With beaches and many vacation destinations, southwest Michigan is home to much of the Lake Michigan coast. It is just 30 miles from Grand Rapids and 40 miles from Kalamazoo.
A decade ago, eight communities along 200 miles of shoreline formed Michigan's Beachtowns (www.beachtowns.org), a marketing consortium. Participating towns include St. Joseph, South Haven, Saugatuck, Holland, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Ludington and Silver Lake Sand Dunes.
The coast offers unique opportunities for gatherings.
Muskegon has 26 miles of beaches and dunes. Its newest venue is Watermark 920, an ultra-modern, 10,000-square-foot meeting and event space in a restored furniture factory.
Other Muskegon facilities include the 1,726-seat Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts, a restored 1929 theater that accommodates 150 people for receptions, while rooms in the attached Hilt Building can hold up to 275 guests. Events for up to 300 can also be held aboard the LST 393, a restored World War II Landing Ship that is now a museum.
Situated on the shores of Muskegon Lake is the 140-room Shoreline Inn & Conference Center, a Choice Hotel Ascend Collection property that has 4,100 square feet of meeting space and a 114-slip marina.
Holland is home to Windmill Island Gardens, where groups can hold a catered picnic beside the Macatawa River or in a covered pavilion for up to 200 guests. The gardens also feature DeZwaan, a 250-year-old working windmill imported from the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the New Holland Brewing Company has a private meeting area and can hold tastings and food-pairing events, and Boatwerks Waterfront at Lake Macatawa on the edge of Holland's historic downtown can host 100 guests indoors or 300 tented outdoors.
In downtown South Haven, Foundry Hall is a 7,000-square-foot event venue that also has a 300-seat theater. South Haven also has the Michigan Maritime Museum, where there are two replica vessels available for cruises and charters: the tall ship Friends Good Will and the river launch Lindy Lou.
St. Joseph, a port town, features the Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, which can host up to 300 people, and the Shadowland Ballroom at the Silver Beach Center, accommodating more than 300 people.
