Let's just start with the greatest part of the festival, the Spasmastics (sp?) playing at St…read moreJulians. They did an amazing show. They kept the crowd dancing and laughing, it was amazing. The four gents from Chicago were so incredible to do a meet and greet after the show. It was truly the best part of the event. I enjoyed the car show very much. There were some very beautiful cars on display up and down the main street. With the two good things listed Iust say that I have gone to this festival in Paw Paw a few times now and the trend is not promising. Due to new rules by the government they must use tickets to monitor the consumption of alcohol at the tastings. Understandable, but what did this mean for 2017? Five tickets for 1 ounce samples given out for a $5 cover charge. Most wine bottles are 750mL or 25.4 ounces... No wonder the wineries are excited for the festival, to sell 1 ounce samples to the public for twice the cost per ounce over them buying the bottle from a store. The cider tasting at St Julians was the best racketeering scheme of them all, same 1 ounce sample for a $1 ticket of a $3.99 bottle of cider... I would love a festival that got people to play 450% over shelf price of my product. Got to try 5 flavors out of the greater than 40 options they had on site. The carnival quality was just kind of sad. The only thing that looked halfway kept up was the food booths, which is likely only a byproduct of health code requirements. We attempted to enjoy a carnival ride twice and both times the worker was going on break. I understand work breaks, especially for someone working the Gravitron, but his attitude was completely uncalled for when we asked the simple question of how long would he be on break. It is a straight forward question that should have been answered without needing to be asked by the people standing in line to get on. Jobs have schedules, letting people know what the break schedule is would help them not waste 5 minutes in line when a "15 minute" (20 actual minute) break is coming. To wrap it all up, the police presence at the festival was just staggering. Hundreds of officers from departments all over were swarming around the festival. You could not go 20 feet without seeing another Law Enforcement Officer. The barcode scanners at the event that gather name and address of all attendees... If crime was not zero then I am concerned as to why not. In the course of walking from the carnival the sugar bear downtown, I personally counted 6 marked LEO cars and 23 officers on foot. That was even using the back trail by the river to get away from the crowds and having to walk on the roads.

Oh... my... god. We're driving across Michigan, I'm thinking about my new wine obsession, and…read moresuddenly the wine gods smile on us and I spot a sign for this festival that was going to be riiight on the way. YES We actually only made it the free wine tastings at the two wineries in town--St Julian's and Warner's. HIGHLY recommend St. Julian's. Yes, it's totally held in big stuffy tent in the gravel lot behind their building. Enter the tent, however, and you are basically in wine tasting heaven. They pretty much brought out every single one of their wines for the occasion. There were at least nine different stations, each featuring 4-8 wines, with laminated sheets displaying the tasting notes. There were also tasting sheets and pencils for writing notes. For a wine beginner like me, this was an amazing way to learn about a whole lot of different varietals all at once, and I loved a lot of what I tasted. The place was set up in such a way that there was absolutely no pressure to buy--in fact, sales were handled in a separate tent. Also, they were doing a 20% off sale on all bottles, rendering them cheaper than Binny's! Crazy deal on their already affordably-priced wine. After all this, Warner's was kind of a let down. The place was near empty when we arrived and it was a bit awkward with the wine attendants waiting as we tasted maybe three samples. We weren't too impressed by our selections, so we left pretty soon afterwards. The grounds were very nice though, with the river running through it. Bottom line, just go to Julian's. You will get sticky drinking many sips of wine out of tiny plastic cups and you will be happy.

This festival is always a lot of fun. The pancake breakfast at the pavilion is always good. They…read morehave some farmers market booths selling blueberries and other goodies. Cool town on the water.

The nachos are very good. If you correct the old man's math you can pay fewer money for them cakes…read more Ask for extra sausage if you need extra saisage! We think Margot killed a moth and Jho cried until I gave him syrup.

The Coast Guard Festival is a big deal in Grand Haven, and it shows. The festivals lasts for 10…read moredays, spanning across two weekends at the end of July and beginning of August. What's in the itinerary? It depends on the day. One of my favorites is Tuesday night's Dancing in the Street, where a large stage is set up downstage for--you guessed it--dancing in the street to a very good local cover band. This year I got to take a tour of two Coast Guard ships that were docked in the channel. My spouse was thrilled. If you're a music fan, there's nightly concerts, the majority of them being cover bands. On the second Saturday of the festival, there's fireworks, which people make sure they have a great spot for viewing as early as the morning of. The last thing I'll mention is the carnival with games, rides, and the kids who love them. Food-wise, there's a row of fair food trailers and a section of food trucks around the Elks Lodge off of Washington Street. Plus, just about all the local of the local businesses around downtown will gladly take your money. This summer New Holland Brewing Co. opened a pizza-inspired pinwheels kitchen, which appeared to be very popular with patrons of the festival. There's also plenty of opportunities for booze in the Social District as well as sweets, from ice cream to chocolates to Kilwin's fudge. I've attended the festival two years in a row, and I'll continue to come on the Dancing in the Street night. It's a great night of community and fun. I'll also try to check out the cardboard boat race, which takes place on the first Saturday of the festival. Should you come too? My vote is yes!

