Copper Country kids are stars of the community, and today families stopped by the Portage Lake District Library to help the city of Houghton brighten up the town this summer.
By painting new stars, the city will place around downtown, along the Portage Canal and inside parks as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration. The colorful decorations will serve as reminders of community creativity and patriotic spirit throughout the summer months.
Christy Howard and Shelby Hosking say the Portage Lake Library offers many engaging events that keep children entertained for hours while fostering creativity and community connections.
“There’s a lot of kids here. It’s a really fun activity to do and be around people. They always have something creative. They always have a theme. So they’ll tell a story about fish, and then we can make a fish. Or a story about the sea, or anything. And sometimes they’ll do along with a holiday. Which is really cool,” said Howard, of Houghton.
The star painting event helps celebrate America 250 in 2026, a special commemoration of the country’s founding that will have communities throughout the Upper Peninsula thinking of creative ways to show their pride.
“I think that’ll be really fun. I think the kids will be really excited to see things that they worked on, and participated with, out on display. I think they’ll enjoy sharing their creativity with others too,” said Hosking, of Lake Linden.
Those who missed painting a star can call the city center to find out if blank stars still need painting. The Houghton and PLDL star painting event runs from 10a to 7 pm on May 4th.
