By Mary Drier (Contact / Staff Bio)
July 16, 2008 - 12:00 a.m. EST

ELKTON ‹ The Elkton Chamber of Commerce is hosting a festival Saturday that will blow you away.

The chamber is hosting a “Wind Turbine Day.” The event is designed to not only entertain but also to educate.

The Elkton area is dotted with wind turbines, which comprise the first wind farm in the state, and companies are looking at other areas in which to possibly develop wind turbine farms.

Noble Environmental Power has 32 wind turbines in Bingham and Sheridan townships. The $75 million project is expected to bring tourists to the Thumb, and this festival will kick that off.

While it is Noble Environmental Power’s turbines the event will highlight, the company says it is not directly part of the event.

The blades are 125-foot-long and on 263-foot tall towers.

Events start Saturday at 7 a.m. with registration of 5K Walk/Run & Bicycle Tour in Veterans Park. The races starts at 10 a.m. Proceeds from the event will go to “Relay for Life.” At 8 a.m. there will be T-shirts, cookbooks, and buttons for sale in front of the Civic Center

At 10 a.m., there will be a craft show, an Alternative Energy Displays on Main Street, and tours of the wind turbines will be offered. A button (cost $3) is needed to ride the bus that will leave from Cleveland Street and Main Street about every half hour until 4 p.m.

Even though the event is in Huron County and the wind turbines are located there, other Thumb counties are being studied for wind farms too.

Throughout the day, the Elkton Lions Club will host a free vision screening for children at the village hall conference center.

At 11 a.m. Lt. Governor John Cherry and Rep. Terry Brown will be guest speakers at Veterans Park

There will be a free movie screening of “Kilowatt Hours” at the village hall main’s room.

From 11 a.m.-4 p.m., there will be free blow ups and a water slide for kids to play on at the Elkton Family Medicine building.

From noon to 1 p.m., Thumb Electric will give a demonstration Independent Bank.

There will be live music with “C C Gold” at the Independent Bank Parking Lot noon to 4 p.m.

Also from noon to 4 p.m., the Oliver Township Fire Department will host an open house at the fire hall.

The day wraps up with a barbecue pork picnic dinner at the Civic Center. The proceeds from the diener goes to benefit the Elkton Civic Center.

Also, concessions will be available throughout the day.

Parking for the one-day event will be at the Elkton Motoplex on York Street by the Ackerman Memorial Park, and handicap parking will be available on the post office parking lot on Mill Street.

There will be a free people mover transportation from the parking lots to the downtown and back, as well as townwide garage sales with maps available at Ron’s Party Store.

Proceeds from the day will go towards Relay for Life, Elkton Civic Center, the Elkton Little League Ball Field Project and Elkton Chamber of Commerce projects.

Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.