Blue Water Sturgeon Festival set for Saturday in Port Huron

Widely known as a “living fossil of the Great Lakes,” the lake sturgeon is a big part of Michigan fishing lore. Don’t miss the chance to learn more about the species – and have a lot of fun – at The Friends of the St. Clair River’s 9th annual Blue Water Sturgeon Festival.

Open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 4, at Lighthouse Park in Port Huron, the festival celebrates this gentle, prehistoric giant, a mascot for Great Lakes recovery. From the 1800s, lake sturgeon declined in the Great Lakes due to habitat loss and degradation and overfishing. Since the early 2000s, federal, state and tribal agencies have partnered in rehabilitating lake sturgeon.

For nine years now, thousands of people have gathered on shore each June to mark the migration of the sturgeon that return to the Blue Water area to spawn. Festivalgoers can enjoy a live sturgeon touch tank, hands-on activities, dozens of vendor booths, workshops, Native American drum ceremonies, hand-release of baby sturgeon, food trucks, live music and more. You can even “adopt a sturgeon” that scientists have tagged and are tracking in the wild.

At the festival, passengers can board the Huron Lady Sturgeon Cruise and experience a rare, close encounter with lake sturgeon underneath the Blue Water Bridge. The one-hour, narrated cruise takes riders on the St. Clair River and Lake Huron to interact with biologists who are catching, tagging and releasing the fish. The cruise sets off at 11 a.m. and tickets are $30. Festival admission is free.

Get full festival details at SturgeonFestival.com.