Good morning, lakeshore. The sun's out, the boats are lining up in the channel, and Father's Day lands right in the middle of it all. Whether you're headed to the beach, checking out a sand sculpture, or watching a parade of powerboats roar through Muskegon, there's plenty happening from now through Sunday.

In this week’s Lowdown:

Let’s get into it.

- The Lakeshore Lowdown

A Mona Shores Sailor just played in the College World Series.

Aaron Piasecki grew up here, and last week he was hitting leadoff for Troy University in Omaha, sharing a field with the eight best teams in the country. Troy had never made it that far in school history. Piasecki is a big reason they did.

The senior shortstop transferred in from Central Michigan and turned into Troy's table-setter, hitting .337 with ten homers on the year. Then the postseason hit and so did he, batting over .400 across the Sun Belt and NCAA tournaments. He went 4-for-5 against Florida to force a winner-take-all game, and the Trojans took it. "It's surreal," he said about the ride to Omaha.

Troy walked in as the only team in the field carrying 30 losses. They beat Ole Miss for the first College World Series win in program history, seven unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth to steal it late. West Virginia ended things Tuesday, but nobody got there the hard way like Troy did.

So next time somebody says the lakeshore doesn't make real ball players, you've got a name ready. Aaron Piasecki, Mona Shores Sailor, leadoff man in the College World Series.

The rain clears out and the lakeshore gets the weekend it's owed. Friday runs warm and dry with a high near 69 and almost nothing on the radar. Saturday holds around 70 once any early clouds burn off, and Sunday is the pick of the bunch at 73 with real sun for Father's Day. Overnight lows settle into the upper 50s, so grab a layer if you're out for the bonfire. Winds stay light out of the west, nothing that'll flip your beach umbrella.

Lake Michigan is still doing its June thing. The water's sitting in the low to mid 60s, warm enough to wade in but cold enough to steal your breath if you go straight under. Waves look small and friendly through the weekend with the calm winds, good news for paddlers and anyone dropping a kayak in.

The verdict: this is a beach weekend. Get to Pere Marquette or the Grand Haven boardwalk early, because everybody else is reading the same forecast.

7 Day Glance: Friday and Saturday hover right around 70, then Sunday nudges up to 73 under mostly sunny skies, the warmest and brightest of the three. Monday keeps the run going near 74 as a warm pattern settles in over the lakeshore. Early next week looks like more of the same, dry and warm with summer finally acting the part, though a stray afternoon storm wouldn't be a shock once the heat starts building.

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

The weekend opens on Juneteenth. Taking Back Muskegon throws its Juneteenth Festival and Parade on Friday, and it's grown into one of the city's best community days, part celebration and part block party.

Saturday, all eyes go to the sand. Grand Haven's 43rd Annual Sand Sculpture Contest sets up on City Beach, where plain shoreline turns into something you'll want to photograph before the lake takes it back. Free park-n-ride shuttles run from the Duneside Discovery Center, and they hold it rain or shine.

Sunday closes things out at the Muskegon Farmers Market. The 6th Annual Black Business Expo runs 2 to 7 with more than 80 Black and Brown-owned vendors, plus food and a car show rolling through. It lands on Father's Day, so it's a good place to knock out a gift and lunch in one trip.

The beach turns into an emo singalong Saturday night. The Deck throws an Emo Beach Party at 7, with Loudernow running through Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance while the sun drops over Lake Michigan. It's exactly as fun as it sounds.

Over in Grand Haven, Grand Armory Brewing has a band in the taproom Saturday night. The 1905 Armory building downtown is one of the better rooms on the lakeshore for live music, with twenty taps and a crowd that actually listens.

The Deck keeps the music going all weekend. Friday night brings a top-40 dance party at 7, and Sunday hands the stage to American Hairband at noon, leather and all, for an 80s hair-metal Father's Day on the sand. Bring earplugs for grandpa.

