Good Stuff To Know About For The First Full Week of August

Monday-Friday

  It’s Fair time.
 Awhile back while covering one of our County Commissioners twice-monthly meetings a group from 4-H were there to give a report. One was a young man who spoke with such passion about what the organization had done for him and highlighted it by speaking of the annual Newaygo County Fair.
 “There are two times of the year for me. Fair and waiting for the Fair.”
 Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration since he seemed to be an intelligent and well rounded individual but his point was taken.
 The Fair is Huge for those who are involved and tons of fun for everyone else who attends.
 This week the annual agricultural extravaganza gets into full swing after a weekend of activities. Evening events include an Off-Road Derby Monday and A NIght of Destruction Tuesday.
 Each day the petting farm is open from 3-6pm and there’s a daily tug of war at 5pm but beyond the scheduled activities is the fair itself, a celebration of all things agricultural and the culmination of the year-long efforts of the 4-H youth.
 Bring your kids and tour the grounds but be warned….exposure might result in numerous requests to become part of the 4-H family.

Wednesday

 Of all the Fair doings, the Junior Rodeo is one of the must-sees featuring local youth putting their rodeo talents on display. Action begins at 7pm. Get there early.

Thursday

 Devin Bates the young man who recently suffered a dog attack in our area has a long road to recovery ahead of him. To help defray the costs for the family of the 12 year old there will be a Spaghetti Dinner at Camp Harvest from 5-8pm.
 Ok, let’s say you don’t like spaghetti and/or you’re too busy that day...you can still help by going to his gofundme page. We Near North folks are known to be  a generous group and this is a way to support one of our families during some troubling times.

Friday 

 Family Health Care (nee Regional Health Care) arrived on the scene in Baldwin a half century ago.
 Today they provide a wealth of services to our communities with two facilities in our county located in Grant and White Cloud.
 The Baldwin location, where it all began, is hosting an open house of their newly renovated digs in the town to our north with guest speakers, tours, and (my personal favorite) light refreshments.
 The doings start at 2pm at 1615 Michigan Ave in Baldwin giving one time for a post-lunch  Jones Ice Cream cone on the way if one is so inclined.

Saturday

 Like Tony Bennett? Of course you do. Who doesn’t like Tony? The man has crooned duets with k.d. Laing, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga among others.
 No, he’s not coming here, but the uber-talented Rick Reuther is and bringing with him a tribute to Tony that promises to be exceptional based on Reuther’s past performances.
 In fact, a review of his performance at the Dogwood years ago stated:
 “Reuther’s rich voice is appealing as he effortlessly strolls down familiar standards, highlighted by his version of “New York, New York” a number that drew out  several  aspiring vocalists who joined in the chorus at his invitation.”
 Yes, RR made a fan of us that night and we plan on being their Saturday if only to see if he can get the Black Box denizens to  leave their hearts in San Francisco.
 Dogwood 7:30pm. See the full story on our home page.

On The Near Horizon

High School Sports are coming!. Get ready for our coverage of Football, X-Country,Tennis, Volleyball, Soccer, Golf and Swimming.

And remember….

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.” -Lewis Carroll