Heritage Days has taste of the islands

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Heritage Days gets a one-day extension this year, kicking in on the Fourth of July Wednesday and running through Sunday.

The Two Harbors festival begins with a Fourth of July celebration including a City Band concert at Thomas Owens Park and fireworks over Agate Bay.

The food, craft, and vendor booths, located off of South Avenue between the Depot and the Community Center, open Friday. This year’s highlights include the return of helicopter rides and first-time participants the Duluth East Daredevils Robotics team, which will have demonstrations of handmade robots.

Thursday is for the kids, with a parade and kids games in the park leading up to another performance by the City Band.

The Heritage Days stage, at the end of the vendor row near the community center, hosts musical acts from near and far all weekend beginning at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

The theme this year is “Luau By the Lake” and the music, beginning with the Two Harbors Ukelele Group, will reflect the Hawaii spirit.

Dave Herzog will plays steel drums Saturday. Kenny King, a performer from Texas, who will perform as Neil Diamond Friday and Elvis Saturday in the band shell at Thomas Owens Park.

Festival mainstays returning again this year include the lutefisk toss and street dance Friday; the parade and classic car show Saturday; and the Two Harbors Fire Department pancake breakfast Saturday and Sunday.

The Fortitude Masonic Lodge and Emera Eastern Star will be providing free lemonade to festival goers. Look for their yellow carts and T-shirts. Cancer Research Raffle Fundraiser

Cat quilt

Returning again this year, chordoma survivor and Two Harbors resident Karen Hermanson will sell raffle tickets for a drawing to win a handmade quilt. The raffle tickets cost $1 and all proceeds are donated to the Chordoma Foundation.

Hermanson has lived in Two Harbors since 1971, when she accepted a job teaching in the Lake Superior School District system. She was diagnosed with chordoma, a rare type of bone cancer that affects the spinal cord, in 2005. After recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she decided to raise funds for the Chordoma Foundation.

This year’s quilt, which Hermanson made, is Dr. Suess-themed with Cat in the Hat designs.

“My granddaughters said I had to make a cute quilt, not an old lady quilt,” Hermanson said. Although she “wasn’t aware the other quilts were grandma quilts,” this year’s piece clearly caters to a much younger crowd.

Hermanson will be at her booth selling raffle tickets all day Friday and Saturday. She will draw the winner around 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Photo contest

Be sure to have your camera on hand to take photos of the historic waterfront district landmarks during Heritage Days, including the Edna G., the Yellowstone Mallet and Three Spot locomotives, the D&IR Depot, the Two Harbors Lighthouse, the Crusader II Fishing Tug, and the ore docks.

The Lake County Historical Society is sponsoring a photo contest of pictures that feature these landmarks, with winners receiving prizes and inclusion in the society’s 2013 calendar. There are two adult categories, photos with or without people in them, and a third category for children and young adults.

The contest runs through Sept. 12 with gift card prizes and a grand prize photography workshop worth $400.

Entry forms are available at the Depot Museum gift shop, Cold Snap Photography, and the Waterfront Gallery.

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