A parade to honor a disappearing fish

I'm a smelt person now! #smeltparade #springbreakduluth2018 #throwsmeltately

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Billions of years from now, another civilization will come to what remains of earth and its archaeologists will uncover evidence of the Duluth smelt parade and come up with some fascinating conclusions about the species that once inhabited the planet.

The smelt are running into the rivers — but only at night — around Lake Superior, making smelt both a noun and a verb.

There aren’t as many smelt as there once were, thanks to the increase in lake trout.

But people still come out for the annual parade — as they did on Sunday in Canal Park — because what’s more Minnesotan that dressing up and paying homage to tiny fish?