Venetian Festival "Lite" Is Back In Saugatuck

Saugatuck is set to host the Venetian Festival Lite in late July. The Saugatuck City Council approved plans for a scaled back version of the Venetian Festival which is slated for July 30 and 31.

Earlier in the year, the event had been cancelled due to the pandemic, but now it's back on with some modifications. Neither the Lighted Boat Parade nor the Fireworks Display will be included in this year’s festival due to time constraints. Lance Winchester, commodore of the Cow Hill Yacht Club said in a press release,

"We’re disappointed to leave the boat parade and fireworks out this year, but with a short timeline and tight budget, we are simply unable to organize and pay for those events."

This year's festival will feature a concert, beer tent and dinghy poker run. 80's band Starfarm is scheduled to perform in Coghlin Park on the first day of the festival.

Tickets for the show are $10 a person and food and drinks available for purchase throughout the evening. The venue will open at 6pm.

The Dinghy Poker Run, highlights Saturday’s events, and is scheduled to take off at noon from Coghlin Park. Registration for the Dinghy Poker Run begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Venetian Festival is a fundraiser for Cow Hill Yacht Club. They are a charitable organization that donates proceeds to help local families and individuals in need. Here are some ways the Venetian festival have helped others:

Donation to the Veterans luncheon
Tires for someone traveling frequently to support their family
Gas and Grocery Gift Cards for families with someone in the hospital
Funding to build a wheelchair accessible ramp
School Opening Project - providing bookbags, school supplies , underwear , clothes to local schools
Snack program for Douglas Elementary – providing PTO with monies to help run their snack program
Thanksgiving Food Program – provide gift cards to families to buy food
Christmas Giving Project - Provide wrapped gifts for 80+ recipients
Donation to The Veteran’s Annual Luncheon
Donation to The Interurban
Donation to Special Olympics

To donate, click here.