News File Photo This 2015 News file photo shows a scene from the 2015 Presque Isle Harbor Wooden Boat Show.

PRESQUE ISLE — Two boating events are coming to Grand Lake over the next couple of weekends.

The Fireside 500 Stock Outboard Race is planned for the weekend of June 8 and 9, while the 27th annual Presque Isle Harbor Wooden Boat show is planned for the following weekend on June 14 and 15.

FIRESIDE 500

The Fireside 500 Stock Outboard Race is a new event coming to Grand Lake this year, planned by the Presque Isle Yacht Club, in association with Top O’Michigan Outboard Racing Club.

Registration happens from 5 to 8 p.m. June 7 and from 8 to 9 a.m. June 8 and June 9 at the Fireside Inn, 18730 Fireside Highway, Presque Isle. Driver meetings are scheduled for 9 a.m. June 8 and 9. Racing begins around 10 a.m. June 8, Mike Bugenske, vice commodore of the Presque Isle Yacht Club, said.

“The first race will be a marathon, which will leave the Fireside Inn and go up to Crescent Island, and that will be five laps,” he said. “Then there will be the junior races, and then, throughout the day until 5 o’clock, the timed events leaving the Fireside Inn (will take place).”

The race on June 9 is also scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The race will end with an awards presentation at 4 p.m. June 9.

Bugenske said organizers anticipate up to 60 boats will participate in the inaugural race. Participants will come from all over Michigan to attend the event, with a few traveling from outside of the state.

He explained there are three different types of boats that can compete in the race: hydroplane boats, runabout boats, and inflatable boats. Boats can vary from 8 to 12 feet long and reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

The race is free and open to the public. However, Bugenske said spectators need to get a wristband at the Fireside Inn to enter. Parking will be available along East Grand Lake Road.

Spectators can also watch the race on their boats from outside of the race course. Boats can be launched at the Grand Lake Beach House, 6603 McCreery Drive.

WOODEN BOAT SHOW

The 27th annual Presque Isle Harbor Wooden Boat Show will kick off at 11 a.m. June 14 with a participant launch from the Grand Lake Beach House. The boat cruise will follow at noon.

Boat Show Committee Chairman Bob Van Dusen said there are usually 2,500 to 3,000 people who attend the show, with people coming from as far away as Texas and Canada. He said the committee is hoping even more people attend the show this year.

“All the boats are very beautiful,” he said. “They’re all old restored boats from the 1940s and 1950s, most of them.”

Van Dusen said fiberglass boats will also be on display.

The June 15 event is free and open to the public, with an opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. at Presque Isle Harbor, 5462 E. Grand Lake Road. The Rev. Scott Landane from St. Ignatius Catholic Parish will bless the boats, and the show will open with a cannon shot. The antique and classic boats will be on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. following the opening ceremony.

Van Dusen said it takes a lot of time and money to restore those boats.

The Mail Order Bride is this year’s featured boat. Van Dusen said the Mail Order Bride was voted people’s choice at last year’s boat show. The boat is a 17-foot Western Fairliner Torpedo built by the Western Boat Building Co. in Tacoma, Wash. The company only built 32 boats of that model and only six or seven of those boats are known to remain.

Van Dusen said there will also be an Icon A5 airplane at the boat show, an amphibious, light-sport aircraft which can land on the water or the land. The wings also fold up so the airplane can fit into a typical garage.

A classic car show is also planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a number of other activities are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those activities include an arts, crafts and vendor market, displays of model boats in the model tent, and activities for children to enjoy. The award ceremony will be held at 3 p.m.

The committee has also brought in a number of food vendors for the event, since the Portage restaurant isn’t going to be open for the event.

More information about the boat show can be found online by visiting presqueisleharborwoodenboatshow.com.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.