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HOUGHTON LAKE – Tip-Up Town USA will celebrate 76 years of fun on the ice Jan. 24-25 and 31. And it has a new queen and court.
Ashley Neville of Houghton Lake was named 2026 TUT Queen. She was selected during the recent Taste of Houghton Lake Event at the Northern Center. Filling out the court will be TUT Mayor Ed “Jiggin’ Eddy Z” Zielinski of Houghton Lake. Mark “Music Man” Pacella of Prudenville was elected under the Poor People’s Party banner.
The event is renowned statewide for fun on the ice, whether it’s fishing, snowmobiling, or riding side-by-sides. On land, it offers carnival rides, kid’s events, ice slide, Polar Bear Dip Plunge, food, craft and clothing vendors and live music. The Houghton Lake Chamber of Commerce organizes the event.
Festivities originally started in 1951 and were simple. A community-driven “party on the ice,” it was a way to bring residents together and help break up the Winter.
According to local lore, area businesspeople wanted to “liven up the winter,” so a nationwide naming contest was held, and Tip-Up Town USA was selected.
This year there is plenty of ice. Some years not so much. Lyman Foster, former TUT promoter and owner of the bait and tackle shop that bears his name, once noted that “some seasons could see 13-15 inches of solid ice” on Houghton Lake.
In the winter of 1951-52, the region had a seasonal snowfall of 95 inches.
For a complete schedule of Tip Up Town events visit https://houghtonlakechamber.net, or call 989-366-5644.
