Arm your legs for the 24th annual Labor Day Blue Star Bridge Walk Monday, Sept. 5, gathering in Douglas at 9 a.m. and ambling north to Saugatuck at 9:30.
The not-so-grueling 0.19-kilometer (623-foot) stroll offers finisher’s certificates you can cherish for a lifetime on completion, friendship, a late summer group celebration and exercise.
Fun will again be organized by the Saugatuck Public Schools Community Recreation program in conjunction with the Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk and such strolls statewide.
The local event started in 1999 when Judy Anthrop and Bud Baty decided to do their own version of the Mackinaw Bridge Walk on the span linking the two cities.
Although on a much smaller scale, the Blue Star stroll has grown over the years to include thousands of walkers, local celebrities, politicians, musicians, Saugatuck Town Crier Art Tolsma, women in funny hats, costumes, lots of dogs, athletic teams and more.
Local humanitarians have staffed a refreshment stand/aid station on the middle of the bridge to rejuvenate walkers on their trek.
The Interurban will be on hand waiting to shuttle exhausted walkers back to their own vehicles.
Before and after the walk, SPS Community Recreation will sell limited edition t-shirts ($15) and stickers ($2) to help fund their Grant Rogers Burd Scholarship Fund for children to participate in community recreation programs.
For more information, call SPS Community Recreation at (269) 857-1444.