Old Settlers Picnic

The Vermilion Range Old Settlers Picnic will be held on Saturday, July 18, at McKinley Park Campground. Booyah is served at 12 noon sharp. Booyah is a beef, pork, and vegetable stew, cooked outdoors over a wood fire in huge cast iron pots that are over 100 years old. Booyah is served until it runs out, so don’t be late. Volunteers assemble the afternoon before the picnic to chop up the hundreds of pounds of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, and green peppers that go into the pots.

The Vermilion Range Old Settlers Picnic is an annual tradition, started back in the day when the mining company put on a day-long event for the mine employees and their families.

Memberships are $10 paid in advance or can be purchased the day of the picnic. Advance purchase is appreciated.  Please make checks payable to: Vermilion Range Old Settlers,  and mail to PO Box 56, Soudan, MN 55782.

Each membership gets you and your family the best booyah one can imagine, along with bread and butter and coffee. Families round out the meal with their own picnic fixings and desserts. Attendees need to bring a pot to put their steaming hot booyah in, and their own bowls and dinnerware. Families are welcome to bring their own folding table and chairs, but there is also plenty of picnic-style seating available under shaded pavilions.

Take-outs are available, but the fun of the day is staying for the picnic, live music, and raffles.
Membership in Old Settlers is open to anyone born or living on the Vermilion Iron Range. Guests are also welcome at $10 per person.