What do you get when you mix sunshine, water, moonlight, boating, music, food, and fun? The Saugatuck Venetian Fest.
The annual party on the water returns July 28 through 30 in Saugatuck and Douglas with a theme of “Green Venetian” to celebrate the towns’ summertime boating culture an promote environmental protection of its waterways.
Several local organizations will sponsor festivities, led by top-level “Fleet Sponsors” RB Marine Services, JARS Cannabis and grocer Lake Vista SuperValu.
The Saugatuck-Douglas Rotary Club is organizing and producing the event. All net proceeds will be used to set up a fund, managed by Rotary’s 501c3 foundation, to promote projects that enhance the environmental health of local waterways.
The Venetian Festival has been a mid-summer mainstay in Saugatuck and Douglas for at least seven decades. Last January, the Rotary Club was asked by Saugatuck City Council to assume leadership for the event’s operations after the previous organizer declined to continue.
“Venetian Fest is a relatively costly, complex event to produce,” said Mark Smaller, Rotary’s current club president. “It’s actually a three-day series of events under one large, very fun umbrella.
With the support of our terrific sponsors, we look forward to a memorable weekend,” Smaller said.
This year’s fun kicks off Friday, July 28, at Coghlin Park in Saugatuck from 5 to 11 p.m. with a dance party and concert headlined by StarFarm, one of Michigan’s most popular ‘80s cover bands.
The park will be transformed into an outdoor bistro and dance floor, with food trucks offering a variety of meals and a tented bar featuring beverages provided by New Holland Brewery and Modales Wines.
Discounted tickets and bar packages are available for pre-purchase on the festival’s website, saugatuckvenetianfest.com. The organizers are not accepting cash at the gate and encourage attendees to purchase tickets in advance to avoid long lines.
On Saturday, the perennial (and comical) dinghy poker run sets sail at noon from the Coghlin Park docks on a voyage for contestants to collect and win the best poker hand from five different locations along the waterways.
At twilight, a flotilla of illuminated and decorated flotilla and yachts will proceed upriver from “the cove” just east of the Saugatuck channel to take their places on the Lake Kalamazoo harbor for judging.
The grand finale begins at 10 p.m. with a 30-minute laser projection light show accompanied by popular music broadcast on an open FM channel provided by Laser Encore of Minneapolis.
Details of the festival can be found at the event’s website: saugatuckvenetianfest.com. Those interested in volunteering or sponsoring the event are encouraged to sign up on the website.
The Rotary Club is a Douglas-based 501c3 charitable organization and manages other local events, including the annual Mt. Baldhead Challenge. Billed as the “Ultimate Multi-Terrain Race,” that event welcomes 500 mostly out-of-town trail runners every September who compete across the area’s waterways, dune trails, and up Mt. Baldhead’s 302 stairs.
The Club directs its annual fundraising to three mission priorities for the Saugatuck-Douglas area: enhancing education; preserving the local environment; and promoting a healthy economy for all.