Editing Duluth, Minnesota (section)

===Events===
====Duluth Airshow====
The Duluth Airshow, founded in 2001, is held each summer at the [[Duluth International Airport]] and is Minnesota's largest airshow.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth Airshow - Duluth, MN : Duluth Airshow |url=https://www.duluthairshow.com/ |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=www.duluthairshow.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Participants have included the [[Blue Angels]], [[United States Air Force Thunderbirds|US Air Force Thunderbirds]], [[F-22 Raptor Demo Team]], and [[Snowbirds (aerobatic team)|Canadian Forces Snowbirds]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Drew |first=David|title=Duluth Airshow Earns Another Industry Award |url=https://b105country.com/duluth-airshow-earns-another-industry-award/ |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=B105 |date=January 28, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

====John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon====
{{Main|John Beargrease Dog Sled Race}}
[[File:John Beargrease Dogsled Marathon - Two Harbors Minnesota (32708009705).jpg|thumb|2017 [[John Beargrease Dog Sled Race|John Beargrease Dogsled Marathon]]]]

The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, named for winter mail carrier [[John Beargrease]], is an annual sled dog race that runs from Duluth to [[Grand Portage]]. Beargrease and his brothers were among the first to carry mail between Two Harbors and [[Grand Marais, Minnesota|Grand Marais]], going by dogsled, boat, and horse for almost 20 years before the towns were connected by road. Competitors can choose between two distances: a {{convert|400|mi|km|adj=on|0}} round trip between Duluth and the [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area]]—or a {{convert|150|mi|km|adj=on|0}} course from Duluth to [[Tofte Township, Minnesota|Tofte]]. The race begins at Billy's Bar in northeastern Duluth.<ref>[https://www.startribune.com/john-beargrease-sled-dog-marathon-starts-with-wide-open-field/600141327/ Beargrease sled dog marathon starts with wide field of contenders] ''Star Tribune''. January 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.wdio.com/news/beargrease-sled-dog-marathon-ryan-anderson-colleen-ero-wallin/6378259/ Looking back at the Beargrease: A recap of the 38th running] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203185803/https://www.wdio.com/news/beargrease-sled-dog-marathon-ryan-anderson-colleen-ero-wallin/6378259/ |date=February 3, 2022 }} WDIO</ref><ref>[https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/ryan-anderson-wins-his-fourth-beargrease-sled-dog-marathon Ryan Anderson wins his fourth Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon] ''Duluth News Tribune''</ref><ref>[https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2022/02/02/the-grueling-300-mile-beargrease-sled-dog-race-is-a-family-tradition-for-colleen-wallin For Colleen Wallin, the grueling, 300-mile Beargrease sled dog race is a family affair], ''Mprnews.org''</ref> Run every January since 1980, it is regarded as a training ground for Alaska's larger and more elite [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE JOHN BEARGREASE SLED DOG MARATHON |url=https://beargrease.com/ |access-date=December 9, 2021 |website=Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon}}</ref>

====Magic Smelt Parade====
In May, Duluthians celebrate the annual [[Smelt (fish)|smelt]] run with the Magic Smelt Parade along the city's lakewalk. It is a family-oriented affair conducted in the manner of a New Orleans [[Second line (parades)|Second Line Parade]], with a "Main Line" led by a small brass band followed by the "second liners" who walk and dance behind the band. The Smelt Parade's second liners wear silver hats, capes, and other costumes related to smelt. A Smelt King and Smelt Queens also take part in the parade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kraker |first=Dan |title=Lake Superior smelting tradition continues, despite new pollution concerns |url=https://www.mprnews.org///2022/05/12/lake-superior-smelting-tradition-continues-despite-new-pollution-concerns |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=MPR News|date=May 13, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Magic Smelt Parade |url=https://magicsmelt.com/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gabler |first=Jay |date=May 3, 2022 |title=Smelt Parade returning to Duluth's Lakewalk after 2-year hiatus |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/smelt-parade-returning-to-duluths-lakewalk-after-2-year-hiatus |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=Duluth News Tribune}}</ref>

====Grandma's Marathon====
{{Main|Grandma's Marathon}}
[[File:Al Franken and Wesley Ngetich Kimutai in the 2007 Grandma's Marathon.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Al Franken]] and [[Wesley Ngetich Kimutai]] in the 2007 [[Grandma's Marathon]]]]

Since 1977, Duluth has hosted Grandma's Marathon, a race held annually in June. Named after its original sponsor, Grandma's Restaurant, it draws runners from all over the world. The course starts just outside [[Two Harbors, Minnesota]], runs down [[County Road 61 (St. Louis County, Minnesota)|Old Highway 61]] (the former route of [[Minnesota State Highway 61|Highway 61]] along the [[North Shore (Lake Superior)|North Shore]] of [[Lake Superior]]), and finishes in one of Duluth's tourism neighborhoods, [[Canal Park (Duluth)|Canal Park]]. The same route is also taken during the North Shore Inline Marathon, held in September, which also draws racers from all over the world.

====Christmas City of the North Parade====
Each year in November, the Christmas City of the North Parade takes place in Duluth. The parade dates to 1957, when the holiday shopping season ran particularly short. Wanting to extend Christmas shopping days, Bob Rich—who owned the former WDSM-TV at the time, now [[KBJR-TV]]—came up with the idea. Since then, the parade has marched through downtown Duluth annually on the Friday night before Thanksgiving. The event has survived pouring rain, snow, and frigid cold. Even in years when instruments were too cold to produce music, the bands became choirs to provide music instead. Recorded by [[Merv Griffin]] in 1962, the "Christmas City" song is the parade's signature sound. According to Rich's grandson, the song was written by a local resident, and his grandfather asked his friend Griffin—at that time not the well-known TV personality he became—to sing the song and put it to music.<ref>[http://christmascityparade.com/ Christmas City of the North Parade:<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904072214/http://christmascityparade.com/ |date=September 4, 2013}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>[http://christmascityparade.com/2010/11/grandson-of-christmas-city-parade-creator-shares-history/ Grandson of Christmas City Parade Creator Shares History | Christmas City of the North Parade<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902015321/http://christmascityparade.com/2010/11/grandson-of-christmas-city-parade-creator-shares-history/ |date=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

====Bentleyville Tour of Lights====
{{Main|Bentleyville Tour of Lights}}

Since 2009, the Bentleyville Tour of Lights decorates the Bayfront Festival Park during November and December with over 5,000,000 lights. A free lighting display, it has been called the United States' "largest display of Christmas lights" that patrons can walk through.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tour of Lights |url=https://www.bentleyvilleusa.org/visitor-guide/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=2022 Bentleyville Visitor Guide}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nissen |first=Jack |date=November 15, 2018 |title=Duluth traditions return: Bentleyville Tour of Lights and the Christmas City of the North Parade |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/community/duluth-traditions-return-bentleyville-tour-of-lights-and-the-christmas-city-of-the-north-parade |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Duluth News Tribune}}</ref>