About Rendezvous Days

The theme for this year's Rendezvous Days is food and historic foodways. This year the event will look at Indigenous foods, food of the voyageurs, and which foods were vital to the fur trade.

NPS Photo / G.M. Spoto

Grand Portage Rendezvous Days is Free and Open to the Public

It is 1797, the Rendezvous is in full swing, and over a thousand people work and linger within the palisades and surrounding area. North West Company agents, clerks, and partners gather to conduct business and celebrate their good fortune. They arrive by canoe with the voyageurs bringing trade goods from the east, and furs from the north. Anishinaabe, Cree, and other Native families gather by the shore to trade and reunite with friends and family, all right here in Grand Portage.

During Rendezvous Days, costumed interpreters reenact 18th century life of the fur trade era. Park rangers and volunteer reenactors provide you with a unique view into the hustle and bustle of Grand Portage over 220 years ago.

Rendezvous Days 2024 - August 9, 10, 11

Grand Portage Rendezvous Days is a celebration where friends and family return year after year to attend and participate in events held in the community. Held on the second weekend of August, this event is one you do not want to miss! Music, dancing, craft demonstrations, and hands-on workshops ensure an exciting visit to Grand Portage National Monument.

• Admission is free. Visitors are not required to wear period clothing. Come as you are!
• No vendors, demonstrations only
• Visit our Eating & Sleeping page for information about where to stay.
• Directions to the Monument from Duluth, Minnesota.
• No pets (except service animals) within the stockade (Historic Depot)

For more information:

Questions? Please call 218-475-0123 or email us.

 

Rendezvous Days Pow Wow

The Pow Wow, hosted by the Grand Portage Band, is located just up the road within walking distance of the Monument.

• For questions about the Pow Wow, including vendors, please email Brittany Anderson at the offices of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• For details about the Pow Wow and schedule (coming soon) see the Grand Portage Rendezvous Days Facebook Page
• Service animals are allowed outside of the arena as long as they have their vests on. All dogs are prohibited within the dance arena.

 

See how the voyageurs cooked!

Photo courtesy of Kiri Butter

Food of the Fur Trade Era

"A French Canadian has the appetite of a wolf, and glories in it, upon my reproaching some of them with their gluttony, the reply I got was:
What pleasure have we in life but eating?" ~ David Thompson, 1810

Special Guests

Bryce Stevenson: Friday, 4 pm - Workshop Tent

From the Red Cliff Reservation, and owner/chef of Miijim on Madeline Island, Bryce produces Indigenous inspired dishes. Describing Miijim, he says it is “Ojibwe medicine with French soul.” Traditional flavors of roasted and grilled game meats like venison, elk, and rabbit paired with foraged ingredients such as local mushrooms, ramps, chaga, and bergamot, Miijim features an ever-evolving menu featuring the seasonality of the Chequamegon Bay and its farmers, foragers, hunters, and gatherers.

Heid E. Erdrich: Saturday, 3 pm - Workshop Tent

Author of Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest. Ms. Erdrich is a writer from North Dakota who curates art exhibits, teaches, researches and collaborates with other artists. She is Ojibwe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain.

Jeff Pavlik:

Known as “the Baker of Michilimackinac,” professional baker and re-enactor Jeff Pavlik will be baking and sharing his knowledge about bread and the French-Canadian voyageurs.

Specials & Workshops

Learn about this summer's programs.

 

The Stone Bridge Singers open the weekend.

NPS Photo

Rendezvous Days 2024 Program Schedule

The Heritage Center, stockade, reconstructed buildings, and historic encampment are open to the public from 9 am to 5 pm.

Stone Bridge Singers Drum Group Welcome - Friday, 10 am, Great Hall Lawn

Workshops Registration (free) Opens at 9:30 am

For more information or to register for a workshop, please visit the Information tent near the North Gate.
Workshops are free and open to the public. * registration required

 

Cooking in the historic encampment.