The waterfront belongs to the powerboats this weekend. Muskegon Powerboat Weekend brings the high-performance fleet to town, starting Friday night at the USS LST 393 grounds on the Mart Dock from 5 to dusk. There'll be showcase boats lined up, Fountains and Skaters among them, plus food trucks and a drone light show capping the Celebration of Service. The one to circle is Saturday at 12:30, when the Parade of Power runs through the Muskegon Channel. Post up along the channel walls and you'll feel the engines before you see them.

Away from the noise, the lake is playing nice. Light west winds mean small, easy waves all weekend, so it's a good stretch for kayaks and paddleboards on Muskegon Lake or a slow float off the Grand Haven boardwalk. The water's still on the cool side of comfortable, fine for wading and a quick dip, less so for a long swim until you've made peace with it.

For the anglers: salmon and lake trout are mostly a deeper-water troll right now, and the spring Chinook bite has cooled a notch up the shoreline near Silver Lake. If you've got a charter booked or a buddy with a boat, go chase them. If not, the beach gets along just fine without a rod.

Sunday is Father's Day, and the lakeshore already knows the assignment: meat and something cold. Smokey Jose's on Washington Ave in Grand Haven covers the first half, where slow-smoked brisket and street tacos share a menu and the back patio is built for a long afternoon. Take dad and order too much.

Pigeon Hill handles the second half over in Muskegon. Grab a Lake State Lager or a Shifting Sands IPA at the Brewer's Lounge, or wander over to their Socibowl spot if dad wants duckpin bowling with his pint.

If you need neutral ground, Odd Side Social Brews splits the difference in Fruitport. It runs as a coffee shop in the morning and a full taproom at night, kitchen going the whole time, so nobody leaves hungry or uncaffeinated.

Summer baseball is back at Marsh Field, where the Muskegon Clippers are underway for another season and a ticket's still one of the cheapest good nights in town. Go catch a game.

The spring season is over, but the recognition keeps coming. Grand Haven softball, fresh off the program's first state final, landed three first-team all-state seniors. Ace Lorelei Chciuk struck out 384 batters this year, with Bri Borgman and Bella Korf joining her on the first team. Ravenna, the new Division 3 state champ, led the whole area with five first-team picks of its own. And on the baseball side, North Muskegon's Logan Slimko capped his prep career in the East-West All-Star Classic at Comerica Park, with Dartmouth in the fall.

Two Sailors are out in Oregon this week. Mona Shores teammates Max Kammeraad and Ryan Opsommer both made the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field, the biggest high school track stage in the country. The pair finished sixth and seventh in the high jump at the Division 1 state meet, each clearing 6-5, and Kammeraad got up to 6-6 earlier in the season. Opsommer pulls double duty in the hurdles and the high jump. Now they get to measure themselves against the best in the country.

On the busy stretch of Western Avenue, Legends Bar & Grille has become one of downtown Muskegon’s favorite gathering spots. What began as a neighborhood bar has grown into a lively social-district destination known for its welcoming atmosphere, strong drink selection, and elevated pub fare. Signature items like the special-blend burgers, Irish Dip, and broasted chicken have built a loyal following, while weekday lunch specials and a popular salad bar offer something lighter. Weekends bring breakfast and brunch, complete with a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, and even four-legged visitors get VIP treatment thanks to the dog-friendly patio and dedicated dog menu. Just steps from the convention center and in the heart of downtown, Legends strikes the balance between familiar neighborhood hangout and bustling Muskegon hotspot.

Grand Haven calls itself Coast Guard City USA, and behind that title is a ship that never came home. The cutter Escanaba was based here, and the town claimed her as its own. On June 13, 1943, she sank in the North Atlantic in about three minutes, and only two of her crew lived. Grand Haven grieved like it had lost family, then raised over a million dollars in war bonds to build another ship in her name. Her mast still stands at a waterfront memorial, where the town gathers every summer to remember them.

The forecast finally looks like summer, the boats are lining up in the channel, and somebody from Mona Shores just played in the College World Series. Not a bad week for the lakeshore.

Get outside this weekend. We'll see you Tuesday.

-The Lakeshore Lowdown
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