There will be a special 60th anniversary celebration for the Grand Haven Musical Fountain on Aug. 27.
A staple in the Grand Haven community for 60 years, this week the popular Mr. Sid’s Video Series will focusing on the Grand Haven Fountain.
Terry Stevens, the fountain engineer, will join the group to talk about the history of the largest musical fountain “of its kind” in the world and the particulars about its operation. The presentation is at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW.
Stevens is on the Musical Foundation Board and an instructor in the engineering department at Grand Valley State University.
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain is a synchronized display of water and lights. The fountain is located on Dewey Hill on the north shore of the Grand River, not far from where Grand River connects to Lake Michigan.
The fountain was the brainchild of Dr. William “Bill” Creason, longtime resident, dentist, and former Grand Haven mayor. The fountain was modeled after a Przystawic musical fountain show which Creason saw in Germany while providing density for the U.S. Navy after World War II.
Local engineer William Morris Booth designed the fountain which was building by volunteers in 1962. Over the years, the fountain’s program system has been upgraded several times. In 2017, the software was updated to take advantage of new lighting and water effects.
Upcoming Sid Lenger Vide Series programs are: Sid Lenger’s video of Switzerland on Sept. 21, and Lorna and Daniel Dobson lead a discussion on two of Rev. Ed Dobson’s video lessons “My Garden,” identity after losing a loved one, and “Ask Forgiveness” on Oct. 19.
All programs start with a 15-minute hymn sing at 1:45 p.m.
It is finally nice in West Michigan, which means lots of beach time, but as the recent scare this week at Grand Haven beach reminded many knowing how to handle a rip current is key to water safety.
Grand Haven State Park does not have lifeguards but does utilize a flag system to let beachgoers know conditions.
Under a new land use order that allows the Department of Natural Resources shutdown the Grand Haven State Park on Tuesday, June 21, after water conditions prompted several rescues. Under the new order, the DNR can prevent or fine a person who enters waters under their jurisdiction when certain conditions are present such as harmful bacteria, dangerous weather conditions or rough waves, as was such the case on June 21.
According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, there has been 46 possible great lakes drownings so far in 2022, of which 19 have been in Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is considered the deadliest lake of all the Great Lakes and one of the deadliest lakes in the United States due to the number of drownings.
One of the leading causes of those drownings are rip currents, channelized currents of water flowing away form shore at surf beaches.
To help raise awareness about rip currents, WKTV will be again airing the special “Respect the Power,” on June 28 at 9:30 a.m. and June 30 at 5 p.m. on Comcast Channel 25.
If caught in a rip current, relax and don’t swim against the current. Rip currents do not pull people under the water.
The video was produced by the Great Lakes Beach & Pier Safety Task Force and was created in memory of Andrew Burton Fox and Daniel Reiss, both who were swept off the Grand Haven pier and drowned in Lake Michigan.
According to Grand Haven officials, rip currents and powerful breaking waves are common in the area of the pier. But education, including recognizing what a riptide looks like and what to do if you are caught in one, can increase the chances of a happy outcome.
From the “Respect the Power” website, it states that the Great Lakes are better understood as inland seas rather than lakes. Storms, not the lakes, can easily generate waves up to 30 feet in the most sever weather. However, even smaller waves can be dangerous.
When waves break, water is pushed up the slope of the shore. Gravity pulls this water back toward the lake. When the water converges in a narrow, river-like current moving away from the shore, it forms what is know as a rip current. Rip currents can be 50 feet to 50 yards or more wide. They can flow to a point just past the breaking waves or hundreds of yards offshore. You can sometimes identify a rip current by its foamy and choppy surface. The water in a rip current may be dirty from the sand being turned up by the current. The water may be colder than the surrounding water. Waves usually do not break as readily in a rip current as in adjacent water.
Moving at one to two feet a second, sometimes up to eight feet which is faster than any Olympic swimmer, a rip current can sweep even the strongest swimmer away from the shore.
According to both the “Respect the Power” and the National Weather Service websites, if caught in a rip current, try to relax. A rip current is not an “undertow” and will not pull you under. Do not try to swim against the current as this is very difficult, even for an experience swimmer. If you can, swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current, then swim directly toward shore. If you are tired, tread water and float and call and wave for assistance. The current will carry you to the end or head of the current, where once rested you can swim back to shore.
