LANSING, Mich. -- The best things in life are Pure Michigan. And many of them are free.

Like miles and miles of Michigan’s Great Lakes coastline and beaches. Free. Sunrises over Lake Huron. Free. A heart-pumping climb up a towering wall of a sand dune. Free. Sampling wine in a vineyard tasting room. Free. Sunsets over Lake Michigan. Free (wine for toasting is extra).

There are plenty of other great deals, discounts and special packages for savvy travelers looking for ways to spend less and enjoy more in Michigan this summer; log on at michigan.org.

There’s no charge for dozens of zany and fun events all summer long. Below are 10, free ways to enjoy a Pure Michigan break this summer:

• Grand Haven Musical Fountain -- On the evening of May 30, 1963 music filled the air, lights glowed, water spouted, and the Grand Haven Musical Fountain became a summertime tradition. The waterfront fountain measures 250’ by 100’ and requires 1.5 miles of pipe and thousands of electrical components to produce its mesmerizing combination of sights and sounds. The show takes place every evening in the Lake Michigan beachtown of Grand Haven from May 22-Labor Day (and weekends through September 26).

• World’s Longest Breakfast Table -- The most important meal of the day is compliments of Kellogg’s in its hometown of Battle Creek at the annual Cereal City Festival, June 13. Sit down at one of 150 tables---one for each year of the city’s history---between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m., and fuel up for the day of activities including music, art fair, and parade. • Free Fishing Weekend -- With 11,000 inland lakes, Blue Ribbon trout streams, and four Great Lakes, there are plenty of reasons and opportunities to test Michigan waters June 13-14, when the normal fishing fees are suspended and no license is required (all fishing regulations apply).

• Wilmer T. Rabe International Stone Skipping Tournament -- July 4th at Mackinac Island’s Windermere Pointe Beach. This is the 40th anniversary of the competition, which strives to keep alive the art of achieving the maximum number of skips by a stone across the waters of the Straits of Mackinac. A stone skipping clinic is held prior to the kids and amateurs division contests that begin at 10 a.m. Professional Tournament is at high noon; last year’s winner made 25 skips.

• National Cherry Festival -- Everything’s coming up cherries July 4-11 in Traverse City, at the heart of the nation’s tart cherry capital (Michigan grows 75 per cent of the nation’s crop). The first celebration was held in 1926, and since then the festival has grown to 150 events---85 per cent of them free, including an air show, pie eating contests, arts and crafts fair, parades, and fireworks finale over Grand Traverse Bay.

• National Baby Food Festival -- The hometown of Gerber Products hosts family-friendly fun including baby food cook-off, baby food eating contests, baby crawl, Kid Zone and games, arts & crafts, midway, and Saturday’s Grand Parade, July 22-25 in the Baby Food Capital of Fremont.

• Yale Bologna Festival -- No fooling, there’s a Big Bologna Parade, and a king and queen of Bologna, bologna ring toss, outhouse races, fireworks, craft show, carnival, and tasty bologna galore July 24-26 in the town of Yale, in Michigan’s “Thumb.”

• Anatomy of a Murder -- 50 years ago this classic film thrilled audiences because it was based on a true story of love, lust, and deceit in the remote Big Bay area of the Upper Peninsula. Imagine the excitement in the U.P. city of Marquette and surrounding region when Hollywood stars James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, and George C. Scott came to film the movie based on a book by local Judge John D. Voelker, who wrote under the pen name Robert Traver. Free anniversary activities include maps for self-guided walking and driving tours to film locations.

• Cheeseburger in Caseville -- Head to the coast—the Lake Huron coast and the Michigan Thumb town of Caseville---for Cheeseburger in Caseville, the 11th annual immersion in tropical fun featuring Jimmy Buffett tribute bands, sailing parade, Caribbean street dance, pink flamingos galore, Parade of Tropical Fools, and a world of cheeseburgers, August 7-16.

• Woodward Dream Cruise -- World’s largest one-day celebration of car culture marks its 15th anniversary August 15, when 1.5 million spectators watch more than 40,000 street rods and vintage, antique and muscle cars cruise in an informal, 12-hour parade. The spectacle rolls through nine cities from Detroit north along Woodward Avenue, which was America’s first highway. Car crazy owners and fans from as far as Australia start congregating early in the week to show-off and gawk at unofficial gatherings along the strip, prime cruising territory in the 1950s and 60s.