Homemade canoe returns to Fur Traders Rendezvous at the ND State Fair

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – One of the highlights of every North Dakota State Fair is the Fur Traders Rendezvous.

A familiar face returned this year, along with a canoe he made at the fair several years ago.

The rendezvous brings fairgoers back to the time of the fur traders.

Those who take part in the rendezvous live, and even sleep, on the grounds for the duration of the fair.

Jeremy Duckwitz, who is referred to as the ‘brain tanner,’ said he carved a canoe out of a giant log back in 2016.

He said it took him all nine days of the fair, working eight hours a day to carve it.

He brought the canoe back to the fair this year to seal the cracks with his team and have it on display.

“This year I got around to sealing all the cracks with beeswax. There was a larger crack we sealed with pine pitch and wood shavings, and then the rest of it’s all linseed oil so it’s all ready to float down the Missouri River,” said Duckwitz.

Duckwitz said he plans on taking the canoe out on the river in the coming weeks.

The rendezvous is across from the state fair center on the north end of the grounds.

They’ll be open through Saturday.

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