Are You Ready for a Fabulous Festival? Coast Guard Festival Begins Today

It began as a picnic in 1924 and only Coast Guard personnel were invited. They held rowing races for the men of the Coast Guard back then, and that was it. But, boy, has that little picnic grown. In 1998, Grand Haven officially became "Coast Guard City USA" honored by Congress and President Clinton as the Coast Guard Festival continued to grow.

Today, the Annual Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, 2022, kicks off in high gear and runs through Sunday, August 7. Grand Haven will welcome over 350,000 people to the harbor and streets of Grand Haven.

There will be something for everyone, from ship tours and parades, and entertainment by  tribute bands, Aeroforce - An Aerosmith Tribute Band, Simply Queen - A Queen Tribute Band, and Trilogy Classics Live - Journey, Foreigner, STYX Tribute, and finally, Hotel California - An Eagles Tribute Band. Quite the lineup.

There will also be a national memorial service, carnival, lots of food and so much more.

If parades are your thing, there are three this year,

Kids Parade: tomorrow, Saturday, July 30 at 10:30 a.m.

Parade of Ships: Monday, Aug. 1 at 1 p.m.

Grand Parade: Saturday, Aug. 6 at 11:45 a.m.

But that just scratches the surface because tomorrow is one of the most fun events, the Cardboard Boat Race at 1:30.

There will be ship tours of Coast Guard Ships at various times during the week. The Carnival runs all week for kids of all ages, and don't forget the Gun Lake Casino Fireworks!

Parking may be a little tough but is available all around town.

If you want to check out all of the events, CLICK HERE!