Volume 2, Issue 3 JUNE 14, 2024
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Electric Forest Music Festival invests $27,000 into Community, Arts, Music, and Preservation Projects in Oceana County
The Electric Forest Music Festival has been an Oceana County summer staple since 2008, bringing people across the country together to celebrate art, music, and nature. While the Festival’s grandeur is known cross-country, few know about its philanthropic footprint in West Michigan. This summer, the Festival’s Electric Forest Charitable Fund celebrates the sixth anniversary of its Music in Schools Programs with a $10,000 grant. Its generosity continues with additional grants totaling $17,000 to the Oceana Conservation District, the Hart Project “putting the art in Hart”, and the Oceana Community Foundation. Electric Forest began collaborating with the Oceana Community Foundation in 2019, creating the Electric Forest Char-
itable Fund to support music programs in public schools. The Festival expanded the Music in Schools Program to better support ALL that The Forest values - Community, Arts, Music, and Preservation or EF Michigan CAMP Project. The Electric Forest Charitable Fund’s $10,000 grant to Music in Schools marks its continued investment in making music accessible for area students. The Festival’s program inspired matching grants from nine other Oceana Community Foundation funders to triple the collective support to $29,500 for local musicians. This program will provide instruments, equipment and supplies for under-resourced music and choir programs in Hart, Hesperia, Montague, Shelby, Pentwater and Walkerville schools. New this year is the addition of Walkerville Public Schools as they begin to re-launch their tabled music program across K-12 grades, including the band program. The Festival’s $7,000 support to the Oceana Conservation District (OCD) will help facilitate a master plan for developing and preserving the Stony Creek Nature
Preserve. The Morse family donated the Nature Preserve in 2022 to OCD, providing Oceana County with a beautiful slice of the Stony Creek shoreline. Through the generous support of donors like the Electric Forest Charitable Fund, the 40acre Nature Preserve will open soon with newly created trails and infrastructure for local nature enthusiasts and out-of-town visitors. A crucial part of the Stony Lake Nature Preserve will be its ADA-accessible parking and trails for visitors with different abilities, which is a special interest area for Electric Forest. OCD anticipates the Nature Preserve becoming a popular destination for fishing enthusiasts, school field trips, hikers, and outdoorsmen throughout the seasons. The Hart Project strives to transform Hart into an artistic enclave in West Michigan, establishing its 25 by 2025 mission to build 25 art installations across the city in the next two years. The Festival is a continued supporter of this initiative and recently granted $5,000 to the City of Hart to purchase a new sculpture. The installation will be a large bridge troll made from nat-
ural materials like mud and tree branches, nestled near the fishing bridge by Hart Lake. In 2023, the Electric Forest Charitable Fund contributed to the Hart Project’s installation of the 24-foot Tin Man in the downtown area through a $5,000 grant. Electric Forest Charitable Fund’s final summer grant of $5,000 supports the Oceana Community Foundation’s operational growth. “As a smaller, but growing rapidly, community foundation, we are proud to build an organization that continues to build community capital and create lasting resources for generations to come,” Foundation CEO Tammy Carey shared. “Electric Forest’s investment in our growth is essential to expanding our impact. Operations are often overlooked despite being an essential part of our work. It funds our staff, office, and administration so that we can continue to help Oceana families, businesses, and organizations achieve their charitable goals.” By supporting CFOC’s administration, the Electric Forest Charitable Fund is supporting the community’s philanthropic goals.
Pentwater History Cruise returns for 2024 season
PERMIT NO 62
PRE-SORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE
RESIDENTIAL POSTAL CUSTOMER PAID ECRWSS BIG RAPIDS, MI 49307
Pentwater’s “water taxi” is in the water and area residents and visitors can again board the 1960’s-era U.S. Navy whale boat (not ADA accessible) for a casual, one-hour lap around historic Pentwater Lake and
down the Channel. History Cruises depart on Thursdays through Saturdays at 3 p.m. from the Fourth Street Dock. The cost is $15 per passenger age 13 and older. Children 12 and under are free, but must reserve a seat at no charge. The captain and passengers will be joined by a Pentwater Historical Society volunteer docent who will tell stories about people and places from Pentwater’s past, going back some 400 years. While cruising past various locations, the docent will talk about early Pentwater landmarks that once stood there. These include the railroad depot, Eldred Shingle Mill, Hotel Valeria, “White Elephant,” Sears and Nichols Can-
ning Company, Pentwater Furniture Company, Pentwater Bedstead Company, local newspaper office, U.S. Lifesaving and Coast Guard stations, ferry, swing bridge, Pentwater Brick, powder magazine site, “The Dock,” and the original community hall. Passengers also will learn why nearby Dumaw Creek, northeast of the Village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As passengers leave the boat, they can show their appreciation for the docent’s knowledge and time by making a small donation to help support the admission-free Pentwater Historical Museum at First and Rutledge streets. “Our History Cruise will
whet one’s appetite to visit our Museum,” said Pentwater Historical Society trustee Beth Russell. “We’ve numbered over 50 photographs and artifacts on display. Visitors can dial a local phone number on their
cellphones and listen to a short, recorded narrative about any of them. It’s like having a docent whispering in your ear.” For more information about the History and other cruises available on the
Petoskey boy recovering after hole in Silver Lake Sand Dunes collapes
A 12-year-old Petoskey boy was hospitalized Sunday, June 9 when a hole he had dug in the sand dunes at Silver Lake collapsed on him, completely submerging him under the dune. Around 8 p.m. on Sunday evening, the 12-yearold and his younger brother were racing RC cars on the dunes. The two boys began playing in the sand, digging holes to bury each other in. The 12-year-old entered one of the holes that was five feet deep when the hole suddenly collapsed according to the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office. The younger brother alerted his parents and attempts were made to dig the Pentwater’s ‘water-taxi’ full of passengers. • Contributed Photo 12-year-old out from under
the sand. The parents were still trying to uncover the boy when First Responders arrived at the scene, but the boy remained entirely covered. With the help of First Responders and bystanders, the 12-year-old was pulled from the sand after 14 minutes. The boy was not breathing and was unresponsive with a faint heartbeat present. “Our Golden Township deputy was on duty and responded to the scene, arriving within two minutes from the time of the call,” Undersheriff Ryan Schiller said. “The responding deputy said when he arrived, the family was actively trying to get the young man
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historic “water taxi,” and to make paid reservations, visit www.ptwtaxi.com. For more information about the Pentwater Historical Society and museum hours, visit www.pentwater historical society.org.
out.” The 12-year-old was taken to a Grand Rapids hospital via AeroMed, where he remained as of Monday. “We hope that this young man recovers fully and will be out playing with his brother again soon,” read a press release from the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office. “We are very thankful for our partnerships with all of the agencies who responded. This was a difficult scene and everyone did a fantastic job.” The accident did not invlove a sinkole or any other natural phenomenon according to the release, it remains safe to walk on the dunes.
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