Welcome to the weekend, friends!
Each week the Michigan’s Best team -- Amy Sherman and John Gonzalez -- comes up with a list of things to do for our Michigan’s Best Weekend Show, which you can find exclusively on Facebook.com/MLiveMIBest, and we share them with you. (Yes, Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel makes our list!)
In addition to our list, we also pick a Michigan’s Best restaurant or stop that bring back fond memories. We encourage you to check them out this weekend or any time soon.
Speaking of Michigan’s Best, did you notice that we just announced our latest search, The Great Burger Search of 2020?
Make your nominations via email:
Where is Michigan’s Best Burger?
This weekend’s show is brought to you by the Michigan Brewers Guild, which is preparing for its 15th annual Winter Beer Festival on Feb. 22 at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park. More details below. We hope to see you there.
Michigan Brewers Guild
1-6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22
The 2020 Winter Beer Festival will feature roughly 133 Michigan breweries and brewpubs and over 850 beers. For all of its festivals, each guest ticket comes with 15 tasting tokens which guests can exchange for 3 oz. samples (note that some specialty beers will require 2 or more tokens per 3 oz. sample). Check out music from local bands, other entertainment, ice sculpture demonstrations, and fire pits to warm up by. A selection of tasty food is available for purchase at the festival.
Tickets are $55 in advance.
On the horizon: The Great Beer State dinner is March 20 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. Tickets are $85, and are on sale now at Mibeer.com
Grand Rapids Boat Show
Thursday, February 20: 12pm – 9pm
Friday, February 21: 12pm – 9pm
Saturday, February 22: 10am – 9pm
Sunday, February 23: 11am – 5pm
If you’re in GR for the Beer Festival and you’re also a boat enthusiast, check out this West Michigan tradition, the Grand Rapids Boat Show, which is in its 75th year. How big is it? They even have 5 acres of power boats, as well as an array of Motor Yachts, Cruisers, Runabouts, Fishing Boats, and Ski and Wakeboard Inboards. Oh, and Pontoon Boats, of course.
Adults: $12
Children 6-14: $5
Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel
Yes, Twiggy is back! This internationally famous star will return for a family friendly, fun-filled, interactive show. Learn all about water safety, water-skiing and what wild things Twiggy gets into at her lagoon.
Twiggy’s Performance Schedule:
Thursday: 2pm | 5pm | 7:30pm
Friday: 2pm | 5pm | 7:30pm
Saturday: 11:30am | 2:30pm | 5:30pm | 7:30pm
Sunday: 12pm | 2pm | 4pm
Michigan Snowmobile Festival
Feb. 21-22, 2020
Throughout Gaylord
Yes, we recommend to head north to Gaylord, but this time for the snowmobiling, which is a big part of the economy, considering a lot of us don’t have time to head to the U.P., and we want enough snow. Well, friends at the Gaylord Tourism Bureau have put together the Michigan Snowmobile Festival. The free fun run, which can be completed individually or during a guided group ride, includes 10 stops that participants can visit for chances to win gift certificates and cash prizes. The guided ride will start at 10:30 a.m. at the tourism bureau, 319 W. Main St., on Saturday. Register and pick up slips at the tourism bureau in advance; slips need to be dropped off at businesses until 5 p.m. Feb. 22.
This year’s stops are: Beaver Creek Resort, Treetops Resort, Paul’s Pub, Big Buck Brewery, Belle Iron Grille, Porter Haus, Mama Leone’s, Corwith Station, The Keg Bar and Elkhorn Grill.
Register at the tourism bureau office from noon to 6 p.m. on Feb. 21 or 8 a.m. to noon on Feb. 22. All registrants must pick up their map and stop slips during those hours. The first 100 to pick up their packet will receive a free hat or t-shirt.
Beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, the public is invited to the Eagles Hall at 515 S. Wisconsin Ave. for live music with Straight Shooters, beverages and snacks. Prizes will be awarded at the event.
MLive story: Michigan gears up for extended Snowmobile Festival
Riverdance has just begun a huge 25th anniversary tour.
You can see them this weekend:
Riverdance: New 25th Anniversary Show, Feb. 20; The Dow Event Center in Saginaw; www.doweventcenter.com
Riverdance - 25th Anniversary Show, Feb. 21-23; Fox Theatre in Detroit; www.313presents.com
A few other events:
Blue Man Group, Feb. 21-23; Midland Center for the Arts in Midland; www.fcftha.org
Supertramp’s Roger Hodgson, Feb. 22; Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo; www.fourwindscasino.com
Chris Lane, Feb. 21; 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids; www.20monroelive.com
The Blues Brothers, Feb. 21; Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant; www.soaringeaglecasino.com
Dance Theatre of Harlem, Feb. 21; Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo; www.millerauditorium.com
The Greatest Love of All (Whitney Houston Tribute), Feb. 21; Potter Center at Jackson College in Jackson; www.jccmi.edu
The Marshall Tucker Band, Feb. 21 & 22; Island Resort and Casino in Escanaba; www.islandresortandcasino.com
City Built’s Base Camp Beer & Breakfast Buffet
9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22
820 Monroe Avenue NW suite 155
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503
616-805-5755
This is a pre-beer festival breakfast buffet. And pre-can release party.
