First Week Of August Happenings In The Blue Water Area

August is almost upon us. Don’t worry though, there’s still plenty of summer left and the Blue Water Area has a lot of events going on.

Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. This weekend, the 4th annual Michigan Lighthouse Festival will be celebrating those in the ThumbCoast. Things kick off this Friday at the Fort Gratiot Light Station in Port Huronwith barbecue buffet dinner, entertainment from Empty Canvas and more. Over the weekend, lighthouse aficionados will be taking tours of the lighthouses in Harbor Beach, Pointe Aux Barques and Port Austin. Visit the Michigan Lighthouse Festival website for all the details.

The boogie is going to be full effect this weekend along the lakeshore. The Port Sanilac Blues Festival kicks off at 2pm on Friday with food vendors and a beer tent and runs through Saturday evening. 

It's a battle of the Blue and the Grey in Port Sanilac this weekend too. Check out Civil War Days at the Sanilac County Historical Museum and Village on Saturday & Sunday for battles and skirmishes, an artillery demonstration, fashion show and more.

Promising a fantastic atmosphere with a wide variety of two dimensional and 3-D professional artists, the Lexington Fine Arts Street Fair will provide spectacular music, tasty food vendors and raffles. It runs this Saturday and Sunday.

Starting on Friday and running through Sunday, Marine City's Maritime Days features live music, a lighted boat parade, a sidewalk chart art contest food and a whole lot more! It starts on Friday and runs through Sunday. Find out more at www.maritimedays.net.

Other events this week include Rockin' The Rivers at Port Huron's Keifer Park on Thursday. Saturday finds St. Clair having a Mardi Gras Party and the Bi-Yak-A-Thon in going on in Harbor Beach.

Looking towards next weekend, the Yard Sale Trail is happening.

Find many things to do and see around the Blue Water Area at our events page.

Take A Night Time Climb of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse in Port Huron

Photo by Dale Merrill

The Christmas Candlelight Tours of the Lighthouse at the Fort Gratiot Light Station have become a holiday tradition in the Blue Water Area in just a few short years.

Though tours of the site are available in the warmer months during the daylight hours, these Christmas season night tours give visitors to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse a unique, evening view from of the Blue Water Bridge, Lake Huron and the St. Clair River and everything else for as far as the eye can see

Your tour starts with the walkways leading up to Michigan's oldest lighthouse illuminated by many candles. The lighthouse itself is dressed up in twinkling finery with red lights wrapped around observation deck railings at the top and strings of white lights cascading down the sides of the tower. It's quite a sight.

As you climb the 94 cast iron steps of the 84 foot structure, a tour guide will give you bits of history and trivia about the lighthouse. They're well versed in their knowledge of the building and Great Lakes lore so don't hesitate to ask them any questions. Don't forget to bring your camera too because the view at the top is always something to behold and keep a memory of.

The Candlelight Tours of the Fort Gratiot Light Station will be held each Saturday evening from 5-8pm through December 16th. Find out more at the Port Huron Museum's website.

Ten Fun Facts For Michigan's 180th Birthday

Anybody have 180 candles handy? Michigan became the 26th state of the union on this day, January 26th, in 1837. To celebrate here's ten facts about the Mitten State.

• You can stand anywhere in Michigan and never be more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes.
• At 6 quadrillion gallons, Michigan's Great Lakes account for one-fifth of the freshwater surface on the entire planet.
• Because Michigan has so much fresh water it is destination for fishermen and watercraft enthusiasts from around the world and ranks first in state boat registrations in the country.
• Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world. 
• The only state that has more shoreline than Michigan is Alaska.
• The Blue Water Area, from Algonac and Harsens Island to the south to the tip of the Thumb in Port Austin in the north is over 140 miles of shoreline.

Fort Gratiot Light Station
photo by Dale Merrill

• Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights.  
• The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse in Port Huron is the oldest light still in active service on the Great Lakes. 

 

• Michigan's motto is the Latin phrase "Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice." It means "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."  
• The word Latin "Tuebor," in the shield means "I will defend" which refers to Michigan's frontier position and spirit. 
• The shield itself held by two animals of noble prominence: the elk on the left and the moose on the right.  

Happy Birthday Michigan!