Celebrating National Rum Day in the Blue Water Area

Made from a byproduct of molasses production or directly from sugar cane juice, precursors to rum date back to antiquity. In the 17th century distillation of these byproducts concentrated the alcohol and removed impurities, producing the first true rums.

Rum first made its way to the United States in colonial times and has been a staple in cocktails ever since. It even has a day dedicated to it. That day is today, August 16th.

In celebration of the day, we asked one of the Blue Water Area's favorite mixologists, Bob Nickerson
from Casey's in Port Huron to mix up one of his favorite rum drinks, The Cobra's Fang.

According to cocktail history books, the Cobra’s Fang was one of Don the Beachcomber’s original go-to recipes. Opened in the early 1930's in Hollywood, California, Don The Beachcomber's is considered the world's first tiki bar, predating the huge popularity of such places in the late 40's through the early 60's by more than a decade.

Though their original locations are long gone, the drinks they invented and inspired are still popular today.

If you can't celebrate National Rum Day today, don't fret. Many of the drinks done in the style are featured at Casey's during Rumba Thursday through Rockin' The Rivers this month so you still have time to enjoy a tropical and flavorful drinks served up in colorful and fun glasses in a breezy and lively setting before autumn arrives.

Casey's is located at 628 Huron Ave in Downtown Port Huron.

3 Spots To Visit On A Family Trip In Michigan's Thumb

On a work-related tour around Michigan’s thumb, I was reminded how important it is to “be a tourist in your own town” on occasion. Every day I promote our beautiful blue shores as a getaway for people in the Detroit area or hailing from west Michigan and beyond. But I forget it’s a great day-cation spot for me and my family, too. Here are three great points of interest that I’ll hit up again with family in tow.

1) Port Austin Farmer’s Market, Port Austin, Michigan
Port Austin is abuzz on Saturday mornings Memorial Day thru mid-October.  Cute downtown shops and diners are a draw; however the biggest culprit is the farmer’s market.  Over 150 vendors display their goods ranging from fresh produce to handcrafted items. 

Freshly plucked berries, peaches, tomatoes and yellow peppers pour from baskets and leafy greens splay across checkered table cloths along with all the colored vegetables that you know you should be eating.  Homemade honey, jellies, baked goods as well as antiques, refurbished furniture, metal art, wooden signs and more are yours to peruse in this happy market. 

After shopping, grab a bite downtown, or walk the couple blocks to the shore of Lake Huron to enjoy the beach, lake breeze and gorgeous view.

2) Port Crescent State Park’s Dark Sky Preserve, Port Austin, Michigan
Port Crescent State Park is a designated Dark Sky Preserve.  This means artificial light is reduced or eliminated so the night sky is visible in all its glory, without the distortion that artificial light evokes.  Though I was there in the middle of the day, it was easy to see why this area is an excellent environment to view star constellations, meteor showers or the northern lights. 

Night sky enthusiasts can choose anywhere in the park to look up, however there’s one spot in particular that suits a star gazer.  The observation deck, also known as the Hawk Watch, sits slightly elevated over an area of natural trees, brush and sandy grassland.  Enclosed with a wooden guardrail, and several benches to lean back on, the deck is an ideal setting.   A wonderful and logical addition to the deck is a night sky guide that points out the constellations and their names. 

The deck is also a great spot to view hawks and other birds of prey during the day time, since it is on a migratory route.   

3) Harbor Beach Lighthouse Tour, Harbor Beach, Michigan
The Harbor Beach Lighthouse is anchored in stone at the end of a rocky break wall.  So how do you get to it?  By boat, of course!  The taxi boat picks up at the marina and takes passengers on a quick ride to the lighthouse.  From there, the Preservation Society tour guides tell the tales of life on the lake and about the many ships that have needed to take refuge in the harbor. 

Visitors will get a glimpse of the duties of a devoted light-keeper.  Most guests are surprised and happy to see that it is not one long spiral staircase to the top, but six decks (rooms) inside the tower, so catch a breath between flights of stairs.

I will warn you though, the 360 degree view from the top is breathtaking! 

Tours fill up fast, so early reservations are suggested.     

