By Art Nicholas
FENNVILLE — Summer arrives in downtown Fennville this month with a daylong celebration, as the city throws open the doors to its new City Square Park on Saturday, June 27.
Billed as the “Fennville Summer Kickoff,” the free, family-friendly event runs from late morning into the evening and marks the first public use of gathering spaces that have been years in the making — a covered amphitheater, a splash pad and a new patio at the Fennville District Library. Organized by the Fennville Downtown Development Authority, and the Fennville District Library the day pairs ribbon cuttings for the new venues with a full slate of live music, children’s activities and dedications across the downtown.
“The completion of these placemaking projects represents a major achievement for Fennville’s downtown, supporting local businesses and providing recreation opportunities for residents and visitors alike,” said Micah Machiela, the city’s DDA coordinator.
A full day downtown
The celebration begins at 11 a.m. with children’s activities on the library’s new patio, where the Fennville School Book Bus will also be on hand — a fitting start to summer, putting books in kids’ hands just as the school year winds down. A dedication of the patio, with light refreshments and remarks, follows at noon.
From there, the action moves down to City Square. The new amphitheater gets its ribbon cutting at 1 p.m., followed by a children’s concert from the Gemini Band. At 2:30 p.m., the splash pad is dedicated, with the Great Lakes Brass Band performing afterward. The Schrock Brothers, featuring Peter Madcat Ruth, take the stage at 4 p.m., and the Tejano Sound Band closes out the night at 6:30 p.m., after a dinner break.
In all, four performances will fill the new music venue across the day, spanning children’s acoustic, Americana blues, New Orleans-style jazz and traditional Tejano. The Gemini Band’s set is sponsored by the Allegan County Community Foundation, the Friends of the Fennville District Library and the Fennville United Methodist Church; the remaining acts are sponsored by the DDA. The library will serve as the rain location for all events.
The first note of a longer season
The amphitheater’s debut on June 27 is more than a one-day affair — it sets the stage for a summer of music in the heart of downtown. The grand opening leads directly into Fennville’s free City Music Hall Series, which returns to the new venue every Thursday evening from July 2 through August 27, running from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at City Square (116 S. Maple St.). The 2026 lineup opens with Sweet Dee and the Wild Honeys on July 2 and features a different act each week through late August.
The series leans on the same formula the Summer Kickoff is meant to showcase: bring a lawn chair, grab a drink from the downtown Social District, and enjoy the music, with the library again standing by as the rain location.
For Mark Schrock, the longtime community concert coordinator whose family band plays the kickoff, the covered stage is something Fennville has been working toward for a long time. “After more than 20 years of presenting live music in Fennville, we are thrilled to finally have a dedicated covered performance space in the downtown City Square,” he said, calling it a place where residents and visitors can gather while food and Social District beverages are available at nearby restaurants.
Built by the community, dollar for dollar
What is now a park was, not long ago, a vacant downtown lot. Turning it into a gathering space took a deliberately community-wide effort — one in which residents’ own donations were the lever that unlocked state dollars.
The City of Fennville and its DDA ran a crowdfunding campaign on Patronicity, the Michigan-based platform behind the state’s Public Spaces Community Places program. The deal: raise $50,000 from the community, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation would match it dollar for dollar, up to $50,000. Local businesses chipped in through donations and “share of proceeds” events, and city officials at the time singled out the splash pad — one of the venues being dedicated June 27 — as a “fun aspect” the matching funds helped make financially possible.
That campaign sat atop a broader mix of support, including funding from the DDA and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and another grant from MEDC- a Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) grant. Major donors to the project included Jean Kennedy; Joe and Elisabeth Mannancheril; the Allegan County Community Foundation; and the Saugatuck-Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The result is a downtown anchor designed to do double duty — a public square for everyday recreation and a stage for the kind of programming that draws people into Fennville’s shops and restaurants all season long.
The Summer Kickoff begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Fennville District Library and City Square. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact DDA Coordinator Micah Machiela at mmachiela@fennville.gov or visit fennville.gov.
