Celebration focuses on Italians this year
CALUMET -- Old time tunes are setting the tone for the Calumet Heritage Celebration this weekend.
On Thursday, members from the cast of the Red Metal Radio Show were out at the 5th and Elm Coffee House giving locals a taste of their performance.
The actual show was held that night at the Calumet Theatre and simultaneously broadcast on Eagle Radio 105.7.
"It's a unique program because it's narrative and it's music. It’s about the stories, it's about the music of that time that goes along with those stories, and we just travel all over Calumet," said Darlene Basto, the program’s director.
Main Street Calumet sponsors the yearly celebration of the many ethnicities that made up historic Keweenaw.
This year there's a special focus on the area's Italian heritage.
"It’s statistically about the third most populous immigrant group. They’ve been in the Keweenaw for well over 100 years. Many of our local delicacies are related to the Italians," said Tom Tikkanen, the Executive Director for Main Street Calumet.
Ed Jenich's grandparents were among the Italian immigrants who influenced the local flavor.
Their specialty was Italian sausages.
This afternoon, Ed will give a demonstration of how to make several different sausage varieties.
"We’ll be making some out of sheep casing which the Italians usually call “Saltisa” and then we'll be making some out of hog casing, which is like a bratwurst size. We'll be selling those in Agasiz Park on Saturday," said Jenich.
The festivities in Calumet will continue right through the weekend with the Miss Coppertown Pageant Friday night, a parade Saturday morning, and the heritage dance on Monday.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC