CROTON, Mich., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers Energy and the Croton-Hardy Business Alliance announced today they will host centennial activities during the weekend of Aug. 18-19 to celebrate Croton Dam's 100 years of service to Michigan's electric customers. The two-day celebration includes tours of the Croton Dam, history displays, a vintage baseball game pitting the Ludington Mariners against the Coopersville Muldoons, and many other community events. The celebration starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18 at the Community Church Hall in Croton with a presentation on the history of Croton Dam and Consumers Energy. The presentation will be provided by Jim Bernier, senior natural resource manager for Consumers Energy's Hydro Generation. "Renewable hydro power remains one of Michigan's most important homegrown energy sources to serve the needs of customers," Bernier said. "We're proud and pleased that Michigan has been able to count on this reliable, renewable energy for a century and that Croton Dam will continue to serve customers in the future." Croton Dam tours will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18. The tours will begin at nearby Conklin Park, the headquarters for the celebration. Tickets for the tour are free and will be available at the park. Food and information booths also will be located at Conklin Park. The tour and vintage baseball game revisit events that took place a century ago after the completion of Croton Dam in 1907. The Grand Rapids mayor at that time, George Ellis, and several hundred business and government officials journeyed by special train to the site to tour the dam. Ellis, an avid baseball fan, then organized several games in the fields near the dam, with his team of city officials emerging as the victors. The current mayor of Grand Rapids, George Heartwell, is expected to be on hand for pre-game ceremonies scheduled for 3:45 p.m. and to toss out the first pitch. Events on Saturday, Aug. 18, also will include a kayak race, a historical Croton village tour with interpreters, and a woodcarving demonstration at Conklin Park. Activities on Sunday, Aug. 19 will start with a pancake breakfast, followed by a community spirit walk, a boat parade, a firefighter's water battle, and an old-fashioned ice cream social. "The Croton and Hardy Dams are as important to the local economy today as they were to the emerging Grand Rapids economy a century ago. For us this is a celebration of a century-long partnership between Consumers Energy and the Croton-Hardy business community," said Tim Frisbie, president of the business alliance. The logo selected for the Croton Dam Centennial was designed by Newaygo High School art student Brandi Fifield, one of 25 art students who took part in the logo contest. All of the student entries will be on display at the celebration. All events are open to the public with parking at Conklin Park. For a brochure about the Croton centennial celebration, visit http://www.consumersenergy.com/, and type "Hydro Welcome" in the search field. Then click on the "Hydro Welcome" link and on that page, scroll down and click on the link to the brochure. Consumers Energy's 13 hydroelectric dams have the capacity to generate 132 megawatts of renewable electricity at facilities on the Au Sable, Manistee, Muskegon, Grand and Kalamazoo rivers. The reservoirs created by the dams provide recreational opportunities. Nearly 15,000 acres of Consumers Energy land adjacent to the dams are open to the public. Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, provides natural gas and electricity to nearly 6.5 million of Michigan's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. For more information about Consumers Energy, visit our Website at http://www.consumersenergy.com/ DATASOURCE: Consumers Energy CONTACT: Kelly Farr, +1-989-891-3451, for Consumers Energy Web site: http://www.consumersenergy.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/203850.html

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