Beaver Bay outdoor sports expo returns, funds youth programs across North Shore

Eight years after it started, Beaver Bay’s Outdoor Sports Expo has become more than a spring gathering outside The Green Door. It has turned into a steady fundraiser that helps pay for youth sports, outdoor access and safety training across Lake County, with proceeds supporting programs in Silver Bay, Two Harbors and beyond.

The expo will run May 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot outside The Green Door, alongside the Historic Green Door Smelt Fry. Organizer Jesse Viola launched the event in 2018 after Beaver Bay Days ended, with the goal of keeping a community tradition alive while raising money for kids’ activities. What began as a small indoor event grew large enough to move outside under a tent, and it now draws donated gear, auction items, food, raffles and live music from businesses as far away as Two Harbors and Grand Marais.

The money has gone to the Silver Bay Junior Golf Program, the Two Harbors Junior Golf Program and the Silver Bay Clay Busters Trap Team. It also helps reimburse families for state fees tied to youth snowmobile, ATV and gun safety certifications, a practical expense that can keep some children from taking part in outdoor recreation at all. Viola has framed the expo’s purpose simply: get kids outside and active while supporting safe participation in those sports and activities.

That support has had visible results. Silver Bay junior golf restarted in 2021 with 21 participants and grew to nearly 60 the next year. In 2024, the program drew 19 kids to an end-of-season tournament and later had 36 at a scramble event, showing how a local fundraiser can ripple into actual participation on the course. Viola has also used expo proceeds to pay for junior golf t-shirts, prizes, treats and Powerade, the small costs that help youth programs feel welcoming and sustainable.

The expo’s place next to the smelt fry gives it extra weight in Beaver Bay. The Green Door tradition dates back to 1958, when the smelt fry began with the Beaver Bay Fire Department, ran annually until 1995 and was revived in 2022. Together, the fry and the expo now anchor a larger local economy of volunteers, businesses and youth programs, making the event feel less like a weekend attraction than a community institution worth protecting.