Events Articles

Read about special events for Friends of the Apostle Islands.

Sold Out! Annual Friends Cruise planned for August 10th

Sold Out! Annual Friends Cruise planned for August 10th

It is the highlight of the season at Friends of the Apostle Islands: a time to gather with friends, members, supporters, new faces, and enjoy the very place we all work so hard to protect. This year, our Annual Cruise is slated for Thursday, August 10th. We will board the Superior Princess of the Apostle Island Cruise Service at the Bayfield City Dock at 5pm and cruise Lake Superior passing Basswood Island, Hermit, Oak, and others. Along the way we will enjoy a buffet and drinks, stories of the islands, watch the scenery slip by and our destination – Stockton Island – looming on the...

An eye for helping: Photographer couple targets Friends with April 22nd fundraiser

An eye for helping: Photographer couple targets Friends with April 22nd fundraiser

From the Galapagos to Africa, from Iceland to Hawaii, the husband-and-wife photography team of Carol and Roy Toepke have an eye for nature and a deep-seated desire to help protect it. This April 22nd, they are targeting the Access for All initiative of Friends with a fundraising effort to help one of their favorite places on earth: the Apostle Islands.Carol and Roy Toepke“We're big fans of the Apostle Islands,” says Carol. “We have explored the lighthouses, ventured out to the mainland and Devils Island sea caves and trekked to the ice caves twice.” And they have captured it all in...

Connect with your Friends at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin March 10-12

Connect with your Friends at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin March 10-12

If paddling the amazing sea caves in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is on your bucket list, we invite you to see us at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin next weekend, March 10-12. This annual event includes more than 100 educational presentations and clinics on kayaking, canoeing and related topics, including two by Friends Executive Director Jeff Rennicke. You'll also be able to learn from the experts what gear you need to safely explore the islands.Alliant Energy Center1919 Alliant Energy WayEvent host Rutabaga Paddlesports of Madison says Canoecopia is the largest paddlesports...

Celebrating Friends: 2022 annual cruise a sweet success

Celebrating Friends: 2022 annual cruise a sweet success

At Friends, our staff, board members, and volunteers can often be found in deep discussions over issues, planning budgets, setting up meetings, the everyday stuff of any organization. However sometimes you just have to set that all aside and return to the heart of things: the reason for doing all of it. Sometimes, you just have to go to the islands. Recently 58 Friends members, donors, board members, and supporters boarded the Superior Princess at the Bayfield City Dock for our 2022 Annual Cruise, a signature Friends event, this year sponsored by Wickcraft Boardwalks.Superior Princess – Jeff...

Invest in Our Planet: Earth Day 2022

Invest in Our Planet: Earth Day 2022

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore will forever share a very special connection with Earth Day — both began in 1970 and both were championed by Wisconsin’s own Gaylord A. Nelson. This year, the theme of Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet.” Since its inception, Friends of the Apostle Islands has invested in the islands by raising over $500,000 to support the park in our four pillars of Accessibility, Education, Stewardship, and Service.  This Earth Day, we are asking you to “Invest in Our Planet” with a donation to Friends of the Apostle Islands.  Your donation will: Help kids learn to...

Celebrate National Park Week through April 24th

Celebrate National Park Week through April 24th

(National Park Service News Release) National Park Week, April 16 through 24, encourages everyone to discover something new about their national parks. With more than 400 national parks hosting a mix of special programs, activities, and digital experiences, the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation invite all to explore and enjoy national parks during this annual event. The week begins on April 16 with free entrance to every national park. “Since Yellowstone National Park was established 150 years ago, over 400 extraordinary places have been added to the National Park...

Tongues in trees: Celebrating National Poetry Month

Tongues in trees: Celebrating National Poetry Month

In Act 1, Scene 2 of his famous play “As You Like It” William Shakespeare wrote “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.”  Shakespeare never visited Lake Superior or the Apostle Islands, but if he had, he would have certainly found “good in everything” in these islands as well as heard the poetry in this place. The summer wind strumming the waves, the slow repeating verse of the surf, birdsong in the bogs at sunrise. There is a beauty in these islands that speaks to the poet’s soul, and...

Volunteers wanted for Friends Earth Day cleanup

Volunteers wanted for Friends Earth Day cleanup

We’ve all seen it (75% even admit they have caused it): litter along America’s highways and waterways. According to a recent study by the nonprofit America the Beautiful, litter on roadways is actually down 54% since 2009. But that still means there are at least 50 billion pieces of litter out there along our roadways. The news is not much better for our nation’s waterways where the study claims another 24 billion pieces of trash lie uncollected, a slight increase from the 2009 estimate. While there are no similar studies here in the Apostle Islands, any beach comber knows that we are not...

Luminaires on the Lake: Apostle Islands Anniversary Commemoration set for Saturday, September 25th

Luminaires on the Lake: Apostle Islands Anniversary Commemoration set for Saturday, September 25th

Join your Friends for Luminaires on the Lake: Apostle Islands Anniversary Commemoration on Saturday, September 25th at 7p.m. in Bayfield.You're invited to join us at Washington Avenue Beach for acandlelight commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, to wrap up the year-long celebration. Light a candle at the beach candlelight luminary display. View the collection of flags created by the children of the Stewards of Tomorrow program displaying their hopes the lake and the islands. Be a part of history and the first steps toward the future.If it rains, the...

Experience youth stewardship art and make your own on Saturday

Experience youth stewardship art and make your own on Saturday

The Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute’s Youth Outreach Programs will host a kids booth at the Festival of the Arts in Bayfield next Saturday, September 11th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids of all ages will have the opportunity to paint a stewardship flag. Stewardship flags created by Stewards of Tomorrow participants will also be on display at the event, in Memorial Park, which is located at 2 Rittenhouse Avenue, on the lakefront. Come peruse the creative expression of local youth from this summer, and/or, join us in creating a visual representation and message about why...