USA Today features Boyne City: "Small towns that go all out on the 4th of July"

From USA Today: From a soap box derby to a pie-eating contest, foot races to raft races to duck races, Boyne City epitomizes the perfect small town American Independence Day celebration. The big highlight here is the Commemorative Raft Race, where participants race down the Boyne River that flows through town on homemade rafts, while the crowd of onlookers douses them with water balloons, buckets of water and water guns. After the raft race comes the duck race, when nearly 1,000 rubber ducks are thrown into the river and prizes are awarded to the first ducks to cross the finish line. After dark there's a big fireworks display to cap off the birthday weekend. > USA Today story & photos  |  July 4th schedule.

13th Annual Boyne Thunder roars into Boyne City July 8-9

Bigger than ever, the 13th annual Boyne Thunder Poker Run will bring speed, thunder and excitement to Northern Michigan on July 8 and 9 in Boyne City. The poker run showcases 115 high-performance boats from all over the country, including California, Washington State, Florida, New York and Ontario, roaring through the waters of Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan on a 130-mile excursion in search of the best poker hand. 
The Poker Run begins with a series of parade laps starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 9, leaving from the Boyne City Marina. Veterans Park offers some of the best views for spectators. Card stops include Northport, Elk Rapids, Harbor Springs and Bay Harbor, with a lunch stop in downtown Charlevoix The Beautiful. Boaters wrap up their day on the water with a final card stop near Horton Bay and a reception at Sommerset Pointe Yacht Club. The day concludes with a dinner and an auction at Veterans Park, where participants play their cards to see who has the best hand.
In addition to the Poker Run, the weekend offers other activities in Boyne City, including a Friday night dinner for the boaters in Veterans Park and Stroll The Streets, running from 6 to 10 p.m. This downtown even includes music, entertainment and incredible displays of power boats and classic cars filling the streets for people to see up close. This year the addition of Fountain Friday will showcase a wide array of Fountain boats lining Lake Street. While here, people can also enjoy Boyne City’s newest dining establishments – the Boyne City Tap Room and 7 Monks Taproom, both located on South Lake Street.
Saturday activities also include the “best in the north” farmers market from 8 a.m.-noon at Peninsula Beach, a beautiful park on Lake Charlevoix, just south of downtown, and a Champagne Cruise to get an up-close view of the spectacular boats aboard yachts generously donated for the day by area boat owners.
Boyne Thunder is brought to you by Boyne City Main Street and supports two non-profit organizations, Camp Quality and Challenge Mountain. Camp Quality serves children with cancer and their families by providing a year-round programs, experiences, and companionship. Challenge Mountain is dedicated to enriching and improving lives for the mentally and physically challenged through outdoor recreation.
SPONSORS - Main Street and the Boyne Thunder Committee expressed their special thanks to their major sponsors: Mystic Power Boats, Sommerset Pointe Yacht Club, Fox Motors and Ajax Paving. For more information about Boyne Thunder, visit www.boynethunder.com or email mainstreet@boynecity.com.

Boyne City SOBO Arts Festival Set For June 24 and 25

The 7th annual Boyne City SOBO Arts Festival will be an interactive art extravaganza on June 24 and 25, from noon to 6 p.m. in Sunset Park. Committee co-chair Becky Harris commented, “In the spirit of encompassing all arts, this family-friendly interactive art festival is about creating an experience through art. Stations will invite guests to interact in a variety of art forms in an engaging, entertaining and collaborative way.”

The event will kick off Friday night during Stroll the Streets with the celebration and installation of 9 new sculptures in the second year of the Walkabout Sculpture Tour. In all, there will be 12 sculptures in the tour, scattered about town and ready for enjoying.

Saturday events include a Plein Air Paint-Out Competition taking place throughout town from 8 am to 3 pm. Come and see artists, inspired by the beauty of historic Boyne City and Lake Charlevoix, create beautiful work. Artists arrive with a blank canvas and will create a one of a kind piece that will be available for viewing and purchase at the artists’ reception and exhibition taking place at 5 p.m. where the winners will be announced and cash prizes awarded.

New to this year’s festival is the Sidewalk Chalk-Out Competition. Artists will create chalk art on the sidewalk surrounding Sunset Park. Artists of all ages and abilities – from the beginner to experienced chalk artist - are welcome to be a part of this contest which runs from noon to 4 pm, with winners announced at the 5 pm reception.

Pre-registration is required. To get complete set of rules, go to www.soboartsfestival.com, call Becky Harris at 231-330-2704 or email mainstreet@boynecity.com. Please send the $10 fee to SOBO Arts Festival, 319 N. Lake Street, Boyne City, MI 49712 or pay when you arrive.

Family friendly activities include interactive stations that will be placed throughout Sunset Park where everyone can enjoy music, dancing, a puppet show, puppet-making workshops, a paint graffiti wall, a chalk wall, selfie photo opportunities, live statues, art vignettes, pottery making, gratitude stations, Salvador Dali and more. Bring the entire family for an afternoon of artistic, hands-on fun.

The festival is supported by major sponsors Lynda’s Real Estate Service, Charlevoix County Community Foundation, and Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau. For more information, go to www.soboartsfestival.com, or mainstreet@boynecity.com.

Brews for many tastes as 7 Monks opens in Boyne City

From the Petoskey News-Review: Whether they prefer to stick with in-state beers or sample those from afar, 7 Monks Taproom can offer options for customers.
The beer bar and restaurant, which opened its first location nearly five years ago in Traverse City, is preparing to open its second at 202 S. Lake St. in Boyne City. 7 Monks co-owner Jim Smolak expects the opening to happen sometime the week of June 20.
The company looked at multiple locations around Michigan as possibilities for expansion, Smolak said, but attention kept returning to Boyne City. The operators worked with Catt Development, local Realtor Wally Kidd and city leaders as they secured a space in Catt’s newly redeveloped business complex in downtown’s “SoBo” area.
“It was just a really, really welcoming business community,” said 7 Monks co-owner Matt Cozzens. “They were ready for some additional concepts like this.”
7 Monks’ name references the beers brewed by Trappist monasteries, often prized because of their rarity and unique tastes. When the bar opened its original location, seven monasteries in the world were considered authentic Trappist beer producers — although several more have since been added to the list.
The Boyne City location will feature about three dozen beers on tap, as well as numerous canned and bottled brews. The selection will include examples from Michigan and elsewhere around the United States as well as imports.
7 Monks also will offer ciders, wines and a cocktail option — specifically a Moscow mule. As for food, it will serve lunch and dinner with options such as gourmet burgers and pizzas, with a goal to source some ingredients locally.
The Boyne City location’s interior will feature a mix of bar, booth and table seating. A patio also will be available seasonally, with an outdoor fireplace that can be used in cooler weather. Full story.

Boyne City Taproom opening for summer of 2016

From the Petoskey News-Review: With stakes in two beer-focused businesses already operating at Lake Charlevoix's west end, Rich Bergmann and Aaron Hagen plan to launch a dining and drinking establishment this summer near the east end. Bergmann, majority owner of the new Boyne City Taproom, said it's on track to open by early July at 220 S. Lake St., Boyne City, where the Northern Table restaurant closed earlier this year. He and Boyne City Taproom operating partner Aaron Hagen are also co-owners of Lake Charlevoix Brewing and Bridge Street Taproom in Charlevoix. The new owners are currently hiring staff for the Boyne City restaurant/bar and giving its dining area a freshening. This involves new paint, an updated bar area, a new tap system and multiple new flat-screen TVs and monitors, which will display sports programming as well as beer menu listings.  Full story.