Cheeseburger in Caseville 2026: Dates, Bands, Schedule

Last Updated: July 2026 — includes the official 2026 band lineup and day-by-day schedule from the Caseville Chamber of Commerce.

Cheeseburger in Caseville runs August 14–23, 2026 — ten days of Jimmy Buffett-inspired beach chaos on Saginaw Bay, in a town of about 800 year-round residents that swells to tens of thousands. The band lineup is out, the parade is Wednesday the 19th, and the campsites are already going.

Here’s the full 2026 schedule, who’s playing which night, and the two things you need to book before you do anything else.

I have been going to this one for years and it still delivers. Of all the summer festivals I have covered across Michigan for WDIV Detroit, Cheeseburger is the least self-serious and the most fun — a whole town in grass skirts, pretending Lake Huron is the Gulf of Mexico, and fully committing to the bit.

The 2026 Band Lineup

All amphitheater shows are at Caseville County Park and require a button or wristband. Note there is no amphitheater show on Monday, August 17 — that’s the family night, with the Kiddie Parade instead.

Night	Who’s playing
Fri, Aug 14	Jim Asbell & the Tropaholics (Trop Rock) — 7:30–10:30pm
Sat, Aug 15	Military Tribute 7pm, then Johnnie Russler & The Beach Bums (Trop Rock) — 7:30–10:30pm
Sun, Aug 16	California Summer (Variety) — 7–10pm
Mon, Aug 17	No amphitheater show — Kiddie Parade at 6pm
Tue, Aug 18	Stone Street Revival (Classic Rock) — 7–10pm
Wed, Aug 19	Parade night. Don Middlebrook 6:30pm, then Boat Drunks (Trop Rock) — 7:30–10:30pm
Thu, Aug 20	Los Gringos (Classic Rock) — 7–10pm
Fri, Aug 21	Jimmy Lewis & Yves Levesque 6:30pm, then Air Margaritaville (Buffett Tribute) — 7:30–10:30pm
Sat, Aug 22	Mike Shilakes 6:30pm, then Jimmy & the Parrots (Buffett Tribute) — 7:30–10:30pm

Away from the amphitheater, there’s free music all week: Third Degree Burn at Memorial City Park (Sat 8/15 and Sat 8/22, noon–3pm), Don Middlebrook at Memorial Park on parade day, and the St. Louis Steel Drum Band (Sat 8/22, 1–3pm). Thumb Brewery, Beachy’s, and Dufty’s Blue Water Inn run their own lineups daily — Dufty’s goes until 1am.

💡 PRO TIP: If you can only do one weekend, come the second one. Air Margaritaville on Friday and Jimmy & the Parrots on Saturday are the two biggest Buffett tribute acts of the week, back to back, and the cardboard boat race is Saturday afternoon. The first weekend is quieter.

The Parade of Tropical Fools — Wednesday, August 19

The Parade of Tropical Fools is the centerpiece of the entire festival. It steps off Wednesday, August 19 at 5:30pm from Main Street at Huron, and it draws tens of thousands of people into a town built for a few hundred.

Expect beads, candy, frisbees, and assorted trinkets raining off the floats — bring a bag. The costumes are genuinely half the show: grass skirts, cheeseburger hats, inflatable flamingos, full pirate regalia. Prizes go to the best large, medium, and small floats.

People stake out curb space with lawn chairs from early morning. If you want a real spot on the route, do not roll in at 5pm and expect to find one.

Stay after. Boat Drunks plays the amphitheater at 7:30pm, and the whole town is already in a mood by then.

Day-by-Day: What’s Worth Planning Around

Friday, August 14 — Opening Day

Kickoff golf outing at Scenic Golf Course (1pm), Best Cheeseburger Contest at Independent Bank (4pm) — the one that actually settles who makes the best burger in town — and the Flamingo Toss. Jim Asbell & the Tropaholics open the amphitheater at 7:30pm.

Saturday, August 15 — The 5K and the Conch Honk

The biggest first-weekend day. Cheeseburger Fun Run 5K at 9am from Caseville County Park, out along the Saginaw Bay break-wall. Yoga on the beach at 8:30am, craft show at the schools, sandcastle contest 10am–3pm, cornhole tournament, and Firehouse Burgers at the fire hall — this one day only.

Then at 9pm: the Annual Key North Conch Honk Contest at the amphitheater, which is exactly what it sounds like and is not to be missed.

💡 PRO TIP — Register the 5K early. It’s $30 online in advance, $40 on race day, and only the first 600 registrants are guaranteed a shirt. Early packet pickup is Friday 8/14, 3–6:30pm at the Chamber Office (6632 Main St). Register here.

