Duluth puppet troupe hosts annual smelt-honoring parade

Smelt parade lift bridge.jpg — The Smelt Queen puppet leads stilt walkers down the Lakewalk during the Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe "Run, Smelt, Run!" parade in Duluth. This year's festivities begin at 3:30 p.m. May 28 at the Aerial Lift Bridge. The event is free and open to the public.

By Melinda Lavine

May 21, 2023 at 8:00 AM

DULUTH — Folks are gearing up for the Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe’s 11th annual Run, Smelt, Run! Parade and Party on May 28. Expect puppets, a brass band and fish costumes at this free, family-friendly event.

The non-motorized parade starts at 3:30 p.m. with the presentation of the Smelt Queen on the grassy plaza at the Aerial Lift Bridge (behind the Maritime Visitor's Center).

A musical procession featuring the Smelt Queen ends with a 5 p.m. smelt fry and dance party at Zeitgeist Restaurant & Bar, 222 E. Superior St.

Audience members laugh at the antics of a smelter during the annual Run, Smelt, Run! Parade and Party Sunday. The parade along Duluth's Lakewalk, organized by the Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe, began at the Aerial Lift Bridge and ended at the Zeitgeist Arts Building. Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com — Audience members laugh at the antics of a smelter during the 2019 Run, Smelt, Run! Parade and Party. The parade, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. May 28, begins at the Aerial Lift Bridge and ends at the Zeitgeist Arts Building.

All are welcome to join the royal procession on the Lakewalk, and attendees are encouraged to wear silver.

There’s also a series of free, upcoming parade workshops featuring puppets and parade art 6-8 p.m. Wednesday; 6-8 p.m. Friday; and 3-6 p.m. Saturday at the Duluth Art Institute’s Lincoln Park building, 2229 W. 2nd Street. Call (218) 370-8980 for more info.

The Run, Smelt, Run! Parade honors the end of winter and the spawning season of the small, silver smelt that swim in Lake Superior.

"Duluth needs a smelt celebration," event founder Jim Ouray told the News Tribune in 2022. "Somebody told me they felt the Smelt Parade was a proletariat friendly event. I like to think that we attract folks right across the spectrum."

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A fiddle-playing smelt performs for Morris dancers during the annual Run, Smelt, Run! Parade and Party Sunday. Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com — A fiddle-playing smelt performs for Morris dancers during the annual Run, Smelt, Run! Parade and Party in 2019.

Event co-founder Jim Ouray, portraying Neptune, addresses the crowd before the start of the 2013 Run Smelt Run Parade in Duluth. The free, family-friendly event begins at 3:30 p.m. May 28 at the Aerial Lift Bridge. Wearing silver is encouraged.

By Melinda Lavine

Melinda Lavine is an award-winning, multidisciplinary journalist with 16 years professional experience. She joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2014, and today, she writes about the heartbeat of our community: the people.

Melinda grew up in central North Dakota, a first-generation American and the daughter of a military dad.

She earned bachelors degrees in English and Communications from the University of North Dakota in 2006, and started her career at the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald that summer. She helped launch the Herald's features section, as the editor, before moving north to do the same at the DNT.

Contact her: 218-723-5346, mlavine@duluthnews.com.

Duluth puppet troupe hosts annual smelt-honoring parade

Run, Smelt, Run! festivities begin at 3:30 p.m. May 28 at the Aerial Lift Bridge