A band performs during the 2024 Celebration of Service event in Grand Haven. This year, bands Project 90 and SoniManic will perform during the second annual event, this time in Muskegon.

MUSKEGON, MI - A celebration for veterans and their families will combine with an electric vehicle meetup for a two-day event this weekend on Muskegon Lake.

The family-friendly Celebration of Service and Tesla Meetup is scheduled for Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21, at Heritage Landing, 1050 Seventh St. downtown Muskegon.

There will be a veteran’s resource and business fair, a family-friendly STEAM fair featuring demonstrations and hands-on opportunities and a light show powered by drones and electric vehicles.

Jeff Lannin smiles at the camera during the first Celebration of Service event in 2024 in Grand Haven.

This year, 500 drones and 200 EVs will light the skies in a world-record attempt for the most synchronized drones and EVs in a light show.

“Our main mission for the event is to support the community of veterans,” said event organizer and veteran Jamal Steward. “We can make more of an impact if we also connect with the family of the veteran.”

The Celebration of Service on June 20-21 will feature resource fairs, STEAM activities, and light shows while supporting veteran mental health resources.

Admission is free for active-duty members, veterans with ID and K-12 students with a school ID. All others aged 18 and up require a $5 ticket.

There is $20 parking near the venue, otherwise parking is available in downtown Muskegon. There will be golf cart shuttles to help transport handicapped and disabled community members.

Schedule of events

The second annual Celebration of Service will kick off Friday evening.

Sgt. Major Dan Miller from the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit that aids veterans with mental and physical injuries from their service, will be the guest speaker that evening.

There will be a Peer-to-Peer Social and resource fair from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Not only will there be organizations and resources, but also veteran and veteran spouse-owned businesses.

Veteran-owned food trucks and concessions will be available.

A light show powered by electric vehicles and drones will take place at dusk.

The light show will broadcast over the water on Muskegon Lake, with lights programmed to the rhythm of music.

This year, 500 drones will join 200 electric vehicles in a synchronized light show that will also be an attempt at achieving a world record.

Saturday will begin with EV demonstrations and guest speakers hosted by the Tesla Owners Club of Michigan from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A STEAM and resource fair will go from 1 to 5 p.m. followed by another Peer-to-Peer Social and resource fair from 6 to 9:30 p.m.

A patriotic drone show at dusk will conclude Saturday’s activities.

Resource, STEM fairs

There will be two social resource fairs that are “peer-to-peer,” or veteran-to-veteran.

The fair will see veteran and veteran-spouse business owners in the areas of woodworking, metalsmithing, knife making, candles and jewelry making.

The Muskegon VA will be on site with mental health and medical information.

There will be STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities with different organizations, like police officers displaying drone equipment.

Learning the mechanisms of physics with straw rockets or the basics of building robots are just some of the activities children will be able to try.

For the arts portion, there will be a demonstration on how music and learning instruments can support not only veterans’ mental health, but youth and families within the community, Steward said.

The hands-on activities will only be available for the first 300 kids, so Steward advised to arrive earlier rather than later.

Different branches of the military will be represented. The Michigan State Police dive team will demonstrate its equipment.

There will be live bands both days: SoniManic on Friday and Project 90 on Saturday. There will also be performances from local veteran musicians.

On Saturday, around 200 vehicles, including variations of Rivians, Teslas and Fords, will be on display for people to look inside and see technological features.

History of the event

This is Steward’s second annual Celebration of Service event. The first year it was held at Mulligans Hollow in Grand Haven.

This is the first year he joined forces with the local electric vehicle enthusiasts to host the event in a new space together.

Steward served four years in the United States Marine Corps, working on military aircraft, jets and helicopters from 1992-1996 in Guam.

“Coming back into the civilian world, I have had that challenge a lot of veterans go through, transitioning from military culture into a civilian world, where a lot of my skills were transferable but still had challenges entering back,” Steward said.

He has spent time learning about resources available for veterans and wants to create an approachable space where veterans can get connected.

Steward said there are many organizations and resources available for veterans and their families beyond the federal Veterans Affairs department.

Those resources could include behavioral health, mental health, medical health and business related.

Last year’s inaugural event saw some rain, but Steward said 96 children were served through the STEM program and 130 people attended the drone show.

Four veterans were connected with the Wounded Warrior Project.

“All it takes is one for the event to be successful,” Steward said.

This year, veterans have the option to fill out a mental health assessment ahead of the event and then be paired with a professional on-site to learn about specific resources. Filling out the assessment ahead of time helps save time on some of the basic introduction information.

Steward said it worked out to combine with the Tesla/EV event since they already had the June date booked.

Advanced technology, EVs and drones can all also be found the military.

“It’s not just about guns and war,” Steward said. “Technology is the leading key aspect of the day-to-day services.”

He invited Muskegon and beyond to attend this weekend and hopes to expand statewide to help more veterans.

“This is for all of West Michigan,” Steward said. “Our goal is to expand as a state-recognized event, maybe having multiple events across the state, reaching both the UP and southern areas of Michigan.”

Want more Muskegon-area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Muskegon” daily newsletter.