Cheeseburger in Caseville
Cheeseburger in Caseville is a festival that takes place in Caseville, Michigan, every mid-August. The festival is a tribute to tropical paradise, cheeseburgers, and Jimmy Buffett. The 10-day-long festival takes place in the August, celebrating the final weeks of summer vacation. Activities at the festival range from sandcastle making to concerts and laser light shows on the beach. In 1999, a Caseville local Lyn Bezemek came up with an idea for an end-of-summer festival that is now known as Cheeseburger in Caseville. About 5,000 people from around Huron County, Michigan attended the first Cheeseburger festival. What started as a three-day weekend has turned into a 10-day festival that includes concerts, the highlight of the festival, The Parade of Tropical Fools. In 2004, five years after the debut of the festival, Caseville Chamber of Commerce president Steve Louwers took control. He continues to be instrumental in the success of Caseville's busiest 10 days. With 2020 being cancelled caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 22nd was deferred to 2021. On Sunday, August 18 2024, competitive eating duo, Alex and Travis, better known as T&A, broke the long standing record of 18 burgers consumed during a single festival. On this historic day Alex broke the record with his 19th burger and Travis tying the previous record with his 18th. Together they put down 37 cheeseburgers. A bronze plaque is expected to be revealed winter 2025 in the town center to commemorate this historic event. The parade is held on the first Wednesday night of the festival and is the biggest attraction that the festival has to offer. The parade can last up to two hours and attracts more than 100,000 people every year. Fans of the parade are allowed to start setting up their lawn chairs at 6 a.m. the morning of the parade. . Thousands of beads, candies, Frisbees, and other miscellaneous objects are thrown from the floats each year. "About the Cheeseburger Festival in Michigan". USA Today. Backroads & Byways of Michigan. The Countryman Press. 2009. "Cheeseburger in Caseville 2011: New route, new time for Parade of Fools". Huron Daily Tribune. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2016. Harp, Rich (27 October 2015). "Caseville honors Louwers at farewell gathering". Huron Daily Tribune. Retrieved 4 February 2016. "The Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 4 February 2016. "Cheeseburger in Caseville: More than 55,000 turn out for one of Michigan's craziest festival parades". MLive.com. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 4 February 2016. "Cheeseburger in Caseville festival drawing big crowds on first day". MLive.com. 2013-08-09. Retrieved 4 February 2016. "Cheeseburger in Caseville festival turns town into 'Fun, wacky, tasteful and tacky' place". MLive.com. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 4 February 2016. "Cheeseburger in Caseville has drawn large crowds, festival wraps up this weekend". MLive.com. 2010-08-20. Retrieved 4 February 2016. "You Have to Hand It to 'The Thumb' in Eastern Michigan". Daily Herald Quote: "...music and notable potables, head for "Margaritaville" (aka Caseville, Mich.) and its 10-day festival, Cheeseburger in Caseville (Aug. 10–19). It is as though Key West had been transported to the North Woods, with more than a dozen..." (subscription required) "Floats and celebrants make their way down Main Street during the Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival Parade of Tropical Fools". Yahoo! News, via Associated Press.