Your Home Base for the Great Lakes Boating Festival

Every May, the Great Lakes Boating Festival brings the water to the shoreline in a way that only Michigan can pull off. This year marks the 37th annual gathering at Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, and the 2026 edition runs May 16 and 17 with boats on display from tenders to cruising vessels, in-water demos, live music, and the kind of unhurried dock energy that signals the season has finally arrived. Admission is free and open to the public.

If you are coming in from out of town, or simply want to make a proper weekend of it, Detroit Foundation Hotel is your downtown base. We are a short drive from Grosse Pointe Shores, positioned in the heart of downtown Detroit for everything the city has to offer once the boats are behind you. The Apparatus Room handles dinner. The bar handles the rest.

And on Sunday morning, we are handling something specific.

On May 17, the Apparatus Room Lounge hosts Vinyl Brunch: Yacht Rock Edition with Rich Hansen. From 11am to 2pm, Rich Hansen will soundtrack the afternoon with smooth, sun-soaked selections inspired by life on the water, timed to the energy of the festival happening that day. It is a proper send-off to the weekend, or a proper start to day two, depending on how you want to look at it.

Brunch. Vinyl. Then boats.

That is a Saturday and Sunday worth planning around.

Reserve your room | Learn more about the Great Lakes Boating Festival