The Fourth of July is almost here, and activities in DeTour begin Wednesday. The Friends of the Library fish fry will be at 4:30 p.m., followed by the History Round Table at 6:30 p.m. in the school multipurpose room Wednesday, June 30.

The Sacred Heart rummage sale will be Friday, July 2, and Saturday, July 3, at the EUP Fine Arts Council building behind the church. The sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be baked goods for sale Friday, July 2, only.

The festivities really heat up Saturday, July 3, with the annual 5K run/walk beginning at the pavilion with registration from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and the race promptly at 9:30 a.m. Then the Les Cheneaux snowmobile group will sponsor a spaghetti dinner at the Village Hall from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by a long-standing tradition, the Union Presbyterian Church icecream social from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday will conclude with the annual Chamber of Commerce “Dance Under The Stars” at the pavilion from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The band is Corday, all the way from southern California, and everyone age 18 and older is welcome.

Activity Sunday, July 4, starts a little later this year to allow participants and parade goers to attend church services. The parade will begin at 1 p.m., with line-up starting at noon on Sims Street. The parade is followed by the annual community picnic and games at the pavilion. The afternoon continues with the horseshoe tournament, which is dedicated tothe late Bill Elliott, longtime event organizer. The lawn mower races begin at 3:30 p.m. at the ball field. Finally, the day will end with one of the best fireworks displays in the area from Frying Pan Island. Viewing is excellent from the Botanical Garden area and Francis Street. Bring your lawn chairs to enjoy this tradition beginning at dusk.

Congratulations to summer residents Nick and Julia Meier. Their golden retriever, Katie Lynn, won first place as Most Friendly in the recent Bark in the Park in St Ignace Saturday, June 19. When this beautiful dog developed cancer in her right rear leg, her former owners could not afford treatment and relinquished her to the Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan, who treated her by having her leg removed and when fully recovered, she adopted her present owners, Nick and Julia Meier. Katie Lynn, Julia, and Nick then completed seven weeks of therapy dog training through West Michigan Therapy Dogs and they are now certified to do animal assisted activities. One of the activities they enjoy is the “Ruff Readers” program, which allows youngsters to spend some one-onone time reading to an animal friend. If you would like to see Katie Lynn in action, she will be reading with her friends at the Tuesday, July 13, Friends of the Library story hour in DeTour.

The free story hour program, “Make a Splash, Read,” runs from Tuesday, July 6, through Tuesday, August 10, and is open to young people, preschool through third grade. The group meets at the school library from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. It is not necessary to pre-register or to attend each week. For more information, call program coordinator Patti Loehr at (906) 297-6390.

Another fun activity for the youngsters is the EUP Fine Arts Council Summer Art Kids series. Monday, July 12, Yoshiko VanVoorhies will work with youngsters age nine and older on rock and stone painting from 10 a.m. to noon at the Village Hall. If you are younger than age nine, you are welcome to attend if you bring an adult helper. It is not necessary to pre-register for this activity.

Adults can also enjoy library time at the Wednesday July 7, Authors Series. Jill Brumwell, Drummond Island resident and author, will be speaking on “Michigan’s Only King and His Connection to Drummond Island” at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served after the presentation, provided by members of the DeTour Friends of the Library.

Don’t forget the regular meeting of the Friends of the Library Sunday, July 11, at 10 a.m. at the library. The EUP Fine Arts Council will meet Monday, July 12, at 10 a.m. at the Village Hall. The DeTour Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall.