Blessing of the Fleet celebrates waterfront community heritage

HARBOR SPRINGS — Paddleboards, sailboats and more made their way into Little Traverse Bay on Thursday, June 27 in celebration of the Blessing of the Fleet.

Each year, the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society celebrates Fleet Week, which features a series of events leading up to the Blessing of the Fleet. Fleet Week is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the historical society.

"This event is is not only important to us because of its fundraising nature ... but it's also important to us as a learning event," said Kristyn Balog, executive director of the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society.

Balog said the event is used to help teach people in the community, as well as visitors, about the heritage surrounding the waterfront community and why the water is important to the community.

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Fleet Week included different opportunities, like people being able to ride on a Jiimaan, an Odawa canoe, or learning about the Northern Michigan Sloop and its 90th anniversary.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN .

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Blessing of the Fleet celebrates waterfront community heritage