Show off your blueberries!

 Cook County residents and visitors love blueberries. And the iconic berry is being celebrated this summer in the first-ever Biggest Blueberry Contest. Businesses along the Gunflint Trail kicked off the contest July 21. 
 
Blueberries will be measured by weight, and must be picked fresh and not store bought. The weekly contest will have three rounds, with prize drawings occurring on the last day of each round:
 
Friday, July 21 - Saturday July 29
Friday, July 28 - Saturday August 5
Friday, August 4 - Saturday August 12 

There will be a number of weigh stations on the Gunflint Trail. Berry pickers ca submit their biggest blueberry at Bearskin Lodge, Golden Eagle Lodge, Hungry Jack Outfitters, Rockwood Lodge, Tuscarora Lodge, Gunflint Lodge and Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center.
 
In addition to prizes for the biggest blueberry, all submissions will be entered to win randomly selected prize drawings. Prizes range from free canoe rentals to slices of blueberry pie.
 
According to folks in the know, blueberries in the Gunflint Trail area are just beginning to ripen. The berries tend to peak around late July or early August.
 
Wild blueberries are easy to identify, looking much like the grocery store variety, only smaller. The plants are woody shrubs, usually less than two feet tall and resemble miniature trees. They grow best in dry, well drained, rock soil with good sun and are often found in recent burn areas.
 
For more information on berry picking and the biggest blueberry contest, go to www.visitcookcounty.com/berry.