Southwestern Michigan GROUP & CONVENTION PLANNER 2015 Contents Welcome . 2 Escort Notes . 3 Maps & Distances . 4 History . 5 Lighthouses . 6 Attractions . 7-52 Agriculture Adventures & Wineries . 7-16 Antiques . 17 Art, Theater & Entertainment . 18-20 Boats & Canoeing . 21-22 Casino . 23 Festivals . 24-28 Fishing . 29-30 Fun Times . 31-32 Golf . 33-35 Museums . 36-41 Nature Parks & Beaches . 42-47 Shopping . 48-51 Skiing . 52 Dining & Catering, Wedding Services . 53-73 Banquet Halls . 53-61 Catering & Event Rentals . 62-63 DJ . 63 Florist . 64 Limousine & Trolley Rentals . 64 Officiants . 65 Photographer . 65 Salons, Spa & Wellness . 66 Dining . 67-73 Lodging . 74-92 Hotels . 74-80 Bed & Breakfasts . 81-82 Camping . 83-85 2300 Pipestone Road p Benton Harbor, MI 49022 Cottages . 86-91 269-925-6301 p Fax 269-925-7540 Resorts . 92 [email protected] (for groups) Transportation . 93 www.swmichigan.org Meeting Venues . 94-108 Photo: Ken McKeown www.facebook.com/swmtc Itineraries . 109-112 Beach Weddings & Gatherings . 113 COVER: Beach Sunset, Four Winds Casino, St. Joseph’s Silver Beach, Peach orchard in May, cherries, grape cluster. BACK: Kilwin’s, Quilt Show, Mary’s City of David Museum, Fernwood Hotel Room Block Bid Form . .114 Botanical Garden Index . 115 Photos: Kenneth McKeown, Berrien Towne & Country Quilters, Victoria Dunlop Welcome Dear Group Traveler: Climate Month Temp Rain Snow The Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council represents Berrien, Cass and Van Buren January 30.2°F 4.22” 30.0” counties. Located in the southwest corner of Michigan, we encompass a wide diversity of February 19.4°F 1.29” 29.5” attractions, activities and festivals - all within easy access of I-94. March 43.8°F 1.65” 12.0” April 48.0°F 4.40” 11.5” It is a land for all seasons. In the Spring, enjoy a blossom driving tour through rural May 65.3°F 2.18” 0” towns to view fragrant fruit blossoms. Summer bustles with activity along 60 miles of June 73.5°F 0.89” 0” Lake Michigan coastline, on five rivers and over 300 inland lakes. June through October, July 73.7°F 2.59” 0” taste the mouth-watering fruits and vegetables at numerous roadside markets. August 73.8°F 12.16” 0” Autumn September 69.8°F 1.78” 0” is time for fun at five state parks and hiking, fishing and bicycling. Take a driving tour to October 61.1°F 4.04” 0” view spectacular autumn color. winter’s array of activities includes ice fishing, skating, November 40.6°F 2.13” 5.0” cross-country and downhill skiing or quiet walks in the silent winter wonderland. December 29.5°F 3.02” 24.0” (Recorded by Herb Teichman at Tree-Mendus Fruit Just a few hours from major midwest cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit, Farm Weather Station, Eau Claire, Michigan, 2007) we are a convenient overnight destination. Growing season 184 days Average rainfall 36” Consider southwestern Michigan. Please contact us with any questions or assistance Average snowfall 76” needed to plan your special visit. We look forward to hearing from you! Population* Best wishes, Berrien County 162,453 Cass County 51,104 Van Buren County 76,263 * 2000 census Victoria Dunlop Group Sales & Marketing Taxes State Sales Tax 6% Lodging Assessment 5% Tourist Council Hours: (some hotels have additional 1%) Monday-Friday . 8:30am - 5pm Member of these tourism organizations: Information in this guide was current at time of printing. Prices and details are subject to change without notice. Please reconfirm your arrangements prior to your arrival. Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council 2 2015 Group Planner EscortNotes In Southwestern Michigan you will find: More facts: • 60 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline • Small country communities St. Joseph was recently voted • 5 rivers • 3 larger port towns “Michigan’s Most Romantic city” and • 300 inland lakes • 5 state parks was known as the Marriage Capital (1900- 1925). Steamers from Chicago brought so • 2 lighthouses • the midwest’s fruit belt many couples, the County Clerk per- formed a marriage every four minutes! Interesting facts: • This area is known as the Fruitbelt of the Midwest. Benton Harbor’s Fruit Market was the We have many ecosystems: dunes, largest in the World at the turn of the century, bringing in buyers from all over the globe. cranberry bogs, hemlock swamps, beach You can pick your own fruit or stop at one of over 60 roadside markets and take home tasty woods and virgin hard woods. treasures. Choose from apples, plums, cherries, asparagus, peaches, snap green beans, sweet corn, strawberries, zucchini and more A 1779 sycamore tree on the grounds of • The Underground Railroad was active in Berrien and Cass counties between 1830 and The History Center at Courthouse Square 1860 (see Underground Railroad Tour on page 102) is 228 years old, pre-dating the museum by 60 years. • warren Dunes