Sunday, August 16 — Family Day

Free Family Fun Day at Wooded Island II, noon–3pm: face painting, inflatables, a petting zoo, and pony rides, all free. The famous chicken dinner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help runs 11:30am–5pm with a beer tent and kids’ games.

Monday, August 17 — Kids’ Night

The quietest day, and the best one if you have small children. Kiddie Parade at 6pm — entrants meet at Independent Bank, Main and Elm. Plus flamingo races at the Rainbow Motel, family bingo at Lefty’s, and a water balloon toss at the Dairy Queen. No amphitheater show tonight.

Tuesday, August 18 — Eating Contest and Frog Jumping

Cheeseburger Eating Contest at 3pm ($15 to enter, sponsored by Dufty’s). Also: a decorated golf cart contest, hula hoop and limbo at the Dairy Queen, and — genuinely — a Frog Jumping Contest at 4:30pm, bring your own frog. Stone Street Revival at 7pm.

Wednesday, August 19 — Parade Day

The big one. Chalk art contest at 12:30pm, a second Cheeseburger Eating Contest at 2pm, Don Middlebrook at Memorial Park 3–5pm, then the Parade of Tropical Fools at 5:30pm. Boat Drunks close out the amphitheater at 7:30pm.

Thursday, August 20 — Mud Bath Day

Kids’ Safety Day at the fire hall, a kids’ foam party at Dufty’s (1–3pm), and then the Mud Bath at 4pm — the fire department fills a pit half a mile south on Caseville Road and people get in it. Bring towels. Sunset yoga on the pier at 7:30pm, and a second foam party at Dufty’s at 9pm.

Friday, August 21 — Air Margaritaville

Pickleball tournament, two golf scrambles, and glow ball night golf at 9pm. But the reason to be here is Air Margaritaville at 7:30pm — the best-attended Buffett tribute night of the week.

Saturday, August 22 — Cardboard Boats and Jimmy & the Parrots

The best all-round day of the festival. Beach volleyball at 8:30am, Krispy Kremes for the school band, the second sandcastle contest, the steel drum band at 1pm — and the Cardboard Boat Race at 4pm at the county beach, which is exactly as chaotic as it sounds and free to watch.

Jimmy & the Parrots close the amphitheater at 7:30pm.

Sunday, August 23 — Closing Day

Classic Car Show at the county beach, 10am–4pm. The Great Duck Race at noon, next to Key North Surf Shop — buy your duck at the Chamber Office any day of the festival. Photo contest entries close at 5pm.

Running Every Day, August 14–23

• Cheeseburger Museum “What Is It?” free contest, noon–4:30pm, plus a gift basket raffle
• Kayak, paddleboard, and electric foil board lessons at Caseville County Beach — register with Thumbs Up Kiteboarding, (989) 856-3333
• Duck sales at the Chamber Office for the closing-day Great Duck Race
• Glitter tattoos and mini golf at Key North Adventure Golf, with Glow Golf after dark on weekends
• The photo contest — submit to the Chamber Office (6632 Main St) through the festival

Admission: Buttons and Wristbands

Nearly the entire festival is free. The parade, the beach contests, the cardboard boat race, the duck race, the car show, the museum, the free music at Memorial Park and around town — none of it costs anything.

The exception is the amphitheater concerts at Caseville County Park, which require either a festival button (covers every concert night) or a day wristband (one night only). Both are sold at businesses all over town, and the money goes straight back into running the festival.

If you’re staying more than two nights, the button pays for itself. Confirm current pricing with the Caseville Chamber of Commerce — it can change year to year.

A few individual events carry their own fee: the 5K ($30/$40), the eating contest ($15), the cornhole tournament ($40–$60 per team), and family trivia ($10 per team).

Getting There and Parking

Caseville sits on Saginaw Bay at the base of Michigan’s Thumb, about 20 minutes west of Port Austin on M-25. There’s parking around town — but this is a village of 800 people hosting a crowd that runs into six figures over ten days, and on parade night the math simply does not work.

💡 PRO TIP — Take the shuttle on Wednesday. Thumb Area Transit runs a festival shuttle (roughly $3 per ride, typically 3pm–midnight) stopping at Port Crescent State Park, Oak Beach County Park, Sleeper State Park, and the amphitheater. Bring exact change. On parade night this is not a convenience — it’s the difference between a good evening and an hour in a queue of cars. Confirm the 2026 schedule at tatbus.com.

Where to Stay

This is the part people get wrong. Festival-week lodging in Caseville is gone months ahead. If you are reading this in July hoping to camp at the county park in August, you are almost certainly too late — plan for next year instead.

