The replica Mackinaw Boat Paul LaPlante is part of the Annual Rendezvous.The boat (built in conjunction with the North Shore Folk School) was named for Paul LaPlante who built Mackinaws and other wooden boats in the last quarter of the 19th Century at the mouth of Portage Creek . The hustle and bustle of summer activity peaked with the North West Company Rendezvous held here at Grand Portage. This was the time when furs from wintering posts, which reached into Canada, were delivered down the historic Grand Portage. The annual Rendezvous is still celebrated every year during the second weekend of August. The event is held in conjunction with the Rendezvous Days Pow Wow, sponsored by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe).
