MUSKEGON, Mich. — Burning Foot Beer Festival is back for a sixth year, but high waters and lakeshore erosion has forced county officials to move its location.
The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners passed the motion with full approval to hold the festival at the county's Heritage Landing facility in downtown Muskegon instead of its usual location, Pere Marquette Beach, according to a press release from the Lakeshore Brewers Guild. The high waters and severe erosion in the area poised too much risk.
"While this was a hard decision to make, preserving the integrity of our Lake Michigan beaches for our festival-goers and beyond is imperative to us," the Lakeshore Brewers Guild said in the press release. "We are working closely with the City of Muskegon on this year’s festival, and couldn’t think of a better place than Heritage Landing to temporarily hold the event."
While this year's event will be held at Heritage Landing, festival organizers said there will be all the facets to the event that patrons look forward to, including the giant hop tower, overnight camping, live music and more.
Burning Foot Beer Festival 2020 will feature over 80 breweries from around the Midwest, local food, two music stages with local and national acts, and a pop-up art exhibition.
Festival organizers are hopeful the event will return to the beach in 2021.
High waters and erosion has plagued Lake Michigan's shoreline, especially in Muskegon County. About 20 or 30 homes on the lake are facing demolition and damage due to bluffs disappearing beneath them. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently delivered her State of the State address, but stayed silent on possible plans to help lakeshore property owners and municipalities deal with the damage.
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