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Musical Fountain committee reports record season, new LED lights and home‑grown choreography software
Summary
The Musical Fountain Committee told council the 2025 season drew about 64,000 visitors, the pump rebuild and new show computers performed well, new, brighter LED fixtures are in storage for off‑season installation, and committee members developed a new choreography simulator and tools to expand volunteer choreographer capacity.
Jerry Troke, chair of the Musical Fountain Committee and president of Friends of the Musical Fountain, gave a post‑season update to Grand Haven City Council on Dec. 1, reporting on operations, equipment upgrades and programming growth. Troke said pump number 3 rebuild and replacement show computers performed well across the season, the fountain has been winterized, and a set of new LED fixtures (each roughly "two and a half times brighter" than current units) is in storage for installation during the off‑season.
Troke reported higher attendance this year (committee materials and his remarks placed crowd counts at over 64,000 visitors, up from about 54,000 the prior year) and an expanded song catalog; the committee staged 110 scheduled shows, 107 of which occurred. He also said the committee will refine fundraising for the LED upgrade in the spring.
Brad Boink, who identified himself as the choreography software designer and lead trainer, described building a new choreography simulator after the previous Java‑based software stopped working. Boink said he used AI development tools and donated roughly under $200 in AI credits to produce a functioning development system and a real‑time simulator for testing choreography; he offered to demonstrate the tool to council members on request.
Council members thanked volunteers and noted opportunities for training and recruiting additional choreographers; staff and committee members encouraged interested residents to apply on the fountain website. The council did not take formal action on the presentation; committee members said they will provide behind‑the‑scenes tours and training in the new year.
