| Up on Mackinac Island, the City Council has been blocked from freezing ferry ticket and parking rates. A federal judge has halted those efforts for the time being, siding with Shepler’s and the Mackinac Island Ferry Company in their lawsuit against the city. The preliminary injunction fo the courts keeps current rates in place during Mackinac Island’s busy summer season.
Around the state, Eagles are battling a growing outbreak of bird flu. So far this year, at least 18 eagles in the state have been confirmed with avian influenza. Experts say the virus has sharply reduced breeding pairs, dropping by about 40% after a major outbreak in 2022. Scientists warn more cases could be coming and stress the need to keep a close watch on Michigan’s eagle population.
Here on Beaver Island, the BIC Center is getting ready for their first big concert of the 2025 summer season. The Orbitsons will be on stage Saturday evening. We caught up with their lead man Vinnie Dombroski about their upcoming visit… |
| We’re really looking forward to our upcoming performance on Beaver Island and having been out to the island before to play the Beaver Island Music Festival, you know, with that much more excited to be out on the island again. |
| The Orbitsuns are a country band, but not a typical country band… |
| And so we’re really looking forward to the upcoming performance to play some music and really have a great time and to get people up on the dance floor dancing, because that’s what we do with the kings of the Redneck disco. And people shouldn’t be afraid of a redneck disco. It’s nothing but a good time. We’ll have a couple of cocktails and do nothing but play a bunch of dance music. And people will have nothing short of a ball. So we’re looking forward to that. |
| So, country, but not typical country. We asked Vinnie what folks will hear at the show. |
| You’re going to hear Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, senior Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, all the great classic country performers. We just love to play those songs. And of course, there are many original compositions that we will play. You know we have released a video and a single for a song we wrote and recorded called Hey, Lonesome. And we have a brand-new tune, which is a great dance song. It does a 2 step dosido though and it’s called micro dosing dosido though and if you want to know what that’s about, all you gotta do is come to an Orbitsuns show and you’re going to see it. Nothing but a great dance party and a damn good time. |
| The show is this Saturday. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org. |
| We’re gonna have a great night of music. Bring your dancing shoes.
And we hope to see you there see you July 5th Saturday, 7:30. |
| Now, here’s a look at events happening on your Emerald Isle…
First your meeting planner. A-A meets Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:00 at the Christian Church. Peaine Township Planning Commission has a meeting set for Tuesday at 3:30. School is closed this week for the holiday and, speaking of that, there is a Community Meeting on main street on Friday to celebrate our Independence. It starts at 1:00 and will end with fireworks.
On the fun front today…
Thursday, at 8:00 the Beaver Island Golf Course annual 4th of July Golf Tournament tees off. There’ll be lunch and prizes. At 9:00, the first Farmer’s Market of the year is open out at Paradise Bay Coffee Shop. Also at 9:00, there’s Pickleball on the Peaine Township Courts and at 10:00 a trifecta of activities: Tai Chi in the Hangout at the BIC Center, C-O-A Cardio Drumming out at the Peaine Township Hall and Women’s Bible Study at the Christian Church. Again, all those events starting at 10:00. At 11:00, the COA has a Crafter’s Social at the Peaine Township Hall. And it’s Burger and a Beer Night at the Shamrock.
Friday, is Independence Day. The BIC Center will be closed, so no Senior + Vets Coffee + Donuts, Yoga or Chair Strength training. Also closed are the library and the resale shop. But, the C-O-A has a Walkersize at 10:30, a walk from Heritage Park to the St. James Campground and back. The Island’s Independence Day parade steps off at 1:00. If you want to be in it, be lined up by 12:30 on Kings Highway south of Holy Cross. Fireworks are at about 10:00 in the evening as soon as twilight has faded. [On the radio, Kick off your weekend with our fantastic Friday lineup! After the 6:00pm news, enjoy “That Thing with Rich Appel” featuring top forty hits from the 70s. At 9:00pm, tune into “The Titus Jennings Experience” offering music from all genres, followed by “The Midnight Special” with Marilyn Rea Beyer at 11:00pm for music, farce comedy, and late-night escape.]
Highlights for the rest of the week include… Just before sunrise on Saturday look for Neptune near the eastern-southeastern horizon. Look for the brighter Saturn first. Neptune will be just north of it. Check dark sky island dot org for more info. Then, head to the free Beaver Island E-M-S pancake breakfast at the Holy Cross Hall from 8:00 to 11:00. Fluffy pancakes, eggs, bacon, hot coffee, and lemonade. Did I mention it’s free? Work off the breakfast with Pickleball outside on the Peaine Township courts at 9:00. Then, there’s the Artisan’s Market out by the lighthouse at Whiskey Point. That starts at 10:00. At 1:30, the Eve McDonough Music School is in session at Red Deer. Check the calendar for sign up info. Saturday evenings are Prime Rib Night at the Shamrock. After dinner, you’ve two choices for music. The annual McDonough Memorial Concert is at 7:30 in the front lawn under the pines at Red Deer. At the BIC Center it’s the Orbitsuns, the Motor City’s finest purveyors of low down and dirty outlaw country. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org.
[On the radio, tune in for Country Classics at 5:00 Saturday evening with host Sheri Timsak. At 7:00, Jackson Smith and Steve Girbach are in with Songs from the Trail. Mark Beltaire takes over at 9:00 with Rockin’ the Boat and continues at 10:00 with the Blues Cruise. Cousin Dan wraps up the evening with the Too Good Radio Show starting at 11:00.]
