Dinner and an auction! All are welcome for this fun, family event!
Hunting on Madeline island has a long and rich history, going back generations. Dubbed “holy week” by the hunters, the tradition continues today with many deer camps returning to the Island each Fall season.
In November of 1986, islander Jack Nelson, a founding member of the Madeline Island Historical Preservation Association — MIHPA, and Lee Jensen Bujold, a third generation hunter, started the “Wild Game Feast” as a fundraiser for MIHPA and the winter Deer Feed Fund. It was a potluck event held at the Pub Restaurant and each camp brought a variety of wild game to share.
Over the years, the Feast has been held at the Pub, the Beach Club, the Bell Street Tavern and even once in St. John’s Church basement.
The fundraiser has been ramped up to include auction items and a “Hunter of the Year” award, given to a hunter from the Island one year, followed by a visiting hunter the next year. Each year a trophy, with name plaques of the honored hunters, resides on the Island and is displayed at the event, now called “The Hunters’ Feast”.
Today, the event no longer is a potluck, nor does it include wild game, but there is still a “feast” — a family friendly meal catered by The Beach Club restaurant!
