Tours of three Great Lakes ships will mark the third annual Fish Feast celebrating St. Ignace's fishing and maritime heritage Saturday, July 25.

The event, organized by a Fish Feast committee, will run from 4 p.m. until dusk at the marina dock and parking lot in downtown St. Ignace, culminating in a fireworks display.

Music, games for youngsters, food, beer, wine, boat tours, fireworks, and a blessing of the Fishermen's Memorial will be a few of the festivities planned for the afternoon and evening.

A disc jockey, Sound Wave Music, will provide music for the entirety of the event, with live entertainment in the evening from the folk-duo Pub Runners from Gaylord. Made up of Jerry Belanger and Doug Derkshire, the band plays a blend of Irish and American folk music.

"This year, Fish Feast will have music from beginning to end," Chamber of Commerce Director Janet Peterson said.

Games will take place in the public marina parking lot starting at 4 p.m., and include a dunk tank, a bounce house, basketball shooting, a trout fishing pond, and a booth featuring the Japanese art of gyotaku, in which fish are used to make painted prints on T-shirts.

Beanbag games will also take place at the marina, in which players compete by throwing corn bags into wooden boxes to score points. The games are sponsored by the Great Waters Center for Lifelong Learning.

The blessing of water activities, which started last year, will be offered at 4 p.m. in front of the Fishermen's Memorial at the marina.

Tours will be open to the public of three boats, a Coast Guard 47- foot motor lifeboat, the Pride of Michigan research vessel, and a replica of the 18th-century armed sloop Welcome, which is returning to the Straits where it was built after a 20-year absence. The Coast Guard and research boats will both be free of charge, but guided tours of the Welcome are $3 for individuals and $5 for families.

A presentation on the history of the Mackinac Bridge, as well as artifacts from bridge history, will be on display aboard the Arnold Line boat Ottawa, moored on the north side of the marina dock Saturday afternoon and evening.

Seven St. Ignace restaurants will sell food, including whitefish, shrimp, trout, pulled pork, hamburgers, bratwurst, ice cream, and other treats. The parking lot, which houses the games and activities, will have a booth selling hot dogs and coney dogs.

Beer, wine, soda pop, and water will be available, as well as the etched wine glasses that were sold at last year's Fish Feast.

For the second year, the festival will culminate in a fireworks display at dusk. This summer, the explosions are part of a series of fireworks displays at dusk each Saturday night through Labor Day.

The Fish Feast has been very successful for such a new event, Mrs. Peterson said, and those organizing it aren't changing much since such a positive response was given by last year's attendees.

"Most of the comments we've heard from people is that they like what we've done," she said.

Apart from a few new food vendors and a new location for the ticket booth, those coming to celebrate St. Ignace's fishing and maritime heritage will see an event similar to last year's, Mrs. Peterson said.