Sunday, there are services and Episcopal Mission at 9:00 and the Christian Church at 10:00, and Mass at Holy Cross at 12:15. At 1:30, the Eve McDonough Music School is back in session for its second and final day. Then at 9:00, it’s Red Deer Unplugged with Shaker Hites playing inside at the cabin.
Looking ahead to highlights for next week…
Monday, Summer Yoga is at the BIC Center at 9:30 in the Theater with a Basic Flow session. C-O-A has Cardio Drumming at 10:00 and a Crafter’s Social at 11:00, both out at Peaine Township Hall. B-I-Robot, the B-I-C-S robotics team presents a robot film festival at the BIC Center. Wild Robot shows at 3:00. A robot discovers the wonders of nature in this award-winning hit. At 5:00 there’ll be a robot demonstration with a look at this year’s competition robot and robot racing. At 6:00, Companion takes to the screen. ‘ . Also Monday, Red Deer Unplugged is on for a second night featuring Ruby John. Showtime is 9:00, again in the cabin at Red Deer. And, Monday evening is all you can eat pizza night at the Beachcomber.
Tuesday, there’s Chair Strength Training at the BIC Center at 9:00. Pickleball has changed to summer days and times. Today at 9:00, Thursday at 9:00 and Saturday at 9:00. Babes and Toddlers mix it up at the library at 10:00. Also, at 10:00, pickleball outdoors on the Peaine Township courts. At 10:30, there’s C-O-A Walkersize with a walk from Heritage Park out to the St. James Campground and back. At 1:00, drop by the BIC Center Hangout to play Mah Jongg [mah jawng]. Tuesday evening the Beaver Island Jazz Series takes to the BIC Center stage with the first of its events for the season. Edye & Mike will be here as a voice and guitar duo performing tunes from the American songbook and more…all on a stage lit with candles. It’s candlelit jazz at the BIC Center. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are at tickets.biccenter.org.
Summer Yoga at the BIC Center is on today at 9:30 with a restorative session. The library has plenty going on. There’s Kids Storytime, Crafts and Art for three years and up at 10:00 and then for 10 years and up at 11:00. At the BIC Center, there’s Bingo at 1:00 in the Hangout. At 3:00 C-O-A has Fun & Gamers out at Peaine Township Hall. At 7:00, there’s BINGO at the Gregg Fellowship Center. Doors open at 6:15 for fellowship.
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| NAME OF DAY: The BIC Center Name of the Day is Grace. If that’s your name, come on in to the BIC Center today to pick out a free drink of your choice.
BIRTHDAYS: Brad McDonough, Drew McDonough, K.K. Antkoviak and Sydney Butler are on our list today. Happy Birthday to Sydney, K.K., Drew and Brad and, if we missed you on the list, Happy Birthday to you too from everyone at WVBI and your Beaver Island Community Center! |
| TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. The island beltway is running smoothly with no bridge delays. Still, let’s be careful out there. |
| On this day in 1886 A three-wheeled vehicle, the Benz Patent Motorwagen is the first automobile built to be propelled by an internal combustion engine, and its inventor Karl Benz presents it publicly for the first time in Mannheim, Germany. Benz will go on to help co-found the Mercedes-Benz car company.
Benz Patent Motorwagen. Image from Mercedes Benz |
| Our Merriam Webster Word of the Day is desultory (adjective) [DEH-sul-tor-ee], which describes something that lacks a plan or purpose, or that occurs without regularity. It can also describe something unconnected to a main subject, or something that is disappointing in progress, performance, or quality. The Latin adjective desultorius was used by the ancient Romans to describe a circus performer (called a desultor) whose trick was to leap from horse to horse without stopping. English speakers took the idea of the desultorius performer and coined the word desultory to describe that which figuratively “jumps” from one thing to another, without regularity, and showing no sign of a plan or purpose. |
| Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Thursday, July 3rd … |
| Here’s a thought for the day from Karl Benz: “The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams and have the courage to pursue them.” |
| On a lighter note…
What did the lightning say to the fireworks? Hey! You stole my thunder. |
| That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar Report for this Beaver Island Thursday, July 3rd, 2025. I’m Kevin Boyle reporting from W-V-B-I’s Langford Family Studios, wishing you a great day and asking you: why not go ahead and make it the best day ever? And thanks for listening. |
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| Today
Widespread haze before 10am. Sunny, with a high near 71 on the shore, 79 inland. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 58. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight. Independence Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 72 in town for the parade and along the shore, 78 inland. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Saturday A slight chance of showers between 2pm and 5pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77 by the lake and up to 85 inland. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Saturday Night Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Sunday Partly sunny, with a high near 73, 80 inland. Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 72, 80 inland. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 73, 81 inland. Tuesday Night A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Wednesday A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 73, 81 inland. |
| Fire Danger Level on the Island set at High. |
| Out on the Big Drink… |
| Today
Variable winds 5 kt or less. Sunny. Waves 1 ft or less. Independence Day Variable winds 5 kt or less. Mostly sunny. Waves 1 ft or less. Saturday SSW wind 10 to 15 kt, with gusts as high as 25 kt. A slight chance of showers between 1pm and 4pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Waves 1 to 3 ft. |
| Water Temperature: It’s 61 in Little Traverse Bay. The North Lake Michigan buoy southwest of Gull is reporting 58 with one foot waves.
Mid Lake Michigan photo at time shown. Provided by NWS |
| Photos from webcams at wvbi.net and mackinacbridge.org |
Community Calendar Report for Thursday, July 3rd, 2025
