Things to Do in Empire Michigan This Summer: Two Weekends

Empire’s late-summer calendar now has two distinct centers of gravity.

The first remains downtown, where Anchor Day brings local history, a Front Street parade, the Glen Lake Community Library book sale, the Lions Club chicken dinner and an evening street dance into a compact village setting. Three weeks later, the focus moves east along M-72 to Lively Acres, where a farm, campground, market and outdoor music space will host the first Backyard Blues, Brews & BBQ.

For residents, seasonal homeowners and visiting guests looking for things to do in Empire Michigan this summer, the useful story is larger than two event schedules. Empire is retaining the close-knit traditions that have defined its summer calendar while creating room for a different kind of gathering beyond the village center.

Two Weekends, Not One Continuous Festival

The dates are close enough to feel like part of one late-summer stretch, but they should be planned separately:

That distinction matters. Anchor Day is designed around movement through downtown Empire. Backyard Blues, Brews & BBQ is a ticketed outdoor music event with onsite food, beverages, parking and camping.

Anchor Day Begins With the Story Behind the Celebration

The 2026 Anchor Day program opens at 7 p.m. Friday, July 17, at Empire Township Hall. The evening features screenings of “How Empire Got Its Name” and “Bringing Up the Anchor.”

Those films provide useful context for a tradition that can otherwise look like a playful small-town festival built around an unusual artifact.

Anchor Day commemorates the recovery of an anchor from Lake Michigan in July 1977. Doug Manning and Michelle Stryker discovered it while canoeing off Empire Beach, in water approximately 18 feet deep. The anchor was attached to a large wooden beam. After questions about ownership of an artifact recovered from Great Lakes waters, state officials allowed it to remain in Empire if it was properly displayed.

The anchor also fits into a broader maritime story. According to the Empire Area Museum, the village was likely named for the steamboat Empire State, which went aground in the area in 1849. The schooner Empire later became icebound offshore in 1865.

That history gives Friday evening a clear purpose. It connects the recovered anchor to the vessels, shore and shipping stories that shaped Empire’s identity.

Saturday Moves From Market Morning to Street Dance

Anchor Day’s Saturday program builds gradually rather than concentrating activity in one location.

The regular Empire Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. next to the Empire Post Office on Front Street. It is not merely filler before the parade. Its locally grown produce and crafts place the morning within a weekly routine that residents already know.

Parade participants line up at Johnson Park at 11:30 a.m. The Anchor Day Parade begins at noon and proceeds down Front Street.

The rest of the day unfolds across several familiar places:

• The Glen Lake Community Library hosts a pop-up book sale. The current Anchor Day announcement does not specify the sale hours, so check with the library before building the day around it.
• The Empire Lions Club serves its barbecue chicken dinner at Johnson Park. The most recent local report lists the dinner from 1 to 7 p.m.
• Grocer’s Daughter hosts a bonfire with free hot dogs and s’mores from 6 to 8 p.m.
• Doc Probes performs for the street dance at the Glen Lake Community Library plaza from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

The locations reveal how Anchor Day works. Johnson Park supports the parade and dinner. Front Street becomes the public stage. The library serves as both a daytime and evening gathering point. Grocer’s Daughter carries the program through the early evening before the dance begins.

This is resident-led placemaking at a modest scale. No single venue has to carry the entire day.

A practical parking note

Empire’s Lake Michigan Beach Park has limited metered parking, and Johnson Park is identified as an alternative. Anchor Day also uses Johnson Park for parade lineup and the chicken dinner, so demand there may be higher than on an ordinary Saturday.

No formal 2026 road-closure or event-parking plan was included in the current announcement. Arriving early is the prudent approach, especially for anyone trying to combine the farmers market, parade and book sale.

Three Weeks Later, the Focus Shifts to M-72

The first Backyard Blues, Brews & BBQ introduces a different event format on August 7 and 8.

Lively Acres combines a campground, Lively NeighborFood Market, a regenerative vegetable-and-flower farm, and outdoor festival grounds. Local reporting describes the full property as approximately 19 to 20 acres, with a two-acre backyard festival area and 40 campsites.

The site’s event history predates its current use. The property’s former owners, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, hosted public and private gatherings there. Its present configuration gives that history a new agricultural and food-focused setting.

