USCGC Mackinaw at the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

USCGC Mackinaw

USCGC Mackinaw, photo by loomisman.

The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival (July 29 – August 7, 2011) has been held every year in Grand Haven. It features a parade of ships and a couple street parades, music, carnival, fireworks and all kinds of events and exhibits about the history of the United States Coast Guard. They explain:

The festival unofficially began in 1924 as a Coast Guard personnel only picnic when the local Coast Guard station held rowing competitions for those service members stationed in Grand Haven. Today the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival has become a premier event with attendance of over 350,000 people including the nations highest ranking Coast Guard dignitaries from Washington, D.C.

The focus of the annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival is the National Coast Guard Memorial Service honoring those who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country while fulfilling their motto “SEMPER PARATUS” (“Always Ready”). Each year since the first picnic in 1924 and the first festival in 1937, we have celebrated our heroes, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard with fun filled family events at the annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival. Grand Haven is honored by its designation as “Coast Guard City, USA” by an Act of Congress and signed by the President of the United States on November 13th, 1998.

Check this out bigger in in Drew’s Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival slideshow.

Michigan in Pictures has more about the US Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw.

In a Sea of Blue

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

In a Sea of Blue

In a Sea of Blue, photo by sl33stak.

Jamie took this photo last weekend at the Jackson Hot Air Jubilee.

Check it out as big as the sky (makes an awesome background) and in his Jackson Hot Air Jubilee slideshow.

While this event has passed, you can still check out the Metamora Country Days & Hot Air Balloon Festival August 26th and 27th and the Holiday Balloon Fest August 22 – August 27, 2011 in Battle Creek. The Holiday Balloon Fest is also the site of the 2011 US National Hot Air Balloon Championships!

Mud Bogging, Minus the 4×4

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Mud Races

Mud Races, photo by StormchaserMike Photography.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, it turns out that you haven’t.

Mud Day is an annual affair held in early July at Hines Park in Westland. The recipe for fun is simple – 200 tons of dirt, 20,000 gallons of water and a bunch of people who care more about fun than fastidiousness.

Here’s a nice news report on Mud Day.

Check this out bigger and see a lot more in Mike’s massive 2011 Wayne County Parks Mud Day slideshow.

Can’t Help Falling in Love … with Michigan events!

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Michigan ElvisFest 2007

Michigan ElvisFest 2007, photo by Wigwam Jones.

Michigan boasts an amazing variety of events in July and every month, from ElvistFest in Ypsilanti (this weekend – July 8 & 9) to Hiawatha in Marquette, the Great Lakes State will get you all shook up!

Our Absolute Michigan July Calendar has a whole slew of them and links to many more including a number of chances to win FREE tickets!

Check this photo out king-size and see a whole bunch more in Wigwam Jones’ awesome MichiganElvisFest 2007 – Elvii slideshow!

Cherry (festival) Time

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Stop! Cherry Time.

Stop! Cherry Time., photo by nasunto.

The National Cherry Festival is underway here in my hometown of Traverse City with all kinds of parades, family fun and (of course) plenty of delicious cherries!

Learn about Michigan cherries from Absolute Michigan and remember that Michigan tastes better!

See this background boomtacular and in Nina’s slideshow.

U2 360 @ MSU x2

Posted on by farlane


Bono U2, photo by Buzz Click Photography

Along with 65,000 of his closest friends, Spike attended Sunday night’s U2 show in Spartan Stadium. What many people didn’t know was that it wasn’t the legendary Irish rockers first visit to East Lansing. As the Lansing State Journal reports, the campus pub Dooley’s hosted the band way back in 1981:

George Scofes, now 82, booked the up-and-coming Irish band to play Dooley’s bar (now Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub) in East Lansing in December 1981.

Another Dooley’s owner asked George to give U2’s debut album “Boy” a listen and decide if the band should be booked for the Irish pub.

George said he didn’t know much about music, but the band sounded good to him.

You can see the 1981 Dooley’s set right here.

Spike seems to have had great seats – heh. View his shots from the concert in his U2 Live slideshow. Click through to the photo for his observations of the show which begin:

On Sunday night, June 26, the biggest rock band in the world brought the massive rock show to Southeast Michigan. The stadium-sized spectacle of U2’s “360 Tour” may very well be the biggest show on Earth. It’s certainly the largest stage with its 167-foot-high, 29,000-square-foot, four-legged superstructure known as The Claw, which could be seen for miles, peeking out from atop the stadium walls. The stage that was too big to fit in any Detroit venue, proved to be too big for even Lansing as several concrete walls had to be knocked out to accommodate the stage once it arrived last week. (Read more)

Rothbury, Electric Forest and a Ticket Giveaway Explosion

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Rothbury - Out of This World
Rothbury – Out of This World, photo by tinmantaber.

