DULUTH — Canal Park was a little fishier Sunday afternoon as many people dressed in silver carrying aluminum fish on sticks or clad with papier mache fish heads gathered for the 11th annual Magic Smelt Parade.
Teri Cadeau / Duluth News Tribune
The parade celebrates the running of the smelt: small, silver-colored fish that swim in Lake Superior up to rivers to spawn. In honor of the fish and to celebrate the end of winter, the parade encourages attendees to wear silver and dress up as or carry silver fish on sticks as they make their way on the parade route.
The parade started with a performance by the Brass Messengers, a Twin Cities-based second-line band. This year the group played limbo-themed music as members of the Smelt Queen’s royal court entered by limboing under a facsimile Aerial Lift Bridge.
Parade organizer Jim Ouray, dressed as Neptune, then addressed the crowd and introduced the Smelt Queen and her royal court and guard.
Teri Cadeau / Duluth News Tribune
Two members of the silvery horde of parade attendees were Kelly and Mike Boedigheimer of Duluth, who were at the parade for the first time. They’d heard about it before via Facebook and always wanted to check it out but hadn’t made it.
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The couple were dressed in bright shiny outfits that Kelly said they bought for the upcoming Grandma’s Marathon.
“We always have an Elvis at our water stop along the route and so I got this shiny top and thought, you know what, that looks like fish scales! They'll be perfect for today,” Kelly Boedigheimer said.
Teri Cadeau / Duluth News Tribune
Liesa and Niall Klyn attended the parade last year and said they had such a good time that they looked into getting involved this year.
“We did the workshops and both of our kids are dressed up over there; our son is in the fish head costume with a hard hat and our daughter is in the blue robe with the fleur-de-lis on it,” Liesa Klyn said. “They helped us put together our outfits this morning.”
Teri Cadeau / Duluth News Tribune
Seth, Hannah and Mariah Loeffler-Kemp also prepared their outfits Sunday morning. The three siblings compared the outfit creation to a challenge like the ones they faced when they participated in Destination Imagination, a STEAM challenge tournament all three competed in.
“What’s great about the smelt parade is that there’s such a great variety of smelt,” Hannah said.
“Yes there’s all different kinds of smelt,” Mariah added. “You can be a cowgirl smelt or an alien smelt, whatever you want to be.”
“It really brings the smelt community together,” Seth said. “It’s like a giant smelt reunion.”
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Teri Cadeau / Duluth News Tribune
All three have attended the smelt parade before, unlike Amy and Anna White, sisters who watched the parade pass by along the Lakewalk.
“I’d heard of it before, but I’d never seen it,” Amy said. “It’s so much bigger than I’d expected. We got a lot of ideas of what you could do for costumes. We’ll have to come back next year.”
Teri Cadeau / Duluth News Tribune
Teri Cadeau is a general assignment and neighborhood reporter for the Duluth News Tribune. Originally from the Iron Range, Cadeau has worked for several community newspapers in the Duluth area for eight years including: The Duluth Budgeteer News, Western Weekly, Weekly Observer, Lake County News-Chronicle and occasionally, the Cloquet Pine Journal. When not working, she's an avid reader and crafter.
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Smelt parade returns to Canal Park with parade, silver-clad participants - Duluth News Tribune
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