For the 94th year, Northern Michigan residents and boaters can again enjoy the Charlevoix Venetian Festival, July 20-27, a weeklong celebration of the lake area’s heritage, sense of community and families. Activities include concerts, games, street and boat parades. The event culminates in an impressive fireworks display following the annual Boat Parade. Each year boasts a theme, and this year, in commemoration of Jimmy Buffet, the theme is Margaritaville. A broad list of activities and events includes every facet of this vacation mecca’s community during the historic week’s celebration.
The Venetian Festival was held Sunday through Saturday until 2009 when the Festival committee and Irish Boat Shop developed a plan to have an on-water boating party at Ferry Beach on Lake Charlevoix. The company began sponsoring AquaPalooza as part of its VIP Sponsorship, the event’s highest level, where it joins other community leaders.
“It was natural for Irish Boat Shop to sponsor the Charlevoix Venetian Festival event that features boats!” says Vice President Jack Hodge, “We set up a safe anchoring area off Ferry Beach, where the music is staged. Boats come in and anchor, providing a flotilla of music lovers who can enjoy the entertainment from their boats while beachgoers can still enjoy the water. One of the most fun parts is the gift toss that takes place during the two band breaks! T-shirt cannons, slingshots, and good ole’ arm talent get throwable toys all over the water! Grown adults can act like 5-year-olds and it’s a riot to watch!” he adds.
The Saturday, July 20 performance from Air Margaritaville, a Jimmy Buffet tribute band, makes it “5 o’clock somewhere,” from 1 to 6 p.m. on the Rhythms of Venetian Ferry Beach Performance Stage. In addition, a Cornetian Corn Toss and Beach Volleyball add excitement and competition to the many games that are staged during the event. During the day, the “Queens Court” high school contestants from the Miss Charlevoix Venetian Court competition will grace the beach and the winner will be chosen on Wednesday, July 24.
The Irish Boat Shop re-positions swim area buoys early Saturday morning, allowing boats to safely moor and this policy is strictly observed until the buoys are moved at the end of the day. AquaPalooza is also a weather-dependent event and it will not be re-scheduled if inclement weather prevails.
Just as boats lead the event, a Boat Parade in Round Lake closes the Charlevoix Venetian Festival on Saturday, July 27. Many other events precede the Boat Parade, including a Street Parade, more concerts and a foot race. But the Boat Parade is a spectacle, and in keeping with the Margaritaville theme, expect to see many Charlevoix Parrot Heads out in full force! The Boat Parade is immediately followed by a high-intensity fireworks display, enhanced by Road Lake’s unique amphitheater setting. The City of Charlevoix shuts down the main section of Bridge Street to provide prime viewing of the area’s most impressive fireworks display.
Another tradition of the Charlevoix Venetian Festival is a signature annual artwork done by a local artist. Posters are available for purchase at the Festival booth on Main Street all week and the original will be sold at auction from the Odmark Pavillion Stage on Wednesday, July 24 at 7 p.m. This year’s selected artist is Connie Landis, the daughter of a landscape artist. Landis has visited her family home on Lake Charlevoix since childhood, developing strong ties to the water. She moved back the Northern Michigan after raising her four children in the Chicago area to further pursue her art career. Landis works mainly in oils and developed her own style of contemporary impressionism which is seen in her 2024 festival artwork. “Flying Colors” portrays the nautical flag communication system used historically by boaters and each flag on the sail mast in her painting conveys a letter that spells CHARLEVOIX VENETIAN.
Summer in Northern Michigan may be short, but it is certainly filled with exciting events for boaters and lake enthusiasts. AquaPalooza at the Charlevoix Venetian Festival is one of those “don’t miss” events, for as Jack Hodge of Irish Boat Shop says, “If you want to be on the water on Lake Charlevoix on July 20, you have to be a part of AquaPalooza — there is no better or more entertaining place to be!”
