Over the weekend my campaign team and I joined other local residents celebrating the 4th of July parades in Manistee and Ludington, and were greeted by huge energetic crowds at each. A special thanks to all of our volunteers that marched with us, helped us hand out candy and stickers, and carried signs… you added to a huge force of energy that we couldn’t have had without you.

To check out footage from the parades, watch this:

You can also check out more pictures here.

I also visited the Lake Ann Homecoming celebration and took part in the “Old Iron” Antique Tractor Parade that featured vintage John Deere tractors and other vintage cars and wagons. I then stopped by the Benzie Dems Annual Chicken BBQ for a fantastic home-cooked feast provided by the Benzie Dems and their dedicated volunteers, a special thanks to them for all of their hard work! Check out some pictures here.

On Sunday I was invited to speak at the Rothbury Music Festival, a four-day long “green” festival that featured such national acts as Dave Mathews Band, Snoop Dogg, Modest Mouse, and John Mayer. I participated as part of the Rothbury THINK TANK, that hosted panel discussions, Q&A sessions, keynote presentations, film screenings, and other interactive workshops throughout the weekend in an effort to raise awareness about global environmental and climate change concerns. Other panelists alongside me included economist and Focus the Nation leader Eban Goodstein, natural capitalist L. Hunter Lovins, Will Semmes, Deputy Director of the California Department of General Services, and Antuan Cannon of Envirolution. The opportunity to have this sort of national music festival in West Michigan provides those of us who are committed to building a better future for Michigan with a great opportunity to demonstrate how Michigan can play a global leadership role in the emerging ‘green economy. Michigan – and particularly Northwest Michigan – is well poised to lead in this area and to create jobs, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore this potential at the Rothbury Festival.

To check out pictures of the weekend, click here. You can also read AikoAdam’s blog about it at West Michigan Rising.