Record attendance expected for Edmund Fitzgerald memorial ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse
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Organizers of the annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota’s North Shore say next month’s event is now sold out — with record-breaking attendance expected on the 50th anniversary of the wreck.
The Minnesota Historical Society said Monday that it has sold 2,000 in-person tickets for the Nov. 10 beacon-lighting and commemoration ceremony.
The memorial observance at the historic lighthouse is held each Nov. 10, on the anniversary of the 1975 sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in a Lake Superior gale, with the loss of all 29 men aboard.
The late-afternoon event includes a reading of the names of the lost crew as a bell rings 29 times. After that, the bell is rung once more to remember all lost mariners. As daylight fades, the beacon of the lighthouse is illuminated, shining out over the dark and frigid waters of the lake.
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There’s heightened interest in the story of the Fitzgerald and its crews — as well as the Split Rock Lighthouse event — in this milestone anniversary year.
“With large crowds expected, those who have tickets are strongly encouraged to arrive early. Off-site parking with shuttle service to and from the lighthouse will be available for visitors,” the Minnesota Historical Society reported Monday.
For those who did not get tickets, there will once again be a livestream of the ceremony on the historical society website.
The Split Rock Lighthouse ceremony has been an annual tradition since 1985, the 10th anniversary of the wreck.
