Food Fest to help Marquette economy

As students make their way to class Thursday, Sept. 3, they will notice free food set on tables throughout the Academic Mall. The first Local Food Fest, put on by Progressive Student Roundtable (PRST), aims to wean students and citizens of Marquette away from chain restaurants and promote the idea of eating at locally owned businesses. “The whole point of (Food Fest) is to encourage students to shop at locally owned restaurants, instead of the normal chain restaurants,” said Zoe Davison, chair member of PSRT. “There’s a lot of good food in Marquette, and students might be afraid to try it out. We want students to eat food from places other than Applebee’s.” There are 35 locally owned businesses which are located in the downtown area of Marquette alone. According to Davison, roughly 10 to 15 of those will be giving out samples with menus and coupons on Thursday. These businesses include Vango’s, Huron Deli, the Marquette Food Co-Op and others. Davison also went on to say that Food Fest supports the idea of community among students while also helping out Marquette’s economy. “We’re going to have the restaurants bring menus, so that the students can find out about deals that they give to NMU students, or delivery rates,” said Davison. The food at the Local Food Fest is first come, first serve, and runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

– John Berry

Blues music to fill Lower Harbor

Students looking for something to do during the long weekend can stay within downtown Marquette to enjoy live music, workshops and a variety of foods. The Sixth Annual Marquette Blues Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 6 at Mattson Lower Harbor Park. Ten bands will be featured over both days, including local bands from the U.P. as well as recording artists like Biscuit Miller & The Mix and Curtis Salgado. “The festival is a fun couple of days of going down to the harbor and hanging out with people who enjoy the music and get a chance to listen to bands who normally wouldn’t make it up to Marquette,” said Walt Lindala, public relations chair for the Blues Festival. Workshops include harmonica instruction on Saturday at noon and swing dance lessons held by the NMU Swing Dance Club which will be held between bands. Lindala said that students are encouraged to experience a genre of music that they rarely listen to. “A lot of times, younger people don’t either know about the music or don’t care about it. But when they get a chance to see it, it turns out to be pretty fun,” Lindala said. Students can purchase tickets beforehand at EZ Ticket Vendors, for $10 per day. Otherwise, they are $40 for both days or $25 at the door for the day.

– Lucy Hough