Some other water safety tips:
1. Learn to swim.
2. Check with a lifeguard or with the park’s current conditions board before entering water.
3. Never swim alone.
4. Never dive headfirst into unknown waters or shallow breaking waves.
5. Piers are navigational structures and not designed as walkways, proceed at your own risk.
6. Do not jump or dive off pier structures.
7. Avoid piers when waves begin to spill over the pier surface.
8. To avoid rip currents, avoid swimming in areas that are discolored with sand and has a choppy or foamy surface.
9. If caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore (about 30-50 yards) to get out of the rip current before swimming to shore.
10. Protect yourself from the sun. Use sun screen.
Grand Haven Musical Fountain has daily shows at dusk throughout the summer.
On Thursday June 23, the Grand Haven Musical Fountain Committee with the Friends of the Musical Fountain, Inc. will host the unveiling of a commemorative work honoring the 60-year history of Musical Fountain operations
The work was created by Chris LaPorte, a Grand Rapids based artist and 2010 winner of ArtPrize. As part of the Musical Fountain’s 60th anniversary fundraising efforts, prints and posters in varying sizes and formats will be on sale after the unveiling event (www.ghfountain.org/art).
“The Grand Haven Musical Fountain has been a summer spectacle destination for generations now. So many people have shared their family memories of enjoying the nightly show since I began the drawing, LaPorte said. “The Fountain itself is awesome. And, what the Fountain does and continues to do for the community is also amazing. Capturing the mutual experience of the community over decades is part of what I’m trying to capture with this drawing.”
A copy of the original work along with other artifacts from the Musical Fountain’s 60-year history will be on display in the Tri-Cities Museum window at 200 Washington Ave. in Grand Haven through August. Because of limited space, parties interested in attending the unveiling should contact the Musical Fountain Committee at info@ghfountain.org.
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain is beloved landmark of the City of Grand Haven that presents a creatively synchronized combination of lights and water with popular musical selections. Free nightly shows occur at dusk from Memorial Day to Labor Day with weekend shows in May and September (www.ghfountain.org/showtimes). Fountain operations and maintenance are a joint effort of the City of Grand Haven and an all-volunteer Musical Fountain Committee.
The Friends of the Musical Fountain, Inc. is a newly formed non-profit organization [501 (c)(3)] committed to creating sustainable funding for the maintenance and future enhancements to the Fountain (www.ghfountain.org/friends).
A free 60th Anniversary celebration is being held on Aug. 27 at the Lynne Sherwood Stadium and will include the debut of another water feature enhancement to the Fountain (www.ghfountain.org/60years)!
Starting this Friday, Oct. 22, Grand Haven Main Street and the City of Grand Haven will open a brand new Social District to the public.
The district will span down Washington Avenue from Harbor Drive to Third Street and down the side streets of First and Second Street. Current plans for Grand Haven Main Street’s Social District covers these six blocks in beautiful downtown Grand Haven. While inside the district, visitors are able to enjoy an alcoholic beverage from approved vendors utilizing authorized cups with the business logo or name and the Grand Haven Main Street Social District.
Currently approved venues that are able to serve in the Social District include Odd Side Ales, Grand Armory Brewing, 12 Corners Tasting Room, and The Kirby House.
“We are looking very forward to opening the Social District in Grand Haven this Friday,” said Grand Haven Main Street Executive Director Jeremy Swiftney. “This has been a work in progress for many months, and we are very thankful for our volunteers, the City of Grand Haven, and its City Council for believing in the safety and feasibility of this planned district. Economic vitality and recovery from the pandemic are very important to our community and to Grand Haven Main Street. This is just one more example of our business community, advocates, local leaders, and local residents all working together to assist in achieving these results for our Main Street businesses.”
As more venues receive approval from the State of Michigan, we will continue to open the district up to their business as well. Currently approved by Grand Haven City Council, and awaiting state approval, are Long Road Distillery, Anna’s House, The Grand, The Eagles, Portobello Restaurant, Tip-A-Few, and Tip-Two. For more information about Grand Haven Main Street and the Social District, please contact us at 616-844-1188 or visit www.downtowngh.com for more information.
Grand Haven Main Street invites the community to Build a Snowman on Main Street! Snowmen on Main Street is a new event created by Grand Haven Main Street’s promotions committee that showcases the talents of Snowman building at its finest throughout the Main Street District.
Snowmen on Main Street is a new community contest that allows you to express your snowman making talents without using snow (they do have a snowmelt system, after all)! You may enter individually or as a team. Your snowman can be made out of any type of material, though it will be displayed outside, so use weather resistant materials where possible. Your snowman can be 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional. What you create is up to you. Each snowman that is delivered to Grand Haven Main Street on February 10 will be attached to the light posts up & down Washington Avenue (Harbor to Beacon) and along 7th (Washington to Beacon).
