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Chesaning Showboat Time

For many of us in this little corner of the world, the week ahead is a special one, indeed. A small town tradition with roots all the way back into the 1930’s, the Chesaning Showboat is a shining example of community spirit and how things get done here in the Heartland. Many local families proudly claim generations of involvement in the project, which involves volunteers at all levels, ranging from car parkers and Boy Scouts all the way to the rotating, 4 member Showboat Committee itself.

Local workers and business people might spend a little time in the morning coffee shops grumbling about the traffic disruption, or the extra “company” time burned on Showboat related tasks, but we all recognized that this was a special week that was very much at the core of the public perception of our town. We all loved the Showboat rumor mills and the stories of the big name stars walking about in our midst, visiting the local stores, restaurants, etc., just like the rest of us. The gallery of autographed photos adorning the walls of the Showboat Restaurant in downtown Chesaning is testimony to the history of the event, and it is a veritable “who’s who” of Show biz over the last 50 years.

A lot has changed over the years that “Showboat” has been a local tradition, and with the broad availability of electronic media, the introduction of casino gaming facilities in the area, and various economic cycles, it seems that most people’s threshold of entertainment has become more difficult to satisfy. The guiding committee has been faced with many challenges in the delicate balancing act between what the audience wants and what the venue can afford. To their credit, they have been flexible enough to adapt to the changing environment they find around them, making basic changes to the format in response to the needs at hand.

The one abiding constant in the more than half-century Showboat tradition is the fact that this is and always has been an event in the very best tradition of community benefit projects. Over the years, countless thousands of dollars generated from Showboat proceeds have been funneled into local improvements, public health and safety, recreation, charity, etc. The buck stopped here, and we have all been the beneficiaries.

We encourage you to take part in the fun, right here in our backyard, as the Annual Chesaning Showboat Week celebration begins with a “Battle of the Bands” on Saturday, July 12th. The official beginning of the week happens on Sunday (13th ) with a Dawn Patrol and pancake breakfast at Howard Nixon Memorial Airport in Chesaning, followed by the popular Showboat Parade, one of the best in the State, featuring many entries from the Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association, of course. For the entertainment schedule, ticket information, or to learn more about Showboat itself, please visit their website;

http://www.chesaningshowboat.org/

For additional local information, see the Chesaning Chamber of Commerce site;

http://www.chesaningchamber.org/

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