MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – After months of anticipation, one of Marquette’s largest summer events kicked off Friday.
“It’s easily one of the busiest festivals that Marquette has to offer in such a condensed area,” said Lagniappe Restaurant Owner, Chris Durley. “It’s almost impossible to prep for the amount of people that come through.”
Festivities stretched from the 100 block of West Washington street all the way down to Baraga Avenue.
Of its 126 vendors and artisans selling everything from pies to brats, this year also welcomed a few first timers like Castle906Market, taking the reigns for the beloved Spiessl’s Blueberries as one of the event’s three fresh blueberry stands.
“Only 30 minutes in and it’s been phenomenal,” said Owner, Luke Bowers. “We’ve had a lot of people stopping in already.”
As for the growing season, this year promised a much greater and earlier harvest. Long-time stand Berry Up Blueberries of the Grand Haven area brought 600 boxes of fresh blueberries to the U.P.
“We’ve had a really hot summer, so we’re about a week earlier than we usually were,” said Berry Up employee, Abby Zelenka.
Berry Up is among a lot of other vendors who expected to sell out by mid afternoon, a fairly common outcome for many of the days best sellers, even with unwanted weather conditions.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard one business say, ‘that was a bad day for us,'” explained Durley. “Even in years where it’s rained, the people that come down are still very passionate about this festival.”
The day also featured live music from 10 separate artists posted across three locations, adding to a long list of enjoyment at the 2026 Blueberry Festival.