This is City Built’s first-ever Winter Beer Fest breakfast because there won’t be a breakfast served for brewers this year. Open to the public, City Built’s event is $25 and gets you entrance to the event, a custom Teku logo tasting glass, your first drink, the buffet, and access to cans being released that morning.
Brunch Buffet Menu:
- Longaniza Sausage • Breakfast potatoes • scrambled eggs • beans and rice • tortillas • chips and salsas.
Can Release:
- 3 hr stout $20/4 pack
- Snow on Monroe. $15/4 pack
Que the Creek BBQ Festival
Kellogg Arena
1 McCamly Square
Battle Creek, MI
3-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22
From Facebook:
TICKETS! Day of $5.00 or purchased in advance online 2 for $7.00. Children 12 and under FREE!
FOOD! Vendors will be providing BBQ selections ranging in price from $3-$10. Try one or try them all! Local judges will also be here to announce Best BBQ!
Brick and Mortar Vendors: Hogzilla BBQ, Redline BBQ Smokehouse, Bowman’s BBQ & Meat Market, Finley’s Grill & Smokehouse, Grand River Brewery, The Pasture Wagon and a vegetarian option provided by VeggZ Café.
Street Meats – Pitmasters Vendors: Black Market Smokehouse, Sweets & Meats, 100 Hands, East End Eatery, POP’s BBQ and Island Style
Dessert Vendors: The Cheesecake Guy
DRINKS! Craft beer and cocktails will be sold at two bars with well seasoned local mixologists stirring it up.
LIVE MUSIC! Modern Adventures Band, Allie Garland with Awesome Sauce and The Fat Animals
VENDORS! The festival will also include various BBQ and food related product vendors.
Brought to you by the City of Battle Creek Small Business Development Office and Kellogg Arena. Powered by Penetrator Events LLC.
11th Annual SAIL Chocolate Festival
Northern Michigan University
Sunday February 23 1-3pm
From Facebook:
SAIL, (Superior Alliance for Independent Living) the Disability Network of the U.P. will be hosting their 11th annual Chocolate Festival fundraiser for the One in Five Campaign to benefit the varied programs of SAIL across the U.P. The Chocolate Festival features local restaurants, bakeries and chocolatiers who donate delicious samples of chocolate desserts or they just may create new tastings for the community to try out! It’s a sweet event and everyone is welcome! Advanced tickets only, $15 per person, 5 years of age and under are free. Call SAIL at 906-228-5744 or stopping by the SAIL office at 1200 Wright St. Marquette, MI 49855.
Michigan’s Best Picks
Amy’s Pick:
604 W Broad St
Linden, Michigan 48451
810-735-7524
The fried chicken at this independently owned supermarket is incredibly popular, and owner Norman Yono isn't quite sure why. "People just like it," he told us.
After taking a few bites from our "table" (the back of our car) in the parking lot, we started to get some idea as to why this is a best seller. The chicken always comes in fresh, never frozen. The staff here dredges the chicken right in front of you, and it gets fried up fresh throughout the day. It's perfect to pick up for a picnic or an easy, and tasty, dinner at home.
Yono completely remodeled the store after he bought it 10 years ago, and it's a really nice store, with a great selection of all sorts of groceries.
RELATED: Unexpected places to get great fried chicken in Michigan.
John’s Pick:
Northfield Lanes
2222 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
616-363-0003
Winter hours:
10 .m.-midnight, 7 days a week.
Open Bowling: Varies by day. Call ahead.
Kitchen Hours: 5-10 p.m. weekdays, and noon-10 p.m. Saturdays and noon-8 p.m. Sundays.
If you’re going to be in Grand Rapids for the Winter Beer Festival, and you have a little downtown time, maybe check out a local bowling alley. We recommend Northfield Lanes, which has 16 lanes and is located not too far from the beer festival. It’s a great place to hang out if you love atmosphere, laughs and a good time. It’s always busy on a Saturday night. We visited Northfield Lanes on our search for Michigan’s Best Bowling Alley where we loved the community vibe, laid back crowd, great pizzas and decent beer list. There was something for everyone. It was no surprise to us they were the poll winner for the Grand Rapids area. If you live in the area and you’re looking for a late-night bargain, check out DOLLAR GAMES/DOLLAR SHOES: Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after 9:30 p.m., games and shoe rentals are only $1 each!
RELATED: These are the 26 bowling alleys we visited on our search for Michigan’s Best Bowling Alley
Follow our Michigan’s Best adventures on social media:
@mlivemibest on Twitter
@mlivemibest on Instagram
Facebook at MLiveMIBest.
Join in by using the hashtags #mibest and #ItriedMiBest
In addition:
Amy Sherman is on Twitter @amyonthetrail, as well as Facebook and Instagram @amyonthetrail.
John Gonzalez is on Twitter @michigangonzo, as well as Facebook and Instagram @MichiganGonzo.