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NILES — A popular event will return to downtown Niles in June. 

The Niles City Council moved 6-1 Monday to approve the third annual Michiana PrideFest to be held at Riverfront Park on June 21. 

Hosted by OutCenter Southwest Michigan in celebration of Pride Month, the event will take place from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 21 and will feature music, live entertainment, food and booths from local businesses and artists. More than 1,000 people attended last year’s PrideFest.

“I’ve attended the event in the past two years and it is a wonderful event for the community,” said Councilmember Jessica Nelson. “It’s more attendance and more joy that I’ve seen in some other events that we have, which is really lovely to see and people from all walks of life. I think it’s an important event to continue having in our community.”

While the original motion called for Public Works and Utilities expenses and fees to be waived, the council amended the motion to waive the Public Works and Utilities expenses but require the OutCenter to pay the necessary vendor fees. Fourth Ward Councilmember Michael  Thompson cast the lone dissenting vote because he does not believe the city should contribute funds toward events.

Niles to host Mainly Marathons event

In other business, council voted unanimously to approve Mainly Marathons’ event taking place from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 13 in Riverfront Park and to allow for the set up of travel trailers overnight Saturday, July 12 in the Riverfront Park south parking lot.

Mainly Marathons is a nationwide marathon group that chose the City of Niles as its destination in the Heartland Series of its tour. The group anticipates 140 runners from out of state on Sunday, July 13 from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the Walking/Running event starting at 6 a.m. The staging area will be in the parking lot next to the boat landing and the course will remain on the Riverfront Trail using the same setup and course as previous years. Safety cones and safety signs will be placed on the course. The course would remain open to the public with no barricades used.

In further business, council:

• Approved the transfer of the airport ground lease from Dr. Harold Brown to James and Denise VanHulle with an expiration date of December 31, 2029.
• Approved an agreement authorizing Berrien County to conduct school elections for Niles Community Schools, Lake Michigan College, and RESA.
• Conducted the first reading of an Ordinance to amend Ordinance 492 to allow marihuana microbusinesses to transition to retail and grow licenses.
• Conducted the First reading of an Ordinance to amend Ordinance 491 to allow marihuana microbusinesses to transition to retail and grow licenses and change marihuana business retail hours to 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Conducted the first reading of an Ordinance to amend Ordinance 488 to change marihuana business retail hours to 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.