Nearly 150 local supporters of Friends of the Blue Star Trail gathered Aug. 5 at Modales Wines in Fennville to raise more than $100,000 at their annual “Toast to the Blue Star Trail.”
A variety of Modales offerings grown in vineyards visible right outside windows and appetizer options, including flavored donuts from an Olly’s Donuts food truck fueled attendees energized too by news work is slated to start on the Trail’s north section through Saugatuck city and township this coming spring.
When complete, said Friends secretary Richard Donovan, there will be 4.5 miles of contiguous trail running from Douglas north to connect to Laketown Township’s Beeline Trail, then further north through Holland and Grand Haven.
Planning is well underway, he added, for the next section going south from Douglas, which will add another 3 miles from Wiley Road to M-89.
An application for a large Michigan Department of Transportation grant to help fund this section is scheduled for this fall.
Finally, Donovan confirmed, the Friends are working with community leaders and engineers on the south end of the planned Trail, to build from the Kal-Haven Trail north to North Shore Drive in South Haven in 2026.
“We were overwhelmed,” said Toast co-chairs Kevin Martin and Ellen Donovan of the evening, “by the generosity and enthusiasm of the supporters in attendance.”
A live auction featuring an e-bike, a bicycle with a child carrier trailer, life-size horse sculpture(s) by local artist Richard Morse, special brunch for 12 and a chauffeured progressive dinner for 10, all were entertaining pitched by auctioneer Joel Petroelje and successful.
“What a perfect evening,” said Friends supporter Linda Klute on the sunny Monday in the vineyards, “to gather and celebrate the Blue Star Trail. It will be a tremendous asset for our local communities.”
Friends president Clark Carmichael thanked supporter for their continuing generosity, adding more than 90 percent of funds gathered will go directly towards building the Trail in the form of engineering fees and the local matches required for state/federal grants that fund most construction costs.
The Friends funder will be the annual Lakeshore Harvest Ride set for Saturday, Sept, 14. For more information and to register, go to LHRide.com.
