ISHPEMING –It’s easy to coast through the rest of summer after the Fourth of July events, but over here on the West End, there are plenty of events to attend and celebrate. Next weekend will see a handful of events for both Negaunee and Ishpeming and we hope to see you out and about.

A huge weekend long event will be coming to Negaunee as the Negaunee Firefighters Association hosts the 128th Annual U.P. Firefighters Tournament! The event will run from July 28-30.

Come to downtown Negaunee to watch as fire departments from across the U.P. and Northern Wisconsin compete against each other in various races, participate in multiple parades, and celebrate each other’s service. This is a family friendly celebration with activities for the kids too!

Buses will be available between Negaunee, Ishpeming, and Marquette for those seeking to book a hotel outside of town.

All four days will have a grouping of events, listed below:

Friday – Dress Parade, Street Dance, ShirtTail Parade

Saturday – Breakfast provided by the Elks Lodge of Negaunee, Competitive Races between departments, Kids Activities and Water Games (located at Breitung Park), and the Fireman’s Ball/Award Ceremony.

Sunday – Breakfast provided by the Elks Lodge of Negaunee, Commercial Parade, and Overall Awards Ceremony.

The fun doesn’t stop there, as the firefighters tournament won’t be the only event in town that weekend.

On Saturday Negaunee will also have the 20th Annual Swim Teal Lake: Benefit for Diabetes, sponsored by the West End Health Foundation. A great cause to support and a great challenge for any swimmer.

This year’s race will consist of 3 different events, including the traditional 2.25 mile swim across Teal Lake and a shorter ¼ swim. The “Short-n-Sweet” swim will be a 1/4 mile swim and open to ALL ages. The race is a great introduction to open water swimming. The “Short-n-Sweet” swim will begin at 8:30 am with the Beginner to start at 9 am and Competitive at 9:30 am. Register online by July 28, or the morning of the swim.

There is a registration fee of $75 for the Beginner & Competitive swims and a registration fee of $20 for the “Short-n-Sweet” swim. There are a limited number of scholarships available to cover the cost of registration. If you are interested in a scholarship, please contact Kristen (cambensyk@upcap.org).

All swimmers and volunteers will be treated to a free meal at the Italian Fest held at Al Quaal after the event.

Wait, what’s that about Italian Fest?

That’s right, The St. Rocco – St. Anthony Society of Ishpeming’s 124th Italian Fest is scheduled to begin at noon on the same day (Saturday, July 29).

Join the Swimmers at Al Quaal Recreation Area for a day-long picnic. There is no admission fee and many of the children’s activities are offered free of charge. Visitors can once again enjoy their favorite homemade Italian foods. In addition to the Italian favorites, various vendors will be serving hot dogs, snow cones, ice cream novelties and much more.

Other highlights of Italian Fest include bingo, a greased pole ($100 prize), a large glide slide, kid’s inflatable bounce castle, children’s games, games of chance and several arts & crafts vendors.

The musical entertainment for the night is as follows: From noon to 2 p.m Party to Jazz will perform. At 2 p.m. Soundz of Time with Jan and Gino will perform on stage until 4 p.m. From 5-7 p.m. the Diamanti band of Chicago, Illinois will perform classic contemporary Italian and American music.