The tiny thimbleberry gets its due with first-ever festival on the Keweenaw Peninsula

It's time to celebrate the tiny thimbleberry.

The first-ever Keweenaw Thimbleberry Festival is underway this week, continuing at the farmers' markets in Hancock and Calumet, where customers will find a variety of things thimbleberry, including jams and other foods. 

David NybergThimbleberries growing in the wild. The Keweenaw Thimbleberry Festival is “a fresh take on a beloved tradition — a week of community-rooted events highlighting the tiny berry with big local pride. Instead of one large gathering, we’re “reseeding” the celebration with a series of small but flavorful happenings across the Keweenaw,” says Visit Keweenaw, the tourism authority for the peninsula and the event’s main sponsor.

“This year's market-focused fest is just the beginning of what we hope grows into a full-fledged annual festival. As we celebrate the delicious bounty of this summer's iconic berry, come support your local markets and help us set the roots for something bigger in the future,” says Brad Barnett, executive director of Visit Keweenaw.

What’s happening: The Ground Farmers Market Collective and Visit Keweenaw are hosting the first-ever Keweenaw Thimbleberry Festival. The festival rolled out at the Houghton Farmers Market on Tuesday and continues at the Hancock Tori & Farmers Market, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Thursday, August 21, and the Calumet Farmers Market, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday, August 23. Folks can continue to participate at their own pace at the Paavola Wetlands berry-themed storybook walk. The festival coincides with the seasonal harvest of the berries.

David NybergA thimbleberry donut from Jamsen’s Bakery in Cooper Harbor.“It seems like a no-brainer to have a thimbleberry festival,” says Amanda Makela, who is a board member of the Ground Farmers Market Collective and the owner of Second Sand Bar Productions. “Why haven’t we done this sooner. We’re so used to enjoying thimbleberries in our own ways, we didn’t think about the opportunity to take it to the next level.”

About the thimbleberry: The thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) is a soft, bright-red wild berry in the rose family (Rosaceae). Unlike many other members of the genus Rubus (like raspberries and blackberries), thimbleberries have no prickles on their canes, making them pleasant to pick. The berries are larger and flatter than raspberries, with a delicate, velvety texture and a tangy-sweet flavor.

Where they're found: Thimbleberries are native to two main regions: The Keweenaw Peninsula and parts of the western Great Lakes and the western United States and Canada, particularly along the Pacific coast, the Rocky Mountains, and into Alaska. The berries prefer cool climates and well-drained, nutrient-rich soils. In the Keweenaw, they’re often found along sunny forest edges, roadsides, and old homestead clearings. 

“It’s a cousin to the raspberry but has a lot more seeds than a raspberry,” Makela says. “It has more of a brick-red color and a velvety texture. It translates well into baking.”

What to look for: Multiple vendors will be selling thimbleberry-themed goods, foods, and art. Look for thimbleberry jams, chocolate truffles, kombucha, baked goods and salves. Free Keweenaw Thimbleberry Week logo stickers will be available at all market locations. Vendors will be talking about the nutritional values of thimbleberries, cooking and “all kinds of stuff.”

David NybergHarriet Nyberg shows off freshly picked thimbleberries.The backstory: Makela says the idea of a thimbleberry festival has been kicked around for a while between Ground Farmers Market Collective and Visit Keweenaw. Marquette has a blueberry festival and Calumet has a pasty festival – why not celebrate the thimbleberry with a festival? A committee was formed to pursue the idea and recruit vendors for this year’s rollout. 

The thimbleberry is part of the cultural fabric of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Roadside stands selling thimbleberry jam can be found all over the peninsula, especially along Route 41. Families, including those of miners, spent time outdoors picking the berries for their own consumption, a tradition that continues. Places like the Jam Pot, operated by the monks of Holy Transfiguration Skete, have become famous for thimbleberry jam. The Jam Lady in Eagle River has been making thimbleberry jam from locally picked berries since the early 1880s.

What’s next: The hope is other organizations and small businesses will become involved and help transform the festival to an even bigger event. Organizers are hoping for more market vendors and would like restaurants and bars to become involved to create more of a food festival. Other ideas include adding other outdoor experience elements, tapping into the region’s history of miners and families picking thimbleberries. Makela says the Keweenaw National Historical Park has expressed interest in adding programming to the festival. 

Festival information: Keweenaw Thimbleberry Festival.