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)
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 ofOriginal 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.
Click on the map for a copy of the program with map.
NPS Graphic
Map of the Grand Portage National Monument Grounds Including Historic Encampment
Map of a section of Grand Portage National Monument adjacent to Lake Superior. An arrow pointing toward the top of the map indicates north. Grand Portage Bay of Lake Superior is on the bottom right: a gray shape bordered by a wavy diagonal line near the middle of the map. At the top of the map, an arrow points to the Pow Wow Grounds.The following descriptions begin in the upper right corner and move clockwise around the map:
Reenactor parking labeled with a P parking symbol.
The Stone Bridge is labeled with lines over the main road. Grand Portage Creek is labeled.
The Historic Encampment is indicated with a line drawing of tents.
A First Aid station is marked with a cross within a circle below the Historic Encampment. A footbridge crosses a creek from the encampment to the Historic Depot.
West of the creek is the Historic Depot. Within the Depot are the Great Hall, Kitchen, and Gardens.
An Information Station is marked by a question mark within a circle. The Workshop Tent is north of Information.
Southeast of the Depot is a dock jutting out into the bay.
West of the Depot are wheelchair accessible restrooms, the Canoe Warehouse, and Ojibwe Village.
The Heritage Center is across the main road to the southwest. Parking and a shuttle stop are adjacent to the Heritage Center. The shuttle runs continuously from 6 am to 10 pm Saturday and 6 am to 5 pm Sunday.
The Mount Rose Trail begins in the northeast corner of the Depot and continues across the main road to a summit of 906 feet (276 meters). The trail continues from the summit to the parking lot/picnic area in the lower left corner of the map.
An arrow points to the Trading Post and Casino, .75 miles (1.2 km)
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: 25th AFA Commemoration Ceremony - Heritage Center
2 pm: Historic Camp Tour - Meet at Information Tent
2 pm: Kids' Bead Hunt - Historic Encampment
2:30 pm: Tea and the Fur Trade - Great Hall
2 pm: Fish of Grand Portage Bay - Booshway Tent
3 pm: Historic Camp Tour - Meet at Information Tent
3 pm: Historic Maple Sap Vinegar Pickles - Kitchen
3:30 pm: Camp Chore Challenge Contest - Inside the West Gate
3:30 pm: Voyageurs' Frying Pan - 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
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 Author/ Poet 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
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.
