Celebrate International Dark Sky Week at Port Crescent State Park

In celebration of International Dark Sky Week 2017, April 22-28, twenty-two Michigan State parks will stay open later than usual to welcome stargazers to bring a blanket, relax and enjoy the night sky. One of the places will be Port Crescent State Park in Port Austin.

Named a dark sky preserve in 2012, Port Crescent State Park is just the eighth dark sky preserve in the nation and third in the state.

Held during the week of April's New Moon, International Dark Sky Week was started by a high school student named Jennifer Barlow in 2003 with goals to encourage light users to take precautions against outdoor light pollution.

Light pollution has been said to have adverse effects on nocturnal animals, human circadian rhythm and sleep patterns, growth patterns of plants and trees and an overuse of energy resources.

Port Crescent State Park provides a place for stargazers to get an unobstructed view of beautiful, naturally-dark skies as well as bringing awareness to the concerns of light pollution. For more info on the park give them a call at 989-738-8663 or visit them on the web here.

TBT: A Port Sanilac Beach in the 1930s

Photo via of Don "The UpNorth Memories Guy" Harrison's Flickr page.

For this Throwback Thursday a family checks out the sand and shore of what was a new public beach area in Port Sanilac in the 1930's.

What are some of your favorite summer time beach memories of the Blue Water Area?

Sperry's Moviehouse Ribbon Cutting

Many people from the community gathered in downtown Port Huron yesterday for the official ribbon cutting ceremony of the Sperry's Moviehouse.

The building, which once housed the department store Sperry’s, was a retail anchor downtown for over 100 years. It sat vacant for over a decade until developer Chuck Reid saw the potential in the downtown structure.

The three story building is now home to 12 individual theaters with seating from 27 to 44 seats as well as a restaurant on the 2nd floor.

Read a timeline of the Sperry's building here.

Find out more about the Sperry's Moviehouse at their 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!

Tell The Best Legend and Be Declared the Laureate

Do you have a way with words? Are you keen on making a twist of phrase or making a simple story sound much more lyrical? If so, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be declared the poet laureate of a city?

With a new year underway, St. Clair is looking for someone to bestow such an honor upon. On Wednesday, January 25th, men and women will take the floor at LaCroix's Riverside Pub and compete for the title at the 2017 Bootlegger Balladeer & Poet Laureate Contest. Both poets and songwriters will compete on who can write the best song or poem for this year's legend, The Mystery of the Cadillac Bear, from Chuck Homberg’s book ST. CLAIR, MICHIGAN.

Both the winner of the poetry and songwriting contests will be invited to the St. Clair City Council meeting on February 20th where the mayor will proclaim them with their title of St. Clair's Poet Laureate and Bootleg Balladeer.

The contest is open to all amateur and professional songwriters and registration for the event up to the day of the event. Read the legend and find the contest rules and entry form here.