The Saugatuck Venetian Festival, a perennial summertime celebration of life on our waterways, returns to town next weekend July 26-28.
Fun will begin Friday with a dance party in Coghlin Park featuring ‘80s cover band Star Farm. The festival continues Saturday with the madcap Dinghy Poker Run, an illuminated Boat Parade led by the Star of Saugatuck, followed by a fireworks finale over Lake Kalamazoo.
Judged awards for the winners of the boat parade conclude the festivities on Sunday morning.
“Venetian Fest weekend is one of the busiest of the summer,” says events coordinator April Gundy. “With all that’s going on, we want to make sure everyone knows what’s happening to have a great time.”
Thus, organizers have put together this Locals Guide.
For Motorists
Organizers strongly suggest you not be a motorist for crowded Venetian events. Instead, use the Interurban shuttles.
Convenient shuttle stops will be available to and from close-by parking areas including Saugatuck Middle/High School, Douglas Elementary School and the old Douglas medical building on the southwest corner of Wiley Road and Blue Star Highway.
Friday Night Partygoers
Individual admission tickets are $10 online up to the day before the event, $20 at the gate. Go to saugatuckvenetianfest.com or use the QR Code in the ad below to take advantage of the discount.
Gates will open at 5 p.m. Come hungry! Food trucks from Smoke’n Joe’s BBQ, Chefeltren and Pizza Parliament will offer a variety of meal options.
As for beverages, local brands from Saugatuck Brewing and Fenn Valley vineyards, along with pre-mixed cocktails, water and soft drinks will be featured.
Group discount beverage ticket packages are available for sale inside the gates at $40 for 5 drinks ($8 per beverage) and $70 for 10 drinks ($7 per drink). Single drink tickets are $10.
Star Farm opens its act at 7 p.m. and plays until 10:30 p.m. Boogie on! Let’s Dance!
Dinghy Poker Runners:
The Dinghy Poker Run is a 3-hour daytime event that will start Saturday at noon. Participants race to 7 planned stops along the river to pick up poker cards. The quest is to get the best poker hand for a chance to win one of three cash prizes. Additional cards can be bought for $5 along the way to increase your odds of winning.
Entries are mainly inflatable boats or smaller than 15-foot-long crafts. No pontoons, jet skis or non-motorized watercraft are not allowed
Dinghy captains can pre-register at saugatuckvenetianfest.com or use the QR Code on the accompanying ad below this story.
You may also register Saturday morning, July 27, on the boardwalk at the bottom of Coghlin Park for $20 per vessel starting at 11:30 a.m.
Bikinis, sunscreen and the use of ice water in your SuperSoakers are all permitted.
Boaters in the Parade
This year’s theme is “Western,” as in cowboys, cattle, horses and stuff.
Judged prizes for “Best in Show” will be offered for vessels 40-feet in length or higher ($1,000) and smaller ($500). There will also be an award for “People’s Choice” in the parade.
Prizes will be announced and awarded at the Star of Saugatuck Sunday, July 28, at 9 a.m.
All participating captains must register their vessels —free of charge — by emailing Julie Ziemann at the Star of Saugatuck (julieziemann@hotmail.com) or by using the QR Code in the ad below this story.
All parade captains must attend a mandatory meeting at the Star of Saugatuck Saturday at 10 a.m. Don’t miss it or you will not be allowed in the parade.
To honor late Tower Marine owner R.J. Peterson, parade vessels will assemble behind the Star of Saugatuck at 9:15 Saturday night in the river area next to R.J.’s longtime house, then follow a route south to the harbor and back again to the starting location starting at 9:30/
The U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement request all vessels remain in the entire parade route, start to end. The judges will be located in Wicks Park and see you coming and going, so be sure to decorate both sides of your vessel, pardner!
All Boaters
All boaters are advised of hazardous conditions within a 700-foot area in the northwest portion of Lake Kalamazoo from 5 p.m. until midnight Saturday due to the fireworks loading and display that evening. (See accompanying photo). No vessel shall be allowed to anchor or proceed into this area during that time.
The goal here is to have all vessels that were afloat on Saturday morning still be afloat on Sunday.
Fireworks Fans
Fireworks will begin immediately after the Boat Parade has safely departed the harbor, around 10 p.m
Great Lakes Fireworks’ pyrotechnics and D.K. Construction’s barges will partner to deliver a safe and grand finale.
Any spot along the harbor basin will be an excellent perch to watch Venetian Fest ‘24 “bring back the boom!”
Gold-Hearted Folks Who Volunteer
There are still a few volunteer slots open for Friday night’s dance party. Sign up at saugatuckvenetianfest.com or by using the QR Code in the ad accompanying this story below.
All volunteers get free admission, a free T-shirt, and a free drink.
Venetian Fest 2024 is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Saugatuck-Douglas, the Saugatuck-Douglas Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Lake Vista Supervalu grocery, D.K. Construction, Saugatuck Brewing Co., JPD Construction, Safe Harbor Tower Marine, Ivy House, Comcast, Freedom Boat Club, the Ship ‘N Shore Hotel, Retro Boat Rentals and The Red Dock, RB Marine, IHS, The Beachway Resort and Forward Edge Services. Scores of volunteers from the Rotary Club, Star of Saugatuck, Wolf’s Marina and Singapore Yacht Club organize the Venetian Fest weekend every year.
All proceeds from the event are to be designated to the Rotary Club’s 501c3 foundation for projects that ensure access to, safety on and ecological health of our local waterways. After all, that’s what the Saugatuck Venetian Fest is all about.