In which the author explains how Rothbury & Electric Forest led to a giveaway of 72 tickets…

I’m not sure if this qualifies as a commercial, but you should know that Electric Forest Festival is a sponsor of Absolute Michigan. Plus it’s kind of long. Sorry. ;)

Over Fourth of July weekend in 2009, I was part of the Absolute Michigan crew that went to the Rothbury Music Festival (click for our coverage). Two others on the crew were Richard Taber (who took this photo) and Ryan Thompson (who’s in it). I still don’t know how they thought of it, but it’s a classic!

While Rothbury has yet to return, a new festival by the same producers called Electric Forest starts this Thursday in Rothbury and runs June 30 – July 4.

I really enjoyed Rothbury and the incredible art and entertainment that went far beyond my previous experience of music festivals, so I was really excited when Electric Forest agreed to sponsor Absolute Michigan. Part of their sponsorship was a pair of tickets that we gave away at the end of May to Mark L of Detroit. The excitement that folks felt about a chance to win tickets made me think that there might be a way to do more giveaways, and after a few weeks of calling around, we’ve got 25 pairs of tickets (and counting) that we are giving away or have given away in our “Festival Summer” promotion.

These are great events of all kinds like the incredible Maker Faire Detroit at the Henry Ford, the delicious Taste of Kalamazoo and the venerable Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival in Marquette, and I felt pretty good about that. Then one of the event organizers asked me how many pairs I wanted, and I thought “Why not give away some more?” I asked for four and now eleven festivals & events have given a second pair of tickets that we’re going to give away on July 4th, hopefully to a person or persons as crazy & fun as Ryan and Richard.

Check it out background bigtastic and in Richard’s Rothbury Festival 2009 – Greatest Hits slideshow. Many more shots in his Rothbury collection and definitely see the slideshow on the Rothbury website.

More from Ryan at ryanthompson.org.

Summer Solstice and the Annual Ring

Posted on by farlane

Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice, photo by marshallfredericks

The Summer Solstice is the yearly moment when the sun’s apparent position in the sky reaches its northernmost point. You can think about it as throwing a ball up in the air – when the ball reaches its maximum height, that’s the solstice! It’s the longest day of the year and the first day of summer and it all happens today  at 12:16 PM in Michigan! More about the solstice from National Geographic.

The sculpture above is the Annual Ring by artist Nancy Holt and it shows the moment of the solar noon on the solstice at the. The photo was posted by the Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum, and they say the annual event includes poets reading, and a drum circle to welcome in summer. It happens today at 1 PM if you’re in the area and you can see more photos of the sculpture in their solstice slideshow!

Speaking of Marshall Fredericks, click his name for some information from Michigan in Pictures about Michigan’s most famous sculptor!

Emancipation Proclamation at the Henry Ford

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures
The Rosa Parks Bus by Rafael Peixoto Ferreira

The Rosa Parks Bus by Rafael Peixoto Ferreira

One of our nation’s most significant documents, the Emancipation Proclamation, will be on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.

Following a brief opening ceremony, the original document will be on display around-the-clock, straight through early Wednesday morning, June 22, when it will return to Washington DC. More info and related events at the Emancipation Proclamation at the Hentry Ford.

I couldn’t think of a more fitting image for this than the Rosa Parks bus, just one of many amazing relics of American history that are displayed at the Henry Ford (see their exhibits). See more in Rafael’s great Detroit gallery.

Here’s a whole bunch of photos from the Henry Ford Museum from the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr!

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Back to the Bricks heads out to the Mitten

Posted on by farlane

1962 Corvette at Blackstone's

1962 Corvette at Blackstone’s, photo by Flint Foto Factory

Back to the Bricks is an annual car show held every August in Flint (August 16-20, 2011). It’s a huge classic car show with cruises, movies, concerts and more that celebrates the car culture of “Vehicle City“. Last year the event drew over 350,000 people. This year, organizers are stepping things up a notch with their Back to the Bricks Michigan Mitten Promo Tour. The tour starts Friday and runs June 17-26. It will bring hundreds of cars and a taste of Back to the Bricks to these cities:

  • Port Huron: June 17
  • Bay City: June 18
  • Alpena: June 19
  • Mackinaw City: June 20
  • Traverse City: June 21
  • Ludington: June 22
  • Holland: June 23
  • Brooklyn: June 24
  • Flint: June 25-26

Joseph writes that flaws and all, he loves Flint and hopes that love comes across in his pictures. Check this out bigger and in his Flint, Michigan / Back to the Bricks 2010 slideshow.