Smelt Parades Down the Lakewalk

DULUTH, Minn. — Oddly enough it means the start of spring when people gather in Canal Park dressed in silver. This year saw the 10th year that the Magic Smelt Run Parade embarked on the Lakewalk. 

Smelt were known as an invasive species in Lake Superior in the 1970s, which migration patterns see them arrive into our area in the springtime. The parade kicked off with a puppet show that later transitioned to a moving parade down the Lakewalk to the Zeitgeist.

“The smelt only run once a year and they run in the springtime,” said Jim Ouray, creator of the smelt parade. “So it’s a natural occurrence, a seasonal event, that we piggyback on with our smelt parade.”

Every year before the parade, the Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe held family workshops for people to make their own smelt-theme attire. The celebration ended as a sidewalk party, before people had the chance to try out smelt for themselves.