Whether you are from our Blue Water Region or somewhere beyond, explore and enjoy 140 miles of shoreline and all that there is in between. Discover the Blue Water Area at our website. 

Festivities On The Sand

The Blue Water Area has two big beach parties happening this week. Both of them serve up a unique kind of fun that only the eastern shores of Michigan can offer.

Now in it's 5th year The Blue Water SandFest is Michigan's first and only Master sand sculpting and Advanced Amateur competition/festival. For 3 days the grounds of the Fort Gratiot Light Station will see extraordinary sculptures crafted from sand and water that will dazzle and impress visitors to the site.

Photo by Dale Merrill

Voted one of the 10 Best festivals of its sort by USA Today, the Blue Water Sand Fest is much more than just checking out the impressive works of art.

Photo by Dale Merrill

There will be an eclectric array of live music through out the weekend, a Quick Sand Speed Sculpting Show, hands on sculpting lessons, tours of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse and much more.

Photo by Dale Merrill

The Blue Water Sandfest runs July 14th-16th in Port Huron.

Discover all the things to do in the Blue at our events page.

The Beach Life is the Best Life -- It's Maritime

The Harbor Beach Maritime Festival starts this coming Thursday, July 6th and runs through Sunday. We knew just the guy to get talk to for all the details. Welcome guest blogger Clark Ramsey.

Right on the heels of America’s biggest block party comes the best beach party on Lake Huron. The Harbor Beach Maritime Festival takes place the weekend after the Independence Day festivities in the small town nestled along the shores of Lake Huron in Michigan’s Thumb. It’s four days filled with music, sand, water and sun – combined with some of the friendliest and welcoming people in all of the Great Lakes State.

The Maritime Festival is most known for its open-door policy: concerts on the beach with no cover charge. That’s right, you heard me right, no cover charge! This is not a limited time offer (although operators are standing by) and has been that way since the festival began in 2001. What began as a celebration to commemorate the transfer of ownership of the Harbor Beach Lighthouse from the federal government to the City of Harbor Beach, it has now turned into a city-wide party with some of the biggest talent in the Midwest.

This year’s festival features 13 different music acts on two separate stages. The Hooligans kick off the music Thursday night during the self-proclaimed “largest bocce tournament this side of the Mason Dixon Line.” Whether that is considered Fake News or not, it doesn’t change the fact that there are 64 four-person bocce teams playing on 20 courts just feet from a Great Lake.

Friday pushes the Maritime Festival into full gear with both music stages underway, the weekly Farmer’s Market on the Murphy lawn, a 64-team corn-hole tournament (this is the Midwest after all…) with the party going all the way until Midnight. Imagine yourself on a beautiful sandy beach, enjoying a cold beverage (that you brought yourself and didn’t have to purchase on site), listening to some excellent live music, conversing with friends, admiring the World’s Greatest Man-Made Harbor, the Harbor Beach Lighthouse and suddenly Mother Nature reveals a massive constellation and star galaxy right above your head. ALL OF THIS COULD BE YOURS IF…. you’re in Harbor Beach July 6^th through the 9^th (the author of this post is a game show host…). It truly is a remarkable sight and every band that has performed at Maritime over the 17-year history says the same thing “this is truly the best place we have ever played.”

If you didn’t have too much fun Friday night, you can join the 300+ runners and walkers for the Harbor Beach Community Hospital 5k. Considered one of the most beautiful courses in the state, it begins beach-side and follows the shoreline on the Harbor View Trail (paved) all the way to the Marina, onto the break-wall and back to the beach for the final push. If a Great Lake can’t motivate you to run faster, nothing will (that’s my excuse at least).

Shortly after, the H&R Block Jet Ski Invitational gets underway on the same course the professionals used to race on; and if you really feel like putting your body through the ringer, sign your team up for the beach volleyball tournament, beginning at 10am. Music begins at 1pm and officially starts the all-day beach party. The beach and water is open to the public and be sure to take advantage of our hidden gem. A small village of inflatables is available for everyone to enjoy (free of charge) and the Harbor Beach Conservation Club display is next door.

