Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Nicole Collins and Adam Paholke of Glidden, Wisconsin, check out paintings Saturday at Festival Italiano in Hurley. The paintings were by the late Northwoods artist Carol Jean Junkermann-Rasmussen.
By P.J. GLISSON
Hurley - Saturday's Festival Italiano filled Hurley with activity as people relished a return after last year's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Great weather helped Silver Street to hop with visitors who roamed around open-shopping options and filled up on a variety of food and spirits.
It wasn't just any food, as the festival included tradtional Italian fare such as pasta-covered meatballs, as evident in the Banca Club stall, where Shane Wyzlic of Saxon and Ethan Buccanero of Montreal were submitting their orders to Valerie Aijala.
Meanwhile, her husband, Jay Aijala was transferring orders dished up by Mike Fontecchio, who was working from huge containers filled with spaghetti and other delectables.
Along the street were scattered picnic tables filled with chattering friends, and friends of friends, and local and distant relatives.
Kids with painted faces and a variety of dogs were delighted to be part of the action. Here and there were the red, white and green colors of the Italian flag, along with T-shirts proudly boasting Hurley, the festival itself, or the 3-on-3 basketball tournament that was part of the day's activities.
Cassie Chiapuzio, of Ironwood, was wandering around with her daughters, Skylee, 11, Zeya, 9, Davia, 1. There was plenty to see with vendors offering everything from clothing to jewelry to paintings to preserves.
Perry Junkermann of Eagle River was selling his photography within homemade frames, along with paintings by his late mother, Carol Junkermann-Rasmussen.
"I was here 10 years in a row before COVID," he said, adding that he's been engaged in his art for 50 years.
Nicole Collins and Adam Paholke of Glidden were admiring the artistry and said they drove 45 minutes to visit the festival for the first time.
Joe Byrns, of Superior, but originally from Hurley, was chatting with friends as his daughter, Autumn, 1 and one-half years old, nestled contentedly on his shoulder.
Catching up with long-lost loved ones appeared to be the biggest bonus for many people.
"Hey! Get over here!" shouted one woman. "Welcome home!"
"Oh my God, I'm gonna cry!" yelled someone else. "I haven't seen you in forever. You haven't changed a bit."
The festival also included kiddie games and activities, like a bean bags tournament, and live music by IV Play.
Another much-anticipated part of the event was a performance by Marty's Goldenaires drum and bugle corps, which drew a highly enthusiastic, wrap-around crowd on Silver Street that was happy to see the antics of director Dan Pitrone and his always energetic drummers and horn players performing a variety of tunes.
The Hurley Chamber of Commerce sponsored the festival.