“We are ecstatic to be welcoming a new winter event in 2021, Snowmen on Main. Community driven events like these are what bonds our local communities together and drives our Main Street businesses forward,” Grand Haven Main Street Executive Director Jeremy Swiftney stated. “Grab your materials, you and your team, get creative, and stop by to enjoy the historic main street district as the year round destination our community needs.”
The competition will begin on Saturday, Feb. 13, and run through Saturday, Feb. 20. The community is invited to come to Grand Haven Main Street throughout the week and vote for their favorite snowman.
There will be a first place Juried Award and a first place People’s Choice Award – each will win a trophy and bragging rights.
Grand Haven Main Street presents Snowmen on Main Street so…
– Choose your team
– Pick up, complete & return the registration form* by Feb. 1
– Create your vision
– Build your snowman
– Deliver your snowman to GHMS no later than 2/10 (519 Washington Avenue 9am—12noon)
On Saturday, Feb. 22, from 2 to 4 p.m., the businesses of Grand Haven Main Street will be showcasing their favorite Nursery Rhymes during the tenth annual Frozen in Time. Frozen in Time is a window display competition, complete with live mannequins and an Oscar-style awards ceremony.
Many Main Street businesses will be participating, and each one will feature live, “frozen” mannequins depicting a scene from a favorite nursery rhyme. Three honorary judges will be choosing a “Jurors’ Choice” Award, and the public is invited to wander throughout the district, matching the nursery rhymes with the corresponding storefront on a special scorecard, and cast their vote for the “People’s Choice” Award.
The official Frozen in Time zone encompasses businesses along Washington Avenue from Harbor Drive to Beacon Blvd and 7th Street between Washington and Madison. Scorecards are available at all participating businesses.
Frozen in Time will end promptly at 4 p.m., followed by a special awards ceremony at 4:30 p.m. at the Tri-Cities Historical Museum, 200 Washington Avenue. The Jurors’ Choice and People’s Choice awards will be announced. The public is invited to come and meet the live mannequins and bring their completed scorecards to be entered into a drawing for cash and door prizes donated by sponsoring Main Street businesses. (You must be present to win.)
For more information about this event, visit downtownGH.com or follow us on Facebook at Grand Haven Main Street.
Grand Haven native Erin McCahan presents her critically acclaimed young adult novel ‘The Lake Effect’ Tuesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. at Schuler Books & Music, 2660 28th St. SW.
A funny, bracing, poignant young adult romance and coming-of-age for fans of Huntley Fitzpatrick, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and The Beginning of Everything.
When eighteen-year-old Briggs Henry decides to work for an eighty-four-year-old widow at her house on Lake Michigan the summer before college, he assumes he’ll take her to doctor appointments and help her with house work. Wrong. Briggs tries to leave behind his family and school troubles for a relaxing summer on the lake and instead encounters an eccentric elderly woman, tight-knit locals, and an enigmatic girl all of which gives a new meaning to “lake effect.”
McCahan grew up on the beaches of Grand Haven and Macatawa. Now a resident of landlocked New Albany, Ohio, she and her husband return every summer to North Beach in South Have, not he shores of Lake Michigan.
With Lake Michigan only being about an hour away, it is easy during a hot summer day to pack up the family and head to the beach to enjoy the sand and waves.
Those waves also contribute to Lake Michigan being the deadliest of the Great Lakes. In fact, Grand Haven has one of the highest current related incidents, 109 from 2002 to the present according to the National Weather Service. Of those incidents, eight have resulted in deaths.
The major cause of those incidents have been rip currents. To help increase awareness about riptides the National Weather Service has designated the first week in June as National Rip Current Awareness Week. In honor of that, WKTV will air “Respect the Power,” on Channel 25 June 5 at 9:30 a.m.; June 6 at 6:30 p.m.; June 7 at 11:30 a.m. and June 9 at 7:30 p.m.
The video was produced by the Great Lakes Beach & Pier Safety Task Force and was created in memory of Andrew Burton Fox and Daniel Reiss, both who were swept off the Grand Haven pier and drowned in Lake Michigan.
According to Grand Haven officials, rip currents and powerful breaking waves are common in the area of the pier. But education, including recognizing what a riptide looks like and what to do if you are caught in one, can increase the chances of a happy outcome.
From the “Respect the Power” website, it states that the Great Lakes are better understood as inland seas rather than lakes. Storms not he lakes can easily generate waves up to 30 feet in the most sever storms. However, even smaller waves can be dangerous.
