Harbor Days

Harbor Days 2010 - Elk Rapids
August 4 - 7, 2010

harbordaysparade Elk Rapids Harbor Days celebration has been a popular event in northern Michigan for over 50 years. Families of all ages can enjoy the abundant activities provided throughout the 4-day event.

The entertainment begins on Wednesday evening with the much-anticipated Evening On River Street. Enjoy a street fair atmosphere with a cornucopia of sights and sounds to satisfy your appetite for food, music and entertainment.

The days following include activities geared to the young and old alike, sandcastle building, outstanding musical entertainment, delicious food at the Community Dinner, a carnival, Kids Day activities and so much more.

The Harbor Days celebration culminates on Saturday with a parade down the streets of town with local dignitaries, floats, bands, and of course Miss Elk Rapids! harbordaysfireworks Enjoy the rest of the day participating in all of the events and then wind down for the evening in time to watch the fireworks display.

Harbor Days is traditionally known to have one of the best fireworks displays in northern Michigan, provided by world famous Zambelli’s pyrotechnics. Imagine relaxing on the beach or your boat after a busy day and watching the dazzling array of fireworks lighting up the evening sky and reflecting into the water below. Your donation will help keep the Elk Rapids fireworks the best.

Elk Rapids Harbor Days is a small town celebration with a big reputation in northern Michigan; make it a part of your summer plans!

Events & Activities for 2010 may include community dinner, paddlebuoy races, harborun, parade, fireworks, cherry bake-off, diaper derby, toddler trot, harbor hoops, pet show, pillo polo, sandcastle building, senior luncheon, senior bingo, carnival, musical entertainment, movie in the park, kid's day, bake sale, dunk tank, kids water ball, fireman's waterball, penny scramble, and more. Click for schedule.

The Harbor Days Steering Committee is happy to announce that Diane Hall of Elk Rapids created the winning design for the Harbor Days button. Hall has been participating in Harbor Days harbordaysbutton since she has been a little girl coming up every year. She eventually made the move to the wonderful community of Elk Rapids. Hall’s design was chosen from over 50 entries! The Steering Committee of approximately 20 members voted for their favorites without knowledge of who the artists were. These were narrowed down to 5 finalists, including Diane’s design. The buttons can be purchased at a variety of merchants and from our volunteers throughout the festival. The cost is $2 and the buttons are used in place of admission fees for many of the festival events. The proceeds from the sales support Harbor Days. The design Hall created was inspired by her countless experiences at Harbor Days. She remembers being a child getting cotton candy at the carnival after riding the upside down Ferris wheel numerous times with her sister! We congratulate Diane and know she will enjoy all of the “perks” that come with being our Harbor Days button artist. We thank all who entered the contest.