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Each year, residents look forward to Midland Area River Days Festival, with this year's event set for July 30-Aug. 2, including live music, food and hot air balloons.
The River Days tradition in Midland dates back to the 1950s, said Kevin LaDuke, communications officer at the Midland Area Community Foundation, which presents the festival. Originally, it was combined with Fourth of July celebrations, and later, in the 1980s, River Days featured a steamboat as the main attraction.
Today, one of the highlights of the festival is the hot air balloon spectacle that attendees can view. The event also includes fireworks, food vendors, live music from CEYX, Elements of Soul, The Shakedown, Miranda and the M80s, and more.
The festival is four days of fun, LaDuke said, most of which is free to enjoy.
“Folks don’t have to spend a dime unless they want to purchase some food, but you can get up close and personal with hot air balloons, you can get up close and personal with some Midland history, and you can get up close and personal with some music and some fireworks,” LaDuke said.
Other local groups join the festival, with the Midland Rotary Club and Midland Lions Club selling meals, both of which serve as fundraisers for the clubs. Midland Area Community Foundation and Downtown Midland also work together to offer elements of the festival on Main Street.
Midland Area Community Foundation partnered with the Daughters of the American Revolution to make the historical zone a special feature this year, LaDuke said. The zone offers a look at Midland history, featuring blacksmiths and wood carvers, as well as walking tours from the Midland County Historical Society.
River Days sees about 10,000 attendees over the course of the weekend, LaDuke said. Community gatherings and events like River Days bring residents together, which helps strengthen the bond they have with each other and with the city where they live, LaDuke said.
“If we are good neighbors and we are good to one another and we are spending time with our fellow community members, we are going to fall more in love with this place. We are going to become more emotionally connected to the place that we live,” he said. “Very few people think about the place they live as a place that they have a relationship with, but in actuality, it is one of the most important relationships in our lives.”
River cleanup
The festival kicks off with a river cleanup on Thursday, July 30, 1-3 p.m., led by the Chippewa Nature Center. There will be two teams: a shore cleanup crew and a water cleanup crew, said Michelle Fournier, school and public program director at Chippewa Nature Center.
The shore team walks along the riverbank cleaning up items, while the water team gets into boats to gather any trash or items that can’t be reached from shore, she said. Boats and life jackets are provided.
Maintaining and protecting the rivers is important, not just for the plants and animals that call it home, but for the people who enjoy the river, too, Fournier said.
“It is River Days — the whole festival is focused around the site of the confluence of the Chippewa and Tittabawassee Rivers, so it is an important thing as we are thinking about the festival to also give back, to ensure the river health," she said.
Volunteers for the river cleanup must be 15 years or older and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Those interested can sign up online at https://chippewanaturecenter.doubleknot.com/registration/calendardetail.aspx?activitykey=3142291&orgkey=2941
Festival schedule
On Thursday evening, attendees can check out Main Street Glow from 7-8:30 p.m., which features the hot air balloons with lit burners, an event on which the Midland Area Community Foundation collaborates with Downtown Midland to make happen. From 7-10 p.m. is a silent disco.
At 6:30 a.m. on Friday, July 31, a hot air balloon fly-in takes place in Chippewassee Park. Starting at 5 p.m., there will be food trucks, a cheeseburger dinner and beer tent from the Midland Rotary Club, the Run The River race and a performance from CEYX. At 7 p.m., the mass balloon ascension begins, as well as a performance from Elements of Soul, followed by the Hot Air Balloon Glow at 9 p.m. Stone Street Revival takes the stage on Main Street from 9-11 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 31 also begins with a hot air balloon fly-in at 6:30 a.m., followed by voyageur canoe paddling from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and food trucks until 9 p.m. From noon to 4 p.m., there will be a kids' zone with activities and entertainment, a game of tug of war at noon, a historical zone from noon to 5 p.m., and a chicken dinner and beer tent hosted by the Midland Lions Club and a Rotary Club beer tent from 4-10 p.m.
At 5:45 p.m., The Shakedown: A Bob Seger Experience takes the stage, followed by a mass balloon ascension, a performance from Miranda and The M80s, a Hot Air Balloon Glow, and a fireworks show to close out the evening at 10:15 p.m.
On Sunday, Aug. 2, the festival closes out with a competitive hot air balloon flight from 6:30-8 a.m.
LaDuke recommends that attendees park in the Larkin Parking Garage and noted that accessible parking for people with disabilities will be available near the festival site. Most events of the festival take place along the river near the Tridge, but some locations vary and a full schedule is available at https://riverdaysmidland.com/
Those interested in volunteering can sign up at https://riverdaysmidland.com/about/
