Fricano’s Pizza Tavern Grand Haven
Grand Haven, MI (January 22, 2019) – The legendary and iconic Fricano’s Pizza Tavern is breaking its “never open on Sunday” tradition to help raise money for the Grand Haven Musical Fountain’s Sound Investment Campaign.
Fricano’s, the original and most famous pizzeria in Michigan, located at 1400 Fulton Street in Grand Haven, will be open from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, February 3, 2019 for take-out orders only. Super bowl fans interested in ordering a pizza may do so by calling (616) 842-8640. The Grand Haven-based Fricano’s will be the only location participating in the fundraiser.
“Celebrating its 70th year, Fricano’s recognizes the longevity of the musical fountain and the tourism it brought to Grand Haven over the last 57 years,” says Jeanne Meyer, Manager at Fricano’s. “We felt this was a great opportunity to give back to the musical fountain, a Grand Haven tourism staple that helped put Fricano’s on the map.”
Fricano’s Pizza Tavern will donate the sale profit made on Super Bowl Sunday to the Musical Fountain Sound Investment Campaign. Football fanatics may place take-out orders after 5 p.m. any day prior to the Super Bowl and starting at 2pm on Super Bowl Sunday. Fricano’s takes cash and checks only. No credit or debit cards will be accepted, but there is an ATM on site.
“The Musical Fountain Committee is thankful to be recognized by Fricano’s in this way, said Andy Cawthon, Grand Haven Musical Fountain Chairman. “Breaking the “closed on Sunday’s” tradition is significant. Doing so on behalf of The Grand Haven Musical Fountain is nothing short of spectacular, like Fricano’s Pizza. Thank you to the Fricano’s family for your support.”
To date, the Grand Haven Musical Fountain has raised $55,000 toward its goal of $150,000. The Grand Haven Musical Fountain wants to replace the current, 25 year-old sound system and renovate the riverfront buildings that house the current system, improve overall sound quality and fidelity and ideally reduce the sound volume required to reach the almost a half-mile wide audience on the opposite riverbank.
Several organizations, such as the Tri-Cities Women Who Give, 100 Men Who Give, WGHN and Winterfest have donated to the campaign so far. The campaign has also been pledged commitments of up to $15,000 in funds from both the City of Grand Haven and the Loutit Foundation, matching the proceeds of the Eagles Winterfest Auction that will be held on January 26,, 2019, giving the campaign a 3:1 impact from the event.
For the first time ever, the Grand Haven Musical Fountain is also offering sponsorship opportunities for individuals or organizations. A multi-tier sponsorship program has been put together for individuals and organizations to choose from ranging from $2,500-$10,000. Each sponsorship is good for 1 season of the Grand Haven Musical Fountain which spans from May through September.
As a fan of the Musical Fountain, you can also help by making a donation of any size through the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation. Please visit https://give.ghacf.org/grand-haven-donation and select the “Musical Fountain Audio Project” as the designation of the funds.
ABOUT CITY OF GRAND HAVEN MUSICAL FOUNTAIN
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain is a synchronized water and light show accompanied with music of all varieties. Each 25-minute show features a variety of well-known music and plays daily at dusk from Memorial Day through Labor Day as well as Fridays and Saturdays in May and September. The fountain is maintained and operated through the support of the City of Grand Haven as well as generous donations by our valued guests.
The feature was designed in 1962 at an estimated cost of $250,000 by local engineer, William Morris Booth II (who is also the patent holder) and longtime Grand Haven and former Mayor, Dr. Bill Creason. The fountain was based on a Przystawic musical fountain show seen in Germany and was the largest musical fountain in the world when it was built; holding the title until 1998 with the installation of the WET Design built Bellagio Fountains at the Bellagio Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, NV.
Each show is programmed by hand and even the simplest of programs used to create shows for this fountain can be very time consuming. In fact, choreographing one three-minute song can take up to 10 hours. The musical fountain shows average 1,500 commands per song, with some reaching as high as 6,000 lighting and or water commands in a single song. Some of the modern themed shows contain as many as 17,000 water and lighting commands over a 25-minute program. For more information about the musical fountain, please visit The Grand Haven Musical Fountain Official Website. Grand Haven Musical Fountain photos are available for use by the media by clicking here. A video time lapse can also be found by clicking here. Please include a photo and video courtesy for the City of Grand Haven.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Andy Cawthon, Committee Chair
616.405.8530
Jeanne Meyer, Fricano’s Pizza Tavern
jmeyer@charter.net
616.490.5794
