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Bridgefest has a successful return

Aidan Reilly/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton Rotary club members stationed at the beverage ticket tent Friday afternoon.

HOUGHTON — For the first time in three years, crowds returned to Houghton and Hancock to enjoy the festival celebrating the link between the two communities.

Encouraged by good weather, people lined the streets.

This year also boasted an expanded lineup of events. In Porvoo Park in Hancock Friday afternoon, children learned about the engineering principles behind the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, and also made their own bridges, whether from Lego kits or from spaghetti and marshmallows. Volunteers from Michigan Technological University’s Center for Educational Outreach and OHM Advisors were on hand to help out.

Organizer Deb Mann of the Hancock Downtown Development Authority thought it would be a good way to tie in with the recognition of the bridge as a historic civil engineering landmark. And it gave kids something to do in summer.

“I just thought it was kind of a great way to learn and do hands-on,” she said. “The city of Hancock has not been all that involved in Bridgefest in the past, not as active, you know, as over at Ray Kest ner (Waterfront Park in Houghton).”

Rob Lambert of Michigan Technological University’s Center for Educational Outreach explains principles of bridge building to Dillon Dupont of Hudson, Wisconsin, and John Langdon of Calumet during Bridgefest Engineering Camp Friday. Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette

Mann said she planned to expand next year with more tables and activities.

For Hot Diggity Dog Day, Hancock Rotary held hot dog sales at the park to raise money for the city’s new dog park, which has its grand opening June 28. It also included the Doggie Costume Contest, which saw dogs promenade on the boardwalk in costumes, including Julius Caesar, Batman, Grogu and Elsa from “Frozen.”

Four of the dogs belonged to Jack Vaclavek, a Michigan Tech graduate now living in the Twin Cities. After seeing there was a dog event, he ran to Walmart to pick up some costumes.

“We made one into a baby, one into Caesar, and we’ve got a princess and a deity,” he said.

Saturday included cribbage and tennis tournaments and the return of the rubber ducky race. At the Kestner Waterfront Park, people watched the water-skiing heroics of the Plum Ski-Ters, browsed vendors or even tried a game of laser tag. As it neared dusk, people lined up along the waterfront on both sides of the canal to watch a lighted boat parade, capped by a fireworks display.

The Plum Ski-Tiers perform a water-skiing show during Bridgefest Saturday. Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette

Pete Bingham of Gratiot Lake was watching his son and grandson play a game of laser tag at Kestner Waterfront Park. He enjoyed the variety of food options, from brisket to gyros. He also enjoyed the perfect weather.

“It was a nice day, a lot nicer than years past,” he said.

Lauren Haataja of Houghton was making her first Bridgefest visit in awhile.

“We were surprised that the vendors kept going down the canal, so that was nice,” she said. “I hope they continue to do that and maybe add more.”

Aidan Reilly/Daily Mining Gazette Beginning at the end, Ryan Towles sets the finish line for the Thatcher Markham Memorial Run Friday.

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