At noon on Sunday, November 1, the end of Mason Street closes, and it stays closed until 10 a.m. on Monday, November 9. That covers nine days for a festival that runs three. The cause is the inaugural Art Coast Food & Wine Festival, November 5 through 7, organized by the Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. For anyone without a pass, the festival will look like construction and fencing, followed by a weekend that happens mostly out of view.
The "pavilion" is a tent in a parking lot
When MLive announced the festival in June, it described the venue as "a new 16,000 square-foot pavilion in downtown Saugatuck overlooking the Kalamazoo River." The city's records are more precise. In the organizer's presentation to the City Council in July, Riverside Pavilion appears as a 16,000-square-foot heated structure with clear sides, offering views of the river and the late fall color. The same document calls it a heated tent at the Singapore Yacht Club. The festival's address is 48 Water Street. City staff place the event in the Singapore Yacht Club parking lot and the adjacent public areas on Water and Mason streets.
The city's special event review shows how much of the street goes into support work. Parking will be off-limits on the west side of Water Street from Mason Street south to the Singapore Yacht Club gate for the whole November 1 to 9 window. That stretch becomes a secured back-of-house area behind a temporary chain-link fence with black windscreen and branded screening. Organizers also asked for temporary water connections for that area, for a culinary demonstration stage and for two luxury restroom trailers on Yacht Club property. Council approved the event on its July 13 consent agenda by a 6-0 roll call vote.
Nine days on Water and Mason
| When | What happens downtown |
|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10:15 a.m. | Family & Pet Halloween Parade lines up at Butler and Mason. The parade steps off at 11, followed by Wicks Park activities and trick-or-treating downtown |
| Sun., Nov. 1, noon | Mason Street street end closes. West-side Water Street parking ends from Mason to the Yacht Club gate |
| Mon., Nov. 2 | A 20' x 30' event tent goes up on Mason Street |
| Tue., Nov. 3, 5 p.m. | Round-the-clock on-site security begins and runs through Sunday, Nov. 8 |
| Thu., Nov. 5, 7 to 9 p.m. | Island-Inspired Welcome Party at Riverside Pavilion |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Mini sessions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Restaurant Showcase dinners from 4 p.m., Club Sugar at the pavilion from 9 to 11:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Grand Tasting from noon to 4 p.m., then evening gallery and dinner events |
| Mon., Nov. 9, 10 a.m. | Mason Street reopens |
The Friday Club Sugar date runs past the usual quiet hour. Saugatuck's noise ordinance requires amplified sound to stop at 11 p.m. Organizers asked for a one-time exception that Friday so the DJ Rock City and electric violinist Rachael Miller set can go until 11:30 p.m.
Built to stay inside the fence
One part of the festival would have spread out of downtown. Early plans included a late-night Saturday "S'mores on the Beach" with fire pits on Oval Beach. By the July council review, that Oval Beach activity had been taken off the schedule.
The alcohol rules set the same boundary. Wine and spirits stay inside the licensed event area. Each attendee gets a commemorative sampling glass at the door, and it has to be empty on the way out. No drinks may leave the grounds. The festival FAQ says there is no day pass. The add-ons are priced as extras to a pass and aren't sold as separate entry tickets. They include a $35 coffee cupping and a $200 oil painting workshop on Friday, plus the $60 Saturday Gallery Showcase at J. Petter Galleries, Amazwi Contemporary Art and Ruth Crowe Artist Studio.
Here is what each tier buys, from the official pass page:
| Pass | Price per person | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Pavilion | $395 | Grand Tasting entry at noon |
| Weekend | $545 | Friday Restaurant Showcase dinner, Grand Tasting entry at 11:30 a.m. |
| VIP | $845 | Showcase dinner, Saturday Collaboration Dinner, Grand Tasting entry at 11 a.m. |
Prices are before tax. At checkout the Pavilion Pass comes to $447. According to the Holland Sentinel, organizers expect about 1,000 attendees across the three days.
Friday night happens in familiar dining rooms
The biggest change to an ordinary week comes Friday evening, when the festival moves into restaurants residents already know. The Restaurant Showcase puts a festival-only prix fixe dinner with beverage pairings in each participating venue. Seats require a Weekend or VIP pass. The named venues are:
- Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar on Culver Street, with chef Rick Bower, 40 seats each at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
- J. Paul's at The Kirby Hotel, with chef Christopher LaBelle
- Modales Wines, with chef Mindy Trafman
- Pumpernickels, Wild Dog, Lady Bird and Salt of the Earth
- Saugatuck Brewing Co., Singapore Room and Pennyroyal Cafe & Provisions
- Bowdie's Chophouse and Wickwood Inn at The Fairview
Some of these seatings are very small. Wickwood Inn describes its Fairview dinner as an Indochine meal hosted by executive chef Rose Duong and capped at 14 guests. As of late October, the showcase page listed Wickwood's seatings as sold out. Bowdie's 7 p.m. seating was also full, with one seat left at 5 p.m. If Friday dinner downtown is part of your routine, call ahead that week before assuming your usual table and menu will be there.
Saturday's pull, and who brought it here
The festival's main event is Saturday's Grand Tasting, noon to 4 p.m. in the tent, with Kristen Kish as emcee. The schedule lists 12 Michigan wineries, five guest chefs, 11 local chefs and a signed copy of Kish's memoir. The wineries are Crane's Winery, Domaine Berrien Cellars, Fenn Valley Vineyards, Filkins Vineyards, Good Harbor Vineyards, Golden Muse Winery, Lake Michigan Vintners, Lemon Creek Winery, Left Foot Charley, Modales Wines, Tabor Hill Winery and Veritas Estate. Demonstrations by John Manion, Elena Besser, James Rigato, John Vermiglio and Jenna Arcidiacono run from 2 to 4 p.m.
Kish's tie to the town goes back further than this booking. In MLive's announcement, she said:
"Having spent summers there growing up, it's a place filled with personal memories, and I'm excited to return and celebrate food, hospitality, and community."
That evening, the two VIP Collaboration Dinners both start at 6:30. "Americana" at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts pairs Brian Riggenbach and Mikey Corona with Rose Duong, Mindy Trafman, Matt Bush and Matt Millar. "Colors" at The Dunes Resort pairs Elena Besser with Chris LaBelle, Lindsay Payleitner, Chris Keneau and Rick Bower. Colors is already marked sold out.
After the tent comes down, the free calendar moves to Wicks Park
Once Mason Street reopens on November 9, downtown goes back to events anyone can join. Most of them take place at the other end of Water Street:
- Turkey Trot, Saturday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m. A non-timed loop of about 3.5 miles that starts and finishes at Wicks Park Bar & Grille, 449 Water Street. Registration is $38.10, and all proceeds go to Christian Neighbors for holiday food assistance.
- Christmas Tree Lighting, Friday, Nov. 27, 6 to 8 p.m. At the Wicks Park gazebo, 502 Water Street, the Friday after Thanksgiving.
- Holiday Cookie Tour, Saturday, Nov. 28, 1 to 3 p.m. Stops at area inns and lodging, $5 per person.
- Whootville Christmas Parade, Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. to noon. Lineup at Mason and Griffith at 10:15 a.m., sponsored by the CVB.
The city has more Water Street work in the queue. Replacement of the Wicks Park restroom is scheduled for fall 2027 through spring 2028. For this season, the gazebo, the Turkey Trot start line and the tree all sit at 502 and 449 Water. A month after the tent is gone, Whootville lines up at Mason Street again.
If you're weighing a place within walking distance of Water Street, or want to know how a year-round home there lives in November, Shanna Ax is happy to walk you through it. Let's Connect.
