Good morning, lakeshore. Summer's holding steady this weekend, sun through Sunday, highs climbing into the mid-80s, and the lake sitting right around 70 degrees for anyone ready to jump in. Enjoy the calm, because next week downtown Muskegon turns into a different animal entirely. Tonight there's live music on both sides of the water, this weekend brings a genuinely strange and wonderful sight to the Grand Haven beach, and we found out this issue that the Hackley Public Library is holding onto a piece of medieval history nobody talks about. Issue 14 has everything you need to make the most of it.

In this week’s Lowdown:

Let’s get into it.

- Sam Johnson, The Lakeshore Lowdown

Beach Vault is back at Grand Haven State Park, and if you've never seen pole vaulting happen in the sand, you're missing out. This isn't a beach volleyball situation. It's a real competition, with vaulters aged 15 to 18 clearing bars over Silver, Bronze, and Gold pits, backdropped by Lake Michigan instead of a track infield.

The event runs Thursday through Sunday, with Friday's action starting at 10am and running heats through the afternoon into evening finals. Saturday and Sunday keep the pace going with a full slate of age and skill divisions. It's free to watch, and the setup right on the beach means you can post up with a chair, watch a few rounds, and still have the whole day for everything else on your list.

It's a strange, cool thing to stumble into on a normal beach day, athletes soaring over a bar with the lake right behind them. If you're already heading to the water this weekend, swing by and watch a few jumps. You won't regret the detour.

Friday clears out fast. Morning fog burns off and you're left with sun, a high near 84, and a light north wind that won't mess with much of anything. Saturday pushes into the mid-80s under mostly sunny skies, and Sunday tops out near 86 with full sun and barely a cloud around. Overnight lows stay comfortable all weekend, dropping into the low 60s each night, so if you're camping or just leaving windows open, it's good sleeping weather.

Lake Michigan is sitting right around 69 to 70 degrees off Muskegon, that sweet spot where it's cool going in but you forget about it within a minute. Waves build a little Friday with a stiffer north wind, then lay down for a calmer weekend.

The verdict: Friday's the pick for beach time if you want it calmer in the morning before the wind kicks up, and Saturday and Sunday are both solid all-day options with less chop. Sunscreen weather all three days.

7 Day Glance: The whole stretch trends warmer and drier as it goes, climbing from the mid-80s this weekend into the upper 80s by Monday and Tuesday, with sun sticking around basically wire to wire. No real rain in sight until at least midweek.

Weather sourced from the National Weather Service the day prior to this issue.

Parties in the Park kicks off Friday evening at 4:30, and if you haven't been, it's a 42-year Muskegon tradition for a reason. Free admission, live entertainment, and the kind of low-key Friday night crowd that makes you remember why summer here is good.

Over in Grand Haven, the Free Fridays concert series keeps rolling at Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium, with Molly taking the stage this week. Bring a chair and get there early if you want a spot up front.

Mark your calendar for next week too. Muskegon Bike Time turns 20 starting Wednesday, July 15, and runs through Sunday the 19th at Hot Rod Harley-Davidson downtown. Rebel Road runs the same stretch right alongside it, raising money for the Child Abuse Council of Muskegon County. Between the two, downtown is going to sound different for five straight days, so if you've got plans that involve driving through the area next week, plan around it now.

BoDocks has Zion Lion taking the stage tonight, Friday, 7 to 10, right on Muskegon Lake near Pere Marquette Beach. Same night, over in Grand Haven, Free Fridays brings Molly to the Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium, so take your pick of which shoreline you want music on tonight.

Saturday belongs to The Deck, where The Spazmatics turn the beach into an 80s dance floor at 7pm. Sunday winds things down easy with The Windbreakers bringing full yacht rock energy to The Deck at 5.

With the lake laying down for the weekend, it's a solid stretch for anything that needs calm water. Paddleboarders and kayakers should aim for Saturday or Sunday rather than Friday, when the wind's still working the water over. If you're out on a boat, mornings are your friend all three days before any afternoon breeze picks up.

