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Coast Guard Festival planners outline July 25–August 3 schedule; Gary Sinise booked for Saturday entertainment
Summary
Festival organizers presented an overview of the 2025 Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival, July 25–August 3, including Waterfront Stadium layout, a Gary Sinise performance, a drone show Friday and fireworks Saturday, and plans to dedicate Coast Guard memorial bricks on Memorial Day.
Festival organizers presented the city council with the proposed schedule and logistical requests for the 2025 Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival at the March 3 meeting. The event is scheduled July 25–August 3, with activities ranging from a kids’ parade and boat slips to a family carnival and evening stadium performances.
The festival presentation noted that Saturday night entertainment will include Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band; tickets for shows will go on sale June 2. Organizers said the Tri Cities YMCA Coast Guard City Run and other recurring events will follow their usual format. The family carnival operator Skirvex will run its usual schedule and use both the Covenant Life lot and additional parking lots for the carnival footprint.
Organizers sought the city’s usual permissions for street closures, temporary vendor booths, food-vendor placement along the harbor and boat-slip allocations. The festival team said they will again use the lighthouse kiosks and the festival app for visitor information, and they requested permission for Harbor Island campsite use for carnival staff and a shuttle run between the soccer fields and Columbus and Third on Friday and Saturday.
A Friday-night drone show will run on Dewey Hill and will not be combined with the Saturday fireworks display; organizers said drones will be flown across the river and not over crowds. Staff also reported that the Chief Petty Officers Association and the Grand Haven Chamber have been developing a memorial-brick installation at Escondaga Park honoring predecessor services and Coast Guard personnel who died in the line of duty; organizers said the bricks will be engraved and installed in early May with a Memorial Day dedication planned.
City council members did not require major changes to the plan and commended organizers for separating the drone show and fireworks and for early planning; no council vote was required at the presentation, which was accepted as informational.
