CHAMBER BLOG

We hope everyone has a happy and meaningful 4th of July weekend!  AND–coming up next is FESTIVAL IRONWOOD 2025!   Held at Ironwood’s downtown Depot Park (with the Chamber of Commerce office right inside the Historic Ironwood Depot door AND 2 webcams that overlook the park), this annual festival features live music under the big top […]

During the summer, one of the first things a visitor to the Chamber of Commerce office in the 1893 Historic Ironwood Depot is the welcome garden, located at the west end of the Depot.  Nurtured over many years by faithful gardeners, this Depot mainstay received special recognition this past week as a historic plaque was […]

Spring has sprung at last in the U.P., and all things new are sprouting up all over!   Likewise, the Ironwood Chamber has published their new 2025-2027 Ironwood Destination Guide.  Already over 7,500 copies have been distributed to Michigan Welcome Centers, and regional Chamber and Visitor Center offices.  The Guide is available here on our website […]

After being in the “warms” for quite sometime, Ironwood at last has good weather:  below freezing night and day, AND snow!  The pic is from Chamber member Gogebic Range Trail Authority https://www.facebook.com/GogebicRangeTrailAuthority Club volunteers have been out at night grooming the trails!  Lots of snowmobile folks up here these past several weeks, and as of today […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce held its 2025 Awards Banquet on Tuesday, January 21.  With the outside being a balmy -12 at the time of the banquet, we had good attendance and excellent food!  The winners were:  Business of the Year for 2024, The Leather and Gift Shop, Bessemer, MI; Organization of the Year for […]

November 28-29 heralded the arrival of Mr. Jack Frost and (we hope!) a winter of great snowshoeing, skiing, and snowmobiling.  Even more than the 10″ of snow we just received is the fact that it has turned cold, which means that the ground can freeze and the beginnings of good winter trails can be established.  […]

While there was unfortunately no snow on November 21, the lighting of the Jack Frost Tree that evening evidently helped, because today, November 25, it is snowing in Ironwood!  Forecast shows a gradual temperature drop going forward as well, so we just hope that this becomes reality and a true Jack Frost Wintertime can arrive […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce is again sponsoring a community-wide Volunteer Fair to be held at the Ironwood Memorial Building on November 14, from 3-6pm.  The purpose of the Fair is to connect up area non-profit organizations (who depend upon volunteers to accomplish their mission and/or events) and folks looking to become more involved in […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce will have its Fall Social at the Aurora Club, 101 Penokee Road, Ironwood, from 5pm to 7pm on Thursday, September 26.  Five to six is social and network time, with the meal ($15) and speaker from six to seven p.m.   Our speaker (all the way up here from Lansing) is […]

Labor Day weekend is set aside to honor all those brave and dedicated workers who fought for a 40-hour week, work-place safety, and the right to unionize & collectively bargain for fair wages and working conditions.  More recently, the actual calendar observance of Labor Day has marked the shift in natural seasons from Summer to […]

The high point of summer in Ironwood has arrived at last:  Festival Ironwood–Wednesday, July 17 through Saturday, July 20.  You can find the full hour-by-hour schedule on this website by going to “events” and then clicking on “Festival Ironwood.”  You can also get the very latest pictures and information by liking and following the Festival […]

It is that time of the year!  Celebrating Independence Day!  And one of the Ironwood Chamber members, the Bessemer 4th of July, Inc., really knows how to put on a week-long celebration of summer, community, and patriotic reflection.  Starting June 26th and running to July 4th, this “Bessemer Blast” offers 9 days of live music, […]

The locally famous Ironwood Hiawatha Statue is owned by the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce, and this summer we are selling T-shirts as way to rebuild the Statue’s dedicated maintenance fund.  We have Youth sizes (S,M,L) and Adult sizes (S,M,L,XL).  Youth sizes are $22 (or $27 if mailed) and Adult sizes are $25 (or $30 if […]

May has arrived, and things are beginning to green up here at the Historic Ironwood Depot.  Travelers are also starting to wind their way U.P. North in search of Lake Superior beaches, waterfalls, hiking and biking journeys, and (this year) some outstanding northern lights auroras.   If you are new to our webpage, please check out […]

Saturday, January 27th saw the Norrie Club’s “Light Up The Night” Christmas tree burning event & fireworks.  Usually this event features a snowshoe walk and a sledding hill.  However, as Mr. Jack Frost continues his vacation from the U.P. (where does he go exactly?  does he stay with his buddy, El Nino??), there were no […]

With Christmas only a few days away, Ironwood finally got a dusting of snow on December 18th.  Not much.  Not the normal for sure.  And forecast to melt (WOW).  The picture shown above was taken by a local Ironwood photographer, Mr. Gary Jackson, who often passes Depot park on his downtown walks and coffee stops.  […]

Another wonderful Jack Frost Festival of Lights Parade!  Saturday, December 2, at 6:00 p.m. saw 37 units move their way down Aurora Street, past hundreds and hundreds of folks!  As the weather was unseasonably warm, there were far more kids at the parade than last year!!  The Gogebic County 4-H float won the top prize […]

