MONROE, Mich. — A free event this weekend will celebrate a major player in the Great Lakes economy, and aims to inspire the next generation of tugboat captains.
The Port of Monroe is the largest concentration of intermodal infrastructure in southeast Michigan.
To commemorate its importance and look to the future of the industry, port leadership wanted to offer the community a chance to get behind the scenes access and learn more about what happens here during the Heritage Days at the Port of Monroe this weekend.
"The thing about the transportation industry is it's really cool: you get to go out on boats, you get to be on trains, you get to drive trucks," Vincent Cioletti, Business and Operations Manager at the Port of Monroe said.
The workhorse of any water-based port is the tugboat. Along with steam and diesel tractors, local vendors and WWII plane flyovers, three historic tugboats will be on display.
This includes Tugboat America, which was built in 1897 and is the oldest operating tugboat in the world.
The Theodore TOO, inspired by a popular children's show in Canada, acts as an easy introduction for kids to learn about the tugboat industry.
"The tugboat industry is kind of unseen in a lot of ways. We go into small ports that are locked up behind gates and that sort of thing," Ethan Krantz, captain of the Theodore Too, said. "So, this is a way to get kids aware that tugboats are a real part of our economy."
"We want to give them the opportunity to see what this looks like up close, and see it's something that's very exciting. I was excited as a kid about it, that's why I want to do the same thing for kids coming up now," Cioletti said.
Along with giving back to the community at this entirely free event, the hope is the festival can garner more support from the Monroe community and could even inspire future port industry professionals.
"No one can get down here and see the ships actually come in. It's kind of a hidden industry. So, to be able to come here and see what we're doing, and why it's so big for the community here and the surrounding region, I do believe that that will drive more support for us in the future," Cioletti said.
Heritage Days at the Port of Monroe will run on both Saturday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.