local news

Earth Fair Comes to Goodells Park April 29-30

Covid will not be stopping the St. Clair County Earth Fair this year. The 20th annual Earth Fair is being planned for Friday, April 29th and Saturday, April 30th at Goodells County Park. The 2020 and 2021 events were canceled due to COVID concerns.

The Earth Fair is the largest event of its kind in Michigan. Many vendors will be on hand to interact with students and visitors about healthy, sustainable, and green living.

Past events have featured over 70 vendors and thousands of visitors. It’s time for vendors and volunteers to start applying and for school classrooms to plan their field trips. Teachers of 3rd through 5th grade can register for the free field trip that features interactive science lessons in a hands-on environment.

The Earth Fair is also the backdrop of the Green Guardian Award that recognizes environmental champions from the business world, schools and groups that have shown an initiative to enhance, preserve, and protect the Blue Water Area.

www.EarthDayFair.com. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Blankets With Care Serves Those In Need in St. Clair and Macomb Counties

The Blankets With Care non-profit has been working to wrap the homeless, elderly, and veterans in warmth and love since January 2020. The organization is run by five local volunteers who want to reach out to those in need in St. Clair and Macomb counties.

The group got started in 2020 and has been busy collecting donations and taking those donations to those experiencing homelessness and to agencies that serve vulnerable people.

Blankets with Care has many volunteer opportunities including Blessing Bag packing events and direct service to the homeless with the distribution of hot meals. They also have a wish list of needed items for donations.

After several successful fundraisers with community partners in 2021, Blankets with Care is working with Coordinated Crafters Connection, LLC at the New Creative Market at the Meadows in Casco in the summer of 2022.

More information on how to get involved with helping the homeless, veterans, and the elderly with Blankets with Care can be found at the links below.

https://www.facebook.com/CreativeMarketattheMeadowsfeaturingBWC

https://www.facebook.com/BlanketswithCare

https://www.ccconnectionllc.com/blankets-with-care

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Chilly Fest Brings Family Fun to Downtown Port Huron Saturday, January 29th

Chilly Fest is back. The annual celebration of chili and being chilly will be held on Saturday, January 29th in Downtown Port Huron.

The event coincides with a weekend of Silver Stick Hockey Tournament games and the PoHo Hot Cocoa Race.

The mostly outdoors event will have a s’more station and carriage rides on McMorran Boulevard, along with a Chilly Corn Hole Tournament to be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Instead of sampling chili in a crowded tent, organizers have planned a “Chili Crawl” where score cards can be purchased for $5, giving participants access to chili samples at nine downtown businesses.

There will also be a Cocoa Crawl and Penguin Hunt going on all day, along with displays of ice carvings at many downtown businesses. There will be an outdoor Kid’s Zone in the Superior Mall Parking Lot from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Chilly Fest is the result of a lot of collaboration between Downtown Port Huron, Port Huron Parks and Recreation, Blue Water Young Professionals, and corporate sponsors.

A link to the full schedule can be found below.

https://www.chillyfest.org/?fbclid=IwAR0_LZUET3LVqdFwwH2g4H0eU897a0PCIQ5nZL_B7qPUlHMykAy_dt4Pqxw

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

PHS Asks Community to Complete Federal Funding Survey

Stakeholders in the Port Huron Area School District are asked to complete a survey to gauge the public’s priorities as the district makes plans to spend federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER III, funding.

The survey asks students, parents, staff, and community members to give their feedback on what is important to them.

The survey lists a variety of spending options and asks respondents to rate them as essential, high, medium, and low priority, and not a priority. The survey ends on January 31st.

The short survey asks about implementing instruction in both face-to-face and remote learning formats, interventions for struggling students, instructional materials, and summer learning opportunities. The survey also asks about opinions on after-school tutoring and extra instructional days. There is an opportunity to rate the importance of family engagement and social-emotional programming, as well as technology, facilities, and COVID-19 mitigation investments.

A link to the Survey.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Sarnia Downtown Waterfront Master Plan Finalized

The Sarnia City Council was presented with a final draft of the much-anticipated Sarnia Downtown Waterfront Master Plan.

The last plan was done in 2005. This new Master Plan is the result of nine months of work with community consultation through the “Speak Up Sarnia” webpage and spurred by a consensus that the waterfront was underutilized.

The Master Plan calls for enhanced connectivity between Downtown and residential neighborhoods and redevelopment of Ferry Dock Hill. The Plan also calls for “destination creation” through cultural and event space investment and programming.

The three primary districts addressed in the plan are the Marina District in the north, the Market district adjacent to Downtown in the center of the waterfront, and the Innovation District in the far south.

Full implementation of the plan could take twenty years and could bring significant economic benefit to Sarnia.

A link to the full Sarnia Downtown Waterfront Master Plan can be found below.

Master Plan

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

The Closet Offers $100 Wedding Dresses at Vintage Bridal Event

The average price for a wedding dress is around $1600. That doesn’t include all of the other accessories that complete the bride’s look for her special day. There is also a substantial wait time for new dresses that are often made to order.

How does a $100 off-the-rack dress sound?

A beautiful new-to-you gown that can be taken home on the spot for just a hundred bucks is a possibility with a special event hosted by The Closet by A Beautiful Me. On Friday, January 21st from noon to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 22nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., The Closet will be selling vintage wedding gowns, veils, and flower girl dresses for a fraction of the usual cost of traditional new attire.

Retail Manager Lori Ann Vought explained the idea, saying, “We decided to host a special event to cater to just the brides that are on a budget or having a short engagement. This is a one-time event where we are featuring bridal dresses that you won’t see on the floor after our Vintage Bridal Event.”

Proceeds from the Vintage Bridal Event support the non-profit’s mission of providing teen girls free business training through a retail store. The Closet by A Beautiful Me is located at 235 Huron Avenue in downtown Port Huron.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland