GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — With blankets, chairs and canopy tents covering the greenspace off of Harbor Drive in Grand Haven, you may think the main road that travels through town looks a lot like a festival.
"Sitting out here all day is crazy hard with kids, but in order to have a spot, you don't have a choice," said Grand Haven local Pamela McCaleb. "As a local, you don't have a choice."
However, it's actually McCaleb and others claiming their space for the Coast Guard Festival Fireworks.
With kids and family in tow, she says the yearly tradition of setting up blankets and chairs 24 hours in advance isn't for the faint of heart.
"It's not the funnest thing to do, I wish it wasn't that way, but to guarantee a spot for our entire family to be together, you have to come in advance," said McCaleb.
Saturday at the Coast Guard Festival, according to locals, is one of the biggest days of the year. To McCaleb, even bigger than the Fourth of July.
"I would rather skip Fourth of July anywhere and come here and see Coast Guard fireworks," said McCaleb. "I think they're better than anywhere I've seen."
Tyler Cowan, also set up shop early, coming in Thursday morning.
For those who may have strong feelings against the early birds, Cowan says, if you can't beat them, join them.
"I mean, realistically, it's still 24 hours we've been here when somebody's always in our spot," said Cowan. "To people that are complaining, I would literally just say, if it's that big of a deal, come on, do it yourself. I mean, a lot of us this is like just an extensification."