Reenactors and Community gather for Grand Portage Rendezvous Days Celebration this past weekend

Aug 11, 2025 12:17PM ● By Content Editor

Volunteer Karen cooks vegetable stew from park gardens over an open fire. She shared how special Grand Portage is and that she and her husband will be volunteering again next season. All photos & captions by Brittany North unless otherwise noted.

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow and Brittany North - Boreal Community Media - August 11, 2025

The annual Grand Portage Rendezvous Days Celebration took place this past weekend, with various activities at the Grand Portage National Monument, Powwow Grounds, and other areas throughout Grand Portage.

The National Monument celebrated with reenactors depicting what life was like in the late 1700s/early 1800s, which was during the height of the fur trade, and when the first Rendezvous Days took place. According to the Cook County Historical Society and National Park Service, during the "Rendezvous," thousands of people would gather in Gichi Onigaming, the Great Carrying Place, or Grand Portage, to trade goods, conduct business, and enjoy fellowship.

Other activities sponsored by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and MCT Suicide Prevention Grant included a walk/run, bingo, a turkey shoot (in memory of Kyler Deschampe), softball tournaments, Powwows, and more.

Tom Jessen (Boudrye) and Mike Pascucci in the canoe warehouse, educating park guests on the history of the canoes and their construction, waterways, and the fur trade in the early 1800s.

Examples of trade items that voyageurs carried by canoe. Some larger canoes would carry up to 4 tons of goods.

Canoe warehouse.

The Ojibwe tribe planted three companion crops - corn, beans, and squash - also referred to as the Three Sisters. Beans grow up the corn stalks, while the squash helps keep away weeds and pests.