State Park has the 2nd highest sand dune in the state (240 feet) • You are never more than 6 miles from a lake or stream Michigan’s only complete mastodon • 270 species of birds have been spotted in Berrien County skeleton is displayed in the Natural History • Michigan is the 5th largest wine-producing region in the U.S. following California, New Museum at Andrews University in Berrien York, Texas and Oregon. Choose from 9 area wineries and several tasting outlets. Springs. • Paw Paw Lake was a bustling resort area by the late 1800s. Crystal Palace Ballroom, 1925, held 2500 people dancing to Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong Disc golf courses are at Madeline Bertrand County Park in Niles and Dr. T.K. • eau claire native Julie Krone became thoroughbred horse racing’s most successful female jockey, winning the Triple Crown in 1993 Lawless Park in Vandalia. • Movies filmed in southwestern Michigan: Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Club hosts - Historic Train Depot in Niles The Continental Divide The Apple cider century in September, Only the Lonely - Historic Train Depot in Niles bringing 7500 cyclers to the country roads Prancer - holiday film set partially in Three Oaks of southwest Michigan. • Mohammed Ali, former heavy weight boxing champion, chosen to light the Olympic flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics and voted Sportsman of the Century, had his home for many Many of America’s best-preserved years in Berrien Springs. shipwrecks are off our coast. The Chicora, a 210-foot steamer, sank between Benton Harbor and South Haven in 1895 and remains to be found. The Hippocamus, overloaded with peaches and bound for Chicago, hit heavy seas and sank September 7, 1868. Many crew members and passengers were swept overboard. Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council 3 2015 Group Planner Maps & Distances to Holland Lake Michigan to Kalamazoo Distances city miles hours Chicago 99 2 Detroit 183 3½ Flint 170 3½ Ft. Wayne 121 2½ Frankenmuth 200 4 Grand Rapids 83 1½ Holland 50 1 Indianapolis 163 3 Kalamazoo 50 1 of Courtesy: Michigan State Lansing 120 2½ INDIANA to South Bend Mackinac Island 300 6 South Bend 36 ½ Toledo 200 4 Southwestern Michigan Traverse City 220 4½ Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council 4 2015 Group Planner History Berrien County - borders Lake Michigan and the Michigan/Indiana state line Tidbits The southwestern corner of Michigan played a prominent role in the history of the Northwest Territory. The St. Joseph lighthouse has existed in Its earliest settlers were Native Americans who farmed, fished and hunted in the region. French its present form since 1907. The range missionaries and explorers entered the region in 1669 and established two forts in the area, Fort Miami light system is the most complete, early at the mouth of the St. Joseph River and near Niles. example of its type on this side of the Great Lakes. In 1995, it was featured in The French ruled the region until 1761 when they surrendered to the British. Chief Pontiac gained the U.S. postage stamp Great Lakes control of the area in 1763, relinquished it to the Spaniards in 1781 and it became a U.S. territory after Lighthouse series. the Revolutionary War. In 1829, the county was organized and named in honor of John M. Berrien, Attorney General in Andrew Jackson’s cabinet. Aaron Montgomery ward, born in 1843, lived in Niles as a youngster. At Cass County - west of Berrien County and borders the Michigan/Indiana state line age 11, he worked for 25 cents a day at a barrel factory and later was a traveling The soil of Cass County has unveiled a human history that dates back 30,000 years. Primitive weapons salesman. In 1892, Ward enacted his used to hunt the wooly mammoth have been found scattered throughout the county. Eight mammoth idea of selling goods by mail. skeletal remains have also been found in county marl pits. Thousands of years later, three bands of Potawatomi Indians occupied the county. Their camps were John & Horace Dodge (the Dodge discovered by French explorers and trappers who crossed through the territory. The same area was the brothers) were born in Niles in the 1860s site of the first permanent white settlement (1825), the first school west of Detroit and Monroe (1828) and worked in their father’s machine and the first tax-supported school (1840). shop. They left for Detroit in 1886, where they built their first Dodge car in 1914. Van Buren County - borders Lake Michigan north of Berrien County In 1889, Augustus Moor Herring of Once camping grounds for the Potawatomis, Van Buren County became the home of settlers from Benton Harbor may have flown the New York, New England and the Netherlands. Here these settlers planted numerous orchards and world’s first airplane five years before the Wright Brothers’ famous flight.