Relax, play, and learn in celebration of local fresh water at Lake Superior Day from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 21, on Barker’s Island in Superior. Enjoy free fun for all ages, kids’ activities, stand-up paddleboarding, information booths and food vendors – all focused on appreciating the Great Lake.

Lake Superior Day attendees can visit the Lake Superior Estuarium and sign up for free guided tours on the SS Meteor, the last above-water whaleback ship in the world. A free drawing features prizes donated by local businesses, including Epicurean, Capt’n J’s Miniature Golf, Duluth Pottery, Love Creamery and more. The children’s activity tent will feature driftwood crafts using provided tools and supplies.

Food vendors include Superior Cubans, Sweeden Sweets and the American Indian Community Housing Organization’s Giinawiind Gigintaawigi’igomin: Together We Grow Program. This year, attendees can hop on a free shuttle bus that runs between the Superior Public Library and the event on Barker’s Island. Buses run every half hour from the library starting at 11:15 a.m.

Lake Superior gives people a lot to celebrate. It is the cleanest, coldest, and clearest of the Great Lakes. The largest lake by surface area in the world, it fuels local shipping, commercial fishing and recreational industries while providing clean drinking water and high quality of life. Every day, each of the 600,000 human residents of the Lake Superior basin interact with water from the lake for drinking, home use, beautiful views, recreation and more. The lake is essential for countless fish, birds and plants.

The Lake Superior Day event is outdoors along sidewalks and on mowed, grassy lawns near the Lake Superior Estuarium and inside the Lake Superior Estuarium (3 Marina Drive, Superior, Wisconsin), Barker’s Island. Learning booths will be under large event tents. Restroom facilities include portable toilets and accessible single-user restrooms inside the Estuarium. The shuttle bus has a lift, spaces for four wheelchairs, and seats. The event is free to attend – paid portions include food purchases. For more information, please contact Ryan Feldbrugge at (715) 399-4090 or visit online.

There are plenty of ways to care for and enjoy coastal places even before the main Lake Superior Day event. On Saturday, July 20, help take care of our beaches as part of the Wisconsin Point Spotted Knapweed Pull, happening from 9 to 11 a.m. Registration and additional information is available online.

Come early to Barker’s Island on Sunday, July 21, and meet up with A Walking Tour of Our Connections with Water from 9:30 to 11 a.m. to experience the various ways people’s connections with water support their well-being.

Get on the water with North Shore SUP for the 7th annual Paddle for the People 4K recreational paddle race around the island Sunday morning. The race is free and begins at 10 a.m. with mandatory check in from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Participants can register online.

This year’s Lake Superior Day event in Superior is coordinated by the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the following partners: the City of Superior, University of Wisconsin-Superior, The Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve, Douglas County 4-H, and North Shore SUP. The event is graciously sponsored by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. Come enjoy the festivities in appreciation of the lake.