Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Plaidurday continues First Friday successes

IRONWOOD - The success of the First Friday efforts in Ironwood continued with the Plaidurday celebration.

The Friday downtown promotion included a 6 p.m. drone photo by Kevin Schneller in which about 150 people wore plaid.

The First Friday events were scheduled to end after September but continue after demands from both the public and business community, city manager Scott Erickson said Monday. They have livened up the city on a night when the streets would typically be bare.

City commissioner Jim Mildren noted one store even offered plaid shirts to be used for the event, showing the cooperation that has made the First Friday events so popular.

The Ironwood Public Safety Department provided traffic control for the Friday photo in front of the Ironwood Theatre.

The Plaidurday promotion was part of an Upper Peninsula-wide effort, Erickson noted.

Marquette also celebrated the day and Gladstone became Plaidstone for 24 hours.

Residents of Keweenaw gathered for their third annual Plaidurday at the Keweenaw Brewing Company.

Worldwide, Plaidurday was officially held on Saturday, so Ironwood's celebration of all shirts plaid jumped the gun by several hours to tie in the day with the First Friday effort and get people out shopping.

Promoters of the U.P. events said there was no political agenda, just an excuse to get together and have fun.

-Ralph Ansami