Lucky to have been in Grand Haven for my first Coast Guard Festival. A more patriotic atmosphere…read moreyou will have a hard time finding. The way the entire town shows their appreciation for the Coast Guard is inspiring. Flags on every home and business! Tour a ship, watch the helicopters, visit the museums, ride the rides, listen to bands and eat a ton of delicious food. Take a break from the crowds and walk along the boardwalk to the famous red lighthouse to watch the sunset. You will love every minute!

It always amazes me that gems like the Waterfront Film Festival exist to the silence of the masses…read more You must come to this festival. In its 11th year, if you've always wanted to attend Sundance or Cannes but can't get to Park City or France - then this is the next best thing, without the papparazzi and hype, but with all the heart and authentic, genuine, real love of the arts. SAG Indie ranks this one of the top 5 in the world, and it's easy to see why. Yes, it's small town, and yes, the productions are missing the glitz and glam, but this is Rothbury meets Hollywood. It's outside, in a beautiful and idyllic small town (voted one of the top gay destinations in the Midwest). You can dine with the stars, meet the Directors and Cast, and still find a hotel room and a spot at the local breakfast diner - no hassles. You will see films here that debut in NY and LA later in the year. Great films that may never even make their distribution paths to the Midwest. It's a (Michigan) treasure. Support it. Go to the beach. Wear your Merrells (or Chacos). Take a deep breath as you circle the town looking for a great parking spot (for 5 minutes) and thank the good Lord you really don't live in LA.

Because of the Waterfront Film Festival, Saugatuck is known from Hollywood to Halifax. Held in…read moreJune, the non-profit festival is one of the top five film festivals in the country. It attracts directors, producers, actors and movie mavens from New York and California to this laid-back summer resort village. But you don't have to be a Tinseltown temptress to enjoy the show. This reporter caught up with festival co-founder Hopwood Depree while he was in Hollywood. When asked about the festival's success he said, "People can relax on the beach and eat at one of the fabulous restaurants during the day. At night, everyone comes together to watch these amazing films shown in unusual spaces like boat sheds." Netflix can never duplicate that collective experience, sitting together in the dark and watching a film projected on a big screen. Get the $200 SuperPass and you'll have priority seating for all of the films and seminars.

Back in July I went to De Zaanse Schans in the Netherlands and then in August I came here to…read moreWindmill Island Gardens - so I feel like I have a good way to compare the parks. The windmill is identical to what is in the Netherlands. The only difference between this windmill and the ones in the Netherlands is that each level of this windmill has different types of jobs that were done that relied on windmill power such as clog carving and flour milling. I feel like the people in costume don't really want to chat or start a discussion around the park except for one woman at the very top of the windmill who was giving out stickers and one doing the pipe organ demonstration - everyone else in costume were either chatting with each other or kind of zoned out. Outside of the windmill, there's not much to do - we watched the short informative film and the pipe organ demonstration, but that's it for activities. We were told that the park had horses in the pasture but we walked the entire park and all the paddocks were empty. There is a carousel for kids and there is a gift shop selling the exact same stuff as all of the gift shops in Amsterdam. Even though we were in Holland, Michigan, everything just says "Holland" on it - I even saw the exact clog magnet I purchased in Amsterdam for sale here! Even the paper shopping bags for small items are identical to what is available in the gift shops in Amsterdam. (The cheese is local though.) One that that was pretty cool was looking at this big miniature town that they have on display from the 1930's. If you have never been to Windmill Island Gardens, then you'll have no idea of the significance of the miniature town in Nicole Kidman's basement in the film "Holland" that she starred in. It is set in Holland Michigan and features many shots of this particular windmill. My husband and I watched it after we stumbled upon it after our visit and having been here was kind of cool while watching. Overall, I'd say you can do absolutely everything in 2 hours here, including walking the entire loop around the fields. It was fine but I'd definitely like more of the employees doing talks discussing Dutch culture, crafts, architecture, whatever. Visited: August 2025

Tulip festival visit…read more We wanted to pick one of the touristy style pay to enter tulip areas. We decided on the windmill island. It will take you about 2 hours to explore. In the front you start with walking through some pretty gardens. They have a street musical machine you can listen to, a video about the windmill, shops to check out. When you walk across the bridge that is the best part of the property. A beautiful view of the windmill and tulips. You can walk inside the windmill, stroll through the tulips and enjoy the walking trail. Bring your camera to get awesome pictures!

