Reel in a Good Time at the Big Fish Festival This Weekend

Families seeking a boatload of fun before the beginning of the school year need not look further than the Big Fish Festival this weekend, according to organizers.

The eighth-annual event, hosted by the Bloomfield North Area Chamber of Commerce, combines art, entertainment and sports to benefit local area businesses and other entities, said Mel Hager, vice president of the chamber.

Over 2,000 are expected as the free event moves from Roosevelt Elementary School in Keego Harbor to Abbott Middle School in Orchard Lake Village this year, Hager continued, in the hopes of making car parking easier on a larger road and offering more space for business booths. 

Indeed, Hager said, the event is known for its "big fish" (which translates to "Keego" in an Indian language, according to the city) in the form of a bass fishing contest in Cass Lake for children between 9-12 years of age.

"We try to set up the weigh-in so it looks as it does on television, when they pull the board to scale," said Hager, referencing televised bass fishing contests. "At our contest, a bass fishing organization will weigh the fish right there and whoever has the most weight wins trophies."

The two-day festival also includes live music arts and crafts, contests, a car show, and a dog show. It runs from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

The schedule

Saturday and Sunday (all day events)

• Moon house, slide and obstacle course
• 4-H events
• Dry casting, t-shirt painting and more
• Live oldies
• Classic classic car show

Saturday daily events

• Bass fishing contest on Cass Lake 
• Optimist Club of Keego Harbor contests
• Optimist Club of Keego Harbor parade  (Line up at 10:30 a.m. and begins at 11 a.m.)
• Flash concert (12:45 p.m.)
• Vortex martial arts school performance (1 p.m.)
• Dog show, located just outside school playground (2 p.m.)
• Dog Show at 2:00pm
• Concert (6 p.m.)

Sunday daily event

• Live local bands

To learn more, visit bnachamber.com.