Festival Of The Angry Bear

Amanda Buck won 2nd place in the costume contest as a lawn gnome, beaten out for first place by a fox who had a cast on her leg that she cleverly designed into bear trap! (photo by Sunnie LaVigne)

Spring comes a little late here in the Upper Peninsula, but once that 40 degree mark hits in April it’s time for the angry bear to come out of hibernation. At Ore Dock Brewing Company’s Festival of the Angry Bear, people can try their signature angry bear drink, a hoppy sour-ish blend (6.5%), among other regular Ore Dock favorites.

The festival itself is quite new to the Marquette area, but so far it has attracted a rather large crowd, so it’s not unusual for festivities to run til midnight. The Ore Dock also provides a wide array of talented bands, from bluegrass, to techno, and even metal, so each year check the line-up, as it is always different. Either way, when you get tired from groovin or headbanging local German restaurant Das Stein Haus is there to fill you with giant pretzels, wursts, and half-chickens.

During the afternoon special presenters come from the Marquette County Conservation District where people can try some locally made honey, as well as hear from the Department of Natural Resources about black bear populations to a variety of other educational facts.

In addition, members of the Marquette Home Brewers brought out their portable beer making rigs and did live homebrewing demonstrations.  Club members were on-hand throughout the festival to answer questions and compare notes on the finer aspects of beer tasting with the crowd of jovial beer enthusiasts.

If there isn’t enough going on here already, fest-goers are also encouraged to get into the Angry Bear spirit and dress up as their favorite woodland animal. So don’t hesitate to get creative, other people will be dressed up too, some even just revamp an old Halloween costume by adding leaves or flowers. Each year judges walk around and hand out golden tickets for woodland animals who qualify to be in the costume contest, and each year one king and queen are crowned and given gift certificates that can exceed over $100.

Festival of the Angry Bear is certainly a good excuse to ditch your winter funk, get out, and celebrate. Hope to see you next year!

Craft beer fans show their enthusiasm while dancing to live music at the 2nd Annual Angry Bear Festival in Marquette, MI. (photo courtesy of Scott Pellegrom Trio)

by Amanda Buck

Amanda Buck grew up in the city of Crystal Lake, IL, a suburb outside of Chicago. She got her undergrad in English at Northern Michigan University.Currently she is working on her Master's degree in Literature and Writing. At school, she also served as secretary for the English Honors Program, Sigma Tau Delta and traveled to Portland, OR to a writers convention. During the summer she wrote snippets for a local Chicago radio station Star 105.5 for on-air disc jocks. She also has had her work published in Crystal Lake Local Magazine, and is presenting at the Sigma Tau Delta Writer's Convention in New Mexico this spring.