NPS Photo / G.M. Spoto

FRIDAY, August 9th

10 am: Stone Bridge Singers Drum Ceremony - Great Hall Lawn
11 am: 25^th AFA Commemoration Ceremony - Heritage Center
2 pm: Historic Camp Tour - Meet at Information Tent
2 pm: Kids' Bead Hunt - Historic Encampment
2 pm: Tea and the Fur Trade - Great Hall
2 pm: Fish of Grand Portage Bay - TBD
3 pm: Historic Camp Tour - Meet at Information Tent
3 pm: Historic Maple Pickles - Kitchen
3:30 pm: Camp Chore Challenge Contest - Inside the West Gate
3:30 pm: The Long Skillet - Blacksmith Shop
4 pm: SPEAKER #1 Chef Bryce Stevenson - Workshop Tent
5 pm: Monument Closes

FRIDAY WORKSHOPS

Workshops are free and open to the public. * registration required

10:30 am: *The Need to Knead - Bakery Tent
11 am: *Kids' Lantern Making - Workshop Tent
11 am, 12 & 1 pm: *Cornhusk Dolls/Voyageur Action Figures - Great Hall Porch
12 pm: *Make a Birch Whisk - Canoe Warehouse
1 pm: *Kids' Lantern Making - Workshop Tent
1 pm: *Kids' Tin Smithing, Cookie Cutter - Tinsmith Shop
2:30 pm: *Kids' Tin Smithing, Cookie Cutter - Tinsmith Shop
3 pm: Foraging in the Fur Trade - Cottonwood Camp
4 pm: *Kids' Tin Smithing, Cookie Cutter - Tinsmith Shop
5 pm: Monument Closes

 

Heart-shaped braided bread baked by Sofia V. in the historic bread oven.

NPS Photo / G.M. Spoto

SATURDAY, August 10th

9:30 am: Kids' Scavenger Hunt - Historic Encampment
10 am: Rugged Voyageur Contest - Inside West Gate
10 am - 12 pm: Travis Zimmerman and Sam Zimmerman Book Signing: How the Birds Got Their Songs - Heritage Center
11 am: Historic Camp Tour - Meet at Information Tent
11 am: Historic Garden Tour - Kitchen Garden
11:30 am: The Great Lacrosse Match - Great Hall Yard
1 pm: Go Pound Corn - Ojibwe Village
1:30 pm: Judging of the Golden Galette - Booshway Camp
2 pm: Voyageur Magic & Story-telling Extravaganza - Canoe Camp
3 pm: SPEAKER #2 Heid E. Erdrich - Workshop Tent
3:30 pm: Historic Camp Tour - Meet at Information Tent
4 pm: Over the Waterfall: Live Music - Great Hall Porch
5 pm: Monument Closes

8-10 pm: Live Music & Dancing, Open to all, Great Hall Lawn

SATURDAY WORKSHOPS

Workshops are free and open to the public. * registration required

9:30 am: *Need to Knead - Bakery Tent
10 am: Historic Beer Brewing Roundtable - Workshop Tent
10 am: *Tin Smithing for Adults, Serving Tray - Tinsmith Shop
11 am: *Blacksmithing Adults “S” Hook - Blacksmith Shop
11:30 am: *Five Board Bench for Four - Workshop Tent
12:30 pm: *Leg Bone Apple Corers - Canoe Warehouse
1 pm: *Five Board Bench for Four - Workshop Tent
1:30 pm: *Blacksmithing Adults “S” Hook - Blacksmith Shop

 

SUNDAY, August 11th

10 am: Spruce Beer in the Fur Trade - Workshop tent
11 am: Flint & Steel Fire Contest - Historic Encampment

 

 

 

 

Thank you to our generous sponsor!

If you’re interested in finding out how you can support Grand Portage National Monument, please visit our partner, National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF), at nplsf.org for more information. The mission of NPLSF is to provide financial support for projects and programs that preserve the natural resources and cultural heritage of all five national parks along Lake Superior. NPSLF is charged with their stewardship and is committed to their long term support, preservation, and enhancement.

 

Go Pound Corn! is one of the workshops using corn from the 2023 Three Sisters Garden.

NPS Photo / G.M. Spoto