There!  See that snow?!  Mr. Jack Frost is finally here and starting his U.P. work!  On Thursday, November 16, at 6:00 we will celebrating the start of the Jack Frost Festival of Wintertime Events here at Depot Park (150 N. Lowell Street) with the official lighting of the Jack Frost tree.  The Luther L. Wright […]

A world-wide celebration of all things plaid, the First Friday in October is just the opportunity you need to come downtown and be a part of Ironwood’s First Friday Plaidurday event.  Aurora Street will be closed off, and you can start gathering at 5:40 or so.  Formal drone picture is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.   Last […]

“Tree to be, you and me.”  The time is nigh and ready for the greatness of U.P. Fall–catch the views from Ironwood’s Mt. Zion, ride the lift to the top of Copper Peak, visit the Lake Superior shoreline beach at Black River Harbor–all of these place feature the glories of Fall colors.  So, “leaf” your […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome Gracie Houtari and Madelyn Bastman from Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood to be our Chamber interns for the 2023-2024 school year.  Gracie and Madelyn will be helping at the Chamber office and visitor counter daily from Noon until  3:00 p.m.  Stop in and say […]

The Ironwood area in summer is amazingly beautiful, and this year, many of our local artists who have their studios outside of downtown and in that beauty have come together to organize a self-guided Art Tour on Saturday and Sunday, August 5 & 6, from 10:00 am to 3:00 p.m.   We have copies of the […]

Festival Ironwood time has arrived at last!  The tents are up, the chairs and tables are set, and the time is here to celebrate the warm days of summer and the gathering of family and community.  The entire schedule is on our website here:  https://ironwoodchamber.org/festival-ironwood/       Time to enjoy all that the U.P. can be!

Going up today (6.27.23) at the Historic Ironwood Depot are the “Heritage Flags of Emberlight.”  To honor the ancestral background of the artists, presenters, and volunteers participating in our 2023 Festival, Emberlight is flying a flag from each country and tribal nation they represent. Taken together, the Heritage Flags reveal the varied cultures and ancestries […]

Summer–that brief period of U.P sun/warmth euphoria–has arrived at last!  This is the 3 month period (July, August, September) when the entire Gogebic Range explodes in events and activities:  there is just SO MUCH GOING ON!  You can find out where your next summer fun event is by going to our Gogebic/Iron County all-event website […]

At long last, the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce has an OUTSIDE city/area map at the Depot!  Attached to the East side (park/trail side) of the Archive Building, this new map shows not only the City of Ironwood, but Hurley, WI and important area sites and connections such as Black River Harbor Scenic Byway, Saxon Harbor, […]

It appears that the 8 months of snow has finally come to an end.  The little Depot garden that Helen Slining cares for has GREEN PLANTS emerging.  And today, Thursday, May 11–there are people out walking and running the Iron Belle Trail next to my Depot office.  Symbolic of Yooper life in the North:  people […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce’s new Guide is back from the printers and in stock at the Chamber Depot Office.  You will also note that it is on the front page of this website, where a click on the cover page will take you to the Guide, which is in a “flip-book” format.  There are […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce is always looking ahead to see how we can help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs, craftsmen, producers, and service folks.  On Thursday, 23 February, the Chamber will be cooperating with Gogebic Community College and Michigan Works! to host the annual Career Exploration Day for Gogebic and Iron County high […]

For the first time since January of 2020, the Ironwood Chamber all-member Awards Banquet was held at the Aurora Club on January 17th.  Pictured above are Robbie and Joel Sardinha, owners and proprietors of the Suffolk Street Eatery https://www.facebook.com/people/Suffolk-Street-Eatery/100069155195564/  in Ironwood, who were awarded our Business of the Year for 2022.  Other winners were:  Organization of […]

Jack Frost Wintertime has arrived in all its full snowflake glory in the U.P.  This year’s SISU Ski Fest (January 6-7) was the largest ever!  Over 800 skiers, from all across the United States–regional as well as Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and even Canada!   Wonderful weather and snow conditions!  And–best part–these conditions continue!  Check out member’s […]

Christmas 2022 certainly was a White Christmas, testifying to the snow-making skills of Mr. Jack Frost, to be sure.  Ironwood garnered a fresh 29 inches of snow between Friday night and Sunday morning.  The wonderful picture by Tom Kangas shows Depot park and the Historic Ironwood Depot, home to the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce office.  […]

Saturday, December 3, at 6:00 p.m., the Jack Frost Festival of Lights parade steps off from in front of the Historic Carnegie Library and travels down Ironwood’s Aurora Street!  With a projected 41 units this year, we can be sure that this parade will have something for everyone to enjoy and marvel at:  horses and […]

We are now about midway through September as the Chamber office guy writes this, and the leaves, they are a’turning!   Mostly yellows and light browns now, and more color closer to Lake Superior, but the time, it is a moving fast, and it will not be long until the vibrant reds and browns will paint […]