When waves break, water is pushed up the slope of the shore. Gravity pulls this water back toward the lake. When the water converges in a narrow, river-like current moving away from the shore, it forms what is know as a rip current. Rip currents can be 50 feet to 50 yards or more wide. They can flow to a point just past the breaking waves or hundreds of yards offshore. You can sometimes identify a rip current by its foamy and choppy surface. The water in a rip current may be dirty from the sand being turned up by the current. The water may be colder than the surrounding water. Waves usually do not break as readily in a rip current as in adjacent water.
According to both the “Respect the Power” and the National Weather Service websites, if caught in a rip current, try to relax. A rip current is not an “undertow” and will not pull you under. Do not try to swim against the current as this is very difficult, even for an experience swimmer. If you can, swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current, then swim directly toward shore. If you are tired, tread water and float and call and wave for assistance. The current will carry you to the end or head of the current, where once rested you can swim back to shore.
Some other water safety tips:
1. Learn to swim.
2. Check with a lifeguard or with the park’s current conditions board before entering water.
3. Never swim alone.
4. Never dive headfirst into unknown waters or shallow breaking waves.
5. Piers are navigational structures and not designed as walkways, proceed at your own risk.
6. Do not jump or dive off pier structures.
7. Avoid piers when waves begin to spill over the pier surface.
8. To avoid rip currents, avoid swimming in areas that are discolored with sand and has a choppy or foamy surface.
9. If caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore (about 30-50 yards) to get out of the rip current before swimming to shore.
10. Protect yourself from the sun. Use sun screen.
Hard to believe, but Memorial Day is fast approaching. Here are a few fun things the whole family can enjoy!
The Grand Rapids Treetop Adventure Park has extended hours over Memorial Day weekend. If you want to pick up discounted tickets for the holiday weekend, stop in on May 20th for their May Kick-Off Event where tickets for shortened climb times and zip rides will be discounted, along with other giveaways and special offers. Spend the long weekend with family and friends among the trees.
The Grand Haven Area kicks off summer and celebrates Memorial Day weekend with a big summer run! There is something for everyone from the avid racer to the occasional walker, with their certified 5K Run, the 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk, and the Tot Trot obstacle course for ages 3 to 6. All ages are welcome to participate, so bring your mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa. Join your community for this annual family event to promote healthy lifestyles in the Tri-Cities area.
Inside USS Silversides
The Muskegon area has events throughout Memorial Day weekend for everybody. The Fruitport Old Fashioned Days is May 24th to 29th, and features fireworks, a carnival, community picnic, parade, Lions Ox Roast, a 5K Run, and more. Celebrating 30 years, the Lost Boat Ceremony on May 28th at the USS Silversides Museum is both a solemn and joyful celebration designed to honor the loss of 52 U.S. submarines and 3600 submariners during World War II. The 12th Annual Blessing of the Boats is the same day, with boats of all types gathering on Muskegon Lake near the Milwaukee Clipper for a parade of boats. Also May 28th is the Final Approach Memorial Program located at Old Grand Haven Road and Seaway Drive. May 29th brings a parade and American Salute Concert. Spend the morning watching seven bands and over 40 marching units highlighting patriotism and citizenship. After the parade, head over to the Frauenthal Theater for additional musical selections at this free performance. Muskegon celebrates Memorial Day in style and great quantity, so make sure to carve some time out of your calendar to experience it!
Join the Muskegon KOA Campground for an enjoyable holiday camping weekend. They require a three-night minimum stay for Holidays/Special Events, but it’s well worth your time. Stay from May 26th to 29th and enjoy an immersive outdoor experience. They have tent sites, a limited number of cabins, and a few 30 amp full service sites still available, but they’re going fast. Give them a call to book your stay today!
In celebration of Memorial Day, Mecosta County is home to the 4th Annual Memorial Weekend “4 Veterans Car and Craft Show” on Saturday, May 27th. There will be 32 awards including best of show, best car, best truck, best muscle car, best motorcycle, and many more! Other activities will include a craft show, door prizes, 50/50 drawings, and plenty of music. All proceeds will benefit local Amvets post 1941.
Alma, Michigan, is better known as Scotland, USA, over Memorial Day weekend each year as thousands of people gather together to celebrate the Alma Highland Festival and Games. The event is celebrating 50 years this Memorial Day weekend when they take over Alma on May 27th and 28th. This event has grown to become one of the largest, most prestigious attractions of its kind in the Midwest!
