Community Corner

Cottage, Lakefront Living Show Comes to Novi Feb. 21

Purchase art, boats or furniture for your property, or have fun with the sandcastle contest and fishing pond.

The Cottage & Lakefront Living Show will gather business speakers and exhibitors from Feb. 21 through Feb. 24 under the roof of the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

“Now is the best time for cottage and lakefront preseason planning whether you are maintaining, buying, building or renting,” said Mike Wilbraham, show producer of ShowSpan, Inc. “Exhibits feature something for every interest from log home building and cottage furnishings to kayaks and seawalls. Learning how to keep the family in the family cottage and Michigan State University Extension Horticulture Smart Gardening Series are part of the presentations on the Cottage Living Stage.”

Suburban Collection Showplace is located at 46100 Grand River Ave. between Novi and Beck Road. Show hours are from 2-9:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-14, and children 5 and younger are admitted free.

What's at the Show

“Cottage, lakefront property and vacation homeowners or renters should find everything they need to start planning, purchasing or renting,” said Wilbraham.

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Below are descriptions of some of the exhibits and speakers, from a sandcastle contest to fishing pond to boat displays:

  • Science-based practical applications to gardening are the basis of MSU Extension’s Smart Gardening Series. The programs are designed to be sensitive to the environment, lower the environmental impact and reduce time and money spent on lawns, soil and plants. The programs include “Smart Trees & Shrubs for Lakefront Gardens,” “Smart Cottage Container Gardens,” “Smart Tomato Gardens,” “Smart Gardeners Use Nature’s Clues to Control Pests,” “Smart Lakefront Lawns,” “Smart Cottage Veggie Gardens” and “Smart Gardener’s Compost to Make Your Gardens Shine.”
  • Attorney Michael Weil of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C. in Southfield will explain about sharing and keeping the cottage in the family for use currently and for future generations at “Keeping the Family in the Family Cottage” seminar. Other presentations include nature photography, birding, Michigan travel and buying and selling waterfront property.
  • Enclosed and sit-on-top kayaks, paddleboards, log home building components, drive-on docks, floating boat lifts, tropical color patio furniture, sand pumping systems to create sandy lake bottoms, flood zone specialists and water weed removal products will be displayed at this year’s show.
  • Ideas to increase your outdoor living space are incorporated in the landscape displays that include wooden cabins, fireplaces, cooking options, patios, decks and gardening products. Other exhibits include log, timber frame and cedar homes, cottage rental, cottage furnishings, lakefront homebuilders and realtors, lakeshore maintenance, boats and docks, outdoor recreational equipment, non-profit environmental organizations, government agencies, financing and other products and services. Experts throughout the show will provide tips, advice and knowledge on purchasing, planning, maintaining, financing and landscaping for spring, summer and year-round cottages and lakefront living.
  • The Log and Timber Frame Showcase will include how a cabin is put together, floor plans, profiles, roof options, log species, cedar siding, full logs, post and beam and do-it-yourself or contractor built home packages. Builders and contractors will be available for scheduled private consultations through the show’s website.
  • Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership will provide informal advice and educational materials from Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Lake & Stream Association and other agencies, organizations, contractors and landscape professionals on shoreline construction projects and natural shoreline landscaping that benefit lake ecosystems and protect Michigan’s inland lakes.
  • Michigan artists at the Cottage Fine Art Show will present wildlife photography, rustic furniture with stone inlays, Great Lakes and Michigan inland lakes steel silhouettes, Petoskey stone art, jewelry and custom woodcarvings for sale. Home décor, furnishings, decorative accessories, handcrafted ceramic art tiles and gourmet and specialty foods will be available for purchase at the Lakefront Marketplace.
  • Handcrafted building techniques of a stand-up paddleboard will be demonstrated and displayed by DreamCatcher BoatWorks of Grand Rapids, Mich. Michigan Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of historic boats will have boats on display.
  • Sand Pirate Janet Schrader of Fairy Godmother Services in Lakeside will share the secrets of sand as she builds a giant medieval sandcastle, teaching how to make towers, doors, windows and stairs and hosting a sandcastle contest. The Beach, a giant sandbox complete with sand and carving tools for creative building by children and adults, will allow you to join the fun and turn a pile of sand into a sand sculpture.
  • Children will have the opportunity to fish at the Live Trout Pond fully stocked by Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation Clubs, take photos at the Family Photo Booth, play in the kid’s activity center or climb on a portable climbing tower at the Cran-Hill Family Zone.
  • Farm Bureau Insurance Cottage Living Center will provide the opportunity to relax and work on a community puzzle, put a pin in an oversized Michigan map to show where cottages are located, listen to music chosen from the 2013 Cottage Favorite Play List or read a book selected from the 2013 Essential Cottage Reading List. Patrons are able to post a cottage for sale or rent on our Community Cottage Available Board.
  • The Water & Woods Photo Contest Display will allow you to vote for the best photo that depicts cottage and lakefront living traditions.

Discount coupons for $2 off Thursday or Friday adult admission are available at the show’s website and participating Wendy’s restaurants. Visitors to the Cottage & Lakefront Living Living Show get free crossover admission to Outdoorama, which is also being held in the Showplace that weekend.  For more information, visit www.NoviCottageShow.com, Facebook.com/NoviCottageShow or call (800) 328-6550.

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