Mark Wilcox/Daily Mining Gazette Volunteer Laurie Champagne, far left, prepares free samples of deep fried fish during the Mi Fish Fry event Friday on the downtown Houghton Pier.

HOUGHTON — According to Mary Poppins, “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Meaning that under the right circumstances, a really important message can be presented “in a most delightful way.” That certainly seemed to be the case Friday at the downtown Houghton Pier at the Mi Fresh Fish Fry. The message was simple — “eat more fresh fish from Michigan — but that message was presented with free food samples, plenty of give-a-ways, music, presentations, kids games and more.

The Mi Fresh Fish Fry in Houghton was presented by Michigan Sea Grant, of Michigan State University Extension. Laura Stigers is the MSU Sea Grant Specialist out of Marquette. She said the event is a way to celebrate local fisheries on many levels. “Fishing is fun, eating fish is good for you. It’s good for the local economy.” She said events like the one in Houghton and elsewhere in the UP are a great way to create fellowship.

Now in its third year, Stigers said the event continues to grow. “We’ve added more tables and this is the first year we’ve had a sponsor. We’ve got music this year and this facility (downtown pier) great.” She said last year’s fish fry drew about 250 people and this year they expected to top 359.

There were information booths from many local organizations, including the DNR, Keweenaw National Historical Park the Copper Country Intermediate School District, Copper Shores Community Health Foundation and more. The carnival atmosphere of the event was a great way to present a straight forward message. “You should not be afraid to eat fish,” Stigers said. “She said that most fish advisories regarding consumption of fish pertain to fish caught by anglers in the wild. “Everything you buy in store or from a fish market is safe. I recommend eating fish at least three times a week.”

Michigan fish, according to Stigers, can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. “You don’t eat hamburgers every day,” she said. “So you don’t have to eat the same fish in the same way every day.”

To illustrate the point, staff from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, along with volunteers were serving up samples prepared in a variety of ways … including sushi made with a smoked fish spread.

Supervising the cooking was Alex Palzewicz owner/chef of Northwoods Test Kitchen in Marquette. “The point of all this is that we all should be eating more fish,” Palzewicz said. “There are so many good reasons. Eating Michigan Fish is healthy, its good for the economy and there’s an important cultural aspect,” she said. Palzewicz said fish and fishing both recreationally and commercially has a significant impact on many of the cultures that exist in the UP. “When I think of fish, I think of the delicious community of culture, here.”

In addition to the staff of MSU extension, several employees of the KBIC were cooking in the food tent. Helping out was volunteer Laurie Champagne of Baraga. She explained why she was at the event. “I love volunteering. I love helping out … and I love eating Michigan fish. I have fish at least five days a week.” Her reasons, she said were simple. “It’s delicious, its fresh,clean and it’s local.”

The next Mi Fish Fry takes place from 4-7 p.m. Friday, July 24 at the Escanaba Marina.

To learn more, visit https://www.michiganseagrant.org/michigan-fresh-fish/