The Sun and News, Saturday, October 16, 2021/ Page 7James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
Organizers of the inaugural
Barry County BooFest figure
the event should be double the
fun of the traditional pre-Hal-
loween festivities in three local
communities. It’ll take place
Oct. 22 and 23 in Middleville,
Hastings and Nashville.
At its meeting Tuesday, the
Middleville Village Council
approved special-event per-
mits for BooFest and for the
Christmas on the River three-
day event in December.
The Middleville Downtown
Development Authority has
partnered with the Barry
County Chamber and
Economic Development
Alliance in planning it.
Middleville’s traditional Fall
Fest is merging with various
other events around the county
on that day.
Middleville will continue to
host its traditional downtown
activities, such as the costume
contest, pumpkin patch, and
Trick-or-Treat Market. New
events will include a haunted
historic tour of so-called para-
normal places around the area.
Middleville DDA Director
Katherine Schmidt used an
internet connection to provide
details during the council’smeeting Tuesday night.
“Maybe you’ll want to take
your kids and go see the ani-
mals out at Moo-Ville in
Nashville, and then you come
to Middleville for the pump-
kins and the trick-or-treat time.
[We’re] just trying to give peo-
ple the opportunity to see dif-
ferent things around the com-
munity,” Schmidt said.
“We’re doing our traditional
events with a new maze made
up of [pop-up canopies] that
will be decorated in Halloween
themes. And that will lead you
into a bounce house. That’s
probably the one new thing we
haven’t done before. And
[Thornapple Credit Union] is
taking the lead on that.”
One of the other fami-
ly-friendly activities is the
BooFest Haunted Hustle 5K,
which will begin at 10 a.m.
Oct. 23 in downtown Hastings
at Thornapple Plaza. Packet
pickup begins at 8 a.m.
Participants are being encour-
aged to wear a Halloween cos-
tume, with prizes to be given
out to the best-dressed individ-
ual, group and pet. Awards
will go to the top three men
and women winners in the
teenage and 20-plus age
groups. And finisher ribbons
go to all participants who are
12 and younger.
Schmidt also talked to the
village council about the
DDA’s Christmas on the River
event Dec. 9-11.
“And again, it’s a conglom-eration of events that we tradi-
tionally have, combined with a
couple of new things,” she
said. “Each night will benefit a
different local charity.”
The Middleville DDA is
planning be a Christmas tea
under the pavilion Saturday,
Dec. 11, and a Holiday Market
with unique, artisan-crafted
gifts, and a Shiver River Run
5K/10K event. A parade is
planned that Saturday.169565
8196 Broadmoor Ave. SE
Caledonia, MI 49316
Phone: 616.891.
Fax: 616.891.CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CALEDONIA
KENT COUNTY, MICHIGANPUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Planning Commission of the Charter
Township of Caledonia will hold a public hearing on November 1, 2021, at 7:00 p.m., at the
Caledonia Township Hall, 8196 Broadmoor SE, Caledonia, MI 49316. The public hearing is to
receive comments regarding the application of Mark Pung (agent Exxel Engineering) to rezone 7528
Patterson from the RR district to the R3 district, Parcel number 41-23-07-300-044 containing
approximately 28.37 acres of land.Description of Rezone Parcel:
412307300044 PART OF SWFRL 1/4 COM AT SW COR OF SEC TH N 0D 42M 09S E ALONG W
SEC LINE 35.44 FT TH N 0D 53M 01S E ALONG W SEC LINE 941.03 FT TH S 89D 00M 34S E
335.0 FT TH N 0D 53M 01S E 540.20 FT TO N LINE OF S 200 FT OF N 1/2 SW 1/4 TH S 89D 00M
34S E ALONG SD N LINE 349.09 FT TH S 0D 05M 56S E 150.02 FT TH S 39D 17M 57S E 458.
FT TH S 37D 46M 01S W 260.66 FT TH S 0D 05M 56S E 308.88 FT TH S 71D 42M 19S E 168.
FT TH S 35D 05M 10S E 193.85 FT TH S 84D 44M 30S E 120.0 FT TH SLY 50.60 FT ON A 403.
FT RAD CURVE TO LT /LONG CHORD BEARS S 11D 22M 06S E 50.56 FT/ TH S 14D 57M 54S
E 81.52 FT TH SLY 82.99 FT ON A 297.0 FT RAD CURVE TO RT /LONG CHORD BEARS S 6D
57M 36S E 82.72 FT/ TH S 1D 02M 43S W 74.88 FT TO S SEC LINE TH N 88D 57M 17S W ALONG
S SEC LINE 1269.88 FT TO BEG * SEC 7 T5N R10W 28.37 A. SPLIT/COMBINED ON 03/15/
FROM 41-23-07-300-039, 41-23-07-300-All interested persons may attend the public hearing and comment on the proposed rezoning.
Written comments concerning the request may be submitted to the Township office, at the above-
stated address, up to the time of the public hearing.
Dated: October 11, 2021
PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CALEDONIASeveral state parks in
southern Michigan will host
volunteer stewardship work-
days in October, including
Yankee Springs Recreation
Area.
Volunteers are needed to
help with removing invasive
plants that threaten
high-quality ecosystems in
the parks or in collecting
native wildflower and grass
seeds.The local workday will be
from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday,
Oct. 17, at Yankee Springs
Recreation Area.
Registration is required for
all volunteer workdays.
More details about all
upcoming workdays and
how to register can be
found on the DNR volun-
teer events calendar,
Michigan.gov/
DNRVolunteers.James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
Joy was written on the
faces of children, adults and
even the animals last Saturday
at the Gaines Charter
Township Heritage Festival.