I attended the World of Winter Silent Disco (for my 2nd year) and it did not disappoint. I parked…read moreat the Amy Grand and walked over. It was a cold Michigan winter but the vibe was warm and welcoming. Lots of smiles, colors, lights, and people. More than expected especially due to the cold. The sponsors had extra headphones so the line to wait for headphones went quick and the process of turning them on and tuning in was seamless. The DJs were spinning beats making the crowds excited and the dance party never ending. Loved the food trucks surrounding the areas, the festival dancers interacting with the crowds, the aesthetically pleasing platform of artistic display, and the fire pits. Lots of security presence so I felt extra safe and we danced into the night. 11pm comes quick. Wish this would be every Saturday night downtown. Looking forward to next year!

So, yes... it would have been much more enjoyable at night but we were there in the daytime and…read morethere was still plenty to do. We enjoyed the atmosphere, the GR Ambassadors who were most helpful. The sculptures were something during the day but would've been amazing at night. The Hungry Hippo game was a hoot! We'll go back.

Black Arts Festival was held here today and was such a fabulous showcase of local and regional…read moretalent! It was the first festival I've attended in a long time and the staff did a fabulous job making sure everyone's comfort level is being catered to regarding masking and social distancing. I would love to see Kalamazoo go back to hosting at least a couple festivals per month throughout the summer. They always do an incredible job with our local Pride Festival, which did not take place this year due to the huge spike in Covid cases in the region in the spring. My favorite festival was always Taste of Kalamazoo, which I desperately hope will come back at some point. Greek fest was another treasure tradition that folded a few years back. It will be interesting to see how the space evolves as the new complex across the street and gets poised to open up.

Yoga festival〜！！I had been here for several event before！！It's good place to do event！！read more

So after living here for three years I finally just found out about this massive event in Battle…read moreCreek Michigan. Advertises carnival rides/food, air shows, local shopping tents, live music, beer garden, events, fire works and hot air balloons. Of course it's hard to pass something that hosts that many things in one afternoon. The parking lot is massive, and plenty of room for everyone. The parking line was pretty long to get in, and it cost 5 bucks, but it was better than walking in my opinion. Sadly, as we were parking we were informed that a few minutes before we arrived that the jet truck had exploded during the air show, and the air show had been canceled. We decided to go anyway because there was still hot air balloons. The line to get in was very efficient and we walked right in. Ticket cost was 10 dollars per person to get into the festival. We wandered around and did some shopping. They have some pretty amazing local talent there making some some impressive things. After that, we got some food. I got a pizza from a local pizza tent which was amazing. We then got some funnel cake. Was everything I remembered from childhood. Haven't had funnel cake since I was a teenager. Food was a little pricey but anyone who has been to an event/festival in the last 5 years knows that food and drink prices are inflated to make a profit. After food we wandered through the carnival rides and decided to do the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel brought an amazing view of the grounds and showed that the event truly is a popular event in Michigan. After the wheel we decided to go get beer, find shade, and wait for the hot air balloons. The beer garden has some pretty amazing options. Aside from commercial beer they had many options of Michigan made beers. I enjoyed blood orange beer from Cheboygan. Was delicious. After a couple hours of waiting we were informed that the hot air balloons were not gonna make it for the day. We found out that the hot air balloons come flying in on one day and fly out on another and they were delayed due to weather flying in. If you can find out which is happening I recommend going on a day that they fly out and not in. Watching them fly off would be so much more exciting, and there is a higher chance of not getting to see them on a day they are flying in. The slightest winds can delay them. Overall, we were disappointed because we got no air show, and no hot air balloons. However, we did get to see a massive explosion go off. The entire air strip was covered in jet fuel from the truck earlier so they had to ignite it. The explosion felt like a meteor hit the earth. Was so loud, shook the ground, and it was instantly dark outside from the smoke. Was exciting to say the least. A definite must do event for 4th of July even without the jets and balloons. If you're going for balloons find out what day they fly out. We went because it was the 4th, but the festival is 5 days. *Note* you can bring in your own chairs, tents, coolers. We didn't know being our first year. Go prepared for an all day event and zero shade on the grounds.

Visited on Saturday night for the prime rib buffet. Everything I tried excellent. It wasn't busy…read morebut I was there really early. Server mentioned that Friday night is really swamped due to the crab legs. I plan on coming back for the buffet and some gambling. The casino was really dead for a Saturday night.

This review will specifically speak to the OASIS inside od the casino. As a southerner that has…read morerefused to conform to the Midwest cloudy life this place is a breath of fresh air during the winter months! It is a great seasonal depression cure!! I would say that the water could be a little warmer, I was otherwise happy. The food and drinks were great, and staff was very friendly. There are lockers in the locker room that you can rent for $15, listen save your money the lockers are TINY and overpriced. You can park your bag beside you by the pool. We went on a random Tuesday morning so there weren't many people around. Towels are provided and the bathrooms are very clean! I will definitely be returning! Loved it!!