on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s located on Main Street. The handicap accessible museum also hosts special exhibits throughout its season. Guided tours are available: call 715-485-9269 for more information.

There are also the Clear Lake Historical Museum, Frederic Depot/Museum, Luck Area Historical Society and Museum, Osceola and St Croix Valley Railway, and Turtle Lake Museum. TURTLE LAKE -- The Cattail Trail runs for about 18 miles along the abandoned railroad bed from Amery to Almena and crosses right through Turtle Lake. A nice restroom facility and paved parking and loading zone are located at the junction of the Cattail and Northern Railroad Trails. Railway Park is just off the trail and to the west of the facility. A picnic shelter and tables are available. You will be able to find dining and other recreational opportunities not too far from the trail. The Northern Railroad Trail is now owned and managed by Barron County. It can be accessed in Turtle Lake and it runs for approximately 13 miles to Cumberland, with access to downtown Cumberland. The Cattail Trail and Northern Railroad Trail are multi-use trails. Information for trails is available through the Polk County Parks Department at 715-485-9294.

Scheers Lumberjack Shows is a great family adventure. Lumberjacks invite kids from the audience onstage during matinee intermissions to cross-cut saw with the lumberjacks.

The canoe joust is one of the events in the Lumberjack Shows that keeps the crowd laughing.

Don’t Miss a Highlight of the Summer – a Lumberjack Show!

HAYWARD – It was 39 years ago Fred Scheer and his brother, Robert, created a new form of family entertainment, a lumberjack show, for northern Wisconsin visitors. The two brothers and their four sisters had spent numerous summers as kids balancing and rolling on the logs on Lake Hayward in the bay of North Wisconsin Lumber Company. Their summer fun trained them to become fierce competitors in the logrolling event (birling) of the Lumberjack World Championships (LWC) held in Hayward every July. The young Scheers expanded their activities and became skillful at the boom run and pole climbing, as well as other events that were part of the LWC. In 1981, the two brothers established the original Scheer’s Lumberjack Show and used their lumberjack skills to entertain area tourists. More than a demonstration, the show features a competition between two lumberjack teams as they do 10 different events, including logrolling, pole climbing and crosscut saw. Cheering the teams on gets the crowd involved in the show and down-home humor has everybody chuckling. The original venue for the show in 1981 was a small dock on the shore of Lake Hayward, behind what was then Windmill Square. The show’s lumberjacks delighted small crowds and it soon became apparent the production needed more space. With encouragement from Tony Wise, the legendary Hayward promoter, Fred and Robert Scheer moved the show to its present location, Lumberjack Village. After that the Woodruff location opened up. Fred is now the sole owner of Fred Scheer’s Lumberjack Shows and the Lumberjack Village. Training young athletes to be lumberjacks is still a fulfilling role for Fred. Through the years many lumberjacks have come, performed and moved on to other careers. Numerous world champion logrollers, pole climbers and boom-runners had their start as apprentices in Fred Scheer’s Lumberjack Show and the cast has always included world champion lumberjacks. A world champion log roller himself, Fred occasionally delights audiences by personally participating in a show. For all the years Scheer’s Lumberjack Shows has been in Hayward, it continues to draw crowds. One might say that a visit to northern Wisconsin isn’t complete without seeing a Scheer’s Lumberjack Show.

4 PM - Close Opening May 28th