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Photo by the Hart/Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce

Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival

September 2025

The Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival takes place each year at the Golden Township Park- 8711 W. Silver Lake Rd. in Mears. The two-day festival includes a wide variety of activities that are fun for all ages. 

Proceeds from the festival benefit organizations and programs that serve the Silver Lake Sand Dunes area. Examples include the Silver Lake Fireworks, beautification projects in Silver Lake, and helping other projects fund the growth of Golden Township park.

Here's what happened in 2024:

Friday

  • 2-5pm – DJ Chris Bose on the Festival Stage
  • 2-6pm – Dewall’s Forge LLC Live Demonstrations
  • 2-6pm – Children’s Tent with Inflatable Castle, Rock Climb Slide, Yard Games
  • 2-6pm – West Michigan Gellyball
  • 2-9pm – Food Trucks on Festival Grounds
  • 2-9pm – Pony Rides
  • 3-7pm – Muskegon Ax Throwing
  • 3-9pm – Beer & Wine Tent Open under the Pavilion
  • 6-9pm – Live music featuring Tweed & Dixie on the Festival Stage

Saturday

  • 8am – Apple a Day 5k Run Run at Mac Woods Dune Rides- 629 N. 18th Ave., Mears. Registration from 8-9am with 9am start.
  • 9:30-10:30am – Apple Pie Contest Drop-Off at Wild Bill’s ATV Rentals- 8110 W. Hazel Rd., Mears
  • 10am – National Anthem at the Festival Stage
  • 10am-2pm – Chicken Shack Classic Auto & ORV Show in the Dunetown Mall parking lot- 8239 W. Hazel Rd., Silver Lake/Mears.
  • 10am-2pm – Balloon Animals & Caricatures with John Marek
  • 10am-2pm – Storytelling by Storybook Village
  • 10am-4pm – DJ Chris Bose on the Festival Stage
  • 10am-5pm – Arts & Craft Show at 8453 W. Silver Lake Rd. For more information or to be a vendor, visit facebook.com.
  • 10am-5pm – Live Wood Carvings by Alonzo Montoya
  • 10am-5pm – Wild World Petting Zoo
  • 10am-6pm – West Michigan Gellyball
  • 10am-8pm – Food Trucks on Festival Grounds
  • 11am-12pm – Apple Pie Contest. Awards at 12:30pm.
  • 11am-6pm – Muskegon Ax Throwing
  • 12-5pm – Ace Hardware Grilling Seminar
  • 12-8pm – Pony Rides
  • 12-8pm – Beer & Wine Tent Open under the Pavilion
  • 5-8pm – Live music featuring the Rock Shop Band on the Festival Stage

Shuttle Pick-up available from the Festival Grounds to the Round About on Friday from 2-8pm and Saturday from 9am-8pm

Entries in the festival's apple pie contest. | Photo by the Hart/Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Stay tuned for information on the 2025 Apple & BBQ Festival

Experience Silver Lake

Decades of prevailing westerly Lake Michigan winds created this giant, 2,000 acre sandbox along four miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. Read the Silver Lake destination page.

For more information on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival, please contact:

Apple & BBQ Festival Committee

P.O. Box 82, Hart, MI  49420

(231) 873-2247

applebbqfestival.com

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