Bay Days kicked off last Friday, July 11, with an Outdoor Summer Party hosted by Carefree Living – packed with food, fun, face painting, games, and prizes. If you were hungry or in the mood for a retail therapy, attendees could take a stroll through the various craft and food vendors that were set up and showing their wares for sale at the city hall venue. The French Club was hard at work in the North Shore Federal Credit Union parking lot, raising money for their annual trip to France by washing cars. Also on Friday, Alumni & Friends gathered together for the Mariner Golf Scramble at the Silver Bay Golf Course. Kids enjoyed the bouncy houses and the Ninja Anywhere experience in the city hall field, which was completely free! Later in the day, the annual Bay Days parade kicked off with an Under Construction theme. Due to all the construction happening around town, the Bay Days committee found the them fitting. With several William M. Kelley classes holding reunions this year, many rode on their decorated class floats, waving and tossing candy to the kids and adults lining the streets. That evening, the Dweebs played on stage and were a big hit. They are an instrumental band that gets the crowd excited. Kids and adults were singing, dancing, and having the time of their lives. At the end of the evening, the entire community was graced with a spectacular fireworks display. Some people played glow mini golf at Black Beach Mini Golf while watching the fireworks. It was a wonderful way to end the evening.
On Saturday, North Shore Area Partners held a bake sale with all kinds of goodies and special treats. They also had a raffle and a silent auction. The After-Prom committee had a really unique fundraiser that included a human slot machine. Customers would buy a turn and pretend to pull the slot machine handle, then the kids would mix up pieces of plastic fruit and hold them up to see if there was a match. One couldn’t see what the other was holding, so it was all random and by chance. It was extremely fun and a wonderful fundraiser. After-Prom should definitely do that again! Throughout the entire weekend, the kids bounced, jumped, and played endlessly on the free bounce houses and Ninja Anytime Course. The Silver Bay Fire Department held their annual pancake breakfast fundraiser, which is always a hit, along with their bean bag tournament. This year marked the 18th Annual Bay to Bay Run with a good turnout. Max Rogers came in first place. The Silver Bay Library had its annual Bay Days Book Sale. Tom Frericks’ ghost tours at the school were very popular amongst the young and old. He shared his personal encounters and other ghostly stories that were relayed to him by George Starkovich, Wayne Hansen, and many more. Palisade Firewood put on a great display, showing how to process full logs into firewood.
Despite some questionable weather off and on and just a little smoke in the air, it was a great weekend filled with events, fun, laughs, and great memories made. I can’t forget to mention all the amazing food at the various food trucks, which included a variety of options, like corn, sandwiches, ice cream, oriental food, BBQ, pretzels, and much more.
To end the evening, one could head on down to the marina to watch the lighted boat parade, then dance the night away to the sounds of Side Two at the street dance. William M. Kelley alumni gathered at the Municipal Lounge, visiting and reminiscing about old times.
On Sunday, Bay Days held its annual ecumenical service in the Reunion Hall. Lookie-loos strolled through the shopping center parking lot, admiring the classic car & motorcycles – some of which were featured in the parade. To wrap Bay Days’ weekend up, the raffles were drawn for the big prizes. Congratulations to everyone who won prizes, raffles, and the bean bag tournaments over the weekend!
The Bay Days Crew thanked all the sponsors for making it another successful year. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into planning and preparing these events. It doesn’t go unnoticed. Well done, Bay Days Crew!
While talking with the Bay Days Crew, I was asked to please report on an ongoing question that keeps popping up regarding the date of Bay Days and why it is always the second weekend of July. To address that concern, the Bay Days committee is made up of fewer than 10 people. They work all year long on this event. In the Silver Bay community, the weekend before is the 4th of July weekend, and many of the crew are not available. The weekend after Bay Days is the Lake Superior Salmon Classic, which is run by the PTSO. Many of the same committee members volunteer for that as well. Also, the following weekend is the Finland Fireman’s Wooden Bat Softball Ball Tournament in Finland and some of the same volunteers help with that. The last weekend in July is Hoyt Lakes’ Water Carnival, the weekend after that is Fisherman’s Picnic in Grand Marais. There are always multiple things happening, but they need a crew, and that weekend is the one that works best. It was originally the long-standing ‘Rocky Taconite Softball Tournament’ weekend for decades before softball died out. They wish it weren’t the same weekend as Heritage Days either; however, they don’t have any wiggle room. They do, however, make a conscious effort to have the parade and the big dance on the opposite day of the weekend from Heritage Days, in case you want to attend both. Mark your calendars for next year (July 10-12), it will be Silver Bay’s 70th Birthday and a grand celebration!
