Blessing of the Bikes draws hundreds of motorcyclists
The event marks the start of the biking season and raises money for local charities.
The blessing nearly didn t happen after the Park Township Board of Trustees rejected organizers plans for the township-owned Ottawa County Fairgrounds less than two weeks before the scheduled date.
The board voted against the event at the fairgrounds, citing the risk of a large event while another COVID-19 surge swept across the state.
According to the event s website, attendance was limited to 1,000 people, the maximum number allowed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for outdoor venues.
PARK TWP. After the Park Township Board of Trustees rejected the Blessing of the Bikes organizers plans to hold the event Sunday at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds, the organizers have announced that the event will continue Sunday as planned at a new venue.
The Lakeshore Blessing of the Bikes will be at Beechwood Church, 895 Ottawa Beach Road, Holland. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the blessing is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The event, which draws hundreds of motorcyclists every year to kick off the biking season and raise funds for charity, was originally set to be at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds.
PARK TWP. This year s Lakeshore Blessing of the Bikes is on for now.
The event draws hundreds of motorcyclists and their friends and family for a festive kick-off to the biking season, but was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers have been planning to bring it back to the Ottawa County Fairgrounds Sunday, April 25.
But because the fairgrounds are owned by Park Township, the Park Township Board of Trustees is debating whether it ought to step in to prevent potential violations of state health orders on township property.
Park Township Supervisor Jim Gerard has called a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 12, to discuss the matter.
How has COVID-19 altered how local elected officials govern their communities?
Carolyn Muyskens, The Holland Sentinel
Published
11:06 am UTC Apr. 10, 2021
With COVID-19 forcing local city council and township board meetings online, technology problems have become the norm.Zoom
HOLLAND The Laketown Township Board of Trustees was in the midst of a roll-call for a vote to approve the township s much-discussed budget for the next fiscal year including doubling the township s operating millage when they discovered a township trustee had disappeared from the Zoom meeting. Where s Jim Delaney? asked Supervisor Linda Howell. He took off, responded a member of the public watching on Zoom.
Lake Macatawa no-wake zones to be discussed
HOLLAND Lake Macatawa s three towns are again considering imposing temporary no-wake restrictions for the upcoming boating season.
Last year, following the passage of new legislation that allowed local governments to enact emergency watercraft control measures, the three municipalities around Lake Macatawa put in place a temporary expansion of existing no-wake zones.
The emergency no-wake zones were put in place to try to mitigate the damage to lakefront properties under the historically high lake levels last summer. Last year, Lake Michigan set water level records month after month, through August.
To impose temporary no-wake zones for a second year, the new state law requires that the municipalities be engaged in the process of seeking permanent no-wake zones.