Everyone can be a VIP at the first ever National Blueberry Festival VIP Party
Friday August 10th at the Asylum Inn 424 Huron Street  5pm -7pm
​Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the door.

Get your best shoes and smoothest shades out for this first ever National Blueberry Festival VIP Party! Sometimes you need a break from T-shirts and flip-flops, and want to dress up for an exclusive evening where you feel like the top dog! We’ve got just the thing!

Purchase of a ticket to the VIP Party, will get you admission into a stunning event to kick-off your summer evening. Receive your branded wine glass and complimentary raffle tickets, as you enter the exquisite patio of the Asylum Inn, one of the last remaining buildings of South Haven’s early stately mansions. Sip two complimentary drinks, as you listen to J.Cavataio’s opera voice sing you to New York and Broad with his soulful renditions.

Heavy appetizers prepared by Beeches Golf Club, will keep away the stomach rumbles, and satisfy your inner ‘foodie’. Rub shoulders with festival organizers, then hit up the cash bar, and place your raffle tickets into your favorite picks of one of kind experiences! Maybe you’ll even take home your own blueberry bush!

This party is for anyone! We want you to treat yourself to a little something extra special! And if you feel guilty buying things for yourself (like a VIP ticket) remember this - it is for a great, blueberry cause!

Shhh….A sneak peak at a few of the fun prizes you could win!

• Brew your Own Beer - at South Haven Brew Pub
• Take the family out fishing on Lake Michigan
• Get 10 free Massages at Masters Chiropractic

Raffle tickets are included in the admission price, with additional raffle tickets on sale at the event to double your odds!

All the money raised at this event will go towards the 2019 National Blueberry Festival! We want our festival to keep people laughing, relaxing and connecting for years to come. For us, to be a festival is to be about people. Thank you for being about people with us!

Learn More about our performing artist J.Cavataio! http://www.jeffreycavataio.com/bio/
He is a spectacular singer, with a heart of gold. Be swept away by his powerful voice, or enjoy his charm during during the break… Just be sure to say hello!

Every wonder what goes into making a festival happen? Enjoy getting to know a few board members in their relaxed mode, as they enjoy hosting you this evening. Let us serve you. Afterall - tonight YOU are the VIP.

Buy tickets through the black button at the top. 

​We are proud to announce a new Saturday morning event to get your kids up, running around and feeling great! A Kids Soccer Clinic is happening at the fields in Kids Corner on Monroe Blvd. from 9am - 12noon Saturday August 11th. Come on over!
Kids will enjoy a quick warm up and review,  then be split into age appropriate teams and start the games! Each group will play till there is one team left - just like the World Cup! Everyone will get a medal just for being awesome - but champion medals will be given to the winning teams!
There will be food, fun, and hopefully a few new friendships, because the real goal of this event goes beyond just playing soccer. “This event is to recognize and celebrate the role the children of the Hispanic migrant workers play in both our blueberry community and our communities at large,” says festival Director, Megan Cairns. “We want to stay true to our mission of appreciating the role blueberries play in our area. Part of that is noticing the faces behind this great fruit, and we don’t want to forget this important sub community.” The aim of this soccer game is to host a culturally relevant, and fun activity in honor of these great kids.  
Knowing that Covert Public Schools has a large (80%) Hispanic population, Spanish speaking coaches, and a strong athletics program, the National Blueberry Festival asked to the Athletics Department to be their partner in this new endeavor. They gave a huge thumbs up!

“We are super excited to have Covert Public Schools on board,” said Minerva Salgado, more commonly known as Minnie, the co-owner of Michigan Pure Blueberries, an organic farm in Covert and lead volunteer for this event. “They are so enthusiastic and professional we are very excited to have them working with the kids as the host of this event.”
Covert Public Schools is making it happen. They are providing the equipment, refs and coaches to run the soccer element. “It’s a big responsibility to keep the kids evenly matched, guided, and having fun.” says Minnie. Venessa Fricke is the Athletic Director for the school. She is strong, directive, and people centric. There is no doubt that she is up to the challenge and can do it all with a smile. “Mrs. Fricke is clearly here for the kids! She has a passion to make a difference in each student’s life - and sports is a great medium for that. We are really pleased to have her and Covert Public Schools literally on the team ” said Minerva.
Michigan Pure Blueberries is a certified organic farm that signed up as a National Blueberry Festival Agritourism partner. You can find them at the Blueberry Central Market, just after you finished the soccer games. Minnie and her husband Rafa run a small blueberry farm in the heart of Covert. “Minnie has put a lot into the 2018 festival!” smiles Megan. “We found each other at just the right moment in time. We were scratching our heads on how to best honor and include the kids of those working to harvest blueberries...Minnie has helped us make this happen in such a positive way!”
If you would like more information on bringing kids from your group email Minnie at: michiganpureblueberries@hotmail.com  or call the office at: 269 -767-7159
The National Blueberry Festival would like to give a special thanks to Covert Public Schools, Athletic Director Venessa Fricke, Minnie Salgado and Michigan Pure Blueberries for making this new event a reality!

Nestled in sunny Huron Street, the Asylum Inn is a treasure. When Mark and Tina Goodrich bought this stately, 100+ year old inn, they rescued and restored it to a place of deep rejuvenation for the body, mind, and spirit! Each room has spectacular comforts and attention to detail that make it easy to unwind and let the nostalgia take effect. In these rooms, the pride and passion of it's founders and keepers overflow.

Every year the National Blueberry Festival needs to a safe place to stretch out. Hosting service providers, meeting up for daily briefings, running and staging events all happens out of this site. This year, the Goodrich family came up with a plan – use the Asylum Inn.

“We are so looking forward to this!” says Megan Cairns, National Blueberry Festival's Director. “Using the Inn as our festival base will help the festival run smooth, provide much needed assistance, save cost, and provide our team with a place to touch base, have a cup of coffee, then get back out there.”

The Asylum Inn will be a busy place during the 4 days of community fun, but the most exciting use is as the venue for the festival's new Friday night party!

“We love shaking things up!” says Aaron Mohr, National Blueberry Festival Board Member, and host of the new  party. “This year we are hosting a VIP Party for a chance to do something extra special on Friday Night. It will be great value for money, and give you exclusive opportunities to win some awesome prizes.”
The Asylum Inn's grandeur and classic culture make this a stunning venue for the launch of the new VIP Party. Live music, food, drinks, and amazing give aways all happen on the beautiful patio and gazebo at the Inn. Most definitely a must see event!

Although there is hardly a still moment, the National Blueberry Festival is really all about giving people an excuse to go do something fun! It's a time to relax, listen to music, eat great food, and really decompress from life's demands. The Asylum Inn speaks to that goal so well. It stands year round as an opportunity to embrace that joy and calm more often.

Tina and Mark have gone above and beyond in our South Haven community; offering the use of this beautiful site is just one example of their loving investment in their town. The Asylum Inn feels like a second home. You could come back year after year to this stunning Inn, and feel the familiarity and tranquility of home.

Tina Goodrich – Founder, Innkeeper and ever the entrepreneur works as a realtor at Jaqua Realtors.
Mark Goodrich – Founder, Innkeeper and ever the navy seaman works as Plant Manager at Lovejoy Inc.
A huge THANK YOU to them both!!!