The Day of the Second Annual Burning Foot Beer Festival Made for a Bad Day for Rain. So We Ignored the Weather Until it Sent Sunshine.

Aug 27, 2016 9:47 AM

Despite a cloudburst pummeling the roof of the barn of the farmers market, Steeple Hill has continued to sing. Lead singer Dana Bowyer has dressed for a much warmer day, and despite a leather jacket around her shoulders, one can detect a shiver or two. The number of open stalls might be greater than usual. Yet, the farmers, like the band, stands their ground, delivers the goods. Friends and I have talked about the weather as we met under the market aisles. It's a horrible day for rain, worse strong rain. At Heritage Landing, the Shoreline Jazz Festival awaits showtime. The lineup has touched the phenomenal, and includes Bob James. Hate to see rain messing with that celebration. Over on the beach, Pere Marquette Beach on Lake Michigan, the tents of Burning Foot await in a circle for hopefully four thousand patrons. These are not tents for shelter but tents for covering the pour stations. Burning Foot needs the sun to hot up the sand. Traditionally, beer festivals push it and serves during rain if lightening is absent. "When it rained, they poured", said a review in the Michigan Beer Guide about a festival near Thompsonville years ago. That festival had a big festival tent where everyone could stand, drinking in dey clothing. One friend said the rain might clear by two. I hope so because Burning Foot starts at Three and Shoreline Jazz Festival is mostly an evening show.

As Steeple Hill finishes a cover of "Let it Be", by the Beatles, the rain slows to a trickle. Jeremy the photographer has busily carried his prints indoor to wipe dry with a damp cloth. A small children protected by a yellow Wellington rain jacket dances in a puddle upon the market floor. Only a few steps of pure joy until mother finds her hand and leads to drier cement.