Episode 687: Trenary Outhouse Classic, Nordic Fire Festival and Keweenaw Peninsula (Feb. 15-16, 2025)

Our recent frigid Michigan winter weather can make it a little hard to remember our mantra of embracing the season, but a flurry of upcoming fun festivals might help you change your mind. On this episode of Behind the Mitten, we'll take you all over the state, to some of our wackiest winter festivals you can experience. 


Do you have a secret desire to be a Viking, even if it's only for a weekend? Our friends at the Michigan Nordic Fire Festival see you, and have concocted one heck of a great time in Charlotte. The 10th annual festival will feature Viking-themed performances, reenactments and demonstrations, competitions and activities like archery and axe throwing, a costume contest and more. We had on Bryan Merkle, the top viking, to give us the scoop. He's particularly excited about the Mead Hall, where you'll be able to sip samples of this honeyed drink. The festival runs February 21 through the 23 and tickets can be purchased online. I'm shining my horn helmut right now.

Next, we'll take you to the Upper Peninsula where the little town of Trenary will be hosting their famous Outhouse Races on Saturday February 22. Thousands of people will inundate downtown, while dozens will compete for amazing prizes. We had on Stacey Rucinski, President of the Trenary Outhouse Races to get to the bottom of this hilariously good time. Learn how to make a regulation outhouse, what must be inside said outhouse during the race, how the outhouses make their way down the street, and what it's like to be in Trenary on the big day. 

Finally, we have one of our favorite regular guests back on the show, Jesse Wiederhold from Visit Keweenaw. Jesse is always a font of knowledge and excitement about what is going on in the Key, and this week was no different. We talked about the Copper Dog 150, which starts in Calumet on February 28. The dog sled racers will then traverse the peninsula during several exciting races. Enjoy a variety of events throughout the weekend, including sled dog rides for the kids, a huge street party, fireworks and more. A new event is happening February 21-23, The Hancock Snow Sculpting Invitational. There will be some seriously awesome snow art here. This premier event will feature four talented teams of snow sculptors, including the renowned Sculptora Borealis, whose team members have won the National Snow Sculpting title four times, and Team USA, winners of the Bronze medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and two-time National Snow Sculpting title winners. You can find all the fun that is happening in the Keweenaw this winter here.