At 1pm the fast-paced world that we live in comes to a screeching halt as the world-famous Maritime Festival Frog-Jumping Contest begins. Imagine living in the time of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer while watching contestants get their favorite amphibian to jump the furthest (collective length after three jumps). This event is definitely a crowd favorite. Due to eligibility issues of some of the international competitors, the hot dog eating contest is taking a one-year sabbatical (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it – actually the host has a wedding out of town…).

All the while on Saturday, music continues to fill the light offshore breeze from the stage underneath the tent and the mainstage, featuring our freshly-completed mobile stage. This has been three years in the making and gives Harbor Beach the ability to have a pop-up concert, whenever and wherever we so choose. It is definitely an added benefit to the community.

The music acts continue into the night and keep getting better, leading up to the best fireworks in the state of Michigan…after the 4^th of July. But for real, as David Letterman used to say “call the dog, wake the children, call your neighbor, because this is an extravaganza you don’t want to miss!” A spectacular spectacle of American Patriotism lights up the summer sky over the harbor just after dusk (typically 10:15pm). Any spot from the beach or water is a great way to view the 25-minute fireworks show. Immediately after the last shell, Brett Mitchell and the Giant Ghost retakes the stage and rocks out until the cows come home (actually much later than that).

Sunday brings a wrap to the festival with an ecumenical service in the morning, a fish fry, car show, dueling pianos and the community big money cash raffle. It truly takes an army to make this festival happen and we are extremely grateful for those who make it a reality. It is an expensive venture, but is made possible by very generous businesses and sponsors so that the Maritime Festival can remain a free and fun event for all to enjoy.

So tell your friends, clear your calendar and turn your iPhones to “Do Not Disturb” because everything is happening down at the beach, in Harbor Beach.

For more information and to register for events, go to www.TheMaritimeFestival.com

Harbor Beach: Life’s at ease, with an offshore breeze!

Clark Ramsey is a former Chairman of the Harbor Beach Maritime Festival and remains on the festival committee presently. He was born and raised in Harbor Beach and chose to make it his home after graduating from Michigan State University in 2011. Clark is the vice-chair of the Harbor Beach Parks & Recreation Commission, sits on the Harbor Beach Planning Commission and hosts various events throughout the area – most notably, The Harbor Beach Gameshow Series which takes place every Mother’s Day weekend at the Harbor Beach Community Theatre. It is his goal in life to spread the gospel of the great things Harbor Beach has to offer, and bring Harbor Beach up in conversation as much as possible (eight times in this profile alone). His day job is the Director of Marketing at Scheurer Hospital, while moonlighting at his own production company, Clark Ramsey Productions; sports broadcasting with The WLEW Sports Network, and is the founder of a non-existent business, The Clark Ramsey Manor. He enjoys boating, porch-sitting, tennis, Spartan Athletics, reading books, candle-lit dinners, long walks on the beach and complaining about the weather.

Urchins Of The Thumb: Mountain Babies Play Port Austin's Porch Fest This Saturday

This weekend, people on porches across the village of Port Austin will extend more than just their always friendly waves and warm greetings.

Now in its second year, the Porch Fest welcomes musicians from all around the region to come and play songs in the porches, yards and gazebos of Port Austin residents. Featuring 30 different acts this year, the casual gathering gives visitors a chance to hear a wide variety of music, take a stroll, maybe grab a bite to eat and check out the beauty that the tip of Michigan's Thumb has to offer.

One of the groups returning to play the festival this year is Mountain Babies. Though the band is Port Huron based these days, their shepherd Dave Peters has a lot of ties to Port Austin. We had a little chat with him about what area means to him.

The region has had an lasting effect on Dave and served a lot of the inspiration and subjects on their 2015 album The Cottage, The Creek & The Spirit.

That thread of exaltation still runs through their music on their latest release Existence Of Resistance. Sometimes, it's obvious with song titles such as "Pine Cones & Grindstones" but also is in mood in general as songs such as the arcadian feel of songs such as "The Temple."



It's like one can practically see the stars twinkle in the clear night sky and smell the smoke of a bonfire while the song plays.

Port Austin's Porch Fest runs from 1 to 5 pm this Saturday, June 23rd. Mountain Babies play at 4 pm at 111 W. Spring St. To find out more and to see a full schedule of all the acts playing check out Porch Fest's website.