Central Michigan University Athletics, the Mount Pleasant Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Central Michigan Life will host the inaugural CMU/Mount Pleasant Gus Macker Festival on August 28 through August 30.

Along with the traditional Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament, the festival offers activities and events for both college students and families.

Jay Lanctot, Associate Director of Athletics and Director of Development, said some of the activities offered during the festival include canoe races, live music, and the Taste of Mount Pleasant, which takes place on Friday and Saturday nights.

“The Taste of Mount Pleasant is a place where local restaurants and businesses have the opportunity to show what them unique,” said Mitch Carb, marketing director for the Mount Pleasant Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“We don’t want to scare people by the 3-on-3 tournament,” Scott McNeal, founder of the Gus Macker basketball tournament and Central Michigan University alumnus, said. “You don’t have to be a basketball player to participate in this festival.”

Carb said he is hoping families take advantages of the festival. It is a chance to bring families together for one last summer vacation.

“We’ve already had people calling to make plans for the festival,” Carb said. “This event is going to be great for the local economy and for CMU to showcase their facilities.”

The proceeds of the festival will go to support Central Michigan University’s Events Center project, which plans to renovate Rose Center into a first-class complex to better serve the needs of the student, athletic, and local communities, Lanctot said.

“It’s a way to get students and local businesses to get involved with the Events Center promotion,” Lanctot said.

McNeal said the Gus Macker festival is serving as a test market for collaborations between Gus Macker tournaments and college towns. Western Michigan University has already shown interest in a similar festival in early October.

The festival is scheduled to take place in Lot 62 on the campus of Central Michigan University. Additional events are also scheduled to take place in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

More information on the CMU/Mount Pleasant Gus Macker Festival can be found on the CMU Athletics’ Web site, cmuchippewas.com.

sports@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Ray Nelson