On August 18th at Ironwood’s Aurora Club, the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce sponsored Ron Wirtz, Outreach Director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, for both small-group roundtables and a noon lunch presentation on “Recent Economic Trends in the Western Upper Peninsula.”  We had great attendance and some outstanding home-made pasties and cake by the […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce is presenting Ron Wirtz, Director of Outreach for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank in a noon-time event at the Aurora Club, 101 Penokee Road, Ironwood, on August 18, 2022.  Ron will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on “Recent Economic Trends in the Western Upper Peninsula.”   You do not […]

Happy Saturday, July 9th!  The Big Top (and Little Tops) are up in Historic Depot park awaiting there outfitting of tables, lights, beer trailer, dance stage, sound system, etc.  Festival Ironwood 2022 starts Wednesday, July 13 at around noon, with the Ironwood-Hurley Rotary Club “Beer & Brats” opening food event that evening.  Check out the […]

June is here!  For the next 3 months, all that is wonderful about the U.P. in flower, trails, waterfalls, and beaches will be on display.  Sunsets at 9:00 p.m. (or later!); looking for agates and Yooperlites on the Lake Superior Shore, stream and lake fishing, hiking the North Country Trail, biking the Iron Belle Trail, […]

See that picture??  A tree is bursting into leaf time right next door to the Depot at the Post Office.  Over the past two days Ironwood has been blessed with a) warm and b) rain.  The result, today (May 13, 2022) everything is GREEN!!!   Bikers and runners are out on the Iron Belle Trail here […]

At last the white snow is melting and we can say with some confidence that we have entered early Spring in Ironwood.  The waterfalls on the Black River are roaring away, the Montreal river is acting like one, rather than just being a summer meandering stream, and out at Little Girls Point, the final beach […]

Ironwood’s Pat O’Donnell Civic Center will host Michigan 2022 MAHA State Playoff’s (Bantam B) March 11 through 13.  This will be the first all-Michigan gathering at the completely rebuilt Civic Center.  Competition will start at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, with the 3 final games on Sunday (9:30, 11:00, and 4:30).  Like their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Pat-ODonnell-Civic-Center-106007259440654/  […]

January through March are pretty much a guarantee to be great outdoors weather for all the snow recreational activities:  snowshoe, ski, fat tire biking, & snowmobiling.   Trail 2 goes right past the Chamber of Commerce office here in the Historic Ironwood Depot (see above picture).  At the time I write this, the temperature is an […]

Well, it’s January 2022, when we usually have our Chamber Awards Banquet, celebrating the awards for the year 2021 just past.  However, Covid-19 continues its U.P. trail, and so we ended up having the awards captured on video here in the Chamber Depot office.  The full presentations can be seen on our Chamber YouTube channel.  […]

At the 2:00 p.m. drawing today (Saturday, December 4th) held at the Northwind Co-op, the winners of the Chamber’s $10K raffle were as follows:   1st prize =  Incredible Bank, 2nd prize = Julie Anderson, 3rd prize = Kathleen Grbavich, 4th prize = Paul Anderson, 5th prize = Brian Roehm, 6th prize = Jim Peterson, 7th […]

The 2021 Jack Frost Festival of Lights Parade will kick-off at 6:00 p.m., on Saturday, December 4th in downtown Ironwood.  Beginning on Aurora Street in front of the Carnegie Library, the parade will then journey westward through the downtown and end at the Lawrence/Aurora intersection.  A full panoply of events will occur both Friday, December […]

Well, still no snow, but Mr. Jack Frost has promised (again) that today, November 12, 2021, we will see appreciable snow starting this afternoon.  I sure hope he keeps his promise, because next Thursday, November 18, at 6:00 p.m. here in Depot park, will be the Jack Frost Tree Lighting Ceremony, which marks the start […]

Saturday, November 6 is the Ironwood Area Volunteer Fair.  It will be from 9am to 12noon at the Ironwood Memorial Building Auditorium.  The following organizations have registered to take part:  St. Vincent DePaul, SISU Ski Fest, SISU Dirt Crew, 906 Adventure Team, Historic Ironwood Theatre, Northern Lights Quilting Guild, Little Finland, North Country Trail (Ni-Miikanaake […]

The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a Volunteer Fair on Saturday, November 6, from 9am to 12noon.  Thirty-four non-profit organizations will be attending, so this will be a great “one-stop” place to learn about the volunteer needs for our community and how you can match your available time and skills to them.  The Fair […]

Falling into Fall is easy when everyone joins up downtown to celebrate the “wearing of the plaid!”  Friday night, October 1, at 6:00 (in very unseasonable warm weather), Ironwoodians gathered for the official Plaidurday drone picture!  Sponsored by our own Jacquart Fabric Products, creators of the iconic “Stormy Kromer” cap (as well as many other […]

September is just about over!  The Bridges & Bluffs half-marathon this past Saturday (September 25) over the Iron Belle Trail marks the end of the Ironwood area summer seasonal events.  With October 1 coming up (this Friday–which is also Plaidurday in downtown Ironwood–gather in front of the Historic Ironwood Theatre for the big all-community Plaidurday […]