Cherry Festival Canoe Racing
The Outback Adventure canoe races will help kick off the Cherry Festival this weekend.
The individual race will be held today, starting and ending at Hull Park. The race begins at 3 p.m.
Racers will complete several laps between Hull Park and the Union Street Dam. For spectators, the best vantage points will be at the boardwalks along Lay Park and Eighth Street.
There will also be a non-competitive canoe and kayak course for the public. The fee is $5.
On Sunday, the professional tandem racers will be in action. They'll start on Brown Bridge pond at 9:30 a.m. Paddlers will do a loop on the pond, then portage Brown Bridge Dam and head downstream, portaging Cass and Sabin Dams and then finishing the 22-mile course at Hull Park.
"It's a very challenging course," race director Garth Greenan said.
Greenan expects about 30 racers today and 40-50 on Sunday.
Road racing
One of the most popular events at the Cherry Festival is the Festival of Races on Saturday, July 11.
The 5K and 15K races attract more than 2,000 runners and walkers.
The races will have a new finish line. Instead of ending on Sixth Street, near the Heritage Center, the races will end at Union and Front along the Cherry Royale parade route.
Traverse City Central track and cross country coach Lisa Taylor has been added as a race operations consultant.
She said her focus is to make the races "super runner and spectator friendly."
This will be the 30th year for the event. The race was originated by George Kuhn in 1979 with assistance by race director Betty Kuhn, who started a watch at the start then pedaled her Schwinn -- which she still uses -- across town to record the finish, Taylor said.
Taylor expects nearly 2,600 participants -- mostly local -- to compete.
Notable past winners in the 15K include Herb Lindsay and Dan Heikanan, who were on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team; and Margaret Groos, a 1984 Olympian who was visiting the area and signed up on a whim.
Golfing
Senior golf events are slated at Bay Meadows Golf Course.
The Gold Tee Golf Clinic will be held Wednesday from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Golfers must be 50 or over to participate. The cost is $15 per person.
A senior tournament is scheduled for Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. Tee times will be reserved in foursomes. Players must be 50 and over. The cost is $13 greens fee per person. Greens fees and cart are $20 per person. Prizes will be awarded for low net for both men and women.
To register for the clinic or tournament call Bay Meadows at 947-7927.