Pick your calm window and get out there. The lake's not going to be this easy all summer.

For the anglers: the king salmon bite is heating up off Muskegon, with boats trolling 40 to 80 feet down and finding a mixed bag of kings, coho, and lake trout on spoons and meat rigs. Perch action stays hit or miss right now, so if you're after eating fish, salmon's the better bet this week.

Grand Haven's got a new spot worth checking out. Blue Porch Bar and Grill just opened at 21 N Beacon Blvd, in the old Stan's Tacos space, and it's built around keeping prices sane. The Peanut Butter Burger, topped with hot pepper bacon jam and cheese curds, runs $11.20 and is already the thing people are ordering twice.

On the Muskegon side, Lake Bluff Grille has fully reopened with a new look right on Muskegon Lake, serving contemporary American plates with a waterfront view that's hard to beat. Happy hour runs 3 to 5:30 Tuesday through Thursday and all day Monday, with $2 off drafts and seltzers, so it's an easy one to build a weeknight around.

And Snug Harbor is still doing what it's done for 30 years on the Grand River. The lobster roll remains the move, whether you grab a seat on the 80-seat deck or head upstairs to Jelly's for a tiki bar pour with the same river view.

The Clippers gave fans a night to remember Tuesday, blowing out the Southern Ohio Copperheads 19-1 behind 17 hits and a five-inning, no-run outing from Chase Schwierking. Wednesday's doubleheader at Marsh Field split the other way, but it came with local flavor. Ben Meyers, the North Muskegon product headed to Aquinas College, launched a home run in front of family and teammates, and Nick Moss, whose dad Jeff coaches at Montague, drove in a run in his Clippers debut. Head coach Brian Wright said the team is controlling its own path to the playoffs now, needing roughly seven or eight wins in the final stretch to lock up the second spot in the North Division.

Three Clippers earned North Division All-Star nods this week: Isaiah Domey, Kaden Howard, and Justin St. Antoine, with broadcaster Myles Welch representing the team behind the mic at the July 21 All-Star Game in Mason, Ohio. Muskegon's on the road this weekend for a three-game set against the Hamilton Joes, then it's back home for the Xenia Scouts series July 14 and 15, including Clippers Clobber Cancer Night on the 14th. Only four home dates remain, so if you've been meaning to catch a game at Marsh Field, the window's closing.

Tucked into downtown Grand Haven, The Hare & The Hive feels like stepping into someone's personal collection rather than a store. Owner Nicole Neumann built the shop around a love of vintage and found pieces, with a name that nods to her own scattered, idea-a-minute energy and a shared love of Lewis and Tolkien. The hive half of the name belongs to her sister, Heather Mansel, a beekeeper behind Bespoke Gardens, whose honey is making its way onto the shelves. Nicole's been in business for over a decade already with a permanent cosmetics studio in Jenison, and she credits her husband Todd with helping make room for this second one. It's the kind of shop where the story behind it is as good as anything on the shelf.

Not many public libraries can say they hold a piece of medieval Ireland, but the Hackley Public Library can. Tucked inside is one of only two facsimile editions of the Book of Kells on public display anywhere in the United States, sitting quietly in a building lumber baron Charles Hackley gifted the city back in 1890. Walk past the stained glass windows and the building's glass floors in "The Stacks" and you're standing in a space built during Muskegon's wealthiest era, still doing exactly what it was built to do more than 130 years later. It's the kind of thing you could walk past your whole life and never know was there. Next time you're downtown, it's worth the five minutes to go look.

That's the lakeshore for you this week, sun, bikes revving up down the road, and a library holding onto a piece of medieval Ireland nobody talks about. Get out there before Bike Time takes over downtown.

We’ll see you Tuesday.

-The Lakeshore Lowdown
Email: [email protected]