HOUGHTON - To paraphrase the Michigan state motto, "If you seek a festive peninsula, look about you." The Keweenaw Peninsula is the place to be if one is looking for summer celebrations and festivals. Beginning in mid-June, nearly every summer weekend in the Copper Country features an event of some sort.

Looking to the Keweenaw, interested individuals will find fests honoring everything from bridges to berries. Even the U.P.'s favorite delicacy, the pasty, has its own celebration in the Copper Country.

It all gets started June 12-14 with Baraga County's Lake Trout Festival. This festival is a chance for Baraga County, the Lake Trout Capital, to shine.

They will host the Keweenaw Classic Fishing Tournament on June 13, a "Little Miss Superior" contest as well as nearly a dozen other events at the waterfront park and marina in downtown L'Anse.

The festival coincides with the Michigan Free Fishing weekend, meaning

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anyone can participate in the Keweenaw Classic Fishing Tournament.

With great fishing, good eats and a festive atmosphere the festival is a can'tmiss. For information on the Lake Trout Festival go to laketroutfestival.com.

The "festival season" then moves north for what could be the region's biggest summer celebration, Bridgefest. The annual celebration celebrates the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, the world's heaviest and widest doubled-decked vertical lift bridge.

For more than 20 years, the cities of Houghton and Hancock have thrown a party in the name of the structure.

The Bridgefest Parade kicks things off June 19, working its way down Quincy Street in Hancock. Typically the parade cuts across the bridge, but construction in Downtown Houghton has halted that for the year.

Following the parade, a beach party will be held in Hancock with a performance by the Bessemer drum and bugle corps Marty's Goldenaires taking place in Houghton.

Other Bridgefest events include a fishing derby, a NASCAR simulator, a children's carnival, a cardboard regatta and much more.

For the athletes there is a mountain bike race, a beach volleyball tournament, street hockey tournament and a triathlon.

The big fireworks display over the Portage Canal brings Saturday's events to a close.

The cornerstone of Bridgefest, as always, is the Houghton Rotary Seafood Fest. Delicacies from the world's oceans can be had at the Houghton Waterfront Park, along with great music and dozens of creative vendors, on Friday and Saturday of Bridgefest.

To learn more about Bridgefest, visit bridgefestfun.com.

Right on the heels of the salute to the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, comes Calumet's salute to the pasty. The sixth annual PastyFest will feature music, a parade and of course plenty of pasties.

Everything will get under way at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27, for the Pasty Parade through downtown Calumet. Immediately after the parade horse-drawn wagon tours will go through Agassiz Park and live music will begin.

At 1 p.m. the Pasty bake-off, which is the highlight of the day, will start and kids games, artist booths and craft booths will be taking place throughout the day.

PastyFest can be found on the Internet at mainstreetcalumet.com/ events/pastyfest.htm.

The 61st annual Copper Country Strawberry Festival will take place July 10 to 11 in beautiful downtown Chassell.

The action will begin Friday morning with arts and crafts sales, a quilt show and the first strawberries dished out on delicious shortcake. Horse-drawn wagon rides will be available from 2 to 5 p.m. and a fish boil will begin at 4 p.m. Friday.

The highlight of the weekend will be the crowning of the queen, which will take place at 8 p.m. and will be followed up with by a dance at the Chassell VFW.

The action will continue into Saturday, including a parade at 11 a.m. and a vintage fashion show at 2 p.m.

For more information visit their Web site, einerlei.com/community/strawFest/.

Each year, thousands gather for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's Maawanji-iding, or Powwow. Held at the Ojibwa Recreation Area in Baraga, the event includes three Grand Entries with hundreds of dancers, music, food, exhibitions and the world fry-bread championship.

The Powwow will be held July 24 to 26 this year, matching up, as always, with the last weekend in July. For additional information, visit the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's Web site, kbic-nsn.gov.

Calumet re-takes the spotlight in August for Heritage Days at Agassiz Park. Dancing, great food and the presentation of community heritage awards are part of the weekend. The festival will be August 14 and 15 with a full schedule of events available on their Web site, mainstreetcalumet.com/events/heritagedays.html, closer to the events start.

In addition to the breathtaking natural beauty of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the variety of festivals and celebrations which take place each summer are reason enough for hundreds of thousands to spend their time in the Copper Country.