Where the Festival Came From

It started with Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise” — an ode to a cheeseburger eaten somewhere warm — and in 1999, Caseville decided to build a three-day party around it, mostly to squeeze one more weekend out of summer and get some visitors into a very small town.

It has since grown into a ten-day event that is, by an enormous margin, the busiest stretch of the year on this coast. Caseville has picked up the nickname “Key North,” which tells you everything about how seriously the town commits.

Buffett died in 2023, which has given the whole thing a slightly different feeling since — two of the biggest nights are now tribute bands, and the crowd sings every word.

Tips From Someone Who Keeps Going Back

• Book camping December 1. Not December 2. County park beachfront sites go within hours
• Come the second weekend if you’re picking one — Air Margaritaville, Jimmy & the Parrots, and the cardboard boat race are all packed into those two days
• Shuttle on Wednesday. Everyone who tries to drive in for the parade regrets it
• Bring cash. Plenty of the smaller vendors, contest entries, and food stands don’t take cards — and the shuttle wants exact change
• Actually dress up. Grass skirts, flamingos, cheeseburger hats. The people who commit have a better time — this is not a festival that rewards standing back and observing
• Monday is the family day. If you’re bringing young kids, that’s your night — Kiddie Parade, flamingo races, no crowds

🏖️ Make a week of it: The Saginaw Bay coast between Caseville and Port Austin has some of the best beaches in the state. See our Lake Huron beaches guide before you go.

Cheeseburger in Caseville FAQ

When is Cheeseburger in Caseville 2026?

The 2026 Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival runs Friday, August 14 through Sunday, August 23, 2026 — ten days. It takes place at Caseville County Park Amphitheater (6400 Main St) and throughout downtown Caseville, Michigan.

When is the Parade of Tropical Fools?

The Parade of Tropical Fools steps off Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 5:30pm, starting on Main Street at Huron. It’s the single biggest event of the festival. People claim curb space with lawn chairs from early that morning, so arrive well ahead if you want a spot on the route.

Who is playing at Cheeseburger in Caseville 2026?

The 2026 amphitheater lineup includes Jim Asbell & the Tropaholics (Aug 14), Johnnie Russler & The Beach Bums (Aug 15), California Summer (Aug 16), Stone Street Revival (Aug 18), Boat Drunks on parade night (Aug 19), Los Gringos (Aug 20), Air Margaritaville (Aug 21), and Jimmy & the Parrots (Aug 22). The last two are Jimmy Buffett tribute bands and the biggest draws of the week.

Is Cheeseburger in Caseville free?

Almost all of it, yes. The parade, sandcastle contests, cardboard boat race, duck race, car show, and the free music around town cost nothing. The amphitheater concerts at Caseville County Park require a festival button or a day wristband, sold at businesses throughout town. A handful of individual events have entry fees, including the 5K and the eating contest.

Where do you park for Cheeseburger in Caseville?

There’s parking around town, but it fills fast on weekends and becomes genuinely difficult on parade night. Thumb Area Transit runs a festival shuttle, roughly $3 per ride, stopping at Port Crescent State Park, Oak Beach County Park, Sleeper State Park, and the amphitheater. On Wednesday, take the shuttle.

How do I get a campsite for the festival?

Caseville County Park beachfront sites are the most sought-after, and reservations open December 1 at noon through huroncountyparks.com. They go within hours. Overflow camping is available at the Caseville Fire Hall during festival week, but it’s self-contained units only — no tents. Albert E. Sleeper State Park and Oak Beach County Park are good alternatives and both are shuttle stops.

How much is the Cheeseburger 5K?

Early online registration is $30, rising to $40 on race day. The first 600 registrants are guaranteed a race shirt. The 5K runs Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 9am from Caseville County Park, out along the Saginaw Bay break-wall. Early packet pickup is Friday afternoon at the Chamber Office.

Go Get a Grass Skirt

What makes Cheeseburger work is that the whole town is in on it. There is no ironic distance. A retired guy in a full parrot costume will hand your kid a strand of beads, and the fire department will fill a pit with mud because somebody thought it would be funny thirty years ago and now it’s tradition.

Book the campsite in December, come the second weekend, take the shuttle on Wednesday, and commit to the costume.

More Caseville and Thumb Coast Guides

• Caseville Michigan Travel Guide — beaches, restaurants, and what to do beyond the festival
• Port Austin Travel Guide — Turnip Rock, the farmers market, and dark-sky stargazing 20 minutes up the coast
• Best Lake Huron Beaches in Michigan — the beaches along M-25
• Michigan’s Thumb Area Guide — the full regional overview