Join the Cook County Historical Society at North House Folk School for our annual Planked Trout Dinner and Fundraiser on Tuesday, September 1st, at 5 p.m. This popular event brings the community together to enjoy a fresh, open-fire Lake Superior trout dinner while celebrating local history and supporting the collection, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge about the history of Cook County. 

While open-fire fish planking originated centuries ago with Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples and was later adopted across early America, it has deep roots right here on the North Shore. The 1895 Tourist’s and Sportsman’s Guide to Duluth, Superior, and Vicinity urged visitors: "If the opportunity arises do not fail to order the celebrated Planked White Fish." Local commercial fishing families noted that their largest "jumbo" fish commanded top dollar specifically for open-fire planking.

Carrying on a tradition sustained for decades by local groups like the Lake Superior Steelhead Association and formerly the Grand Marais Lions Club, the Cook County Historical Society revived this "old-new" gathering in 2007. 

Tickets are required and will be on sale soon.

Cook County Historical Society members will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets. Prices are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. To become a member, visit: https://www.cookcountyhistory.org/support