Late Summer Upper Thumb Festival Season Kicks Off
Bay Port, Michigan – As late summer rolls around the days get a bit shorter and the evenings around the campfire can have a bit of chill in the air. It’s also festival season! If you’re in the Upper Thumb the first weekend in August, head to Bay Port. The Bay Port Fish Sandwich Festival is the granddaddy of them all. Since 1978 folks come in and lined up for a fish sandwich that “takes two hands to hold one.” At $4.00 it’s a deal. It’s a family friendly 
event but its proximity to the historic Bay Port Inn make thoughts of having a “short one” prior to hitting the craft booths not uncommon.
Events start on Friday August 5th at noon with sandwiches and a large continuous craft show, the crowning of the festival’s king, queen, prince and princess and fireworks on Friday evening at 
dusk. The festival’s parade kicks off Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.
A Bite of Fish Sandwich History
The Engelhard’s family started the community’s Fish Sandwich Festival. In 1949 Henry and Edna began selling the famous fish sandwich. By 1953, the Engelhard’s erected a stand on the front lawn of their home, with a sign that touted Bay Port’s Original Fresh Boneless Fried Fish Sandwich.
The first Fish Sandwich Festival was held in 1978, and just like Caseville’s 1st Rib stock held years later, they quickly sold out. Today the annual number of visitors averages over 10,000. Back in the late 1940’s folks told them they were crazy, but the Bay Port fishery certainly captivated them and, after all, the Bay Port slogan is “Fish caught the Man.”
The fish sandwich is the prime attraction. Local caught fresh water Mullet is dipped in a secret batter, fried crisp, and served on a long bun with ketchup 
and mustard. Although not traditional, tartar sauce is also available. According to Henry, the fish should overlap the bun and the sandwich should be so large “it takes two hands to hold it.” All day, the lines in front of the sandwich stand are long. It is not unusual to sell 12,500 sandwiches to people from as far away as Florida and the northeast.
Henry was the festival’s primary inspiration, energy, supporter, and promoter. He wrote many stories regaling the fish sandwiches’ power to please and to heal. Through his efforts, the festival has been featured on NBCs Today Show, ABCs 20/20, and in many national magazines and newspapers. In recognition of their contribution to the Fish Sandwich Festival, Henry and Edna (she died in 1992) were honored as “Mr. and Mrs. Bay Port.”
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Are the Bayport fish sandwiches still available after the festival has ended? I.e. all summer long?
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The Bay Port Inn has some great fish sandwiches on the menu. The festival sandwiches are extra special.
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My husband & I drove 50 miles to come to your festival, after standing in line a city block long, they told us they were out of fish, except for Mullett & a square block of dried out who knows what, I’m sure it was something from Gordon Foods, now we find out what you call Mullett is a bottom feeder (sucker), known to be heavy with mercury. We won’t be returning, we will stick our local,church fish fries, which is always delicious. What a disappointment your festival was.
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Ouch…that stings. We will pass it along to the Bay Port folks. The festival is on of the Thumbs oldest and serves kicks off the late summer line up of events in the Upper Thumb. The lines were long and they ran out of perch and walleye early Saturday. The events and vendors did seem a bit smaller then years past. However one mullet sandwich a is something you can point too and say “I did it.
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