Full schedule of events planned for Nautical City Festival 2009

by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor

Old ships, native traditions, thoughtful memorials and swim-suited festival-goers will be part of this year?s Nautical City Festival. Reorganized and recharged, the Nautical City Festival committee unveiled a few new wrinkles in a media appreciation night Tuesday at the Rogers City Senior and Community Center. In a classy evening highlighted by presentations from representatives from several of the events, the committee offered inside information. Miss Rogers City Jordyn Lamb 2008 welcomed people to the media night and introduced Dave Snow, executive director of the Rogers City Area Chamber of Commerce, who served as master of ceremonies.

Captain Mark Thompson, of the armed sloop Welcome, told about his vessel?s participation in this year?s festival. The replica of a ship built in the 1700s will be available for tours on festival Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

On Sunday the Welcome will be available for tours from 1-5 p.m. From 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the Welcome will go on a short cruise, with room available for a limited number of cruisers. A special fireworks cruise beginning at 9:30 p.m. will end the day for the Welcome. Those 18 and under can tour the Welcome free, compliments of the Rogers City Optimists. Call 734-4121 to reserve a spot on the boat. ROGERS CITY?S MARK Thompson, not the captain of the Welcome, curator of the Presque Isle County Historical Museum, gave a summary of two big events coming for the festival.

The Mackinac Bands of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are teaming up with the Presque Isle County Historical Museum to put on the first full-blown Powwow to ever be held in northeastern Michigan. The Powwow will feature several drum teams, singers, costumed dancers, storytellers and American Indian crafters. The Powwow is set for festival Saturday, August 8 from 1-4 p.m., but the museum’s famous ?buffalo burgers? will go on sale beginning at 11 a.m. The public is invited to bring a lawn chair for an interesting and educational afternoon of family-friendly entertainment celebrating the thousands of years of American Indian culture in this area. Admission is free. Thompson also said the spacious lawn of the Bradley House will be the site of an the Voyageur Rendezvous encampment by historical reenactors from around the state. The reenactors make history come alive by donning period attire and demonstrating skills that would have been practiced by the voyageurs who frequented the northern lakes during the 1700s.

Among the campsites will be an American Indian trapper’s camp and ?Ringtail Tavern,? where voyageurs and early settlers might have gone to eat, drink, catch up on the news of the day, and swap stories. The encampment will run both festival Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is free.

A NEW EVENT will give people a chance to show off a bit in the Budweiser Bikini contest. Joe Permoda, of Huron Distributors, one of the major sponsors of the festival, explained how the contest works. Each of Huron Distributor?s local accounts received a letter last week encouraging each bar or restaurant account to select one male and one female to appear in the finals at the festival tent on August 8.

?Huron distributors will provide swimming attire for the contestants which the participants will keep as a gift,? Permoda explained. The contestants will come to the festival tent at 7:30 p.m. that evening to meet and greet the people in the tent to gather support. Later in the evening, the winner will be selected based on applause from the crowd.

Radio station WHSB will provide a master of ceremonies for the judging. The winners, one male and one female, will win a boarding pass to the Bud Light Port Paradise Party Cruise Party in Alpena. By winning a boarding pass, the participants will have a 1-in-25 chance of winning a four-day Caribbean cruise for two.

MIKE MYERS, OF the Rogers City Kiwanis Club, told about the Sailors? Memorial, set for festival Tuesday. The Kiwanis Club and area retired officers from Great Lakes ships, honor those lost over the years in the traditional start to festival week. Especially noted are the crews of the ore freighters Carl D. Bradley, which sank in a November storm in 1958, and the Cedarville, which sank after a collision in the Straits of Mackinac in May, 1965.

Mary Pritchard, of Domaci Gallery in Rogers City, gave details about opportunities to view art during the festival. The downtown art gallery features local and national artists. Mary told about some upcoming events at the gallery, including the display of the artwork of Michael Hoffman, which will be featured during festival time at the Domaci Gallery.

ANY DOUBTS about the status of the 2009 Nautical City Festival in Rogers City were erased with the printing of the 2009 schedule brochure. Packed with new events, and old favorites, what really stands out is the great amount of support behind this year?s event. An impressive list of more than 110 sponsors and advertisers answered the call when the reorganized festival committee asked for help.

Dennis Downie is chairman of the festival committee. Six founding

member groups have two representatives each on the committee. Those service organizations are the Rogers City Lions Club, the Rogers City Optimist Club, the Rogers City Kiwanis Club, the Rogers City Servicemen?s Club, the Knights of Columbus Council 1705, and the Rogers City Area Chamber of Commerce.

The first event of this year?s festival is July 31 with the Miss Rogers City Pageant with nine contestants looking to succeed Jordyn Lamb, Miss Rogers City, 2008. The main events of the Nautical City Festival begin with events in the lakeside festival tent August 4, running through the grand parade August 9.

For more information on the Nautical City Festival, call the festival office at (989) 734-4656, e-mail to ncf@i2k.com or call the Rogers City Area Chamber of Commerce at (989) 734-2535 or e-mail the chamber at rccchamber@lhi.net. The Presque Isle County Historical Museum can be reached at (989) 734-4121 or at e-mail address bradleymuseum@yahoo.com. Web sites to visit to find out more about the festival, the museum and Rogers City include: nauticalcityfestival.com, the bradleyhouse.org, rogerscity.com and PIAdvance.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.