Baywatch Babes and Beach Bums

I put everything off until the last minute. I'm a procrastinator by nature, it's true. If you're like me, then you probably haven't hit up the Grand Haven Coastguard Festival yet, despite the fact that it's been in full force since last Friday.

This weekend is your last chance to make it out to the festival in what is officially distinguished as "Coast Guard City, USA" (thanks to an Act of Congress signed in 1998), and the city is pulling out all the stops for the festival's final weekend, (really this is just encouraging us procrastinators).

While the festival does continue into Sunday, Saturday's 80 degree weather is perfect for hitting the beach, the waterfront, or the quaint store fronts of downtown Grand Haven. There's a whole day's worth of coast guard-y activities for you to chose from (or be indecisive and do them all!).

Start early and catch the 11:45 a.m. Meijer Grand Parade at Escanaba Park, where more than 150 entries will salute the men and women of the Coast Guard. This tradition of honoring and celebrating those who have served and are serving in the U.S. Coast Guard hails back to 1924, when the Coast Guard Festival was no more than a personnel-only picnic and rowing competition. Now, the weekend of the festival will draw more than 350,000 guests, including top level Coast Guard dignitaries from Washington D.C.

Throughout the day you can also visit the Coast Guard Craft Show (open from 9 a.m.- 7 p.m.), tour a coast guard ship ( available 10 a.m.- noon), or hit up the carnival rides (10 a.m.-4 p.m.).

There's always time to relax on the beach and work on your tan since you'll probably want to stick around into the evening hours for the Patriotic All Star Salute at 7:30 p.m., featuring music by The Marlins, and capped off with a fireworks display at dusk over the waterfront.

All events are located in Downtown Grand Haven; start near Washington Ave and North Harbor Drive. For more information, check the official Coast Guard Festival Website.

Move on and Go Uptown, Girl

No, Billy Joel won't be in Grand Rapids this weekend. But if you're yearning for all your feel good favorites, the Chase Picnic Pops series will give you the next best thing this Friday and Saturday (July 30 and 31): Grand Rapid's Symphony presents The Music of Billy Joel, featuring the talents of Tony-nominated vocalist and star of the Broadway show "Movin' on", Michael Cavanaugh.

Cavanaugh was hand-picked by Joel to perform in the Broadway music spectacular that features his music. Backed by the Grand Rapids Symphony, favorites like "Uptown Girl", "It's still rock and roll to me", and "New York State of Mind" will get that full-band twist to them you won't hear anywhere else.

You can check out the whole array of rock n' roll anthems at the Cannonsburg Ski Arena in Kent.

Mid-Life Crisis opens the show at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available at the GR Symphony website event page, and are $22 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $8 for kids aged 2-15.

Killswitch Engage Show

I was a little apprehensive about heading out to the Orbit room on a Monday night to see a metal band.

I had heard good things about Killswitch Engage and have played its song "My Curse" on the ever popular game Guitar Hero. As I walked in I was pleased to see the place was packed. I noticed all ages of people were there, but that was not what caught my eye. What did, though, were the numerous amounts of people wearing tuxedo T-shirts.

I was a little amused but thought I was missing something so I continued down to the stage. I was amazed when I saw the crowd for the opening bands – Job for a Cowboy and Whitechapel, which both gave stellar performances.

By the time Killswitch Engage hit the stage I was pumped. They opened the show with "Serenade" decked out in, you guessed it, tuxedo T-shirts. The crowd roared and sang along to awesome rock, heavy metal, and just all around great music. I was very impressed by the performance; I would say that Killswitch has gained a new fan.

Story and photo by Melinda Wilcox.