BALDWIN, Mich. — Organizers from Baldwin's Blessing of the Bikes, which attracts more than 6,000 bikers annually, responded to the cancellation of the lakeshore blessing.
"I'd like to say that's too bad that happened in Holland, because I am originally from Holland," said Marlene Gaitan, one of the organizers of the Baldwin blessing. "But we are not doing anything different as of yet. But we do have local sheriff as well as other sheriff agencies from around the county, so we have various counties that are helping us."
Captain Jake Sparks from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said they were notified about potential threats of violence before the event by the FBI.
"There was some potential issues between some different groups of people, some of those people may have been attending the blessing of the bikes or may have planned on attending the blessing of the bikes, and because of that, we had made some steps to put some coverage or have some extra coverage at the event, have some extra law enforcement present there," said Sparks. "We also reached out to the event organizers and shared with them the information that had been developed and they acted quickly."
While Gaitan, Commander of AM-Vets Post in Baldwin, said the cancellation is unfortunate, they're hoping their 52nd annual Baldwin Blessing is successful.
"This is the beginning of the riding season, and we receive a blessing from our local priest," said Gaitan. "That will the blessing is intended that we all have a safe and enjoyable riding season."
Gaitan added how important the blessing is for the entire community.
"It's good for not only the riding community but as well as our local community because we have a lot of restaurants and bars who will have food and drink and band specials playing and, and so it's good for everybody all the way around," said Gaitan. "It helps our economy, helps us put us on the map."
The Baldwin Blessing of the Bikes is planned for the weekend of May 17-19. The actual blessing is Sunday of that week.
We also reached out to the lakeshore organizers for comment on this story but they declined.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.