The change is significant for Empire. Downtown remains the setting for civic traditions that benefit from a walkable cluster of public spaces and local businesses. Lively Acres can accommodate a ticketed outdoor production with camping, a larger music program and onsite food and beverage service.

These formats complement each other because they ask different things of their locations.

Friday’s Campfire Sets Up Saturday’s Main Stage

Local coverage describes Backyard Blues, Brews & BBQ as an August 7 and 8 festival. The official event page makes a finer distinction: Friday is a separately ticketed campfire and open mic, while Saturday is the principal festival.

Friday, August 7

Sugar Mae’s Blues Camp opens at 6 p.m. Music runs from 7 to 9 p.m. around the campfire, with an acoustic blues open mic hosted by musician and historian Captain Dirk.

Campers and local residents are invited to attend. Food and nonalcoholic drinks will be available for purchase. Friday admission is $10 and is included for festival campers.

Saturday, August 8

Gates open at 2 p.m., with music beginning at 3 p.m. General admission is listed at $35.

The lineup includes:

• Thornetta Davis, who was named Detroit’s Queen of the Blues by the Detroit Blues Society and won the 2023 Blues Music Award for Soul/Blues Artist Female
• The Fabulous Horndogs, a Northern Michigan six-piece whose repertoire spans rhythm and blues, boogie-woogie, rock, swing, funk and soul
• Brendon Linsley Band, winner of the 2025 Detroit Blues Challenge
• Captain Dirk, who also hosts Friday’s acoustic program

Brendon Linsley’s official biography notes that he has shared a stage with Buddy Guy. Alongside Thornetta Davis and the long-established Fabulous Horndogs, that gives the Saturday bill a clear connection between Detroit blues credentials and northern Michigan’s live-music community.

Individual Saturday performance times and the event’s closing time have not been published on the official page. Plan around the stated 2 p.m. gate and 3 p.m. music start rather than assuming a set order.

The Food Program Is Part of the Festival’s Identity

The regional sourcing deserves equal attention with the music.

Lively Acres plans to serve barbecue prepared from locally raised animals. Stormcloud Brewing Company will provide beer, with wines from Mawby and Big Little. Vegetarian and gluten-free food choices will also be available.

That menu reflects the property’s broader use. Lively NeighborFood Market and the farm are part of the same site, so local food is central to the event rather than an unrelated concession added beside the stage.

Guests should bring a blanket or lawn chair. The outdoor show is scheduled to proceed rain or shine, and the grounds have limited shade. Coolers and dogs are not permitted in the festival area. Free onsite parking is advertised.

Camping Changes the Weekend Plan

Lively Acres has reserved its 40 campsites for festival attendees and requires a two-night minimum. Electrical and tent sites are available, but sites do not have individual water or septic connections in 2026.

Camping includes Friday-night admission, and campers may purchase Saturday tickets for $30 rather than the $35 general-admission price.

One detail deserves care when sharing directions. Lively Acres’ official materials publish two different street numbers for the property. Rather than relying on a copied address, use the official event or campground booking page when confirming the destination.

What These Two Weekends Say About Empire

Anchor Day and Backyard Blues, Brews & BBQ are not interchangeable versions of the same summer festival.

Anchor Day draws its character from public spaces and long-standing local institutions: Empire Township Hall, Front Street, Johnson Park, the Empire Lions Club, Glen Lake Community Library and Grocer’s Daughter. Its rhythm depends on moving through the village over the course of the day.

The M-72 festival draws from a farm-and-campground model. The audience settles into one rural site for live music, locally sourced barbecue and regional beverages, with an option to stay for the weekend.

Together, they show how Empire’s community calendar is broadening without asking its downtown traditions to become something they are not. The anchor remains the center of one weekend. A farm, market and outdoor stage create the center of another.

For people who spend much of the year here, that second center of gravity is the real late-summer update. Empire’s social life still gathers on Front Street, but it now has room to extend east along M-72 as well.

Considering a home, land, commercial property or seasonal ownership plan in Empire or elsewhere in Leelanau County? Peter Fisher offers locally informed guidance with the discretion, market reach and attention to detail that complex property decisions deserve. Book an appointment or schedule a Leelanau County consultation.