The 10th annual event
hosted by the township’s
Historical Society brought
steady crowds to the grounds
of the township hall from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m.
People had waited three
years for the popular festival
to return. It was canceled in
2019 due to heavy rains, and
last year because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Light
rain and fog started the day,
but, as the fog burned off,
conditions became partly to
most cloudy and warm.
Historical Society
President Shirley Bruursema
has chaired the Heritage
Festival the past several years.
“Everybody is thrilled,”
she said, “so happy that we
brought this back on again.
It’s been so successful. I’m
very happy with it. It was
worth every hour we put into
it. Even our Historical
(Society) booth did well.”
Bruursema made 24 loaves
of bread for sale at the Historical
Society booth, in several differ-
ent varieties. Apple cider,
doughnuts, and various baked
goods were available. Other
vendors sold items such as
fudge and ice cream. Arts and
crafts and all kinds of seasonal
items also were offered. Doug’s
Good Time BBQ Shack out of
Shelbyville drew a lot of cus-
tomers.
As in years past, the pet-
ting zoo was one of the festi-
val’s main highlights. Mary
Tegethoff, owner of
Wayland-based Mary’s
Country Critters, brought the
petting zoo this year.
And there was everything
from a donkey to sheep and
alpacas. A miniature horse, a
rabbit, a chicken and duck,
as well. She said the rabbit
got the most attention from
the children.
“Because it’s the softest
rabbit you’ll ever pet,” she
said.
Another big hit at the
Heritage Festival were the
antique fire trucks brought in
by the Dutton Fire
Department, and the antique
farm tractors lined up along
Kalamazoo Avenue. Trophies
and ribbons were given for
the snazziest ones.
“We’ve got more tractors
than we’ve ever had. We’ve got
more fire trucks than we’ve
ever had,” Bruursema said.
Dutton Firefighter/Inspector
Dave Van Putten brought
Dutton Fire Department
Dalmation dog “Cinder,” who
seemed to enjoy all the atten-
tion she was getting. Van Putten
was helping the department sell
hot dogs.As of early afternoon, he
said, “We’ve gone through
almost 350 hot dogs today. We
were hoping that it would be a
big turnout being off for two
years, so it worked out well.”
“The old fire trucks look
really cool. My kid seems to
really enjoy looking at them
and getting pictures with
them,” Jennifer Churilla
said. She and her husband,
Jesse Churilla, brought their
2-1/2-year-old son, Silas, to
the festival.
“A lot of good stuff going
on down here,” Jesse said.
“We literally came down here
to walk. We didn’t even know
it was happening, so it’s kind
of cool to have everyone down
here and having some fun.”
Kimberly Pashkowski is
Community Risk Reduction
Officer for the Cutlerville
and Dutton fire departments.
She pointed out that October
is Fire Prevention Month.
“So, we’re out here for the
Heritage Festival and doing
hotdogs and chips, and
talking about fire safety.”
Chris and Rebecca
DeYoung had a booth set up
entitled: Bougie Living
Prices. They were selling
candles, fresheners, T-shirts,
mugs, and custom printing.
“It’s been a fantastic event
today,” Chris said. “The
sun’s starting to come out,
lots of crafts vendors, a lot of
people coming through, I’mvery happy with this.”
Kate Mastaw of Wyoming
and Donna Larsen of Saranac
shared a booth. Mastaw was
offering hand towels repre-
senting various pro and col-
lege sports teams.
“Good turnout and good
traffic. All the time, it’s
always been good to us.
More fire trucks is great. The
(sheriff’s) department is out
here. They’re all good-will-
ing it, so it’s really great.”
It was Larsen’s first time
at the festival. She offered a
number of items for sale that
she had crocheted at home.
David Steeby gives free
hayrides each year at
Heritage Festival. He pulls a
wooden trailer with his John
Deere tractor down a trail
and through the woods of
Prairie Wolf Park. “Lots of
people want a ride. Load and
unload,” Steeby said.
He also said there were “a
lot more” people this year
than in past years.
One woman who didn’t
give her name said she and
her 6-month-old son came
from Muskegon for the festi-
val. “I like how nice the
people are out here, and all
the creativity that the people
came up with themselves.
Very fascinating.”
New to the Gaines
Township Heritage Festival
this year was an antique fish-
ing demonstration on one ofthe ponds on the township
hall campus. Luke Hardy
with the Fishing Museum &
Cultural Center said they
were recreating an 1880s-era
fishing encampment while
dressed in period clothing.
Jerry Berg of Comstock Park
owns the traveling museum.
Several kinds of fishing
implements were on display.
“We’ve got hand lines,
bamboo and river cane poles
and a fly rod. As time went
on, the brass reel split into
two different kind of schools.
They went to the fly reel.
Around the 1920s, they grad-uated up to the more modern
type of reel.”
Hardy said they actually
caught a bluegill in the pond.
Despite the foggy, rainy
conditions early in the morn-
ing, the weather improved as
runners began participating
in the annual Prairie Wolf
Park 5k.
A husband and wife from
nearby Wyoming were the
overall male and female win-
ners, respectively. Jake
Shavalier clocked in with a
time of 19:05, and Jana
Shavalier posted a time of
24:04.The petting zoo at the 10th annual Gaines Township
Heritage Festival was a big hit – for the people and the
animals. (Photo by James Gemmell)Gaines Township’s Heritage Festival brings smiles
Middleville council approves permits for
BooFest, Christmas on the River
DNR hosting workday
in state rec area