Inaugural St. Ignace Fish Feast Dubbed a Success; Plans for Bigger Event Underway
By Ryan Schlehuber

A long line of people await a tasty dish of fish from Mackinac Grille Restaurant's booth at the Fish Feast. Six local vendors provided Fish Feast visitors with a variety of fish- or seafood-themed dishes.

The inaugural St. Ignace Fish Feast, held at the Public Marina Saturday, July 28, was judged a success by organizers. Cheryl Schlehuber said she and other event coordinators did not get to see much of the event, as they were too busy with ticket purchases.

"We sold the last fish basket at 10:25 p.m.," said Mrs. Schlehuber, president of the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce and one of the many coordinators for the feast, who added she was able to buy the second-to-last one. "My biggest regret was that I didn't get to go around to see everything. We were just too busy selling tickets."

Participants exchanged cash for tickets used to buy food from six local restaurants, which set up booths featuring their best whitefish or seafood-themed dishes. A variety of food choices and a beer and wine tent were offered.

The Mackinac Grille Restaurant alone sold about 600 pounds of cooked fish, said owner and lead event coordinator Mark Sposito.

Avery Fitzgerald, 4, of St. Ignace, concentrates intently as she paints her fish at the gyotaku (pronouned gee-oh-tah-ku) station during the inaugural St. Ignace Fish Feast at the public marina Saturday, July 28, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge. Gyotaku participants painted different colors onto fish and then a white T-shirt was pressed onto each fish to produce a permanent design. The program was coordinated by Lora Brown.

Along with the food provided, visitors were treated to music by the folk Irish band Pub Runners. Many games for young people were available in the marina parking lot, including a fishing tank, a dunk tank that featured local residents, a hockey station, T-shirt painting station, face painting, and local artists' wares.

The Fishermen's Memorial, a newly constructed monument for commercial fishermen who lost their lives on the job in Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, was dedicated during the Fish Feast Saturday. The memorial sits near the boardwalk between the St. Ignace Public Marina and Wawatam Lighthouse. A large crowd was in attendance for the dedication.

Ali Grendel, 3, of Grand Rapids, tries to stay still for artist Timothy LaJoice as he paints a flower on her face, in one of the many events enjoyed by children during the St. Ignace Fish Feast. Miss Grendel is the daughter of Holly (nee Brown, formerly of St. Ignace) and C.J. Grendel. Mr. LaJoice operated a booth for Mackinac Glass Designs.

The Fish Feast was created by the Chamber of Commerce but was headed by the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau's special events committee.

The Fish Feast's great success this year was probably due largely to the draw of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Mackinac Bridge, however, said Mr. Sposito and Mrs. Schlehuber, the local event is expected to be bigger and better for next year.

"Plans for next year are already underway," said Mr. Sposito.

The special events committee, which meets every first Thursday of the month at Mackinac Grille Restaurant, is planning to incorporate more of the commercial fishing heritage with the event, inviting local experts and historians and having displays of the industry on hand.

Mr. Sposito said he is hoping to include a ferris wheel and an inflatable water slide for next year.

Traffic control is another area that needs improvement.

"That is probably our biggest tweak, to figure out how to handle the number of people we saw this weekend," said Mrs. Schlehuber. "We have to figure out how to anticipate the crowd number we'll have for next year, when we won't have the bridge anniversary."

Safe traffic crossing across State Street will be needed, said Mr. Sposito.

Restaurant vendors will be set up differently, as well, he said, to avoid any bottleneck congestion created by long lines of people waiting to eat, and each booth will have better advertising displays.

"We put in a lot for the advertising campaign of this event," said Mr. Sposito.

Every business and nonprofit organization involved in the Fish Feast did very well, said Mrs. Schlehuber.

"The Fish Feast was one of the most awesome things we've done so far, it was a great turnout," she said. "I'm looking forward to next year."