On Our Radar, May 2023

Does summer say minor league baseball to you?

Whatever becomes of the Tigers this year, here on the lakeshore we have the Muskegon Clippers to root for. At $5 a ticket ($2 for kids 5-12), we can do a lot of rooting on summer nights at historic Marsh Field,1800 Peck St. After home games, kids of all ages can run the bases! Since 1916, the field has seen players of all levels come and go, including Hall-of-Famers Satchel Paige, Hank Greenberg and Mel Ott. Four members of this year’s Great Lakes Collegiate League Clippers hail from this stretch of the lakeshore: Daniel Gutierrez of Spring Lake (Adrian), and from Muskegon, Conner Vallie (Davenport), Jaxon Huffman (MSU) and Charlie Branch (Lincoln Trail College).  A five-game home stand June 6-10 kicks off the season.
muskegonclippers.com

Fans of modern furniture, add Office Outlet at 455 W. Washington Avenue in Zeeland to your shopping itinerary. The sizable showroom in Zeeland sells Herman Miller furniture through an association with Design Within Reach, usually at half price and sometimes lower still. (Lakeshore residents may know it as The Company Store.) Along with office furniture, there’s a lot that works in other rooms, too, including couches, coffee and dining tables, counter stools and lighting. It’s all sold as used, but that may simply mean it has a ding (always specified on the tag), or that Herman Miller used it for a photo shoot. 
officeoutlet.net

Every summer, Taste of Muskegon draws dozens of the city’s restaurants to Hackley Park to serve up great food and vie for the Taste of Muskegon Plate Awards. This year, it’s June 9 and 10. Party atmosphere? — check! Live bands will cycle through both days. There’s axe-throwing for adults and a kids’ zone includes inflatables (plus Critter Barn critters will visit — check the Taste of Muskegon website for the schedule). On “Restaurant Row” along the park’s edge, food trucks park and brick-and-mortar restaurants set up tents. Adult beverage zones include a tequila cantina, craft cocktails and beer. Admission is free; pay as you go for food and drink. BYOChair. Friday 4:30-10 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. tasteofmuskegon.org

Frogs, bugs and trails, oh my!

Kids get squirmier when spring comes. Two spots brimming with opportunities to get those wiggles out are the Outdoor Discovery Center south of Holland and Muskegon State Park.

The ODC campus has the kickingest naturescape playground you may ever set your eyes upon, plus trails galore. Free ODC events coming up at other lakeshore locations include catching frogs with a naturalist at Fairview Park in Laketown Township on May 22 (for kids

4 to 12) and sloshing through wetlands with one on Holland’s north side on June 16 to look for bugs, crayfish and the like. For details and to preregister, follow links from the ODC calendar, accessible through the website’s “Programs” dropdown. Some other one-time events have fees, as do ODC day camps. You’ll find outdoor activities for adults and for whole families, too.

Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park, a nonprofit that operates in part of the 300-acre Muskegon State Park, offers challenging activities for somewhat older children on summer Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting May 26. For a fee, kids can zipline, zoom down a luge on a wheeled sled (with lessons), tackle an outdoor climbing wall or learn archery — book ahead online, and check to make sure your kids meet height and weight requirements. State Park and sports park trails are open daily, with eight mapped loops that range from three-quarters of a mile to 4.5. Some are wheelchair accessible, and an all-terrain track chair can be reserved online at no charge.

Would a treasure hunt make hiking more engaging for the kids you know? Visit Friday, Saturday or Sunday and for $10 buy Michigan Luge’s Trail Quest map. It leads to check-points where boxes can be unlocked by solving riddles. The tokens inside are worth points. Game on!
outdoordiscovery.org
msports.org
visitmuskegon.org

The closing of Isabel’s  Market & Eatery in Douglas was announced last fall on its Facebook page, but the Douglas establishment is alive and kicking this spring. It closed only briefly, operated at a reduced scale over the winter, and will ramp up as summer visitors return to the lakeshore. The catering service’s take-out shop (with a big seating area at the rear) at 310 Blue Star Highway now includes a small but comprehensive liquor shop, too.
isabelsmarket.com

A benchmark anniversary — shoe bench, that is

New shops are fun, but let’s also celebrate the ones with staying power, like Borr’s Shoes — which turns 100 this year. 

Borr’s was founded in Holland in 1923. The shop in Grand Haven was added in 1979. Longtime employee Cathy Tubbergen (who started working at the Holland store in high school) bought the business in 2007, and in 2014 she invited Grand Haven store employee Sharon Behm to join her as co-owner.

Borr’s merchandise includes men’s and women’s shoes and sandals made for walking, not just looks, including brands like Birkenstock, Blundstone, Born, Chaco, Halsa, Reef, Sperry and Teva. Does a pair for free sound like a good fit? To celebrate this year’s anniversary, Tubergen and Behm are doing two giveaways each month — check Borr’s social media.
borrs.com
facebook.com/BorrsShoes